How do Japanese make language sound old (e. g. in historical dramas)?


When English speakers try to make a text sound old (like in historical
dramas), they for example use "thou" together with the "-st" verb ending.

What's the equivalent in Japanese, i.e. what kind of old fashioned grammar and
vocabulary are used in works of historical fiction, irrespective of whether
they are actually accurate?

What immediately comes to my mind is the use of が instead of の, as well as
old-fashioned personal pronouns like [身]{み}. Furthermore, usage of ござる seems
to be a characteristic of ninja-like speech.




The words and phrases vary by time, by occasion, and even by class. Just top
of the mind, even the simplest words like “I” and “you” can be expressed in
dozens of different ways in old-style Japanese, according to the status of the
speaker, situations, by profession, by sex, and by time.

For instance in Edo-era “I” was expressed as

  * > [俺]{おれ}、[儂]{わし}、[手前]{てまえ}、[奴枯]{やつがれ}、こちとら

in commoners class.

  * > 身ども、[拙者]{せっしゃ}、それがし, [吾輩]{わがはい}、[乃公]{だいこう}

in Samurai class.

  * > [予]{よ}

in Noble’s class.

"You" was expressed as

  * > お前、[手前]{てめえ}、うぬ

in commoners class.

  * > [貴様]{きさま}、[貴殿]{きでん}、お[主]{ぬし}、ご[同輩]{どうはい}

in Samurai class,

  * > そなた、そこ[許]{もと}、[汝]{なんじ}、おのれ

in the noble’s class.

One instance shows all the rest. I don’t think there is a universal way and
simplistic method to express things in old style. You need to learn
expressions one by one by reading /studying classic Japanese literature of
each period.

