CONVERSATIONAL - JAPANESE ILLUSTRATED Intended for self-study and for use in schools With a Simplified System of Phonetic Pronunciation By RICHARD D. ABRAHAM, Ph.D. MARTIN COLLEGE and SANNOSUKE YAMAMOTO An Owl Book HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY New YorkCopyright © 1950, 1956, 1963 by Cortina Learning International, inc. All Rights Reserved ‘This material is fully protected under the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention. It is specifically Prohibited to reproduce this publication in any form whatsoever, including sound recording, photocopying, or by use of any other electronic reproducing, transmitting or retrieval system. Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent provided by law. Cataloging Information Cortina Method Conversational Japanese, intended for self-study and for use in schools, with a simplified system of pronunciation, by Richard D. Abraham and Sannosuke Yamamoto. New York, R.D. Cortina Co., 1980. 48 p. 22cm. 1. Japanese language—Conversation and phrase books. 1. Yamamoto, Sannosuke, joint author. Il. Title. III. Title: Conversational Japanese. PLS39.A5 1956 495.6242 56-58507 ISBN 0-8327-0009-6 (hardbound) ISBN 0-8327-0016-1 (paperback) Printed in the United States of America HH Editions 987654321 *9009-5PREFACE There are many reasons why a practical knowledge of Japanese is both desirable and profitable for forward-looking Americans. During the postwar years the United States has developed far deeper political, economic, cultural and emotional ties with Japan than ever before in the history of our two countries. It is certain that American influence with the Japanese people will continue to be enormous for many years to come. Japan at present is undergoing tremendous changes in her economic life. Since the war there has been a striking shift from low-quality, mass-produced goods to new industries manufacturing outstanding precision instruments, fine optical tools and solid household articles. America has played a prominent part in the development of these new and improved industries and will continue in a vital role, supplying a flow of trained people ‘as well as equipment to Japan. Naturally, such high-quality products will find their place in American markets, providing new profitable contacts for enterprising Americans. The economic and military conditions make it necessary for many Americans to live in or visit Japan. These contacts will have far-reaching effects in coming years, and it is clear that mutual understanding in these areas will be speeded up by a knowledge of each other’s language. Nothing engenders confidence and respect so much as being able to converse with people in their own language. And naturally, the atmosphere thus created will make the American’s stay in Japan more profitable, interesting and pleasant. Those who have a knowledge of the language are the best ambassadors for the United States in this important country. Last, but not least, Japan offers enchantment, to the American tourist, with a variety of exotic scenery, quaint customs, fascinating local color in architecture, clothing, sculpture, religious habits, festivals and picturesque markets. Good hotel accommodations, delicious food, and meticulous service as only found in the Orient are all available at very low cost. And with a knowledge of Japanese you are free to travel to intriguing places that the ordinary tourist never sees. All these are good reasons for studying Japanese, and the Corlina Method makes the study easy for you. The interesting lessons consist of normal, everyday conversations and a wealth of useful expressions. The exercises are based on the conversations and make you familiar with a wide variety of words and forms. Language is habit! We are constantly expressing thoughts and ideas in speech, from habit, without paying attention to the words, phrases or idioms we use. When we say “How do you do?”, “I’ve had e, wonderful trip,” “All right, let’s go,” we do so spontane- ously. We are merely repeating a speech pattern that we have used so many times before that it has become automatic. Repetition, therefore, is the basis of language learning, and this is exactly the idea underlying ‘the Cortina Method: to utilize the student’s native language ability in the mastery of basic language patterns used in everyday topics, which the student absorbs and which encourage him to learn much faster than he would otherwise. The words are put to use right from the beginning, adding color and excitement to the lessons and engrossing the student's attention. ‘The lessons may be studied with little or no reference to grammar. However, a practical and easy-to-understand grammar is provided, which is tied closely to the lessons, for those who wish to use it. For students wishing to accelerate their progress and master spoken Japanese in theiv Preface to Second Edition easiest possible way, the Cortina Academy has recorded the Japanese text of this book. ‘The vocabularies and conversations are spoken by native Japanese instructors whose voices have been chosen for their excellence of pronunciation and scent, clarity of speech and pleasing tonal quality. In classroom study too, the phonograph method of learning languages (originated by Cortina) has been found an invaluable aid to both student and teacher for oral practice and ear training.INTRODUCTION ‘The lessons and exercises of this book provide the essential conversation for every-day living and at the same time progressively teach the basic features of Japanese speech. The book is divided into the following sections: Record Text, Exercises, Grammar, Japanese- English Dictionary and English-Japanese Dictionary. The Grammar is both functional and systematic. As each new point appears, there is a superimposed number in the record text which indicates the section of the Grammar where that topic is discussed. The student may, if he likes, read the entire topic, but many will prefer to study only as much of the grammar topic as may be necessary to understand the particular sentence or phrase of the record text. In later lessons the student will in most cases be referred to this same topic again, and after reviewing the first part, he will continue reading more of the topic until he understands the further development of the point in question. In the Grammar after the examples quoted, there usually appears in parenthesis 8 roman numeral indicating the record and an arabic numeral indicating: the line where that example occurs. Thus, points of grammar are presented as needed, and yet the Gram- Petr ees thine ans ladder ehhh a whole. Beginning with section 104, there are many new charts which facilitate the understanding and use of the more important forms Sections 116 and 117 give the most widely used forms of every kind of verb in the Japanese language. The verbs are listed there alpha- betically by their conclusive endings, so that the student has only to follow the chart to arrive at the tense, mood, or voice of any verb he may wish to use. ‘The Japanese-English Dictionary provided at the end of the book, page 219, is more than @ vocabulary and should be consulted even when the text is perfectly clear, for not only are the words of the text included and their construction explained, but many other words related in form and meaning are given as well. This feature will aid the student in remembering the words he is learning and enable him to acquire a vocabulary of related words, and at the same time lead him to an understanding of Japanese word-formation. ‘The principal meanings of the words (not only the meaning of the word as used in the text and exercises) are given in the Dictionary. By consulting it, the student will learn the main concepts the word represents and he will know in what other senses it can be used if he desires to vary the sentences of the exercises. Also in this section of the work he will find all the inflected forms used in the text and notes as to how they are identified. It is recommended, therefore, that the Dictionary be not neglected, but that it be studied along with the Grammar. Every word of the text appears there with an indication as to the record and line where it is used. If the student wishes to hear the pronunciation of any word, he should be able to find and hear it in a matter of a few seconds. The English-Japanese section of the Dictionary also gives all the words of the records, so that if a student forgets how to say a certain word he can find it there. If he wishes, he can then look in the Jap- anese-English section of the Dictionary and find out exactly where that word may be heard. The English-Japanese Dictionary also gives many useful words with which the student may vary the exercise sentences. In order not to confuse the student with too many diacritical marks, short or whispered vowels have been marked only in the record text while pitch.is marked only in the Japanese- English section of the Dictionary. It is also important to note that an asterisk after a word in the Exercises indicates only that it appears in the Dictionary, but an asterisk before word in the Dictionary iteelf indicates that the word is pronounced with level pitch. v