Tofugu.com – Wonky Japanese Language and Culture

Over the next month, I will be reviewing some of the mainstream Japanese text books that are currently being used by Japanese language learners; from there I will move on to reviewing programs that use technology to teach Japanese (such as Japanesepod and Rosetta). Why am I doing this, you ask? Well, it’s pretty big chunk of my senior thesis (which is on Japanese pedagogy). I’ll fill you in on the details later, but for now, let’s get started with this review.

I spent a couple of hours going through Genki I. I would summarize the book for you, but I think they do a much better job: “Aim and Purpose: Genki, An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese is a textbook for beginners in the study of the Japanese language. Students can complete the elementary-level study of Japanese in the 23 lessons of this text, which is divided into two volumes. The book is designed maily for use in university and college courses, but it is also effective for high school students and adults who are beginning to learn Japanese either at school or on their own.”

Overall, I was very impressed with this textbook. I don’t remember what text I used when I first started learning Japanese, but it certainly wasn’t as swanky as this one (swanky is a good thing). I can see why so many Japanese classrooms use this as their only textbook. It has good flow, it does well building lessons on top of each other, and it always gives you just enough information to get you thinking a little bit (good for weeding out the people who only think they want to learn Japanese, but are actually just lazy).

Still, there were a few pitfalls. To find out what they are, and to find out if this Japanese textbook is right for you, click on, my friend, click on. Read more…

It seems as though bushido, i.e. “the way of the warrior,” is getting pretty popular amongst several (mostly otaku) groups in Japan. Not only are people speaking like Samurai – using Samurai grammar, vocabulary, etc., but people are starting to “act like them” as well.

Here’s a quote from Japan’s Weekly Playboy (2/18):

“Samurai are supposed to be strong, quiet types, right? So they sit there with their arms folded, saying nothing. After about an hour, they’ll come over and pay, handing out their cash without showing their wallets. A modern wallet wouldn’t match their image. The otaku girls in (the Tokyo shopping district of) Akihabara really like these guys.”

Supposedly, a lot of Japanese are trying to return to their roots; trying to regain that “Japanese uniqueness.” Samurai movies, video games, and comics are currently very popular. More people are wearing kimonos out in public. Even a new magazine devoted solely to the concept of bushido came out at the beginning of this year. Although I’m not sure if this fad is to last, or make any impression on normal Japanese language, I thought that it would be fun to learn a little bit of Samurai lingo just in case. So, if you want to impress your Japanese friends (or give them something to laugh about), click on, friend, click on. Read more…