Product Description

To be able to speak fluently in Japanese can take hundreds of hours of intensive study. But the ability to communicate effectively—to say what one thinks, to ask and answer questions, to describe events in the past, present and future, and even to create with Japanese based on one's knowledge of it—can be achieved in a much shorter time. And now shorter than ever with this book.

JAPANESE SENTENCE PATTERNS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION presents 142 essential sentence patterns for everyday conversation—all that is needed to get by in most uncomplicated social situations. These patterns represent the basic building blocks of sophisticated speech, and are mastered by all intermediate students. Each is given first in the form of a full-length English sentence, so that one can quickly understand its meaning and intent, then is followed by a Japanese translation, a short, precise explanation, several example sentences, and a practice section that allows one to test one's comprehension. By familiarizing oneself with these patterns and practicing them out loud, and inventing new sentences with them, one will quickly gain the skills necessary to effectively communicate one's thoughts in Japanese.

With page after page of sentence-pattern practice and straightforward explanations of grammar, this book is ideal for ambitious beginning-level students who wish to up their oral proficiency quickly. But it will also usefully serve intermediate and advanced students in need of solid review material, or anyone with an interest in the workings of the Japanese language.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #101956 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9784770029836
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Publisher
To communicate effectively in Japanese—to speak one's mind and be understood, and respond appropriately to what is said—is a goal for most beginners, but not an easy one to achieve quickly. JAPANESE SENTENCE PATTERNS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION brings this goal within reach, teaching 142 essential sentence patterns for daily life—all the ones an intermediate student should know, and all the ones a beginner should study to become minimally proficient in speaking. All are presented in a handy, step-by-step format with pattern practice on almost every page.

About the Author
TAEKO KAMIYA, an internationally known author, teacher, and philanthropist, received her BA from Doshisha Women's College (Kyoto) and MAs from the University of San Francisco in education and from Monterey Institute of International Studies in linguistics. She taught Japanese for twenty-five years at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, before turning to writing books about the Japanese language. Her publications include SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY (1989), JAPANESE FOR FUN (1990), NEW TUTTLE DICTIONARY OF LOANWORDS IN JAPANESE (1994), SUBJECT-GROUPED 1016 KANJI IN CONTEXT (1997), JAPANESE PARTICLE WORKBOOK (1998), THE HANDBOOK OF JAPANESE VERBS (2001), and THE HANDBOOK OF JAPANESE ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS (2002).

Customer Reviews

A wonderful yet concise book for beginners and intermediate students
This is an excelent book. Having gone through a course in elementary Japanese, I wanted a book to quickly review the basic grammar and speech patterns. This little book does a marvelous job. It explains all the main patterns concisely, yet sufficiently. The organization and clarity of the book are its main assets. There is a detailed index at the beginning of the book, containing key examples of the pattern. That way you can jump right to the page you need. At the end of the book there are handy appendices (with examples) on counters (some 25 of them), plus charts on adjective inflections and verb conjugations. All in alphabetical english order. Every pattern, or variation, is clearly explained with 3 examples. This is followed by 3 more examples for you to try. Then, the answers are given in smaller print. All examples are given in Japanese characters plus romaji transliteration. Every unit has a few new words of vocabulary, which are then used in the examples that follow. I admired the economy of this book. Nothing is superfluous. And yet, everything is sufficient, within the constraints of its size. It is published by Kodansha International, not Oxford University Press as the Amazon description says. Very few books on Japanese language instruction are suitable for self study. This one clearly is.

Excellent.
Out of necessity, much of this is a copy of my other review because it is a direct contrast.

Since a search that brought up this book probably also brought up A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Sentence Patterns (Kodansha Dictionary) (same publisher) and at first glance one might be tempted to just buy whichever is cheapest at the time. It's worth noting that they are very different books.

A Dictionary... is indexed for a reader that encounters a strange construction. It is formatted in a way to facilitate looking-up strange new sentences. Japanese Sentence Patterns is indexed for someone that wants to say something in Japanese.

Thus, If you want to tell someone in Japanese that one thing would be better to do than another, Japanese Sentence Patterns will tell you how to say it. On the other hand, if you see or hear "Yukkuri tabeta hou ga kenkou ni ii yo." Then A dictionary... is better for figuring out what the person meant.

In all, both books are very much worth getting. Both serve completely different needs, they are definitely not duplicates of the same book. I do consider this one a bit more useful than the other, it is certainly easier to use. Even a complete novice can use this to create sentences. The exercises help cement new knowledge and the use of kanji can reinforce an intermediate student's reading ability.

japanese swan
The basic expressions appear in English and represent ideas or patterns to be expressed in Japanese. They are arranged from easiest tý most difficult. Each has a Japanese translation, highlighting the pattern to be learned then pattern is explained with example sentences. A big leap for novice birds to get wings for advanced flyings. Enthusiastically recommended. Hotondo kanzen ni (almost perfect).