What is the best Japanese language proficiency test?
Japanese is an eastern Asian spoken by some 128M people, primarily in Japan. It is also the national language and is known as Nihongo. Japanese is a part of the Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan), with its final derivation and link with other languages being unclear. Language families such as Ainu, Austroasiatic, Korean and the now disapproved Altaic have been grouped with the Japonic Language Family, but neither of these proposals has gained any large consensual approval.
Considering the popularity of Japanese in the recent decade, it is no surprise that many students learnt the language not just due to the popularity aspect but also to enhance their resumes and essentially use this language as a career asset.
But, in order to utilise any language as a career asset or to put it up in your CV, you need to actually provide certification to prove the same. Therefore, most foreign language students opt for CEFR approved language exams. Similarly, Japanese too has a professional language exam that you could apply for, attempt and finally clear which would provide you with the professional certification of the same along with the level that you have cleared.
This is known as a Japanese language proficiency test or JLPT. It is a standardised reference test meant to specifically evaluate and certify all Japanese native speakers and non-native speakers. This test covers all the skills that is expected of any Japanese language speaker. From your speaking abilities to your listening and from your reading to your writing, all the skills will be put to the test and duly evaluated. The test is held twice a year in Japan. Either in the month of July or in December. It is also conducted in many other countries, but the months in which they are conducted might differ from country to country.
This information can be found on the official JLPT website. Until 2009, JLPT only had four levels but this was changed to 5 levels with 1 being the highest level of certification. It is important to note that the JLPT certification would never expire in your lifetime. The test consists of a total of five levels ranging from N5 to N1, with N5 one being the most proficient as well as the highest level. In fact, it is a prerequisite for medical professionals who wish to either take up more examinations in Japan or work for a lifetime in Japan. And most Japanese universities also require their students to be N5 qualified.
Finally,
Little is known about the prehistoric details of the Japanese language, or when it appeared in Japan for the first time. A few Japanese words are found to be recorded in Chinese documents from the third century AD, but significant text appeared in the 8th century. The Chinese had significant influence over the vocabulary and phonology of old Japanese in the Heian (794–1185) period. Changes in the late middle Japanese period(1185–1600), brought the old Japanese closer to its modern language appearance with the European loanwords and features we see today. The late middle Japanese. The Early Modern Japanese period(early 17th century–mid 19th century), saw a shift of the standard dialect from the Kansai region in the south all the way up to the Edo region(modern Tokyo).