Appendix A: Noun + Suru Reference
Appendix B: Table of Verb Conjugations
Exercise Answer Keys
Japanese-English Glossary
Index of Grammatical Notes
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Contents
- Audio Files (.mp3)
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Introduction
I have written this book to help people who are committed to learning Japanese and desire to expand their knowledge of Japanese through use of the informal speech style. They face a continuing struggle. The foreigners I meet commonly remark that there are few opportunities to speak in, and listen to, the formal Japanese that they’ve studied in their language classes.
Clearly, a gap exists between the formal Japanese to which first-time learners are introduced in the classroom, and the more informal everyday Japanese that most people in Japan actually use.
This book is meant to lessen that gap. Once you’re able to comprehend informal Japanese, that will help you to understand more of what people around you are saying, which, in turn, gives you more confidence in your own speaking abilities. This book is aimed primarily at those who are beginners to the study of Japanese. It uses simple examples to illustrate and explain the characteristics of the informal speech style.
But it is advisable to study the formal speech style of Japanese before working your way through this book. If you have taken a “typical” class, focusing on formal speech style, you already know that when you first start learning Japanese, it is better to be extra polite rather than being too casual, which can accidentally cause offense. You will find that Japanese people are typically polite and respectful of their relationships with others, and that relational factors like status, sex, and age are reflected in the Japanese language itself. For Japanese people, therefore, everyday communication is tailored to what is appropriate in the context of the relationship with another person. For people starting to learn Japanese, that aspect of the language can be a little strange, if not downright difficult.
As you gradually get used to the language, and particularly when you wish to develop closer friendships with Japanese people, of course, you are more likely to be conversing in the informal speech style and hearing it spoken all around you. Indeed, formal speech might sound awkward in such situations. Familiarity with informal speech also helps men avoid sounding too feminine in their speech or women coming across as too masculine.
The following conversation is a good reminder of how learning a new language can affect us and change us. Whatever your own reasons are for learning conversational, informal Japanese, as you take Japanese out into the community, I can only hope that this book helps you to succeed in your goals!
| A : | How many languages can you speak? |
| B : | Three. How come? |
| A : | I’m going to Japan shortly. |
| B : | How long will you be there? |
| A : | Three years. |
| B : | Wow! That should be enough time to get good at Japanese. |
| A : | Hmm, I don’t know. It’s supposed to be really tough to learn. |
| B : | You can do it! It’s a great opportunity. By studying the language you’ll learn a lot about Japanese culture… and probably your own! Plus, you might find that your Japanese language skills can open up some interesting job opportunities in the future. Who knows? I think you should go for it! |
| A : | I guess you’re right. Well then, I’m going to put everything I can into learning Japanese. |
Acknowledgments
I am deeply grateful to two people in particular: Ms. Kathy Diener and Ms. Stacy Shaneyfelt (M.A.) who offered invaluable suggestions and patiently checked my English over the long period this book ultimately took from start to finish.
I would also like to express my thanks to Ms. Atsuko Maruhashi (B.A.), Mr. Marice Dee Frandsen (M.A.), Ms. Saori Hirakawa (M.A.), students at the Kadena USO, students of Okinawa Kokusai University/University of Ryukyu, and many others for their cooperation in the completion of this book.
Lastly I would like to thank Mr. John Purves (Ph.D.) and his wife Ms. Rachel Stevenson (M.A.) who edited my final draft and gave me a lot of comments and advice.
How to Use This Book
Before you begin, keep these things in mind:
1. This book focuses on teaching an informal Japanese style. This informal Japanese is the style mainly used in friendly relationships like those between close friends, family members, and people of the same age or status.
2. In informal conversation, particles especially wa, ga, and o (which indicate the topic, subject and object in a sentence respectively) are often omitted. This book does likewise.
Tuttle Japanese for Beginners is organized into chapters that help you to gradually learn and expand your understanding; it also includes some useful features like quick reference guides and tables, answers to the exercises, and an index of vocabulary.
In the chapters, you’ll see these sections:
Dialogues are composed of sentence patterns that are easy to memorize. They demonstrate both female and male speech patterns.
Comics are used to introduce Japanese viewpoints, thoughts, lifestyles, and events.
Vocabulary explains all new vocabulary that’s used in the Dialogues. To help you remember them, these new vocabulary words and phrases are used as much as possible in the chapter’s examples.
Learning from the Dialogues/Comics breaks down and describes the grammar used in each of the sentence patterns in the dialogues or comics. Each item you learn is explained with the use of examples of words or phrases in the dialogue/ comic.
Concepts are often explained next—these are extra points of interest, such as details about everyday life in Japan, language usage tips, and cultural notes.
Practice gives a variety of exercises to help you to check how much you remember and understand from what you have studied. The answers are found at the end of this book so that you can check your work. If you cannot answer about 80% of the exercises correctly, you should spend some extra time reviewing that chapter again.
Symbols and Abbreviations
| ( ) | Option or translation |
| = | Similar words/phrases/expressions |
