What is Japanese like?
Some people may consider Japanese to be an uncommon language, for although it is spoken by the tenth biggest population in the world(1) , it is hardly spoken outside of Japan. For these non-Japanese speakers, the language may appear to be unlike any they are familiar with. Indeed, the origin of Japanese is uncertain and has not been confirmed yet despite extensive studies. However, other studies have shown some basic properties of languages are universal, consequently Japanese is not a particularly difficult language to learn despite the appearance of its unique character.  Some significant characteristics of Japanese will be discussed here.
Casual Japanese and formal Japanese
It sometimes surprises overseas students in Japan that the spoken Japanese they hear in daily life seems completely different from the one they are learning in the class. It is the case as futsuu-tai (plain-form) is normally used in casual conversations and general writing, whereas teenee-tai (masu-form), learnt at the beginning of studies, is more likely to be used in formal conversations.  Learning Japanese usually starts with the masu-form, as its grammatical properties such as verb conjugation are simpler and easier to understand. Moreover it is encouraged to learn a polite manner prior to a casual manner, as the plain-form might sound rude when it is used in the earlier stage of a relationship among adults.
Diversity of Japanese
In addition to the difference between casual and formal styles, Japanese can have a diverse style according to social aspects such as age, gender, region and so on, much the same as other languages do to some extent. One of the most significant aspects seen in Japanese is the difference of expression between men and women, which is more likely to be seen in a casual style of speech rather than the formal one.(2/3)  Moreover, the difference of age and/or the relationship among people in a conversation, or the people referred to in a conversation is important. Then, an honorific form(4) is often used to show respect, as in the following cases: when they are in different age groups when their social status (eg in a company) is different when they are not in a close relationship or the speaker would like to show special respect to the others.  The honorific form can be used in conjunction with both teenee-tai and futsuu-tai.  Notably, a difference among regional dialects is also evident. It could be as much as the difference among some European languages. There is, though, a common or standard Japanese which all people from all dialects are expected to speak and understand, thus giving rise to a unified language across the country. This standard Japanese is the only official language in Japan, and is called "Kokugo (national language)".
(1)	The population of the language use in the world (1996). The number in brackets is the population of which uses it as a native language.
Language Population(million) 1. Chinese 999 [853] 2. English 487 [330] 3. Hindi 457 [348] 4. Spanish 401 [346] 5. Russia 280 [168] 6. Arabic 230 [195] 7. Bengali 204 [197] 8. Portuguese 186 [173] 9. Malay / Indonesian 146 [54]   10. Japanese 126 [125] (1988)Saishin Sekai Kakkoku Youran,Tokyo Shoseki
	Kindaichi (1988) p.74 Nihongo, Iwanami Shoten
(2) Example 1: A: Kinoo Shinkansen-de Nagoya-e itta-yo. (I went to Nagoya by Shinkansen yesterday.) B: Tochuu-de Fujisan-o mita? (Did you see Mt Fuji?) A: Uun, kumotteite mirarenakatta-no. / Iya, kumotteite mirarenakattan-da. (No, it was cloudy then.)
	The former sounds softer and more like a woman's words. The difference mostly comes from the use of difference sentence particles rather than the word themselves. The difference between women's and men's speech often helps to distinguish the people in a dialogue of a novel or short story, although it is getting less significant recently, especially among young people. Young women tend to use less feminine sentence particles, such as "-wa" and "-kashira", which used to be popular before. At the same time, more men use particles such as "-ne" "-no", which use to be mostly for women.
Example 2: A: Kinoo Shinkansen-de Nagoya-e ittan-da. (I went to Nagoya by Shinkansen yesterday.) B: Hee, Fujisan-o mita? (Did you see Mt Fuji?) A: Sorega, kumotteite mirarenakattan-da. (No, it was cloudy then.)
	It could be either a girl's or boy's conversation. This significant difference in Japanese is said not to be a traditional feature of Japanese. It first started in big cities and gradually became popular in rural areas only about 50 years ago (Kindaichi (1988) p.38 "Nihongo" Iwanamishoten).
(3)	'There is a fairly clear distinction between men's speech and women's speech. The foreign businessman who goes to Japan and lives it up with Japanese girls may not realise that the Japanese which he picks up in Tokyo bars is "feminine", but his Japanese colleagues at work will immediately notice that certain vocabulary items and phrases he uses are not those normally used by men! This is not to suggest that there are two totally separate languages for men and for women: only that one should be careful in the early stages of language learning to use neutral forms that are available to everyone regardless of gender.' (Smith, R et al (1991) Japanese -language and people, BBC Books
(4)	These are two types of basic honorific forms; to make the other person higher/honourable (Sonkee-go) or to make themselves lower and make other person higher as a result (Kenjoo-go). Either or both could be used according to the situation to be polite to the other person. There are various cases where honorific form is used. For example:
(1) A is older than B; A: Rampu-ga kireta-node, kattekite moraemasen-ka. (Could you get a new lamp as it is broken?) B: Hai, ashita katte mairimasu [kimasu]. (Certainly, I will get it tomorrow.) *) inside the brackets is a normal style.
(2) A is younger than B; A: Asu-wa nichiyoobi nanoni, kaisha-e irassharundesu-ka. [ikundesu-ka] (Are you going to come to the office although it is Sunday tomorrow?) B: Ee. (Yes, I am.)