しあわせ

Naoko Chino, (Kondansha International)

Another small book by Naoka Chino.

This one gives formulae for sentence construction. At its most simple this is Noun1 は Noun2 です。Noun1 is Noun2. Insert your own nouns and make lots of sentences. As there are 50 patterns some of them can get fairly complicated. But usage is explained, variations are pointed out and lots of examples are given, of polite and informal speech and of male and female speech.

I don’t really think about how my sentences are structured in English, they just happen. Usually they sound ok and I hope they make sense but I’ve had years of practice. I think I’d find it hard to parse them. (Even then I’d probably rely more on the Latin and French I know). Japanese sentences are different (and new to me) so it’s very useful to have such clear examples of how to construct them specifically made so that I can reuse them to say what I want.

Naoko Chino, (Kondansha International)

This is a small book describing 69 different particles.

The entries are roughly in order of how frequent they appear in speech and are loosely grouped by usage. Each entry lists the different usages of a particle and gives clear examples. Different usage by men and women is also given.

As verbs, nouns and adjectives are relatively straightforward perhaps particles (and counters) are the difficult part of Japanese that requires study. They usually aren’t listed in dictionaries in a way that will help you use them. For example my starter dictionary has 2 pages of a quick overview of 17 particles with no examples. よ is given as adding emphasis to a statement. Compare that to the 4 usages and 8 examples of a page and a half in this book.

by AJTS

THE textbook. Its probably best to bite the bullet and get the kana version from the start.
Recently, AJTS has revised this series of textbooks, so it’s best to look for the 3rd edition. They now integrate more workbook content and come with a CD of all the dialogues. The structure of the course is also better with 4 chapters comprising a Unit based around a single theme.

My only complaint would be that Biji-san has gone and the drawings have lost a little of their humour as a result.

by Wayne P. Lammers, (Stone bridge Press)

This has it’s origions in Basic Japanese Through Comics above. However this time it is a more structured and comprehensive course on grammer and usage than before. It can be followed as a course in Japanese, however it is probably more difficult than a standard text like Japanese for Busy People. I think it is better as a way of reinforcing and expanding what you have learnt in class. It uses kanji as well as romaji and all the examples are from Manga. However there are no other reading excercises or comprehension tests.

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by Mangajin

Two books comprising a series of 24 articles from the now defunct magazine Mangajin. Each article covers a word or phrase such as どうも、どうぞ、すみません、or はい。Using manga to illustrate their points they go through various nuances of the word or phrase. Each dialog is presented in kana and kanji, romaji, a literal translation and an English translation. It is also scored from 1 to 4 for politeness, 1 being rude and abrupt. 4 being very formal.

These are very interesting books and can be dipped into rather than used as a textbook starting at the beginning and pressing on to the end.

Oxford University Press

All the key points of Japanese Grammar in one small book.

Verbs, adjectives, particles, counters and polite forms to name a few. It has many examples of usage and clear and concise explanations. There are also tables of verb forms to allow you to conjugate verbs.