Conversational Japanese: The Right Word At The Right Time

This book is a user–friendly language guide for basic spoken Japanese.

More than a phrase book, Conversational Japanese provides basic material for practical day-to-day communication. Through hundreds of example sentences and dialogs, as well as thorough explanations of the customs involved, learners will know what to say and do when:

• Meeting new people.
• Reserving a hotel room.
• Buying a train ticket.
• Offering a gift.
• Writing email, business letters, cards and thank-you notes.

This book is about communication. As we all know communication is more than just language. Our body language is just as important, as we all brng a host of personal and cultural baggage to each conversation we have. To communicate successfully in another culture and speak Japanese we need more than the bare bones of the language. We need to understand the given norms of that society, how people interact, how things work, what the system is, how to navigate and manipulate those systems—in short, how to use the language in context. This book aims to prepare you for situations you are likely to find yourself in if you go to Japan to visit or to work. Every chapter starts with a short introduction giving background knowledge for that topic; then there are dialogues based on real–life situations which give you you the words and phrases you need to manage a wide range of daily tasks from getting on with the neighbors, to buying a phone, shopping on the internet, sightseeing, visiting clients or giving a speech.

This is not a programmed language course; rather it is aimed at people who have taken such a course or have otherwise mastered the basics of the language, though even beginners picking up this book will gain confidence and proficiency in interacting with the Japanese in many ordinary situations. This book fills a gap, is interesting and fun to read, and serves as a stimulus to further study. The Japanese language is kept simple and clear and strikes a balance between Japanese textbook language and colloquial Japanese language. Real life Japanese conversations are untidy and elliptical. Unlike most language books, Conversational Japanese does not restrict the use of kanji (Chinese characters), and the sentences are written in the usual Japanese combination of kana (hiragana and katakana) and kanji. Since learning kanji is a difficult task, Conversational Japanese includes romanji (Romanized Japanese) for each word or phrase. As you progress, using kanji and kana will become easier to remember and you should be able to pick up new kanji over time. Soon you your abilities to speak Japanese, comprehend Japanese, read Japanese and write Japanese will be improved.