Customer Reviews

Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having been studying Japanese on and off for, oh, nine years now, I have learned that not all educational tools and methods work for everybody. People have their own way to learn languages, and in my case the straight-up textbook approach never entirely succeeded. I lived and studied in Japan for several years, and that helped in conversation and in terms of immersion. I have purchased everything from particle guides and Kanji dictionaries and even children's books to help my study, and all of them help in ways, but it is a very piecemeal way to learn.

And I guess that is how it is when learning languages. Only the true geniuses of language can grasp these things in a ready and total fashion. And unfortunately for me, this piecemeal approach left me missing things from my study of the language. And then Jay Rubin stepped in.

Jay Rubin knows the Japanese language. He teaches it, and is a translator of Japanese literature. (Most famously he translated into English Murakami Haruki's "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" and "Norwegian Wood", as well as writing a biography of Murakami.) To steal a line from Lawrence of Arabia, "He knows his stuff."

And so it is that Rubin decided to stuff all that stuff into a book for those of us who struggle with the more delicate grammatical issues of the Japanese language. And he does so with brilliance and wit and ease of use that I have yet to have seen surpassed. "Making Sense of Japanese" is indeed a precious little gem in my collection of Japanese learning aids that fills in so many holes in the facade of my shoddy language capacity. For instance:

Wa and Ga - Never before has there been a more thorough and easy to remember explanation of the delicate differences between these two particles. They are a great bane to learners of Japanese, and Rubin dedicates 20 pages to truly making sense of them.

The Myth of the Subjectless Sentence - and how it is a true myth. Which is followed by a really nifty look into the differences in pronoun use in Japanese and English.

Receiving and Giving - and all the verbs that pertain to those actions.

Causitives and Passives - and how they combine at times.

Tame - Rubin succinctly explains the two forms of "tame" and gives examples.

Tsumori - and how it too has a double use.

And so much more! All told in a very lucid style and sharp wit that is sorely missing from most study guides. The final part of the book is dedicated to taking a very complex sentence in Japanese and breaking it apart and showing exactly how it forms a full statement. To some this may seem a little tedious and an over-indulgence in explaining in English what is fundamentally the properties of another language, but I have always felt in my studies that most texts and aids are lacking in easy to understand explanations. If you get frustrated with what seem to be overly simple and/or boring explanations of some very important grammar elements of Japanese, this little book is a marvel. But like any other language guide, these lessons must be studied to have impact. Though Rubin makes it very easy to read these passages over and over.

If you're an intermediate student of Japanese, but haven't yet begun to really understand the language, this book will clear up a lot of your concerns. The author takes a humorous approach to some intimidating topics, and yields new insight on other, easier topics which textbooks often leave vague. The book frequently illustrates these concepts with examples in Japanese literature and journalism. Even examples in speech are explained in-depth. Yet, it remains light-hearted and humorous, relating the mysterious translations and hidden connotations in a way that the English-speaking mind can understand. Most importantly, it debunks many of the myths and misconceptions about Japanese that make Westerners fear it so. It also seemed that the author was subtly trying to prepare the readers to think in Japanese, which as wel all know is a vital step towards fluency.

The title pretty much sums it up when it says "What the Textbooks Don't Tell You." This book ! ! essentially takes the information from your textbooks and makes sense of it. If you study independently, like me, this book should be on your list. If you don't need this book, you probably know someone who does.

When I ordered this book, I hadn't read it, or even seen the cover. I just picked it up because I'm anxious to learn more daily Japanese conversation. While this book didn't teach me the slang and modern speech I'm wanting to learn, I did find it to be extremely useful. I'm not finished yet, but this book has so far been very informative and easy to read. The writing is excellent, and it's entertaining to read. It explains how "subjectless" sentences work and how to use "wa" and "ga" properly, amomg other things of course. If you're a student of Japanese, and you want to actually understand the logic of the language instead of simply memorizing vocabulary, this book is a must-have.

I own numerous fantastic Japanese grammar reference volumes on Japanese (most of which are available through amazon.) All of them allude to the points that Rubin tackles in this deceivingly slender yet startlingly informative volume. Despite avid interest in grammar and having studied countless hours huddled over cup after cup of espresso, I had questions to which I could not seem to find adequate answers. That changed when I finally tracked down a copy of this book.

If it is credibility you're looking for, Jay Rubin has it: besides a position as a professor of Japanese at an ivy league, he is a famous translator whose works read like English rather than an attempt to superimpose foreign syntax upon each sentence. In other words, this is someone who is comfortable with Japanese and can explain it both as an expert and as one who at one time studied it in school (and struggled, as he explains briefly.)

As for content, the book is concise, funny (I laughed out loud a dozen times,) and incredibly helpful. The content is focused upon the greatest ills of English-speaking students of the Japanese language. The book begins with a fun introduction in which Rubin assaults the myth that Japanese is somehow vague or alien in comparison to other languages of the world. He begins by debunking the tale oft-perpetuated by well-meaning Japanese instructors. You know what I'm talking about: the subjectless sentence. In actuality, these are NOT subjectless anymore than an English sentence using a pronoun or demonstrative is subjectless. Rubin spends time warning the reader to re-evaluate his/her understanding of what it means to have a passive/intransitive verb versus one with an agent and helps to once and for all expell the confusion.

Next comes the reason I purchased the book: an explanation of WA versus GA. Certainly, one may go through years of study believing one's understanding of these particles is moving in the right direction, but Rubin separates them in a way this reviewer certainly has never been taught. Regardless of the mound of linguistic texts and the thousands of grammar drills that have turned my eyes bloodshot over the years, I have never found a single person/book/textbook that has been able to adequately explain which particle is grammatically correct given a specific linguistic environment.

The giving and receiving verbs, passives, causatives, causative-passives, multiple particles, and so on are all discussed in part one. Part two concerns specific problems, including TAME (its uses and distinction between the two), TUMORI (if you just said to yourself "that just means 'i intend...' I suggest checking out the book!), and so on.

It's an inexpensive title and it provides one with so much wonderful information. It's easily some of the best money I've ever spent on my education. I recommend it and could scarcely recommend it with more enthusiasm. I've purchased volumes heavier and much more expensive that have offered less in a half a thousand pages than this one does in far fewer.

This book by Jay Rubin humorously explains some of the most seemingly esoteric aspects of the Japanese language to the intermediate student of Japanese. Some of the most useful concepts that Rubin explains are ha and ga, giving and receiving, passive, causative, hodo, and many more. After a casual reading of this book I felt that certain aspects of the Japanese language seemed to make more sense than ever before. I would recommend this book to any third year student of Japanese.

This is a book of nuances. All those little fiddly bits of Japanese that seem impossible to grasp, the mystery of wa and ga, the disappearing subject, Shiru or Wakaru...Jay Rubin has performed a kind of magic trick and made sense of the senseless.

"Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You" is bridge, spanning the gap from Advanced Beginner to Intermediate, dealing with all the barriers at that level. Using humor and a clear insight into the language, Rubin explains the minor issues that, while seemingly tiny, are the difference between fluency and gibberish.

The only drawback is that the book is perhaps a bit too small. Rubin's explanations are clear but brief, and could soon be forgotten. Most of the important bits require re-reading, and a serious student will probably pull "Making Sense of Japanese" off the shelf quite a few times when encountering something. Beefing the tiny tome up with some exercises and quizzes would help solidify Rubin's points, making it even more useful than it already is.

As it stands, I would qualify this book as "essential" to Japanese learners at a certain level. Raw beginners probably won't get much out of it, but to Advanced Beginners/Intermediate learners, it will be exactly what they need.

Ahh, the wonderful world of particles. Especially wa and ga. If you were confused as I was with the use of these two, fear not for this book will save you. Somebody finally took the time to thoroughly explain these in a perfectly clear fashion, and gives you a whole chapter on them no less.
I am so glad I found this book, the title doesn't lie. Everything is explained in an interesting and sometimes humorous way, and focuses on the topics that most English speakers struggle with while learning Japanese. I highly recommend this book, it will pay for itself 100 times over.

This book is one of the most helpful take on the explaining the Japanese language I've ever read. The humour keeps things interesting and prevents you from putting it away even when you reach a section that is difficult to understand.

However, if you are an Asian and speak your mother tongue fluently, this book has some areas that are probably already obvious to you. Things like invisible subjects are frequently used in Asian languages and you have probably mastered it subconsciously since you were five. That is not to say that the book is not useful, but it is written with English native speakers in mind.

One small complain about the book: I have been reading hiragana and kanji right from the start of learning Japanese, so reading romanji is somewhat of a pain. I had an easier time reading the forewords by the author's Japanese wife than the romanji examples he gave. It will be helpful if the examples can include both hiragana/kanji and romanji versions.

Well despite the tiny flaw, I can say that this book IS going to be necessary. A lot of Japanese teacher make up their own explanations of certain grammar components that might seem logical at first, but later on you will be confused when new things are taught that SEEM to contradict the previous rules. This book will clear up all the things that your teacher WILL mess up. One fine example: my teacher told us that "n-da" is simply to add more emotions to the statement. Well turns out it wasn't that simple.

Get this book. You will need it.

4 stars for a book you said to borrow? Why?

Having just finished this book, I will state it is extremely informative. The author does a fantastic job of explaining things, but, unfortunately, it's not what I would call a reference book.

This is important if you're learning Japanese. Once you read this book, your continued learning will be a bit easier, but you'll never read it again.

Hence, borrow it.

One of the biggest issues I have with "teaching yourself Japanese" books is how they don't literally translate Japanese, but instead, "convert" to English in hopes to better understand.

For example, a conversation in Japanese may go like this:
Joe: "Doing?"
Jane: "Going to bed."

But teaching books incorrectly translate as:
Joe: "What are you doing?"
Jane: "I'm going to bed."

This is SO wrong when learning Japanese because many times, the subject has "disappeared", and it makes sense. If Joe and Jane are the only two conversing, dropping the subjects (themselves) is expected. Moreso, in Japanese language, once the subject has been identified, it disappears as the conversation continues! This is why so many people feel this language is so difficult to learn.

This book clearly covers situations like this, but does so in a manner you won't forget it while learning Japanese from textbooks that get it wrong while dispelling the "subject-less sentence".

The loss of 1 star comes from the author's weird reason to draw out some topics, but cover others with just a paragraph or two. I wish all topics were a few paragraphs.

Here's an example of this. When discussing the difference between "Wa" and "Ga", the author took an astounding 10 pages to simplify the definition "'Ga' marks the subject while 'Wa' marks the topic."
(this is simplified, as examples are present. Also, there are circumstances when the above isn't true, but the overall truth to the simplification was perfect.)

However, his topic "You say Kimeru and I say Kimaru" was compressed to one paragraph with a few examples. Perfect.

As a person who just started learning Japanese, I am thankful the author wrote the book. It's informative, but not really worth a purchase. But that's just me. You may feel different if you feel the information deserves to be paid for with a purchase.

Now, my quest to finding the perfect "learning Japanese" book continues. I've yet to find one.

I wish this author would write a learning Japanese book. He gets it. He understand the language. This would have been, in my opinion, a better use of his expertise rather than a "what they don't tell you" book.

I would definitely recommend this book for reading.

Hope this review helps.

This is a truly fantastic book. The twenty or so pages devoted to the use and misuse of 'wa' and 'ga' are worth the price alone. Hell, the two pages on Kanji are worth the price alone.

Seriously, every student of Japanese needs this book once they have mastered the basics and are starting to really use the language. If I had to hazard a guess as to when it would be appropriate, I would say second year students would benefit greatly from it.