Japanese I Comprehensive |
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Pimsleur Japanese Language Programs
» Japanese I Comprehensive Combo Package SpecialAbout The Japanese LanguageJapanese is one of the most important languages in the business and technical world and carries a reputation as one of the most difficult for native English speakers to learn. It is the official language and native language of the approximately 120 million inhabitants of Japan. The classification of Japanese has always been problematic for linguists. Many theories have been developed in order to argue a proper classification for Japanese, although none have been definitively proven. The most commonly-accepted theory classifies Japanese as a member of a large family of languages which includes such startling members as Turkish, Hungarian, Finnish, and Korean. Japanese uses two orthographic systems for rendering the spoken language in writing. The older of these, called kanji, uses characters from Chinese; before the kanji writing system was introduced there was no written Japanese language. The other system is a phonic syllabary system in which the characters represent spoken syllables. This system has two sub-groups: the first, called hiragana, is used to write native Japanese words. The other, called katakana, is a set of characters used to write words borrowed from western languages like English or French. Although there are various regional dialects the dialect spoken in and around Tokyo is considered the "common" dialect, and since this dialect is the one that has been propagated through the media, it is understood by virtually all Japanese-speaking people. The native speakers on the Pimsleur tapes speak this "common" dialect of Japanese, and by modeling your speech after theirs you should be able to make yourself understood throughout Japan with little difficulty. Why The Pimsleur System WorksThe late Dr. Paul Pimsleur was much more than a language teacher. He did research on how both children and multi-lingual adults learn languages and discovered key principles that unlocked the mystery of how we learn languages. The Pimsleur programs provide a method of self-practice with an expert teacher and native speakers in lessons specially designed to work with the way the mind naturally acquires language information. The various components of language -- vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar -- are all learned together without rote memorization and drills. Using a unique method of memory recall developed by renowned linguist, Dr. Paul Pimsleur, the programs teach listeners to combine words and phrases to express themselves the way native speakers do. By listening and responding to thirty minute recorded lessons, students easily and effectively achieve spoken proficiency. » The Pimsleur Method « |
