An Introduction to Classical Japanese by Akira Komai; Thomas H. RohlichReview by: M. U.The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Apr., 1992), pp. 50-52Published by: American Association of Teachers of JapaneseStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/489446 .

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Volume 26, Number I Volume 26, Number I

after the symbols to which they apply). The statement that okurigana "literally means 'kana suffix"' (p. xv) should not have gotten past the editors. While "kana suffix" may be a serviceable English equivalent, it is hardly literal. The compound -f is given as an example with the reading shion and the definition "vowel" (p. xvi). The more usual reading is shiin, and the definition, of course, is "consonant." The date for the Ministry of Education issuing the Joyo kanji list is given as 1946 (p. xxvi), but this is the date for the T6yo kanji list. The Joyo kanji list went into effect in 1981, although it had been made public earlier.

To sum up, KCKG has certain obvious limitations, but it may meet the needs of some potential users adequately. Because its relative com- pactness is achieved by limiting coverage to the Joyo kanji, users who start to read any sort of advanced material will have to "graduate" to a dictionary with a considerably larger number of entry characters. For many intermediate students, however, KCKG may be an appropriate choice.

TEXTBOOK REVIEW BY QUESTIONNAIRE

AN INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL JAPANESE, by Akira Komai and Thomas H. Rohlich. Tokyo: Bonjinsha Company, 1991. Pp [8] + 261. Y3,900 (paper).

[The textbook review panelists whose responses are summarized below were S. Yumiko Hulvey, Laurel Rodd, and Karen Sandness. We are very grateful for their help in this experiment and apologize for any inaccuracies or omissions that may result from the attempt to summarize answers from differing view- points. Additional summaries of reviews by questionnaire will appear in the next issue of the Journal.]

The book is described in its authors' Preface as "a basic textbook for a beginning course in classical Japanese and at the same time ... a refer- ence for advanced students and readers," and again as "an introductory textbook, with emphasis on basic grammar." Students in the beginning course should have "a solid grasp of modern Japanese," acquired through perhaps three years of previous study. Since, in the authors' judgment, "the most troublesome difference between classical and mod- ern Japanese is in the morphological characteristics of inflecting words ... the major emphasis is placed on mastery of verbs, adjectives, and in-

after the symbols to which they apply). The statement that okurigana "literally means 'kana suffix"' (p. xv) should not have gotten past the editors. While "kana suffix" may be a serviceable English equivalent, it is hardly literal. The compound -f is given as an example with the reading shion and the definition "vowel" (p. xvi). The more usual reading is shiin, and the definition, of course, is "consonant." The date for the Ministry of Education issuing the Joyo kanji list is given as 1946 (p. xxvi), but this is the date for the T6yo kanji list. The Joyo kanji list went into effect in 1981, although it had been made public earlier.

To sum up, KCKG has certain obvious limitations, but it may meet the needs of some potential users adequately. Because its relative com- pactness is achieved by limiting coverage to the Joyo kanji, users who start to read any sort of advanced material will have to "graduate" to a dictionary with a considerably larger number of entry characters. For many intermediate students, however, KCKG may be an appropriate choice.

TEXTBOOK REVIEW BY QUESTIONNAIRE

AN INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL JAPANESE, by Akira Komai and Thomas H. Rohlich. Tokyo: Bonjinsha Company, 1991. Pp [8] + 261. Y3,900 (paper).

[The textbook review panelists whose responses are summarized below were S. Yumiko Hulvey, Laurel Rodd, and Karen Sandness. We are very grateful for their help in this experiment and apologize for any inaccuracies or omissions that may result from the attempt to summarize answers from differing view- points. Additional summaries of reviews by questionnaire will appear in the next issue of the Journal.]

The book is described in its authors' Preface as "a basic textbook for a beginning course in classical Japanese and at the same time ... a refer- ence for advanced students and readers," and again as "an introductory textbook, with emphasis on basic grammar." Students in the beginning course should have "a solid grasp of modern Japanese," acquired through perhaps three years of previous study. Since, in the authors' judgment, "the most troublesome difference between classical and mod- ern Japanese is in the morphological characteristics of inflecting words ... the major emphasis is placed on mastery of verbs, adjectives, and in-

50 50

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Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese

flecting suffixes." All reviewers agree that the book is well-organized; it begins with Japanese grammatical terminology, and proceeds, with some slight variations from tradition, through the verb types, adjec- tives, inflecting suffixes and non-inflecting particles. The reference ma- terial includes charts of conjugations, names of months and directions of the compass, and indexes to grammatical terms, vocabulary, and "homophorous" [sic] terms. Reviewers describe the coverage of the vol- ume "thorough," "most thorough of its type," providing a "good over- view," although one reviewer mentioned that there is no survey of honorific language as a whole, and another that, although coverage is full "when it comes to Heian language, [there is] little on forms unique to the Nara or chusei periods." (The authors, however, disclaim any intention to "cover all styles of premodern Japanese, or for that matter, any single style in its entirety.") Two of the three reviewers suggested that an appendix with keys to the exercises would make the book accessible for self-teaching. One reviewer would have liked a list of faux amis.

The book is a reworking of Professor Komai's earlier A Grammar of Classical Japanese (Culver Publishing Company, 1979), out of print and unobtainable for many years, and the material in it has evolved from his long experience in teaching classical Japanese. Believing that grammatical structure can be learned "efficiently by using vocabulary items with which the student is familiar, even if they are anachronis- tic," he uses for examples and homework exercises a large proportion of constructed sentences, along with very short authentic passages. Philo- sophical differences surfaced in the reviewers' comments on this prac- tice. One reviewer says, "Even after completing the book students will find authentic bungo rough going .... It would have been helpful to conclude the book with some hairy-looking passages from Genji and examples of how they can be broken into manageable chunks." Another writes of her "fear that students may graduate without ever having encountered authentic examples from the classical canon."

The strengths of the volume were described as the "very clear, com-

plete grammatical explanations," an abundance of exercises; also, in re-

gard to specific subjects, "tips on how to use the regular correspondences between classical and modern Japanese grammar and phonology to aid in understanding" and "hints on how to determine whether a causative or passive/potential is to be taken literally or interpreted as an honor- ific." One reviewer especially praised "the inclusion of grammatical terms in Japanese." Reviewers identified some typos (typesetters in

Japan managed to misspell not only "homophonous" but, in one instance, Professor Rohlich's name) and a few specific errors: the repeated gloss

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Volume 26, Number 1 Volume 26, Number 1

of shinuredo as shinda keredomo and the mis-identification of the tra- ditional Japanese months as equivalent to January, February, etc. All three reviewers thought the volume a bit pricey for a required student purchase, one noting sadly "Anything published in Japan is a strain on student pursestrings." All three noted that Helen Craig McCullough's Bungo Manual is much less expensive and one said that, viewed strictly as a reference, it is more convenient to use. M.U.

REVIEW FORUM

BASIC TECHNICAL JAPANESE, by Edward E. Daub, R. Byron Bird, and Nobuo Inoue. The University of Wisconsin Press; University of Tokyo Press, 1990. Pp. xii + individually paginated chapters. $35.

Reviewed by Kiyoko Morita

This assessment of Basic Technical Japanese is based on my experi- ence teaching the technical Japanese course at MIT during the summers of 1990 and 1991.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether linguists or scientists are better qualified to teach Japanese language dealing with technical matters. There are very few teachers who have both linguistic and technical backgrounds. It is therefore no easy task to write a textbook on technical Japanese, especially one that is suitable for students with varying backgrounds. This ambitious textbook is the first comprehen- sive text dealing solely with technical topics, i.e., science and engineer- ing. The authors know the audience and its needs well and are clearly focused on the goal of achieving reading proficiency. Each of the authors has a background in both the Japanese language and a scientific discipline. The tone and the layout of the book provide encouragement for the scientists and engineers who are often more concerned with the skills needed to stay abreast of rapidly changing technical information than with developing strong oral-aural skills.

The book proposes "to teach scientists and engineers with no previ- ous background in Japanese how to make accurate English translations of Japanese technical abstracts, research publications, and reference

of shinuredo as shinda keredomo and the mis-identification of the tra- ditional Japanese months as equivalent to January, February, etc. All three reviewers thought the volume a bit pricey for a required student purchase, one noting sadly "Anything published in Japan is a strain on student pursestrings." All three noted that Helen Craig McCullough's Bungo Manual is much less expensive and one said that, viewed strictly as a reference, it is more convenient to use. M.U.

REVIEW FORUM

BASIC TECHNICAL JAPANESE, by Edward E. Daub, R. Byron Bird, and Nobuo Inoue. The University of Wisconsin Press; University of Tokyo Press, 1990. Pp. xii + individually paginated chapters. $35.

Reviewed by Kiyoko Morita

This assessment of Basic Technical Japanese is based on my experi- ence teaching the technical Japanese course at MIT during the summers of 1990 and 1991.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether linguists or scientists are better qualified to teach Japanese language dealing with technical matters. There are very few teachers who have both linguistic and technical backgrounds. It is therefore no easy task to write a textbook on technical Japanese, especially one that is suitable for students with varying backgrounds. This ambitious textbook is the first comprehen- sive text dealing solely with technical topics, i.e., science and engineer- ing. The authors know the audience and its needs well and are clearly focused on the goal of achieving reading proficiency. Each of the authors has a background in both the Japanese language and a scientific discipline. The tone and the layout of the book provide encouragement for the scientists and engineers who are often more concerned with the skills needed to stay abreast of rapidly changing technical information than with developing strong oral-aural skills.

The book proposes "to teach scientists and engineers with no previ- ous background in Japanese how to make accurate English translations of Japanese technical abstracts, research publications, and reference

52 52

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