Books that will help me learn the japanese language?

LeJosh · 3 Mar 2010 at 20:42

Can any of you recommend a book that will kick start me off into learning the language from beginner to intermediate then advanced? I can't goto study at it a dedicated college/uni right now.

I don't mind if it spans over multiple volumes as long as it is highly regarded.

jp_bl_68 · 3 Mar 2010 at 20:50

Try Japanese for Busy People.

memyselfandi · 3 Mar 2010 at 21:18

Have a read around online on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test if you are serious about it. There should be recommendations and information on that should give you pointers on which books to look at.

Another place to start could be http://www.jlptstudy.com/

LeJosh · 3 Mar 2010 at 23:25

jp_bl_68 said:
Try Japanese for Busy People.

I did see that also the japanese for college students. Which of the two I don't know is better.

memyselfandi said:
Have a read around online on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test if you are serious about it. There should be recommendations and information on that should give you pointers on which books to look at.

Another place to start could be http://www.jlptstudy.com/

I am, I've been wanting to learn for years. Now is the right time as I'm not as busy any more.

Thank you both I'll check both suggestions.

jp_bl_68 · 3 Mar 2010 at 23:45

I tried learning Japanese a few years ago. It was a beginners class taught by one of the professors at the university I was attending and Japanese For Busy People (I think there's a beginners edition, I'll try to find it) was the text book we used. There's also an audio tape to accompany the book.

LeJosh · 3 Mar 2010 at 23:50

How did you find it?

If you can recall.

jp_bl_68 · 4 Mar 2010 at 00:02

I enjoyed it. The book was useful but I think having a Japanese teacher made all the difference. Tomorrow I'll dig out the book and scan a few pages, give you an idea of what it's like. I'd recommend getting some audio books or podcasts (the BBC might have some, not sure) to help with pronunciation. There's also Rosetta Stone (very expensive) and a few apps for the DS and the iPhone/iPod Touch that might be helpful.

LeJosh · 4 Mar 2010 at 00:05

Oh applications for the DS? I suppose DSi because of it's SD card compatibility? I have one. So that's good. I'll hunt down audio books, I don't know any names though.

jp_bl_68 · 4 Mar 2010 at 00:16

I'm pretty sure there are some free podcasts somewhere, I remember reading a thread about language podcasts a few months ago. Some links that might prove useful.

LeJosh · 4 Mar 2010 at 00:44

This is all great, thanks jp.

IceBus · 4 Mar 2010 at 00:45

Japanese for Busy People is alright, but it's a bit business focused, which you may find a little boring and tedious. The best tip I can give you is to learn to read/write as quickly as possible, because the quicker you get off Romanji (writing Japanese words phonetically in English) the better your speaking and comprehension will be as it seems to help cordon off the 'Japanese' part of your brain and aid faster learning.

The best advice I can give is to try and keep it interesting, practice speaking as much as you can and don't get disheartened

LeJosh · 4 Mar 2010 at 00:56

I was prepared to just dive into the first 100 kanji symbols. Not sure I would like writing romanji but it will be necessity for pronunciation. Which I'm great at, modest me.

memyselfandi · 4 Mar 2010 at 07:51

jp_bl_68 said:
I'm pretty sure there are some free podcasts somewhere, I remember reading a thread about language podcasts a few months ago. Some links that might prove useful.

The JapanesePro101 podcasts seemed quite good to be when I looked a while ago. The podcasts were free but you had to pay if you wanted additional material which went with them.

IceBus · 4 Mar 2010 at 12:34

LeJosh said:
I was prepared to just dive into the first 100 kanji symbols. Not sure I would like writing romanji but it will be necessity for pronunciation. Which I'm great at, modest me.

I'd probably start off learning katakana or hiragana, rather than kanji - as Kanji is a lot bigger mountain to climb (circa 32,000+) and you can get by as a beginner with katana and hiragana

jp_bl_68 · 4 Mar 2010 at 12:39

IceBus said:
I'd probably start off learning katakana or hiragana, rather than kanji - as Kanji is a lot bigger mountain to climb (circa 32,000+) and you can get by as a beginner with katana and hiragana

I agree, katakana is what we were advised to start with.

jp_bl_68 · 4 Mar 2010 at 15:32

Contents p1
Contents p2

Introduction p1
Introduction p2
Introduction p3
Introduction p4
Introduction p5
Introduction p6
Introduction p7

Lesson 7 - Going By Taxi (p1)
Lesson 7 - Going By Taxi (p2)
Lesson 7 - Going By Taxi (p3)
Lesson 7 - Going By Taxi (p4)
Lesson 7 - Going By Taxi (p5)

Most of the chapters are structured in exactly the same way as Lesson 7.

LeJosh · 4 Mar 2010 at 16:45

Right, I've only ever heard of kanji.

What is katakana?

Going by level 4 JLPT you only need to learn 104 and I thought that was a good stepping stone and the guy who did the website recommended flash cards which did look good.

Those scans are great jp, thank you. I might invest in it. Doesn't need to be flashy. God I've managed to get through a lot of a server 2008 book.

jp_bl_68 · 4 Mar 2010 at 17:33

LeJosh said:
Right, I've only ever heard of kanji. What is katakana?

I think it's phonetic Japanese.

IceBus · 4 Mar 2010 at 17:36

Katakana are basically phonetic characters. So rather than using the single kanji character for water, you would write it using the two katakana characters that 'spell' that word out - mi+zu = mizu. There are five characters for every consonant/sound - i.e. ma, mi, me, mu, mo etc.

Hiragana are exactly the same principal, but are used for words non-Japanese in origin.

LeJosh · 4 Mar 2010 at 17:37

I see. That sounds more complicated!