Colloquial Japanese: The Complete Course for Beginners

395 Pages·2005·3.63 MB·English

Colloquial
Japanese
The Colloquial Series
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Colloquial
Japanese
The Complete Course
for Beginners
Second edition
Hugh Clarke and
Motoko Hamamura
First published 2003
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
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© 2003 Hugh Clarke and Motoko Hamamura
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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ISBN 0-415-19478-4 (Book)
0-415-27911-9 (CDs)
0-415-19479-2 (Tapes)
0-415-19480-6 (Pack)
ISBN 0-203-98691-1 Master e-book ISBN
Contents
Preface vii
Introduction to the Japanese language 1
1 (cid:3628)(cid:3628)(cid:3628)(cid:3628)(cid:3293)(cid:3293)(cid:3293)(cid:3293)(cid:2025)(cid:2025)(cid:2025)(cid:2025)(cid:2660)(cid:2660)(cid:2660)(cid:2660)(cid:6069)(cid:6069)(cid:6069)(cid:6069) Meishi no kookan 11
Exchanging business cards
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Introducing yourself
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Talking about families
4 (cid:12168)(cid:12168)(cid:12168)(cid:12168)(cid:1983)(cid:1983)(cid:1983)(cid:1983)(cid:8219)(cid:8219)(cid:8219)(cid:8219) Kaimono 58
Shopping
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Getsuyóobi ni aimashóo.
Let’s meet on Monday!
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Suzuki san no kaisha e dóo
yatte ikimásu ka.
How do I get to your office, Mr Suzuki?
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Dónna kanji no hito désu ka.
What does he look like?
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Shinai-kánkoo ni ikimashóo.
Let’s take the city tour!
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At the hotel
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Keiba o mí ni ikimasén ka.
Would you like to come to the races?
vi

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Nihón ni ikú nara, dóno kísetsu
ga íi deshoo ka.
If you’re going to Japan, which is the best season?
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Dóomo kaze o hiita yóo desu.
Somehow I seem to have caught a cold.
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Kuruma ni butsukerareta.
Another car ran into me!
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Móshimoshi, Akimoto sensei
irasshaimásu deshóo ka.
Hello, may I speak to Professor Akimoto?
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Jootatsu no hiketsu wa kore desu.
The secret road to progress!
Key to the exercises 258
Grammar summary 289
Appendix: hiragána, katakána and kanji 306
Japanese–English glossary 312
Index of grammar and language functions 383
Preface
In this completely new edition of Colloquial Japanese, we have
integrated the writing system into the course from Unit 1. This has
resulted in the unusual, dare we say unique, feature of combining roman-
ised transcription and the Japanese script in the first five units. Instead of
learning hiragána and katakána syllabaries mechanically by rote before
embarking on your study of Japanese, running the risk of losing your
enthusiasm before you have begun, you are introduced gradually to the
Japanese writing system as you acquire useful phrases and expressions
you can use immediately. From the beginning we introduce the
three components of the Japanese script – kanji, hiragána and
katakána – within a context of partly romanised, natural spoken
Japanese. We hope this innovation will help you learn how to read and
write Japanese as quickly and painlessly as possible. From Unit 6 the
basic conversations and dialogues are given in kana and a restricted
number of kanji. Students who apply themselves diligently to the study
of the Japanese script should be able to learn the 200 kanji introduced in
the fifteen units. For those who cannot afford the time to master all
the kanji, however, it will be possible to complete the course with a
knowledge of the script introduced in the first seven units.
In addition to the introduction of the Japanese script, the new edition
adopts a more interactive, communicative approach to the learning of
Japanese. The language is introduced through a series of practical dia-
logues simulating the actual situations a learner of Japanese is likely to
encounter. We have been careful, however, not to sacrifice the compre-
hensive coverage of grammar and vocabulary which were the hallmarks
of earlier editions of Colloquial Japanese.
We have received encouragement and advice from many friends and
colleagues, too numerous to mention here. We are particularly grateful to
our copy editor, Diane Stafford, whose excellent command of Japanese
and meticulous eye for detail has purged the manuscript of many
typographical errors and inconsistencies. Special thanks must also go to
viii

our editors Sophie Oliver and James Folan of Routledge, whose patience
and understanding encouraged us to go on when it seemed at times
we would never finish the manuscript. We hope their faith in us will be
rewarded with this volume.
Hugh Clarke and Motoko Hamamura
May 2001
Introduction to the
Japanese language
Japanese, with over 127 million speakers in Japan, large emigrant
communities in North and South America and a rapidly growing body of
fluent non-native speakers, is one of the world’s major languages. Out-
side the languages of Europe, it is probably the most studied foreign lan-
guage, with about a million learners in China, a similar number in Korea
and around 300,000 in Australia and New Zealand. It is the most studied
foreign language in Australian secondary schools and is now also
becoming very popular in Britain and America. Japan is the world’s
second-largest economy, a major provider of foreign aid and a signifi-
cant force in world affairs, particularly in Asia. It has a rich, distinctive
culture combining native elements with influences from the Asian
mainland and, more recently, from Europe and America. A fascinating
blend of tradition and modernity, Japan has a literary tradition extending
back 1,200 years, yet is one of the most modern, some would say post-
modern, high-tech, post-industrial societies in the world. The Japanese
language is the key to understanding Japanese culture and society.
Studying Japanese can be a very rewarding experience in its own right,
but, more important, it has great practical value for anyone wishing to do
business with the Japanese or planning to visit Japan.
Pronunciation and romanisation
Japanese has a relatively simple sound system. It does not have
a strong stress accent as we have in English, preferring instead to use
high and low pitch contrasts to mark the boundaries between phrases.
For practical purposes, you will find that you can produce natural-
sounding Japanese by giving each syllable equal stress and prominence
(loudness).