Minimum Essential Politeness: A Guide to the Japanese Honorific Language [Paperback]

Agnes M. Niyekawa (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha Amer Inc; 1st edition (March 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770016247
• ISBN-13: 978-4770016249
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,970,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Introduction to Keigo, April 13, 2000

By 

Elijah Zupancic (Kawasaki, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Minimum Essential Politeness: A Guide to the Japanese Honorific Language (Paperback)

This book is a great introduction to the Japanese keigo system. It takes a practical approach by giving examples all levels of politeness in all of the book's sections. Such as, showing utterances in an informal form, formal form, honorific form, and in a super-honorific form. Also, throughout this book the instruction is not only about forming sentences in keigo but it is also about the socio-cultural aspects of choosing between kenjougo and sonkeigo. I would recommend this book for any intermediate student of Japanese.

5.0 out of 5 stars unique and essential, July 11, 2011

By 

Stella Fitzgibbons "language junkie" (The Woodlands, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Minimum Essential Politeness: A Guide to the Japanese Honorific Language (Paperback)

There are few books which really spell out the necessities of courteous speech in Japanese--different verbs for humble and superior forms etc. Many cultural notes as well. If you are serious about becoming fluent in the language you should buy this book and study it hard.