Customer Reviews

English Grammar for Students of Japanese: The Study Guide for Those Learning Japanese (English Grammar Series)

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I think that it was Voltaire who said "To know another language is to know your own". Unfortunately I found that I knew my own (English) far less than I thought. In understanding how Japanese is structured I was often adrift because I did not really understand the components of English grammar. This book solves that problem. For example the structural position of relative clauses in Japanese and English is fundamentally different. Why I treasure my copy of Hudson's book is that it explains those fundamentals, with the result that you will be able to rapidly transpose between the two languages in a manner and with a speed that reflects your new understanding. Others in your class will stumble and have difficulty because they do not have such a ready reference to English grammar. What speaks most for this book is that I have, on several occasions, been able to explain concepts to fellow students to help them with basic concepts, that I have taken directly from Hudson's explanations. It has small concise sections, it is easily read at any place in the total text - start where you have the most interest - and can be left by for your bed for a quick snatch of grammar to help you edge towards succcess in your ambition to master Japanese. I thoroughly recommend it and I use it often.

First of all, do not expect to improve your vocabulary if you buy this book. It doesn't try to be that kind of book. It is a book for helping you with Japanese grammar by comparing it to English grammar; and this is the best book to teach you all-things-grammar for Japanese. Every thing you will ever need to know about Japanese grammar, you can learn from this book. It is laid out very well. If you read this book thoroughly from front to back a few times through, you should have a very good idea of Japanese grammar. Don't be discouraged when you hear people say, "I am an intermediate student of Japanese, and I have been studying for 3 years." They probably are talking about learning at school or college. I am studying on my own, and I believe that if I study hard and study almost everyday, I will be speaking Japanese very well in 1 and a half years. If you are good at memorization, buy the right books & audio materials, and are determined to learn Japanese as I am, then you should be able to learn that quickly as well. Anyway, great book!

This book deepens the understanding of both Japanese and English. I am an instructor of Japanese in the U.S. Now many university students from Japan, who are studying English, will be visiting my classes. I will use this book so that both American and Japanese students will learn more about their languages. The author discusses fundamental grammar points very clearly. This book is a must read for instructors of Japanese who teach in English speaking environments.

i bought this book expecting an intermediate/advanced discussion of grammar aimed at native english speakers who are trying to learn japanese. in fact, it offers a very basic overview of english grammar, and then simply shows how these simple points are conveyed in japanese. this is useful, yes. but not to someone who has previously spent a decent amount time studying english grammar, another foreign language, or japanese. with title chapters like "what is a noun," "what is a pronoun," and "what is a personal pronoun" (the 1st three chps of this book), this is certainly not advanced grammar. there are a thousand basic japanese books that cover these same points, teach way better japanese, and use hiragana.

unless you are really unsure of basic grammatical points (nouns, verbs, tense...), i would recommend skipping this book. i can use it with the beginner japanese students i am teaching english too, but otherwise it would have been a complete waste of money for me.