"An easy and effective way of steadily building up your kanji."—Kenneth G. Henshall, A guide to Remembering Japanese Characters This calendar–like practice pad allows you to effectively practice basic Japanese kanji and learn a year's wroth of kanji in just minutes a day. Although more people are studying the Japanese language than ever before, others are still wary of starting because they believe, "it's too difficult." But Kanji–A–Day, Volume 1 will show absolute beginners that learning Japanese kanji is highly manageable when absorbed in small doses. It will help intermediate Japanese learners review and improve upon their past studies and practice Kanji every day. Japanese kanji are fascinating pictographic characters that were originally adopted from written Chinese. After a few weeks of gradual progress your ability to read Kanji, write Kanji and pronounce Japanese will grow tremendously. This calendar like desk companion starts with the most basic Kanji and builds upon itself, one day at a time. For easy reference and review, a booklet listing the 365 kanji is included. Each of the 365 pages contain these six components: The featured Japanese kanji character. The English meaning. The readings written in Japanese script (Hiragana). Related compounds with their meanings and readings. Stroke–order diagrams. 28 practice squares. To get started with Kanji–A–Day, turn to Day One and begin by studying the character, its readings, meanings and sample compounds. Then tear off the sheet and, using the stroke–order guide, practice writing the character in the spaces provided. In a matter of days you'll be on your way to reading and writing kanji with ease!

This is a book about the structure, history and evolution of the Japanese language. The Japanese Language is a classic study of one of the world's most widely used but least understood languages. Emphasizing the richness and complexity of Japanese as well as its limitations, this fine book provides a lively discussion about the uniqueness of the Japanese language. The relationship of Japanese to other languages is not well understood even by native speakers, and Professor Kindaichi sets out to define it. He concludes that Japanese is indeed only remotely related to other world languages although it shares many features in common with the languages of mainland Asia. Japanese shares with those languages a rich and detailed vocabulary for natural phenomena and an unusually complex and accurate way of expressing social relationships. Moreover, its capability to absorb innovations from abroad easily matches or exceeds that of English or German. The author, after briefly discussing the unique isolation of the Japanese language, moves on to consider the varieties of ordinary speech--dialects, jargon, sex--and role-based distinctions, and the difference between informal, formal, and literary language. He then examines the structure of Japanese pronunciations, its rhythm, and accent. The longest section of the book is devoted to the variety of the vocabulary, what can and cannot be said in Japanese. Readers who are just beginning their own study of Japanese will find this section especially fascinating, for each point is backed by examples from literature and everyday speech. Kindaichi also investigates the so-called vagueness of Japanese and traces it to its source-the unusual sentence order. This book includes: The highly debated origins of the Japanese language. Dialects, jargon, sex and role-based distinctions. Differences between informal, formal, and literary language. Structure, rhythm, and accent of pronunciation. What can and cannot be said in Japanese.

This is Michael Heffernan's fourth book of poetry, the work of a masterful and deeply intelligent practitioner at the height of his maturity. A pleasurable, wry, sweet book, full of prayers against the difficult passage of the night. Despite the surface demeanor, some of these poems seem to be rendered in a state of spiritual disquiet. There is also a powerful intellectual quarrel which Heffernan infuses in his work and through which he attempts to discover a sustaining metaphor rather than a rational conclusion.

"An easy and effective way of steadily building up your kanji."—Kenneth G. Henshall, A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters This calendar–like practice pad allows you to effectively practice basic–intermediate Japanese kanji and learn a year's wroth of kanji in just minutes a day. Although more people are studying the Japanese language than ever before, others are still wary of starting because they believe, "it's too difficult." But Kanji–A–Day, Volume 2 will show beginning–intermediate students that learning Japanese kanji is highly manageable when absorbed in small doses. It will help intermediate and upper–intermediate Japanese learners review and improve upon their past studies and practice Kanji every day. Japanese kanji are fascinating pictographic characters that were originally adopted from written Chinese. After a few weeks of gradual progress your ability to read Kanji, write Kanji and pronounce Japanese will grow tremendously. This calendar like desk companion starts with the most basic Kanji and builds upon itself, one day at a time. For easy reference and review, a booklet listing the 365 kanji is included. Each of the 365 pages contain these six components: The featured Japanese kanji character. The English meaning. The readings written in Japanese script (Hiragana). Related compounds with their meanings and readings. Stroke–order diagrams. 28 practice squares. To get started with Kanji–A–Day, turn to Day One and begin by studying the character, its readings, meanings and sample compounds. Then tear off the sheet and, using the stroke –order guide, practice writing the character in the spaces provided. In a matter of days you'll be on your way to reading and writing kanji with ease!

This is a user-friendly guide to learning Japanese Katakana and includes a set of 46 flash cards Japanese Katakana for Beginners makes learning of beginner kana fast and effective by using memorable picture mnemonics, along with clear explanations, examples and lots of fun exercises—a method that has helped thousands of students learn katakana successfully in the United States and Japan. Picture mnemonics enhance memory by associating the shape and sound of each Japanese kana character with combinations of images and English words already familiar to students. This book is organized into three main sections: The first introduces the basic 46 katakana characters along with writing tips and opportunities to practice writing them. The second teaches the usage rules that allow students to write all Japanese sounds, providing more opportunities for practice. The third strengthens students' skills through a wide range of exercises (word searches, crossword puzzles, fill in the blanks, visual discrimination, timed recognition quizzes, etc) designed to both increase the knowledge of the Japanese language and reinforce newly acquired writing skills. A set of flash cards printed on perforated cardstock and a list of suggested flash card activities are also provided at the end of the book. Each of these cards introduces a katakana character along with the picture mnemonic that helps to recognize and remember it.

This is a concise and effective Japanese phrase book and guide to the Japanese language with color pictures and accompanying exercises for each section. In this modern jet age, one can reach any part of the world within a day or less. Although English is widely spoken, it is very helpful to have some knowledge of the language of the country which you are visiting in order to make your trip more enjoyable by communicating with the local people and understanding their culture. Intended for beginners who wish to learn to speak Japanese at a very basic level within a few hours, this book is written in a clear and simple yet versatile way. With approximately 350 basic words and examples of how they are used in practical conversation speech, one can acquire a fundamental working knowledge of spoken Japanese from this book, so you can express yourself in simple Japanese sentences. This book has several exercises for each lesson. And, to get acquainted with Japanese culture, the student may enjoy the photos which the author has provided as a visual aid. Complicated grammatical explanations are omitted since detailed explanations sometimes discourage people from actually speaking. Only the essential points in pronunciation and grammar are given, and the Japanese phrases and sentences are repeated presented in each lesson so that the student can easily learn the phrases and practice using them without hesitancy or discouragement. Key features of Practical Japanese are: Over 350 essential Japanese words and 96 pages of practical conversational usage. 25 carefully structured lessons to reinforce Japanese vocabulary and Japanese grammar. Accompanying practice exercises for every lesson. All words and phrases are shown in written Japanese--Kanji and Kana (Hiragana and Katakana), Romanized Japanese (Romanji), and English Over 200 simple illustrations. A concise pronunciation guide. Businesspeople, tourists as well as the student or prospective foreign resident in Japan, young or old, will find this Japanese phrasebook a helpful and enjoyable tool in speaking Japanese for the first time.

This beautiful notebook makes studying a pleasure! Each double page spread has squared paper on the right-hand side for practicing formation of the Japanese characters, and lined paper on the left-hand side for note-taking. A ten-page reference section at the back of the notebook gives hiragana and katakana charts, a list of the 100 most common kanji; key vocabulary, and basic grammar tips. Contents: Pages 1-118 Alternate Pages of lined and squared paper for note-taking and handwriting practice Pages 119-120 Hiragana alphabet charts Pages 121-122 Katakana alphabet charts Page 123 100 most common kanji Pages 124-125 Key vocabulary lists Pages 126-128 Basic grammar tips