AboutDreams Expertise I have been teaching myself the language for the past seven years, having consistent practice with Japanese materials. I can help translate things from English to Japanese or vice versa. I can also help you get started if you're planning on taking up the language. =) I'm most familiar with things like anime, manga, J-pop, games and so on.
Experience I began learning the language in 1999. I frequently talk with penpals and natives in Japan, as well as continually keep up practicing with authentic Japanese materials.
my name is Angela and I'm really interested in learning Japanese Language and Culture. Can you suggest some of the books or websites that I can take advantage of? I would really appreciate it if they are designed with a mix of English or Chinese explanations.
Thanks a lot
Answer Hello,
I can give you many books and websites to learn from, but unfortunetly I don't know any that use a mix of English and Chinese.
The first grammar book I started using was "Teach Yourself Japanese" by Helen Ballhatchet and Stefan Kaiser. You can either get the book, or the book plus audio CDs. It covers a good deal of Japanese grammar, is easy to understand, and uses roomaji so that you can move ahead with the spoken language quickly. It also has sections that talk about culture, but the book primarily focuses on teaching the language.
The book "Japanese Culture" by H. Paul Varley is a good place to start for learning about the culture. It's not some overwhelming textbook, and gives you interesting & valuable information about Japan.
For learning kanji and kana, "Kanji & Kana" by Mark Spahn and Wolfgang Hadamitzky is a good book to use. It talks about the origin of the written language, gives the entire 1,945 character list of jouyou kanji (what you need to learn to be considered literate in Japan), and even teaches you punctuation and so on. It also, of course, teaches you hiragana & katakana.
Another great resource for learning kana is the website www.kanachart.com. Very cute! Many people learn kana (and kanji) by making up flashcards, so that's something to keep in mind when learning.
If you're going to learn vocab or do translations on your own, Random House has good Japanese-English dictionaries. They have roomaji and kana/kanji for every entry, so you can learn both by looking up words.
Another great online kanji dictionary is Kiki's Kanji Dictionary (http://www.nuthatch.com/kanji/). Again, you must be able to read kana to fully use it, but it has the option to browse all kanji at once, in order by radical. When you really begin to get into the written language, it'll be a powerful and helpful tool for you.
There are a couple more dictionary links you can file away for when you reach an advanced level in Japanese - Goo Dictionary (http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp) is an online Japanese dictionary. Oftentimes it comes in handy for weird words I stumble across. It's completely in Japanese, though. Space Alc (http://www.alc.co.jp) is one of the most useful links out there. You can search either Japanese or English, and it will return with definitions, phrases, and examples. Useful for looking up words and figuring out grammar patterns!
For learning the language online, there are several useful sites:
I also highly recommend getting a Japanese penpal if you're interested in the language and culture. You can find them for free on this website: http://www.japan-guide.com/local/jp/?aCAT=2 (www.japan-guide.com also has an excellent language forum).
Just remember to set aside time every day, if possible, to learn the language. Practice often! And most importantly, have fun with it. :)
