Power Japanese Series by Jay Rubin, Kakuko Shoji, Mamiko Murakami, Hiroko Fukuda

Making Sense of Japanese is the fruit of one foolhardy American's thirty-year struggle to learn and teach the Language of the Infinite. Previously known as Gone Fishin', this book has brought Jay Rubin more feedback than any of his literary translations or scholarly tomes, "even if," he says, "you discount the hate mail from spin-casters and the stray gill-netter... moreMaking Sense of Japanese is the fruit of one foolhardy American's thirty-year struggle to learn and teach the Language of the Infinite. Previously known as Gone Fishin', this book has brought Jay Rubin more feedback than any of his literary translations or scholarly tomes, "even if," he says, "you discount the hate mail from spin-casters and the stray gill-netter."To convey his conviction that "the Japanese language is not vague," Rubin has dared to explain how some of the most challenging Japanese grammatical forms work in terms of everyday English. Reached recently at a recuperative center in the hills north of Kyoto, Rubin declared, "I'm still pretty sure that Japanese is not vague. Or at least, it's not as vague as it used to be. Probably."The notorious "subjectless sentence" of Japanese comes under close scrutiny in Part One. A sentence can't be a sentence without a subject, so even in cases where the subject seems to be lost or hiding, the author provides the tools to help you find it. Some attention is paid as well to the rest of the sentence, known technically to grammarians as "the rest of the sentence."Part Two tackles a number of expressions that have baffled students of Japanese over the decades, and concludes with Rubin's patented technique of analyzing upside-down Japanese sentences right-side up, which, he claims, is "far more restful" than the traditional way, inside-out."The scholar," according to the great Japanese novelist Soseki Natsume, is "one who specializes in making the comprehensible incomprehensible." Despite his best scholarly efforts, Rubin seems to have done just the opposite.Previously published in the Power Japanese series under the same title and originally as Gone Fishin' in the same series. less

Basic Connections provides basic information about expressions and usages that facilitate the flow of ideas and thoughts in written and spoken Japanese. It explains how words and phrases dovetail, how clauses pair up with other clauses, how sentences come together to create harmonious paragraphs. Since this is a book about the basics it starts with the fundamentals, explaining first the two types of Japanese sentence—"A is B" and "A does B... moreBasic Connections provides basic information about expressions and usages that facilitate the flow of ideas and thoughts in written and spoken Japanese. It explains how words and phrases dovetail, how clauses pair up with other clauses, how sentences come together to create harmonious paragraphs. Since this is a book about the basics it starts with the fundamentals, explaining first the two types of Japanese sentence—"A is B" and "A does B." Then it proceeds to the problem of the modifier and the modified—a matter of "which is which." Wa and ga naturally get considerable play; after all, it is downright impossible to speak properly without them. There is also a discussion of linking nouns and noun phrases, not to speak of verbs and verb phrases. The book goes on to devote a whole chapter to common mistakes and troublesome usages. The final chapter attempts to pin down some particularly slippery such as toshite, imada ni, sore kara, whoppers like "Sentence A-te sae inakereba, Sentence B," and many more.Any beginning or intermediate student, having spent a certain amount of time and energy studying this book, will be able to speak and read Japanese in a much more coherent fashion. less

A desire to communicate heart-to-heart with people from another culture is what attracts many people to language study in the first place. But it can take a long time to make friends and feel socially comfortable in a Japanese-speaking context, and there are few textbooks that can help. This volume does just that, by collecting and discussing more than 400 phrases that are useful when talking about personal experience and nuances of feeling... moreA desire to communicate heart-to-heart with people from another culture is what attracts many people to language study in the first place. But it can take a long time to make friends and feel socially comfortable in a Japanese-speaking context, and there are few textbooks that can help. This volume does just that, by collecting and discussing more than 400 phrases that are useful when talking about personal experience and nuances of feeling.With this book you can learn to say that you like someone, love someone, respect someone, have a thing for someone, have a crush on someone, still carry a torch for someone, have no feelings either way for someone, or wouldn't give someone the time of day. You can tease a friend about their new relationship, talk about children or parents, vent anger or express sympathy. You can learn many different ways to thank a person or to respond to a compliment, and the specific attitude that each conveys.All entries are defined and then amplified with two or three sample sentences. The naturalness of the sentences keeps the reading interesting, and makes it easier to gain not only passive understanding but the confidence to start using these phrases right away in conversation.Impress your boss, charm your neighbor, apologize to a co-worker. This handy guide will be welcomed by anyone hoping to make Japanese friends and influence Japanese people.Previous published in the Power Japanese series under the same title. less

Onomatopoeia is one of the most outstanding features of the Japanese language. Its acquisition is essential for students who wish to speak (or understand) natural Japanese, read literature or manga, or watch anime in the original. The problem is that Japanese onomatopoeic words are sodifferent from their English equivalents (words such as pop, bang, splat, and squeak) that they are extremely hard to remember and put into practice... moreOnomatopoeia is one of the most outstanding features of the Japanese language. Its acquisition is essential for students who wish to speak (or understand) natural Japanese, read literature or manga, or watch anime in the original. The problem is that Japanese onomatopoeic words are sodifferent from their English equivalents (words such as pop, bang, splat, and squeak) that they are extremely hard to remember and put into practice.The book begins with an introduction that outlines what "onomatopoeia" means in both English and Japanese. It covers sound and meaning in general, onomatopoeia in English, sound symbolism in English and Japanese, Japanese onomatopoeia and mimesis, types of Japanese onomatopoeia, grammaticalfunctions of Japanese onomatopoeia, Japanese written forms, and how new Japanese onomatopoeic words are formed (for example, in manga).This introductory material is all-important, for without the overall picture it presents, students are forced to learn Japanese onomatopoeia by rote, one word at a time, as if each was unique unto itself, as if each had no logical connection with any other word, and as if Japanese onomatopoeia was ahuge, ugly hodgepodge instead of the beautiful, well-organized microcosm that it is.However, this introduction alone would not suffice to produce fluency. Onomatopoeia must be seen in action for that to happen. This is done in the second part of the book, which consists of eleven situational dialogues that allow students to eavesdrop on Japanese speaking the way they do in reallife. The dialogues are given in Japanese script (with furigana over all kanji), romanization, and English translation. Each example of onomatopoeia that appears in the dialogue has its own commentary, including definitions, usage, and two or more sample sentences. Cultural notes are given when theyhelp to clarify the situation presented in the dialogue. Each dialogue is followed by a quiz.With its edifying introduction and lively dialogues, Jazz Up Your Japanese with For All Levels will, without a doubt, help students come to grips with this intriguing aspect of the Japanese language, whether they be intermediate students who can benefit from seeing onomatopoeia used ina variety of situations or beginning students who, as they slowly add new onomatopoeia to their vocabulary, will profit from seeing how these words fit into a larger, fully developed scheme. The book will also, whatever the level, make Japanese much more fun to study.Previously published in Kodansha International's Power Japanese series under the title Flip, Slither, & Japanese Sound and Action Words (1993). Now with a new introduction and quizzes. less