Japanese: The Spoken Language, Part 1

by Eleanor Harz Jorden

"One of the most reliable classroom textbooks of Japanese for beginners."—Yoshiko Nakano, Language

This first book of The Spoken Language initiates a course in modern spoken Japanese that teaches current usage through drills and functional exchanges. The series is entirely romanized. Accompanying audio and video materials are available

Genres: Japan, Japanese Literature, Nonfiction, Reference, Textbooks, Linguistics, Academic

392 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 1987

Reviews

[Othy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think we're still making fun of how much this book sucked...There's nothing of kana in the entire book (it's all written in romanji) and that's painful when you have to read long Japanese words. Beyond that, I remember mocking it every day of college Freshman year, mostly because of the romanji, but also because the setup and explanations just didn't fit nor did they make sense. Go for something else if you're looking for a Japanese book. This one's a waste of your time.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE END OF MY LIFE IN ALL ITS SWEET GLORY

[Valerie]

This was the text for my first year of Japanese in college. Just a few of my thoughts on it:

The text sometimes comes across as dated, being about 25 years old.

While the JSL Romaji differs from Hepburn, it does have its advantages.

The explanations are very thorough, but I find them to be overwhelming and wordy. My professor did a much better job explaining the same concepts but breaking them down so that they were easier to grasp.

The vocabulary is very limited; for what is supposed to be a year's worth of study I would have liked to see a lot more.

It uses a series of "Core Conversations" and "Drills" to help students progress in speaking and listening. There is a software that should go along with the text, but it's about 15 years old and runs with an ancient version of Quick Time. I was able to use it on an older computer, but I honestly wish that I had not wasted my money on it. It's unfortunate because it really is a good program that goes hand in hand with the exercises in the book.

If you can use the drills with the software, a partner or a recording, they are very helpful in practicing your speech. In the end though, I personally would not recommend this text, especially for a self-learner.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not even sure what to write about this one. Jorden and Noda certainly took all the fun out of learning a new language with this series. The grammar explanations almsot required a BA in linguistics to comprehend and the romaji (the whole book is written in romaji) is a slightly tricky version-nihon shiki. Nihon shiki correlates more closely to the written language than Hepburn but for reasons beyond me, this book refuses to touch written language. This book is super dated - my guess is they're waiting for Jorden to die before they touch it again. The language you will learn to use is extrodinarily polite (useful if you're planning on working in an office or perhaps as an elevator operator) and very old fashioned. You will sound like a weird old lady from Kyoto if you use much of this language in daily conversations.

This book goes better with the DVD or CD that goes with it.

You can learn to speak Japanese well with this system but it's by far, the least fun of all the books and systems I've used.

[Anie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book (and the other two in the series) quite effective. The linguistic explanations are on the whole very accurate, and the drills and conversations were quite useful.

I do have to make two hedges. The first is that you will need some sort of additional text to deal with the written language; I would suggest either "Reading Japanese" or "Japanese: The Written Language" by the same authors, as those books are integrated with this one. The second is that this book might not be as effective for self-study learners; other reviewers have commented that it's less 'user-friendly'. It's certainly a dense textbook. However, it's a text designed for use in intensive courses, and it excels as such.

[Mary Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Steer clear of this one. Bought this on amazon- took one look and decided to sell it back immediately. Entirely in Romaji and using a transliteration that must be archaic because it looks to have more in common with pinyin than Japanese. As a higher intermediate Japanese learning i rest baffled- all the into to Japanese books I've come across have been entirely straightforward, especially those using romaji. At least it has a pretty cover.

[MrsQ]

This is a very commonly used book in Japanese courses, but I personally hate it. It's very focused on the audiolingual method of language learning and doesn't work for me. Other people seem to enjoy it but personally I prefer something more user-friendly like "Yokoso".

[Butsuri]

Japanese

[Kelly Lynn Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Textbook for my year 1 Japanese class at Pitt.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

While many may not agree, I believe this series to be way better than Minna no Nihongo.