Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Japanese Street Slang by Peter Constantine ISBN: 0-8348-0250-3 Publisher: Weatherhill Pub. Date: June, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.88 (8 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Expand your Japanese, but outdated slang
Comment: This book has been moderately useful because it gives you vocabulary that makes Japanese interesting and come alive. Most Japanese books don't include the slang spoken on the streets, which essentially is the way people speak. Try listening to TV in Japan and you'll understand why Berlitz insturction gets you no where in your quest to learn the language. No one speaks the way you will learn through books. This helps and does have some important slangish grammer focuses like the use of "me" for males from the polite "watakushi", the usualy "watashi", the boyish "boku", and the rough "ore".
However, there are downsides to this book. It is terribly out-dated and with slang, you need to be on top of the latest phrases. I would give examples, but they would probably be offensive. More research and a new edition is needed. Moreover, the explainations of the words and expressions are too long: more vocabulary could be included instead of a mass of explaination. Some slang I learned from Japanese speakers was from the 80's and I got ridiculous smiles from locals. They hadn't heard "that" in years.
One last word...the words in the book can be offensive and try them out with younger friends. Unko means "poo-poo" in Japanese, not the offensive 4-letter word the book says it means. Kids use it as well as wildlife shows. A lot of other words in here have debatable meanings, but the majority are interesting.
Rating: 2
Summary: Not Too Useful...
Comment: After having lived in Japan and interacted with Japanese on a daily basis, as well as a good dose of Japanese television and movies, I can tell you that most of the phrases in the book are just not used, are probably outdated, or even taken from obscure dialects. If you are looking for a good book on Japanese 'slang', I'd reccomend "Kansai Japanese" by Peter Tse - while not really 'slang' per se, it is one of the most interesting and lively dialects in Japan, and more useful than any of the 'slang' found in this book..
Rating: 2
Summary: Inaccurate portrayal of Japanese Language
Comment: Japanese Street Slang.. vulgar, outdated, and just not slang. The author expresses that the so called "slang" of Japan is something that is not acknowledged by those who profess or study the language professionally. While the purpose is interesting, the proof however is not convincing. I doubt the existance of a Japanese slang like that portrayed in this book. Besides many horribly dirty, gross, outdated, and innaccurate words in this book, there is not much else of practical use. I strongly discourage the purchase of this book for communication in Japanese because most of the words are not even used anymore or are not known by many Japanese speakers. Few words are of much use, and those which are have no distinctions from the other not so quite useful words.
I think the author either made a profoundly deep excavation into the tiny corners of the Japanese language, or just some of the material is fabricated. If you read this book, please keep in mind that many of the words or phrases are not used in everyday Japanese speech. I do not reccomend this book.
 |
Title: Beyond Polite Japanese: A Dictionary of Japanese Slang and Colloquialisms by Akihiko Yonekawa ISBN: 4770027737 Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: September, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
 |
Title: Outrageous Japanese: Slang, Curses & Epithets by Jack Seward ISBN: 0804816948 Publisher: Charles E Tuttle Co Pub. Date: May, 1992 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
 |
Title: Zakennayo!: The Real Japanese You Were Never Taught in School by Philipj. Cunningham, Kim Wilson Brandt, Phillip J. Cunningham, Kim W. Eversz ISBN: 0452275067 Publisher: Plume Pub. Date: November, 1995 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
 |
Title: Kinki Japanese: The Dialects & Culture of the Kansai Region by Kaoru Horiuchi, D. C. Palter, Kaoro Horiuchi ISBN: 0804820171 Publisher: Charles E Tuttle Co Pub. Date: June, 1995 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
 |
Title: 13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese by Giles Murray ISBN: 4770023022 Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
