- Paperback: 282 pages
- Publisher: Berlitz Publishing; New edition edition (29 Aug 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 9812466460
- ISBN-13: 978-9812466464
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 14.7 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
1,065,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15 in Books > Languages > By Language > Japanese > By Publisher > Berlitz
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Product Description
Product Description
"The Essential" series are self-study guides for learning and reinforcing language skills. "Essential" offers a practical and simple approach to learning, and a thorough introduction to Japanese.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
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This book is very comprehensive, providing the absolute beginner with a good understanding of how the spoken language works in a variety of day-to-day situations and will form a good foundation for further study.
Though the book's emphasis seems to focus on polite levels of speech by means of the ~masu verb, it does a good job in introducing the plain form of verbs used in day-to-day conversations and shows their conjugation to the polite, and progressive tenses as well as giving a few examples in the dialogue where appropriate. All of the 75 verbs that appear in the book, along with their conjugations, are included in a table in the appendices for quick reference.
The 19 chapters are very easy to read and understand which aids the learning process. As such it is a book that can be dipped into lightly without the need for a dedicated 2 hour long stretch that more advanced text books require. Grammer is explained in context which also helps one remember.
As it's written entirely in roman letters, called "romanji," rather than the native Japanese writing system, it provides absolute beginners with an instant start in learning spoken Japanese while they learn the basic hiragana and katakana "alphabets" used in Japanese writing. There is also an English to Japanese and a Japanese to English dictionary at the back that includes all the words found in the book.
After working through this book I can now understand a bit of what I hear when watching the Japanese TV channels I receive via satellite (though sill not enough to know what's going on) as well as understand and speak a little to my Japanese in-laws without too many problems on a range of subjects. I'm still a long way from fluency but this has given me a great starting point.
Though the book's emphasis seems to focus on polite levels of speech by means of the ~masu verb, it does a good job in introducing the plain form of verbs used in day-to-day conversations and shows their conjugation to the polite, and progressive tenses as well as giving a few examples in the dialogue where appropriate. All of the 75 verbs that appear in the book, along with their conjugations, are included in a table in the appendices for quick reference.
The 19 chapters are very easy to read and understand which aids the learning process. As such it is a book that can be dipped into lightly without the need for a dedicated 2 hour long stretch that more advanced text books require. Grammer is explained in context which also helps one remember.
As it's written entirely in roman letters, called "romanji," rather than the native Japanese writing system, it provides absolute beginners with an instant start in learning spoken Japanese while they learn the basic hiragana and katakana "alphabets" used in Japanese writing. There is also an English to Japanese and a Japanese to English dictionary at the back that includes all the words found in the book.
After working through this book I can now understand a bit of what I hear when watching the Japanese TV channels I receive via satellite (though sill not enough to know what's going on) as well as understand and speak a little to my Japanese in-laws without too many problems on a range of subjects. I'm still a long way from fluency but this has given me a great starting point.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
If you never intend on writing or reading any Japanese then this book is suitable for you. The emphasis is 100% upon oral expression and how to communicate in social situations. I personally fail to see the point of avoiding the inclusion of the scripts because the book is quite comprehensive and thus it isn't directed at people who only want to acquire basic skills. That said, it is still a useful addition to any collection and has helped me in my Japanese studies.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
a good reference for beginners
8 Mar 2007
This is a good book for beginners with clear explanation of Grammar and Phrases Especially for Westerners.
This book is written entirely in Romanji,therefore,any "serious Japanese learners" or people plan to work or live in Japan will need other texts with Hiragana , Katakana and Hanji characters to improve their proficiency.
I am of Chinese heritage and have learned Japanese for about 1 year hence this book will come into handy as a qucik reference.
This book is written entirely in Romanji,therefore,any "serious Japanese learners" or people plan to work or live in Japan will need other texts with Hiragana , Katakana and Hanji characters to improve their proficiency.
I am of Chinese heritage and have learned Japanese for about 1 year hence this book will come into handy as a qucik reference.
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