Chinese, Japanese, South (and North) Koreans in East Asia have a long, intertwined and distinguished cultural history and have achieved, or are in the process of achieving, spectacular economic success. Together, these three peoples make up one quarter of the world population.They use a variety of unique and fascinating writing systems: logographic Chinese characters of ancient origin, as well as phonetic systems of syllabaries and alphabets. The book describes, often in comparison with English, how the Chinese, Korean and Japanese writing systems originated and developed; how each relates to its spoken language; how it is learned or taught; how it can be computerized; and how it relates to the past and present literacy, education, and culture of its users.Intimately familiar with the three East Asian cultures, Insup Taylor with the assistance of Martin Taylor, has written an accessible and highly readable book. Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese is intended for academic readers (students in East Asian Studies, linguistics, education, psychology) as well as for the general public (parents, business, government). Readers of the book will learn about the interrelated cultural histories of China, Korea and Japan, but mainly about the various writing systems, some exotic, some familar, some simple, some complex, but all fascinating.

Essential Japanese Kanji uses a natural approach to learning the most basic kanji encountered in everyday situations in Japan. This new edition is packed with fun quizzes and useful exercises for those wishing to improve their Japanese ability. It has been repackaged in a more compact, value-for-money size while losing none of the content that has made it a long-selling favorite. Key features of Essential Japanese Kanji include: Introductory quizzes to introduce everyday situations in which the Kanji are used A vocabulary section to help you understand the readings and meanings of each Kanji New character charts presenting all the Kanji clearly and systematically Definitions, readings, stroke orders and compounds for each character Practice sections help you to improve your skills Advanced Placement Exam practice questions follow the format of the College Board exam Everyday tasks like finding a street address or buying a train ticket in Japan require a basic working knowledge of kanji--the Japanese system of writing based on Chinese characters. Essential Japanese Kanji, teaches you the kanji you'll need in everyday situations in lessons prepared by teachers from the prestigious University of Tokyo.

This is an invaluable study guide for learning Japanese characters. The major struggle facing all beginning Japanese language students is to learn to recognize, read and write hundreds of Japanese characters. The Second 100 Japanese Kanji adopts a structural approach that helps students to overcome the initial difficulty of reading kanji and writing kanji and quickly master the basic Japanese characters that are fundamental to this language. This beginner kanji guide is intended for beginning students and teaches characters that have been carefully selected and sequenced for rapid and effective learning. Each kanji is shown separately on a single page, along with its different readings, its English meanings, romaji (romanization), a stroke-order guide and ample space for writing practice. This book includes: Step-by-step stroke order diagrams for each character. Special boxes with grid lines to practice writing characters. Words and phrases using each kanji. Romanizations (romanji) to help identify and pronounce every word.

"This is the best kanji book available today. Designed for beginners with a basic knowledge of Japanese to use in the classroom or for self-study."--Modern Language Journal Everyday tasks like finding a street address or buying a train ticket can be an ordeal in Japan if you don't read kanji-the system of Japanese writing based on Chinese characters. Unfortunately, the kanji characters taught in most textbooks are not always those that you'll encounter in everyday situations. To fill this gap, a group of teachers from the prestigious University of Tokyo have pooled their talents to create 250 Essential Japanese Kanji Characters in two volumes: a practical way to learn the kanji most frequently used in daily life in Japan. Each lesson helps you master a new group of kanji, using an extremely effective approach that focuses on you, the learner, taking an active part. Introductory Quizzes introduce everyday situations where you encounter kanji. Vocabulary sections help you understand the readings and meanings of the kanji. New Character Charts teach you new kanji systematically—for each character you'll learn its meanings, its basic on-kun readings, its stroke order, common compounds, and derivations. Practice sections help you improve your skills in recognizing and using the kanji. Advanced Placement Exam Practice Questions for each lesson follow the format of the College Boards Japanese Language and Culture examination. You'll also encounter authentic and practical materials that help you understand how kanji are used in real-life situations. Emails and texts, choosing the best dictionary in a library, understanding the weather report, navigating floors in a Tokyo department store--all are easier when you know kanji. After studying this book together with its companion 250 Essential Japanese Characters, Volume 1 you will have learned 500 of the most important characters in Japanese and thousands of words in which they appear.

Essential Japanese Kanji, Volume 2 is an easy approach to learning the most basic kanji encountered in everyday situations in Japan. This new edition Packed with fun quizzes and useful exercises and has been repackaged in a more compact, value-for-money size while losing none of the content that has made it a long-selling favorite. Key features of Essential Japanese Kanji include: Introductory quizzes to introduce everyday situations in which the Kanji are used A vocabulary section to help you understand the readings and meanings of each Kanji New character charts presenting all the Kanji clearly and systematically Definitions, readings, stroke orders and compounds for each character Practice sections help you to improve your skills Advanced Placement Exam practice questions follow the format of the College Board exam Everyday tasks like finding a street address or buying a train ticket in Japan require a basic working knowledge of kanji--the Japanese system of writing based on Chinese characters. Essential Japanese Kanji, teaches you the kanji you'll actually need in everyday situations in lessons prepared by teachers from the prestigious University of Tokyo.

This is the first book devoted to exploring issues of learning written Japanese, focusing on the challenges the writing system poses for the second language learner. It weaves together previous research on Japanese second language acquisition and kanji learning with original studies on self-regulation and kanji learning strategies. It provides the most comprehensive overview of the Japanese writing system and kanji learning to date; helps further our understanding of second language writing acquisition and offers new directions for research in the wider fields of language learning strategies, motivation and self-regulation. Each chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of the content of the chapter for the Japanese language learner, instructor and researcher. It will appeal to researchers of the teaching and learning of Japanese as a foreign/second language, the Japanese writing system and second language acquisition, as well as to instructors and learners of Japanese who are struggling with the teaching and learning of kanji.

In the fourth century A.D., through contact with Korea, Japan adopted the Chinese writing system which had been sweeping through Asia along with the newBuddhist religion. Modern Japanese writing uses three main scripts: kanji (Chineseideograms), which are used for proper names, for nouns, and for verb roots; hiragana(deriving from the terms hira, common, and kana borrowed character), used for adding to and distinguishing from sequences of Japanese grammar; and katakana (from kata, part, and kana, borrowed character or rather, partially borrowed character), which is used to denote foreign pronunciations or to write terms borrowed from foreign languages. With large depictions and clear step-by-step instructions, Mandel illustrates all 48 sounds in Japanese, presented in the traditional iroha order, in hiragana, katakana, and kanji forms, and each entry is accompanied with its roma-ji, orRoman phonetic spelling. The author clearly indicates the correct sequence for writing the individual strokes, and provides each kana, or character, with theChinese kanji from which it was derived. He relates a concise history of Japanese writing, and provides the reader with charts of the Japanese and Chinese numbers, the hiragana and katakana contractions, and the keys or radicals that make up the Japanese kanji. A comprehensive guide to all of the characters of the Japanese alphabet, this is an ideal primer for the beginner, as well as a convenient reference for a more advanced student. Joining Abbeville's Chinese Calligraphy, Maya Script, and Arabic Script, Japanese Alphabet is an exhaustive compendium of the Japanese writing system and indispensable addition to any Japanese linguist's library.

* A useful bilingual guide for beginning to learn Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy) * Easy and simple instruction in English and Japanese for Kaisho (Square Style), Gyosho (Semi-Cursive Style), and Kana (Japanese Syllabary) calligraphy

Nominated for the Glenfiddich Food Book of the Year Award, this timeless volume is the first and only book of its kind on the subject. A Dictionary of Japanese Food helps food lovers around the world decipher the intricacies and nuances of Japanese cooking and its ingredients. Definitions in ordinary cookbooks and standard dictionaries--such as akebia for akebi, sea cucumber for namako, plum for ume--can be inadequate, misleading, or just plain wrong. Richard Hoskings eliminates the mystery by ensuring that each entry in the Japanese-English section includes the Japanese term in Roman script; the term in kana or kanji or both; a Latin name where appropriate; an English definition; and, for most entries, a short annotation. The English-Japanese section defines important English food terms in Japanese and annotates those needing explanation. One hundred small line drawings make it easy for readers to identify everything from mitsuba to the okoze fish, and seventeen appendices address the most critical elements of Japanese cuisine, from the making of miso and the structure of the Japanese meal to the tea ceremony. Newly typeset and featuring a fascinating and informative new foreword by Japanese cookbook author Debra Samuel, A Dictionary of Japanese Food will continue to help both food lovers and visitors to Japan discover the wonders of one of the world's great cuisines.