Making Sense of Japanese : What the Textbooks Don't Tell You (Paperback)

by Jay Rubin (Author)
Key Phrases: Pacific War, Manchurian Incident, Murakami Haruki (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Brief, wittily written essays that gamely attempt to explain some of the most frustrating hurdles [of Japanese]...It can be read and enjoyed by students at any level." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
[FROM THE INTRODUCTION]

No, Japanese is not the language of the infinite. Japanese is not even vague. The people of Sony and Toyota did not get where they are today by wafting incense back and forth. The Japanese speak and write to each other as other literate people do. If Japanese is "unique," that is because it possesses vocabulary and grammatical constructions and idioms that occur in no other language--but of course that is what makes all languages unique.

Undeniably, Japanese is different from English. The language is different, the people are different, the society is different, and all of these are enormously interesting precisely for that reason.... A Japanese sentence, with its verb coming at the end, is not only backwards but upside-down.... But we must never let its apparent strangeness blind us to the simple fact that Japanese is just another language. And we can increase the precision with which we understand that language if we do away with some of the nonsense that continues to cling to it even in the age of the computer and electric nose-hair trimmer.

[Previously published as "Gone Fishin'"; now with a new chapter on upside-down sentences.]

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha International (JPN); 2 edition (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770023103
• ISBN-13: 978-4770023100
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,492,477 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Successfully disarms the scariest concepts in Japanese., July 16, 1998

By A Customer

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.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally deserving of these 5 stars, January 4, 2000

By	Tim (Vancouver) - See all my reviews

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.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only one that..., March 23, 2006

By	Shinjitsu no Uta "writer, college student" (Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews

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

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.