Japanese: The Spoken Language, Part 2 - Supplement: Japanese Typescript [Paperback]

Professor Eleanor Harz Jorden (Author), Associate Professor Mari Noda (Contributor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 94 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (May 25, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300042817
• ISBN-13: 978-0300042818
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #565,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb textbook, January 17, 2000

By 

Douglas R Steinbaum (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese: The Spoken Language, Part 2 - Supplement: Japanese Typescript (Paperback)

"Japanese: The Spoken Language" is the most effective language textbook I have ever used. It is designed for the serious student who wants to become fluent in Japanese; it is not simply a basic phrasebook for the casual learner. It thoroughly covers Japanese grammar and basic vocabulary necessary for daily communications. The authors avoid overloading the student by focusing specifically on core words and grammatical structures of the language that are regularly used in real life conversations. Words are taught in context, rather than isolation, enabling faster learning and longer retention of them. The core conversations, which make up each chapter, not only teach the language, but also teach the student important aspects of Japanese culture. Although thorough, the quality of the book makes learning the language a pleasant experience. In addition to the book, I highly recommend purchasing the audio tapes containing the core conversations, to aid learning pronunciation and improve comprehension. In addition, I recommend buying the video tapes of the core conversations; they are an excellent learning aid.

11 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This series is out of date, April 27, 2000

By 

Brian Dunn (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japanese: The Spoken Language, Part 2 - Supplement: Japanese Typescript (Paperback)

I couldn't stand this series. The book may have good information, but there are way too many books out there on learning Japanese that offer more, and are actually written in Japanese. That was my biggest complaint when I used it at my university -- a book on Japanese should be written in Japanese, not romaji. Apparently the staff at my university thought so, too, because they have since switched to the Nakama series, with marked improvement in reading ability among students (because they are actually reading Japanese for the three years, and not being held back by reading English letters the whole time). The book may be called "The Spoken Language," but there is no need to separate written characters from the actual language -- somebody tell Jorden this! Do Japanese people learn English written in all katakana without any exposure to the roman alphabet? No! The people who like this book may have learned from it, but there are much better books out there. I suggest you pass on this book and get something that will help you learn Japanese, both spoken and written. The "Nakama" and "Yookoso" series are much better, and are actually written in Japanese.