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STUDY SUGGESTIONS

Japanese Made Easy is a basic, do-it-yourself guide to the Japanese language and is designed for people living in or going to Japan who have never studied Japanese before. Obviously, living or traveling in Japan is itself not the secret of learning Japanese—many foreigners live in Japan for a long time and except for a few words learn very little about its language. The important thing will be your motivation to learn. Whether you go to Japan as a tourist, student, or businessperson, whether you use this book before or after your arrival in Japan, what could provide better motivation than knowing that a familiarity with the Japanese language (and with the culture it reflects) will help make your stay in Japan much richer and much more interesting.

If you have the good fortune to know a Japanese person, he or she will surely make your learning even easier—especially when you study pronunciation. But don’t be discouraged if you have no “live model” to learn from. By following the simple suggestions given here, you will be able to come out with good, understandable Japanese on your own. Here are some ideas, then, for how you can get the most out of this book.

Chapters and lessons

This book contains ten chapters. Each chapter contains an introduction, dialogue, and several lessons. The introduction provides a brief overview of the sentence patterns that appear in the chapter. The dialogue is a short conversation in standard modern Japanese. It presents examples of sentence pattern usage in the context of everyday Japanese conversations. The dialogue is first presented in native Japanese script, followed by romanized Japanese (romaji) and English. It should be read through quickly at first, and then returned to for review after the chapter lessons have been completed. If possible, practice the dialogues with a friend or native speaker, memorizing them as best you can.

Each chapter contains several lessons, each of which focuses on a situation that you are likely to encounter in Japan. Because the vocabulary, sentence patterns, explanations, and practice sections all work together to present the basics of the Japanese language in the context of a single situation, each lesson should be studied as a complete unit. This introduction of new language patterns within common situations is a basic principle that helps all learners, and it should help you to develop a real feel for the material you study.

As your confidence grows through mastering the basic patterns provided herein, you will discover that the patterns are applicable in many more situations than those covered in the book. Though you should, in the beginning, confine yourself to the material in each lesson, try later on to make up new situations on your own to see if you can handle them in Japanese.

Japanese script versus romaji

Japanese script (a combination of hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji) has been added throughout the new edition of the book. Although reading and writing are not taught herein, it is hoped that the inclusion of Japanese script will be useful to those that have just started learning or are already somewhat familiar with the Japanese writing system. If you already know hiragana and katakana (collectively known as kana), comparing the Japanese and romaji scripts will help you to learn some new kanji at the same time that you are mastering the sentence patterns. If you haven’t yet learned kana, don’t let that slow you down. Stick to the romaji and focus on mastering the sentence patterns for now. Later, you can easily learn the kana and then use the Japanese scripts for review.

Vocabulary lists

The words used in each dialogue and lesson, plus other important words that will be good to know, are introduced in the vocabulary lists in each chapter. Depending on the amount of time you can spend, choose words to remember that you feel will be of most use to you. Go over the vocabulary lists often and try to make up sentences of your own. Just learning the words themselves will not be of great help to you. Remember that words are almost always used in sentences!

The supplementary vocabulary (Appendix 1) will give you some additional words that you can use to help strengthen your speaking and comprehension skills.

Culture and vocabulary notes

These notes will explain some specific vocabulary items and help you to see how the Japanese language operates in context. They will often highlight how certain features of the language relate to Japanese culture. Generally, only basic, easily understood information is given here.

Sentence patterns

Devote most of your study to sentence patterns. The ones I have selected for you are the core of the Japanese language. They are the building-blocks of a solid foundation onto which you can add, for each sentence pattern can be used in many different ways.

So approach each sentence pattern with patience. Practice it thoroughly before going on in the book. Use it as often as you can as a base for longer utterances of several sentences so that you avoid the choppy style that comes from using a sentence in isolation.

Sentence patterns throughout are numbered for your convenience. You will find the related forms of a basic sentence pattern marked A, B, or C. For example, 30A, 30B, and 30C are not three sentence patterns but simply variations of Sentence Pattern 30. Studying these as group will make your learning a good deal easier.

Practice sections

Practice sections form the concluding part of each lesson. Answers to all questions are provided near the back of the book.

In addition, whenever you learn a new sentence pattern, try to practice it from several angles. For example:

1. Try carrying on dialogues with yourself. Play both person’s roles in these conversations. Even better, try to find a partner who will do this with you.

2. See whether you can ask questions in Japanese. Tape yourself saying these questions on a recorder and then try to answer them in Japanese.

3. Try describing the things around you.

4. See whether you can express what you’re going to do, what you’ve done, what you usually do, and so on.

If you’re resourceful when doing the above, it can be fun as well as a good way to learn.

Review

Before you go on to a new chapter be sure to go over what you’ve learned so that you know it thoroughly. Look at the dialogues and vocabulary lists often. Repeat sentences to yourself while driving your car or riding the bus or subway. If you’re studying in Japan, find social situations in which you can use your Japanese. Be outgoing. Ask directions, even when you know the right way to go.

Useful expressions

A group of useful, everyday expressions (greetings and the like) is given in Chapter 10. These expressions have been placed here because they are idiomatic, specialized phrases and need to be memorized. But there is no reason for you to wait until you reach Chapter 10 before you begin to learn to use them. You might study Lesson 1 of Chapter 10 along with Chapters 1 and 2, Lesson 2 of Chapter 10 along with Chapters 3 and 4, and so on. Studying Chapter 10 in this way will reduce the amount of material to memorize at one time, and it will give you many helpful expressions to use (and the ability to recognize when others use them) early in your learning.

Few foreigners in Japan take the trouble to become fluent in Japanese. Don’t be surprised if you find many Japanese people, pleased with your efforts, complimenting you even when you’ve achieved what you know to be a bare minimum of competence. Don’t be spoiled by this and be content to stop where you are in your learning. Accept the morale-boost this kind of compliment can bring, but let your reach always exceed your present grasp so that you can continue to advance in your conversational skills.

Going to Japanese movies, watching Japanese TV programs, eavesdropping on conversations in Japanese (difficult to do, but when you can do it successfully you’ve really learned!), starting conversations with Japanese people (don’t hesitate to do this; you’ll find that Japanese will often initiate conversations in English with you)—all of these will be helpful to you. And don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Japanese people will never ridicule you or make you feel embarrassed.

After completing this book you will find yourself able to shop, order drinks and meals, buy tickets, travel, and generally make yourself understood anywhere in Japan. You will be able to explore Japan on your own instead of being totally dependent on tours and planned excursions, and this will bring you many gratifying experiences you might otherwise miss. What’s more, by completing this book you will have demonstrated that you have the ability to be a serious student of Japanese, and you will be in a good position to continue your study should you wish.

Many Westerners think Oriental languages are very difficult to learn. I hope that through this simple, easy-to-use guide to the Japanese language that I may reach some readers who have had that feeling and help them realize that it is not so.

Good luck! Your diligence will help you understand not only the language but also the people and culture of Japan. I think you’ll find they’re worth the effort.

—TAZUKO AJIRO MONANE