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Colloquial Japanese: A Complete Language Course (Colloquial Series)
by H.D.B. Clarke, Motoko Hamamura
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Routledge (1990-12)
ISBN: 0415045444
EAN: 9780415045445
Dewy Decimal #: 495.683421
Paperback: 344 pages
Edition: New Ed
SKU: B340-1133
Condition: As New
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Customer Reviews
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No Japanese script as per other editions
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-06-27
For those who have Looked-Inside other editions etc. please note this edition,or at least the one I got, does not contain any Japanese script except a Katakana/Hiragana tables in the appendix) - probably best check with the seller before buying is this important to you
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Clear, concise and easy to read
Rating (4)
Date: 2002-05-24
3 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
Divided into the traditional lesson format the book introduces particles and conjugations at a steady rate in the form of short conversations, first in Japanese and then in English. Unlike many other books that seem to take an ad-hoc approach it then takes the time to clarify issues of construction, context and meaning of what has just been introduce and this is a major strength. Rather than making assumptions about what the reader does or doesn't know, the organised format gives you the confidence that if you don't understand something, clarification will be where you expect it to be rather than forcing you to flick through or refer to anything other than a good dictionary. Each lesson then goes on to review vocabulary and then a couple of pages of exercises which may or may not cover all topics just introduced but will rely to a degree, on content of previous lessons to make sure you can tie things together. Exercises also include a number of basic translations in both directions to ensure context is understood.
Although it doesn't venture into informal Japanese as much as the name might suggest it is well laid out, methodical and organised, generally clear, and doesn't often leave you infuriated by introducing some grammatical form or contextual usage that it then omits to explain.
It's not an epic assault on the senses, there are a lot of Japanese lesson books out there that try to teach by presenting information with lots of graphics and changes in presentation, but by constantly changing the focus, generally seem to detract from the point. This book relies on words laid out in a familiar, easy to read and concise way.
If you don't know any Japanese you'll need a more basic book to introduce you, like Elizabeth Smiths Instant Japanese but this will take you a lot further.
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