Basic technical Japanese [Unknown Binding]

Edward E Daub (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1990

Even if you have had no Japanese-language training, you can learn how to translate technical manuals, research publications, and reference works. Basic Technical Japanese takes you step by step from an introduction to the Japanese writing system through a mastery of grammar and scientific vocabulary to reading actual texts in Japanese. You can use the book to study independently or in formal classes.
    This book places special emphasis on the kanji (characters) that occur most often in technical writing. There are special chapters on the language of mathematics and chemistry, and vocabulary building and reading exercises in physics, chemistry, biology, and biochemistry. With extensive character charts and vocabulary lists, Basic Technical Japanese is entirely self-contained; no dictionaries or other reference works are needed.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Well-structured and carefully written. [Basic Technical Japanese] provides the reader with thoughtful instruction on how to utilize the chapters to their full potential. . . . It contains copious materials, exercises, instructional information, and valuable teaching hints.”—Michio Tsutsui, Journal of Japanese Studies

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Unknown Binding
• Publisher: University of Tokyo Press (1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0860084671
• ISBN-13: 978-0860084679
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,729,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book for learning kanji beyond Jorden, really., July 20, 2003

By 

S. Elliott "stephen elliott" (Cambridge MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Basic Technical Japanese (Technical Japanese Series) (Hardcover)

I basically agree with many of the other reviewers, but want to be a bit more specific. I attended the Cornell FALCON Program many years ago which focuses on spoken Japanese, but the biggest problem thereafter was developing a professional vocabulary for reading. Virtually all textbooks I knew until this one (except the Jorden book "Reading Japanese" which only covers about 550 kanji) rely on "brute force" memorization of largely unrelated kanji compounds which makes it very hard, even with a good dictionary, to learn to make sense of kanji compounds one has never seen before. I'm probably more determined to read Japanese than most, but brute force just isn't remotely time-efficient and it certainly is no fun.

This book (a very big pedagogical improvement over its predecessor by the same authors "Reading Technical Japanese") teaches you to recognize the building blocks, much as if you were expanding your English vocabulary by learning common Latin and Greek roots, prefixes, and suffixes for English words. And this approach helps build vocabulary well beyond the target areas of math, physics, chemistry, and biology also--I found I could read geography, economics, etc far more easily. Reading unfamilar material can still be hard work, but this book is FAR more efficient and I think gives a greater insight into the language.

It also teaches characteristics of the written scientific language one doesn't pick up in classes on the spoken language.

I literally went from not being able to read a Japanese elementary school math or science book easily (even though I probably knew close to a 1000 general kanji before this book, there were gaps in crucial places that made science very frustrating) to being able to read some college-level science text books and regular technical trade journal after finishing this book. And I worked through this book in about a month--that's what I mean by efficient.

There was nothing quite like it for business and finance (a great problem) and I wish they would tackle that field as well, or that someone would follow their approach.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BTJ makes reading technical Japanese accessible & fun, May 19, 1999

By 

Gary L. Havens (Bowling Green, KY United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Basic Technical Japanese (Technical Japanese Series) (Hardcover)

"Basic Technical Japanese" is a monumental achievement. It allows a newcomer to Japanese, on his or her own, to acquire a reading knowledge as well as a cultural understanding of the language within the technical context. From day one, you will feel a real sense of accomplishment and by the end of the text, you will definitely be able to pick up almost any technical article in Japanese and with your trusty dictionary (suggestions on appropriate dictionaries are offered by the authors) be able to read and understand it. This text is also being used in the classroom. One of my favorite books and a good bargain at this price.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Language Text Ever Written?, February 8, 2002

By 

Edmund J. Madaj (Manchester, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Basic Technical Japanese (Technical Japanese Series) (Hardcover)

This book is really well-thought-out and well written. But the best point about "Basic Technical Japanese" is that it pulls no punches regarding the difficulty of the language. The attitude seems to be, "look, this a tough subject, it's a lot of work, we can't and won't make it easy, so let's get on with it." The authors throw a lot of Japanese at the student in a hurry. They introduce the phonetic alphabets (katakana and hiragana) in Chapters 3 and 4. After that, romanized spellings are no longer available, and Japanese words, phrases, and sentences are given as the Japanese read them. Kanji (Chinese characters) are introduced starting in Chapter 5. Following chapters present the grammar and further vocabulary. In other words, Japanese is presented as it really is. This looks (and is) difficult at first. But if the student is persistent and puts in a solid effort up front, he or she soon learns that the writing system, though complicated, really can be learned. One could say that, in addition to presenting the Japanese writing system, the first chapters allow for some early confidence building. It really provides a lift to the student (at least it did to me) to be able to read a little real Japanese after only a few weeks of study.

Too many foreign language textbooks try to simply the learning process. Although this may be valid for many subjects, it probably isn't best for languages. Languages just don't have the basic logic that allows for simplified texts. Languages must be mastered by brute force, meaning lots of memorizing and practicing (and this is especially true of Asian languages). The best language books, therefore, explain grammatical points clearly and thoroughly, present a large basic vocabulary, and try to be as comprehensive as possible. "Basic Technical Japanese" does this very nicely.

One caveat though. Even having said what I said above, trying to tackle the Japanese language and writing system at the same time is a huge chore. I'd say a student might do well to start with some basic introduction, even one that doesn't introduce the writing system, just pick up a little grammar and vocabulary (in fact, I ultimately went back and did just that). The authors of "Basic Technical Japanese" also give several references that I myself have found very handy in that regard.