Making Sense of Japanese Grammar explains in a lively and highly informative manner basic principles that underlie a wide range of phenomena in Japanese. Students--irrespective of proficiency level and linguistic training--will find clarification on matters of grammar that often seem idiosyncratic and Japanese-specific, such as avoiding the use of certain pronouns, employing the same word order for questions, hidden subjects, polite and direct forms. Organized for easy access and readability, Making Sense of Japanese Grammar consists of short units, each focused on explaining a distinct problem and illustrated with a wealth of examples. To further enhance their usefulness, the units are cross-referenced and contain brief comprehension exercises to test and apply newly acquired knowledge. A glossary and keys to the exercises are at the back of the book. This volume may be used as a supplementary classroom reading or a helpful reference for students of all levels. Both students and instructors, even those trained in linguistics, will find its accessible explanations of grammatical concepts helpful. Grounded in sound scholarship and extensive teaching experience, Making Sense of Japanese Grammar brings a fresh and liberating perspective to the study of Japanese.

Making Sense of Japanese is the fruit of one foolhardy American's thirty-year struggle to learn and teach the Language of the Infinite. Previously known as Gone Fishin', this book has brought Jay Rubin more feedback than any of his literary translations or scholarly tomes, "even if," he says, "you discount the hate mail from spin-casters and the stray gill-netter." To convey his conviction that "the Japanese language is not vague," Rubin has dared to explain how some of the most challenging Japanese grammatical forms work in terms of everyday English. Reached recently at a recuperative center in the hills north of Kyoto, Rubin declared, "I'm still pretty sure that Japanese is not vague. Or at least, it's not as vague as it used to be. Probably." The notorious "subjectless sentence" of Japanese comes under close scrutiny in Part One. A sentence can't be a sentence without a subject, so even in cases where the subject seems to be lost or hiding, the author provides the tools to help you find it. Some attention is paid as well to the rest of the sentence, known technically to grammarians as "the rest of the sentence." Part Two tackles a number of expressions that have baffled students of Japanese over the decades, and concludes with Rubin's patented technique of analyzing upside-down Japanese sentences right-side up, which, he claims, is "far more restful" than the traditional way, inside-out. "The scholar," according to the great Japanese novelist Soseki Natsume, is "one who specializes in making the comprehensible incomprehensible." Despite his best scholarly efforts, Rubin seems to have done just the opposite. Previously published in the Power Japanese series under the same title and originally as Gone Fishin' in the same series.

"Every student of Japanese-and perhaps more importantly, every teacher of Japanese-should read this small book." "Is there a dark conspiracy among schools and textbooks to make Japanese seem far more complicated than it really is? Of course not. But there might as well be." So begins this ground-breaking book that sets out to demonstrate that Japanese is "simple, logical and beautiful" and that most of the apparently "arbitrary rules" that you "just have to learn" can be reduced to simple, easily intuitive patterns if you just understand how the language really works. The problem is that Japanese is continually described in terms that fit English and other European languages. This prevents us from seeing Japanese as it really is and often creates a sense of vagueness and guesswork and the illusion of multiple irregularities and exceptions. In fact, there is nothing vague about Japanese, and it has (unlike most languages) very few irregularities. It is extremely precise, economical and elegant. What is needed is a model that allows us to see Japanese on its own terms rather than trying to describe it in terms of European languages - an enterprise akin to doing electronics with a kitchen knife. Building on the pioneering work of Dr. Jay Rubin, Cure Dolly provides the foundation of a new model for understanding Japanese. One that does not involve difficult terminology or abstruse concepts, but allows us to see Japanese in easy, commonsense terms. An ambitious claim? The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Applying Cure Dolly's methods, we do indeed gain a clear, intuitive grasp of many things that seemed complex or confusing before. This is not a massive tome, but a short book, whose aim is not to deliver hundreds of Japanese grammatical fish, but to show the reader how to fish for herself. It is not aimed at the absolute beginner. The reader should know at least a little basic grammar. But arming oneself with these concepts at an early stage in Japanese will make everything much easier. However, even advanced students can benefit from these eye-opening techniques that really do help to unlock the simple elegance of Japanese. Cure Dolly is co-founder and editor of the KawaJapa Japanese-learning website.

Starting at the very basics and working its way up to important language constructions, "An introduction to Japanese" offers beginning students, as well as those doing self-study, a comprehensive grammar for the Japanese language. Oriented towards the serious learner, there are no shortcuts in this book: no romanised Japanese for ease of reading beyond the introduction, no pretending that Japanese grammar maps perfectly to English grammar, and no simplified terminology. In return, this book explains Japanese the way one may find it taught at universities, covering everything from basic to intermediary Japanese, and even touching on some of the more advanced constructions.

My guide to Japanese grammar has been helping people learn Japanese as it's really spoken in Japan for many years. If you find yourself frustrated that you can't understand Japanese movies or books despite having taken Japanese classes, then this book is for you. It will help you finally understand those pesky particles and break down grammatical concepts that will allow you to comprehend anything from simple to very complex sentences. You will also learn Japanese that's spoken by real people including casual speech patterns and slang, stuff that's often left out in most textbooks. Don't take my word for it, just check out my website and order this book to have it handy wherever you go.

A "real manga, real Japanese" study guide and resource for language students and teachers

A complete reference guide to modern Japanese grammar, it fills many gaps left by previous textbooks. Grammar points are put in context by examples from a range of Japanese media. Arranged alphabetically, it includes a detailed index of terms.

A great story can lead a reader on a journey of discovery—especially if it's presented in two languages! Beautifully illustrated in a traditional style, Japanese Stories for Language Learners offers five compelling stories with English and Japanese language versions appearing on facing pages. Taking learners on an exciting cultural and linguistic journey, each story is followed by detailed translator's notes, Japanese vocabulary lists, and grammar points along with a set of discussion questions and exercises. The first two stories are very famous traditional Japanese folktales: Urashima Taro (Tale of a Fisherman) and Yuki Onna (The Snow Woman). These are followed by three short stories by notable 20th century authors: Kumo no Ito (The Spider's Thread) by Akutagawa Ryunosuke (1892-1927) Oborekaketa Kyodai (The Siblings Who Almost Drowned) by Arishima Takeo (1878-1923) Serohiki no Goshu (Gauche the Cellist) by Miyazawa Kenji (1896-1933) Reading these stories in the original Japanese script--and hearing native-speakers read them aloud in the accompanying free audio recording--helps students at every level deepen their comprehension of the beauty and subtlety of the Japanese language. Learn Japanese the fun way—through the country's rich literary history.