Making Sense of Japanese
by Jay Rubin · first published 1998
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2014–2023first – last mentioned
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…some supplemental stuff out there that I've found useful - but they're not necessarily needed. Kodansha puts out a billion books on learning Japanese, and most of them have some value, but in particular, Making Sense of Japanese by Jay Rubin (Haruki Murakami's English translator) was invaluable to me in picking up several concepts that I was struggling with when learning from textbook sources. Japanese The Manga Way is also an…
on “Doing Business in Japan” ↗…James W. Heisig. Keep in mind you need about a month of dedicated brain time for volume I (great for ALT jobs!), and volume II can then be repeatedly skimmed afterwards while engaging with real texts. * Making Sense of Japanese, Jay Rubin. He has a way of explaining concepts that seem weird to English speakers. * Colloquial Kansai Japanese, D.C. Palter. It is not very fun to get to Japan and realize they don't talk like the…
on “An introduction to Japanese” ↗…Japanese is extremely regular, which makes the grammar easier to learn though it is completely different to any language with indo-european roots. For valuable insights into Japanese grammar I recommend 'Making Sense of Japanese' by Jay Ruben (he translated works of Murukami including Norwegian Wood into English). Also a youtube channel Cure Dolly https://www.youtube.com/@organicjapanesewithcuredol49 Who sadly died a few years…
on “Japanese Explained to Programmers” ↗…find out after having read six pages that I had zoned out and don't remember a single thing I read. Maybe that's okay if I'm just trying to fall asleep. I think I'll give this suggestion a try with my "Making Sense of Japanese" book ;) For 3, won't the blue light from the TV cause someone to stay awake? I heard it disrupts the body's production of melatonin, because it think it's daylight.
on “My 'smart drugs' nightmare” ↗