BOOK REVIEW
\nJAPANESE THE MANGA WAY:
\nAn Illustrated Guide to Grammar and Structure
\nReviewed by Brian Hersey<\/p>\n
(Winter 2005 Issue)<\/span><\/p>\n Learning Japanese is a profoundly rewarding experience. Like seeing the sunrise from atop Mt. Fuji. However, despite the Wayne P. Lammers has created a remarkably well-crafted and useful tool for the beginning-to-intermediate Japanese Old Japan hands will remember the magazine Mangajin that used Japanese comic strips, or manga, to teach Japanese After an introductory explanation of kana and kanji, Mr. Lammers breaks his text into \u201clessons\u201d that cover key grammatical The Manga Way provides more than accurate and concise explanations of fundamental grammar points. Mr. Lammers In my experience, using manga to study Japanese, while interesting and authentic, has some inherent limitations. Using Who should use this book? And how? If one insists on using this book as an introduction to Japanese, I would suggest focusing exclusively on the central points I suspect The Manga Way will most benefit those who have already begun their study of Japanese. While it might be a bit This remarkably well-crafted textbook should prove indispensable to anyone in the first few years of Japanese studay as My only complaint is, \u201cWhere was Japanese the Manga Way when I\u00a0 set out for rural Fukuoka?\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Hersey is a local rock climber and an attorney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BOOK REVIEW JAPANESE THE MANGA WAY: An Illustrated Guide to Grammar and Structure Reviewed by Brian Hersey (Winter 2005 Issue) Learning Japanese is a profoundly rewarding experience. Like seeing the sunrise from atop Mt. Fuji. However, despite the promises in the marketing blurbs on the backs of textbooks, the process requires a long, hard slog, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":59,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-400","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PkZ7m-6s","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":664,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/400\/revisions\/664"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/59"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\npromises in the marketing blurbs on the backs of textbooks, the process requires a long, hard slog, best done under the
\nsupervision of competent guides. Only the dishonest or deluded claim to make the process “fun” or “easy.” With the right
\nequipment and reliable instructors, however, the task can be made less arduous.<\/p>\n
\nstudent in his newly published Japanese the Manga Way: An Illustrated Guide to Grammar and Structure.<\/p>\n
\nlanguage and culture from 1990 to 1997. Japanese the Manga Way shares much of Mangajin\u2019s engaging format and
\nstyle. One is sort of \u201ctricked\u201d into feeling like one is reading a comic strip rather than a textbook, a feature that makes it an
\nentertaining means of casual review for advanced learners.\u00a0\u00a0 However, The Manga Way works because it succeeds as a
\nguidebook with well-organized, concise, clear and accurate explanations of Japanese grammar. Without those, all of the
\ncool manga in the world will not make a useful study tool.<\/p>\n
\npoints starting with politeness levels and then moving on to questions, particles, desu and masu forms, etc. The lessons
\nbuild upon one another, adding complexity as the text progresses. The lessons themselves are divided into grammar
\npoints, each illustrated with one or more of the books 493 frames of manga.\u00a0 So, for example, in the lesson introducing the
\ntopic marker wa, point one explains the traditional \u201ctopic marker\u201d role. The next point explains that the topic can be the
\nsubject. The subsequent point distinguishes wa and ga. The following points explain that the topics can be a direct object,
\nor a time, or a place and so on.<\/p>\n
\nhas given a lot of thought to explaining the subtleties of Japanese to English speakers. The implications of politeness and
\nword choice are parsed out and the nuances clarified; almost to the point of becoming a distraction from the main
\ngrammar point. Mr. Lammers\u2019 numerous tips on subtle distinctions in language use, such as the tendency for Westerners
\nto overuse pronouns, are right on the money.\u00a0 The explanations of these subtleties provide the true prize of this text,
\nsomething that in ten years of studying Japanese I have rarely seen.
\nThe manga themselves and the book\u2019s overall layout make The Manga Way more accessible, less intimidating, and
\nvisually cooler than its competition. Even the best Japanese grammar guides tend to be dense and confusing. Not so with
\nThe Manga Way. The wide range of well-selected manga used to illustrate the grammar points provide an engaging set of
\nillustrations. Mr. Lammers has provided a bit of the background for each frame in English so the reader knows a bit about
\nthe characters. As any fan can tell you, manga covers a wide range of topics, from romance, to child rearing, to politics, to
\nhistory, to mystery. Thus, the stories keep one more engaged than an average grammar book.<\/p>\n
\nmanga necessarily adds complexity because the author must explain unrelated vocabulary, nuances and grammar points
\nto make the manga comprehensible. This can lead to the \u201cdrinking from a firehose\u201d problem, i.e. trying to absorb too much
\nnew information at once. Although Mr. Lammers does an excellent job of making the text more accessible, manga is
\nwritten for native speakers. Unlike a course or a traditional textbook, where the student\u2019s vocabulary is systematically
\ndeveloped as the text progresses, manga necessarily presents the student with lots of new vocabulary at the same time it
\nteaches new grammar points. Additionally, spoken Japanese and correct Japanese are not always the same (dropping
\nparticles in spoken Japanese, for example) which might add to a student\u2019s confusion.<\/p>\n
\nI recommend buying this book to anyone with a limited knowledge of Japanese heading into the JET program.\u00a0 If you plan
\nto try to learn Japanese, this is an accessible text and it presents the key grammar points in a systematic, useful way.
\nOne could work through lesson by lesson and would no doubt learn a great deal. However, the text has no exercises or
\ndrills to help students practice using the new grammar patterns. As Mr. Lammers notes in the appendix, the book is no
\nsubstitute for a course. He even recommends other resources to help introductory-level students.<\/p>\n
\nof each lesson the first time you go through it. The nuances and subtleties of usage can be skimmed over until later when
\nthey will clarify and deepen the learner\u2019s existing knowledge of the various lessons.<\/p>\n
\nmuch for the true beginner, this text would be a fantastic reference and review tool for those in beginning through
\nintermediate level (defined as the level tested in the 2-kyu exam). Manga, as its many fans note, provide the real-life
\nexamples of actual usage for those seeking to deepen their knowledge of spoken Japanese. The Manga Way will provide
\nclear, detailed explanations that are not always provided. Furthermore, the format of the text, with the lessons titled by
\ntheir main grammar point, permits the learner to refer to any specific grammar issues that arise. Thus, the student
\nstruggling with the difference between wa and ga, for example, could find a clear explanation by looking it up in the index
\nat the back.<\/p>\n
\nwell as serve more advanced learners as a painless entertaining means of maintaining one\u2019s language skills.\u00a0 I
\nunreservedly recommend it to anyone headed over to live in Japan with limited knowledge of Japanese.\u00a0 Your $24.95 will
\nbe money well-spent and, with the dollar collapsing, you can afford it.\u00a0 The Manga Way will also provide ex-JETs with an
\nengaging way to review and maintain their Japanese.<\/p>\n