Reading Japanese.pdf

8/14/2019 Reading Japanese.pdf

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The Kanji Cafs

READINGJAPANESETHE JAPANESE KANA SCRIPTS

CONTENTS

eBook License 2

Introduction 3

Procedures 4

Lesson 1 (Katakana) 5 Lesson 5 (Hiragana) 88

Lesson 2 (Katakana) 19 Lesson 6 (Hiragana) 103Lesson 3 (Katakana) 41 Lesson 7 - Not finished

Lesson 4 (Katakana) 63 Lesson 8 - Not finished

2007-2008 KanjiCafe.com


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eBook License

As long as you do not make alterations, feel free to disseminate this eBook.

The original text was written by Eleanor Harz Jorden with Hamako Ito Chaplin.

All other content was written by James Rose. It is a work in progress.

This eBook is published by Rolomail Trading, United States Virgin Islands.

The most up-to-date version of the book can always be found at KanjiCafe.com.

Jim can be reached at [email protected].

Rolomail Trading can be reached at [email protected].

This eBook was paid for by your support of Rolomail Trading. Thank you and keep it up!


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READING JAPANESE

INTRODUCTION

This adaptation of READING JAPANESE contains four chapters which teach the katakana

syllabary, and four chapters which teach the hiraganasyllabary. It has been formatted so that each

PDF page fits entirely on your screen. It is meant to be given freely without charge to promote the

study of the Japanese language. Reading Japanese was developed under contract with the U.S.

Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. This free version has been

republished by KanjiCafe.com, and was underwritten by the generous support of people like you,

who have purchased their Japanese educational products at the Rolomail Trading Company, and at

Mangajin Publishing (Wasabi Brothers Trading Company).

The Original textbook was prepared over a number of years, field tested in a number of

institutions, and was checked, typed, indexed and proofread by an extensive number of people,

hundreds of copies being sent out to participating schools for criticism and classroom reaction.

These schools, among others, included Bucknell University, Columbia University, the Foreign

Service Institute, University of Iowa, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, the Japan

National Language Research Institute, and most especially Cornell University, where the authors

were from. This book is truly the result of an unusual level of cooperation.READING JAPANESE is not a handbook or a dictionary, but was specifically prepared to

introduce adult foreigners, in particular English speakers, to the Japanese language, and enable

them to begin reading. Material is presented in an ordered fashion, and each increment of new

material presupposes mastery of what was studied before, but only what was studied before.


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READING JAPANESE

PROCEDURES

Japanese is normally written with a mixture of two syllabaries (kana) and Chinese characters(kanji). In kana writing, symbols represent syllables without reference to meaning, whereas

kanji regularly stand for sound plus meaning. More will be said about both systems later.

The first four lesson of this eBook introduce the katakana. Students should go through theselessons, concentrating first on the reading and then the writing of each new symbol and the

examples provided. They should practice until all the Japanese material included (1) can be

read in random order, accurately, rapidly, and without any hesitation, and (2) can be written

accurately and rapidly, given either oral dictation of the Japanese, or the romanized equivalentof the Japanese.

A final note: Those who conscientiously work through this text, following all recommended

procedures and moving ahead to a new lesson only after the previous lesson is adequately

internalized, can expect to acquire a solid basic foundation in Japanese reading. They will be

thoroughly familiar with all the katakanathat have been introduced, through recurring contact

in assorted contexts, and they will be ready to move ahead into materials that add the hiragana

and kaji to their repertoire.


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LESSON 1

INTRODUCTION

The first four lessons introduce katakana, the syllabary used primarily for writing loanwords

(i.e., words borrowed from foreign languages). Katakanais also used to represent native

Japanese items that are intended to stand out in the context in which they occur. The use of

katakanain Japanese often corresponds to the use of italics in English: katakanaoccurs

frequently in advertisements; it is also used in writing items that represent something strange orunusual from a linguistic point of view (for example, in quoting foreigners' errors in Japanese);

and it is often used in writing onomatopoeic wordsi.e., those that are supposed to representtheir meaning by their sound (example:gatagatarepresenting a rattling sound). In addition,

katakanais used in writing telegrams and, together with kazi, in writing legal documents.

While most current linguistic borrowings by the Japanese is from English, there are many

loanwords derived from other languages. For example, among place names, Suisu'Switzerland',

Itaria'Italy', andDoitu'Germany', all have non-English origins. The emphasis in the lessons that

follow, however, will be on the reading ofKatakanaas it is used to represent loanwords of

English origin. In particular, foreign place names and personal names will be used as examples

in the introduction of each new katakanasymbol. The writing of kanashould, of course, also be

mastered. After learning to read a symbol, students should practice writing, working back from

the romanization of the examples to the original kana.


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NOTES

When the Japanese borrow English words and phrases, these loanwords are pronounced in a

way that approximates the original pronunciation but conforms to the sound system of Japanese.This entails many adjustments, since the sound systems of Japanese and English bear little

resemblance to each other. For example, because the sound system of English is more complex,

one Japanese sound often represents several sounds in English: Japanese bmay represent

English 'b' or 'v'; Japanese oomay represent the vowel or dipthong of English 'stalk' or 'stoke';

Japanesesimay represent English 'she' or 'see', and so on.

A further problem is the fact that while most borrowings are based on pronunciation, there are

often a variety of pronunciations for any given item in English, and some borrowings are derivedfrom the original English spellings. For example, Japanese aruminyuumucomes from British

English 'aluminium'; and English 'margarine' occurs in Japanese as maagari (ma-a-ga-ri-)

conforming to its spelling rather than its pronunciation in English.

In loanwords, Japanese consonants as represented by romanization generally correspond to

the English consonants represented by the same letters in the writing system, although the actualsounds the letters represent in the two languages are far from identical. Thus, rin Japanese is

used to represent the markedly different initial consonant of English 'road'. However, there will

also be many divergences from this kind of correspondence, partly because of the vagaries of

English spelling. For example, the 'c' of 'cent' is represented in Japanese ass, while the 'c' as

well as the 'k' of cake are represented by k. Other divergences, that result from the phonological

structure of Japanese, will be discussed below.

The most commonly occuring vowel correspondences are as follows.


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Japanese corresponds to the English vowel or diphthong of:

i

iiu

uu

e

eeor ei

o

oo

ou

oia

aa

ai

auor ao

'sit' (or 'seat')

'seed''look' (or 'Luke')

'mood''let' (or 'late')

'laid'

'cot' (or 'coat')

'mode' or 'Maud'

'mode'

'boy''pat' or 'pad' or 'putt'

'ma'

'my''cow'

In spite of all the adjustments required, katakanarepresenting loanwords based on English

borrowings will, in most instances, be immediately identifiable to speakers of English as to itsorigin. In some cases, however, identification is difficult, particularly for a student with only

limited experience in reading such items. When problems are encountered, the following

procedures (the procedures covered here apply to the examples introduced in this lesson) are

often helpful in providing clues that will make recognition possible.


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1. Write out the unidentified item in romanization.

2. Are there any short uvowels following consonants? Try eliminating them.

Examples: misu= 'miss'

hosutesu= 'hostess'

3. Are there any r's? Check them out for representation of English 'l' as well as 'r'.

Examples: arisu= 'Alice'

hoteru= 'hotel'

arasuka = 'Alaska'

sukuuru= 'school'

rookaru= 'local'

terii= 'Terry' or 'Telly'

rarii= 'Larry' or 'rally'

4. Are there anys's? Check them out for representation of English 'th' (as in 'thin') as well as 's'.

Examples: sumisu= 'Smith'ruusu= 'ruse' or 'loose' or 'Ruth'

And are there any Japanesesisyllables? Check the consonant out for representation of

English 'sh' as well as 's'.


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Examples: takusii = 'taxi'

siria= 'Syria'

rosia= 'Russia'

5. Are there any occurrences of aa? Check them out for representation of English vowel + 'r' of

'far' or 'fir' (note the variety of English spellings that represent these sounds, in words such as

'bar', 'her', 'sir', 'fur', 'purr', 'hard', 'herd', 'bird', 'word', 'urban', 'lighter', 'color') as well as of long

'a'.

Examples: misutaa= 'mister'

raitaa= 'lighter'

miraa= 'Miller'

tawaa= 'tower'

kuraaku= 'Clark' or 'clerk'

kaaru= 'Karl'

karaa= 'color'

mootaasukuutaa= 'motorscooter'

Additional procedures will be furnished in subsequent lessons. However, the student mustalways bear in mind that the Japanese word-borrowing system is not completely regular: it is

usually possible to predict exactly how an English item will be borrowed into Japanese, but there

are exceptions. Fortunately, even the exceptions usually contain enough evidence of regularity to

make possible the identification of the English source, given the Japanese, and this is sufficient for

reading.


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SYMBOLS AND EXAMPLES

Katakanasymbol: Romanization Stroke Order

su

mi

(vowel lengthening)1

Examples:

sumisu 'Smith'

misu 'Miss'

2 misusumisu 'Miss Smith'

suu 'Sue'

suusumisu 'Sue Smith' misusuusumisu 'Miss Sue Smith'

1In vertical writing, this symbol is written as a vertical line.2The dot represents a boundary between items. It regularly occurs between foreign given names and family name, but in general its

usage tends to be unpredictable.


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a

me

ri

ka

Examples:

amerika 'America' misuamerika 'Miss America'

rii 'Lee' merii 'Mary'

merii

rii 'Mary Lee'

suu

rii 'Sue Lee' riisumisu 'Lee Smith' meriisumisu 'Mary Smith'

arisu 'Alice' arisusumisu 'Alice Smith'

meriiarisurii 'Mary Alice Lee'

arisumeriisumisu 'Alice Mary Smith'


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ho

te

ruExamples:

hoteru 'hotel' hosuteru 'hostel'

hosutesu 'hostess' hoteruamerika 'Hotel America'

hooru 'Hall'1 ruusu 'Ruth'2

ruusuhooru 'Ruth Hall' meriihooru 'Mary Hall'

terii 'Terry' riiterii 'Lee Terry'

teriisumisu 'Terry Smith' teriihooru 'Terry Hall'

kaaru 'Karl'

ruusuarisuhooru 'Ruth Alice Hall'

kaaruriisumisu 'Karl Lee Smith'

1Could also represent 'hole' or 'hoar'.2Could also represent 'ruse' or 'loose'.


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ta

ku

si

Examples:

takusii 'taxi'

siria 'Syria'

kurisu 'Chris'

misutaa 'Mr.'

misutaakurisurii 'Mr. Chris Lee'

misutaateriihooru 'Mr. Terry Hall'

sukuuru 'school'

teriiriisukuuru 'Terry Lee School'

meriihoorusukuuru 'Mary Hall School'


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ra

iExamples:

raitaa 'lighter'

tai 'Thai[land]'

iraku 'Iraq' suisu(Non-English origin.) 'Switzerland'

arasuka 'Alaska'

miraa 'Miller'

rarii 'Larry'

rariimiraa 'Larry Miller'

kurisumiraa 'Chris Miller'

misutaarariihooru 'Mr. Larry Hall'

kuraaku 'Clark'

ruisu 'Lewis'

kuraakuruisu 'Clark Lewis'

ruisukuraakuhoteru 'Lewis Clark Hotel'


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ro

mo

wa

Examples: rosia 'Russia'

kairo 'Cairo'

karaa 'color' (as in film, television, etc.)

rookarukaraa 'local color'

mosukuwa(Non-English origin.) 'Moscow'

mooteru 'motel'

tawaa 'tower'

kuraakutawaa 'Clark Tower'

sumisumooteru 'Smith Motel'

mootaa 'motor'

mootaasukuutaa 'motorscooter'


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ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

Review

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

1. misuarasuka'Miss Alaska' 6. misutaakuraakumiraa'Mr. Clark Miller'

2. misuruusuruisu'Miss Ruth Lewis' 7. kairohoteru'Cairo Hotel'3. riimiraasukuuru'Lee Miller School' 8. sumisutawaa'Smith Tower'

4. misusuisu'Miss Switzerland' 9. mosukuwamooteru'Moscow Motel'

5. meriiarisuhooru'Mary Alice Hall' 10. kurisumiraasumisu'Chris Miller Smith'

New Words:

11.

12. 13.

14.

15. 16.

17.

18. 19.

11. kamera'camera'

12. tairu'tile'

13. terasu'terrace'

14. ruuru'rule'

15. meekaa'maker' (i.e., manufacturer)

16. kuuraa'cooler' (i.e., air conditioner)

17. rootarii'rotary'

18. iisutaa'Easter'

19. misuteeku'mistake'


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LESSON 1 SUMMARY

Below is the traditional order used for charting the kanasyllabary. It's a 5 X 10 table of the FiftySounds, or (gozyuu-o). Usually the table runs from right to left and from top to bottom,

although other arrangements also occur. The following includes the katakanasymbols which have

been introduced in this lesson within the basic framework of the.

wa ra ya ma ha na ta sa ka a

ri mi hi ni ti si ki i

ru yu mu hu nu tu su ku u

re me he ne te se ke e

ro yo mo ho no to so ko o


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ROLOMAIL TRADING COMPANYKATAKANA MOUSEPAD

http://www.rolomail.com/cgi-bin/sanadd.pl?201


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LESSON 2

NOTES

The following are additional procedures to help identify loanwords that occur in this lesson.

1. Is there an occurrence of bin the romanized version of the loanword? Check it out for

representation of English 'v' as well as of 'b'.

Examples: boruga= 'Volga'babaria= 'Bavaria'

2. Are there any occurrences of syllable toor do? Try eliminating the o.

Examples: toroi= 'Troy'

siatoru= 'Seattle'

raito= 'right' or 'light'

dorai= 'dry'sadoru= 'saddle'


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3. Is there an occurrence ofzbefore a vowel? It may represent English 'th' as in 'then' as well as the

'z' sound in 'zebra'.

Examples: dezaato= 'dessert'

mazaa= 'mother'

And is there an occurrence ofzbefore i? In this position, thezmay also represent the initial sound

of jeep or the medial consonantal sound of Asia, as well as the correspondences noted above.

Examples: baazinia= 'Virginia'

azia= 'Asia'iizii= 'easy'

ziiai= 'G.I.'

4. Is there an occurrence of the vowel i? Try deleting it. Such deletion is particularly common in

word-final position and between voiceless consonants.

Examples: sutoraiki= 'strike'paazi= 'purge'

tekisasu= 'Texas'

mekisiko= 'Mexico'


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5. The vowel u, when followed by a vowel, often represents English 'w', and kubefore a vowel

corresponds to 'kw' (= 'qu').

Examples: kuizu= 'quiz'

sukuizu= 'squeeze'

6. Are there any occurrences of oo+ consonant? Check them out for representation of English

vowel + 'r' of 'horse' as well as of the vowel sounds alone of 'mode' or 'Maud'.

Examples: noosu= 'north' or 'Norse'

noomaru= 'normal'pooku= 'Pork' or 'Polk'

7. A vowel + syllable amay correspond to a vowel + 'r' sequence in English.1

Examples: doa= 'door'

hea= 'hair'

1Note that Japanese aa, discussed in Lesson 1, is an example of this same correspondence.


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o

to

ha

Examples:

otawa 'Ottawa' raosu 'Laos'

osuro 'Oslo' aiowa 'Iowa'

sutaa 'star' oorusutaa 'all-star'

toroi 'Troy' siatoru 'Seattle'

oosutoria 'Austria' oosutoraria 'Australia'

raito 'light' or 'right' teeruraito 'taillight' hawai 'Hawaii' ohaio 'Ohio'

harisu 'Harris' harii 'Harry'

hairaito 'highlight' hariiharisu 'Harry Harris'

haikurasu 'high class' haisukuuru 'high school'


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no sa

Examples:

hanoi 'Hanoi'

irinoi 'Illinois'

honoruru 'Honolulu'

noosu 'North' or 'Norse'

noa 'Noah'

nora 'Nora'

sahara 'Sahara'

samoa 'Samoa'

saa 'Sir'

misutaanoanoosu 'Mr. Noah North'

misunoranoosu 'Miss Nora North'

saaruisumiraa 'Sir Lewis Miller'


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ma ni

yaExamples:

rima 'Lima' maiami 'Miami'

okurahoma 'Oklahoma' toomasu 'Thomas'

samaa 'summer' kurisumasu 'Christmas'

maraya 'Malaya' yaruta 'Yalta'

yaaruu 'Yalu'

toomasunoosu 'Thomas North' samaasukuuru 'summer school'

meriiriitoomasu 'Mary Lee Thomas'

kaarumarukusu 'Karl Marx'

kurisumasukaroru 'Christmas carol'


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hi re

Examples:

himaraya 'Himalaya' hiiru 'heel'

haihiiru 'high heel'

roohiiru 'low heel'

mareesia 'Malaysia'

reesu 'race' or 'lace'

ootoreesu 'auto race' reeku 'lake'

reekuhoteru 'Lake Hotel'

reeru 'rail'

monoreeru 'monorail'


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ko ki

Examples:

mekisiko 'Mexico'

kosutarika 'Costa Rica'

kosuto 'cost'

rookosuto 'low cost'

koosutaa 'coaster'

rooraakoosutaa 'roller coaster'

kooku 'coke'

koora 'cola'

kokakoora 'Coca Cola'

tekisasu 'Texas'

kirosaikuru 'kilocycle'

kiromeetoru 'kilometer'


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ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

1. 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

1. noo 'no'

2. haroo 'hello'

3. aroha 'aloha'

4. oorai 'awri[ght]'

(i.e., 'all right')5. kooto 'coat'

6. sarami 'salami'

7. retasu 'lettuce'

8. tenisu 'tennis'

9. sukii 'ski[ing]'

10. resuraa 'wrestler'

11. haiku 'hike'12. saakasu 'circus'

13. ooto 'auto'

14. torakutaa 'tractor'

15. haiyaa '[car for] hire'

16. hiitaa 'heater'

17. taoru 'towel'18. sararii 'salary'


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19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

19. resiito'receipt'

20. tootaru'total'

21. nooto'note'

22. saakuru'circle'23. sutereo'stereo'

24. maiku'mic[rophone]'

25. osukaa'Oscar'

26. koorasu'chorus'

27. kirisuto'Christ'

28. hareruya'halleluja'29. hiiroo'hero'

30. haato'heart' (card suit)

31. suiitohaato'sweetheart'

32. kisu'kiss'

33. noomaru'normal'

34. torasuto'trust'35. sutoraiku'(baseball) strike'

36. sutoorsutoraiki'(protest) strike'


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DIACRITICS

1(a) Compare the following pairs of symbols:

and

and

and

The symbols on the left are already familiar. They are equivalent to the romanized syllables ta, te,

and to. The corresponding symbols on the right are equivalent to the romanized syllables da, de, and

do. In other words, the addition of a (called nigori1) to a kana symbol which represents a syllable

with an initial t- changes its value to the corresponding syllable beginning with d-.

Compare: torai 'try'

dorai 'dry'

1The green letter g in nigoriis a convention used solely in this text to represent a nasal pronunciation of g, as in the 'ng' of 'singer',produced by holding the tongue in the g position, but allowing the air to escape through the nostrils. This type of 'g' sound never

occurs in the beginning of a word. The g sound is considered an aspect of the 'Tokyo dialect', though many Tokyo residents use theregular g sound instead, and still others alternate between the two forms. Hence, where g is written, g can always be used, but

where g is written, g cannot be used.


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Examples:

da darasu Dallas

aidaho Idaho

noosudakota North Dakota

de

derii 'Delhi'

detoroito 'Detroit'

do dominika 'Dominica[n Republic]'

kaado 'card'

kurisumasukaado 'Christmas card'


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ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

New Words:1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

1. daiya 'dia[mond]'

2. daiarii 'diary'

3. dairekutomeeru'direct mail'

4. demo 'demo[nstration]'

5. deeta 'data'6. deeto 'date'

7. desuku 'desk'

8. demokurasii 'democracy'

9. meedee 'May Day'

10. doru 'doll[ar]'

11. doa 'door'12. sadoru 'saddle'

13. dorama 'drama'

14. dokutaa 'doctor'

15. doraiyaa 'dryer'

16. doraiaisu 'dry ice'

17. saidowaaku 'side work'(side job)

18. saidosuroo 'side throw'

(as in baseball)


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(b) The addition of nigorito kanasymbols representing syllables with initial k- changes the value to

the corresponding syllables beginning withg- / or -g-1/.

Compare: koosuto 'coast'

goosuto 'ghost'

Examples:

ga/ or ga/

madagasukaru 'Madagascar'

gu/ or gu/

guatemara 'Guatemala'

nikaragua 'Nicaragua'

gi/ or gi/

igirisu 'England'

ginia 'Guinea'

go/ or go/

sikago 'Chicago'

gurasugoo 'Glascow'

1The -g- alternant is comparatively rare in loanwords.


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ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

1. gasu 'gas'

2. taigaa 'tiger'3. gaado 'guard[ing]'

4. gaido 'guide'

5. gitaa 'guitar'

6. guriru 'grill'7. niguro 'Negro'

8. gooru 'goal'

9. gurotesuku 'grotesque'

10. daiaroogu 'dialogue'11. katarogu 'catalogue'

(c)Nigoriadded to symbols representing syllables with initials- changes the value to the

corresponding syllables beginning withz-.

Compare: roosu 'roas[t]'

roozu 'rose'


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Examples:

za zu

zaaru 'the Saar' mizuuri 'Missouri'

zi

azia 'Asia'

ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

1. dezaato 'dessert'

2. iizii 'easy'

3. ziiai 'G.I.'

4. aziteetaa 'agitator'

5. kuizu 'quiz'

6. sukuizu 'squeeze'

7. mazaa 'mother'

8. mazaasudee 'Mother's Day'

9. siizaa 'Caesar'


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(d)Nigoriadded to symbols representing syllables with initial h- changes the value to the

corresponding syllables beginning with b-.

Compare: hooru 'hole'

booru 'ball' or 'bowl'

ba bi bari 'Bali' biruma 'Burma'

arabama 'Alabama' ribia 'Libya'

babaria 'Bavaria' bikini 'Bikini'

baazinia 'Virginia' arabia 'Arabia'

bo bogota 'Bogota'

boruga 'Volga'

boribia 'Bolivia'

aiboriikoosuto 'Ivory Coast'


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ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

1.

5.

9.

13.

2. 6. 10. 14.

3. 7. 11. 15.

4. 8. 12. 16.

1. basu 'bus' 5. baree 'ballet' 9. tabako 'tobacco' 13. basudee 'birthday'

2. biru 'buil[ding]' 6. biiru 'beer' 10. hobii 'hobby' 14. daabii 'derby'3. bosu 'boss' 7. booto 'boat' 11. boogu 'vogue' 15. boruto 'bolt' or 'volt'

4. borero 'bolero' 8. boirudo 'boiled' 12. boree 'volley' 16. bareebooru 'volleyball'

2. The addition of a small circle (called maru) to any kanasymbol which represents a syllable

with initial h- changes the value to the corresponding syllable with initialp-.

Compare: hai 'high'

pai 'pie'


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Examples:

pa pari 'Paris'1

paraguai 'Paraguay'

paaruhaabaa 'Pearl Harbor'

pi pisa 'Pisa'

paikusupiiku 'Pike's Peak'

po poo 'Po' (river) porutogaru 'Portugal'

pootosaido 'Port Side'

1This is a borrowing from French.


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ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

1. papa 'papa'

2. pasu 'pass'

3. pazuru 'puzzle'

4. paazi 'purge'

5. paama 'perma[nent wave]'6. paaraa 'parlor'

7. pasuteru 'pastel'

8. depaato 'depart[ment store]'

9. paradaisu 'paradise'

10. patoroorukaa 'patrol car'

11. piano 'piano'

12. pisutoru 'pistol'13. pikurusu 'pickles'

14. piiaaru 'P.R.' (public relations)

15. pooku 'Polk' or 'pork'

16. poozu 'pause'

17. posuto 'post'

18. posutaa 'poster'

19. pootaa 'porter'20. pookaa 'poker'

21. poniiteeru 'pony-tail'


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LESSON 2 SUMMARY

wa ra ya ma ha na ta sa ka a






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ROLOMAIL TRADING COMPANY



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LESSON 3

NOTESThe following additional procedures will help identify Japanese loanwords that occur in this lesson.

1. Is there an occurrence of syllabic ?1 In word-final position or before a vowel it represents

English 'n'; with a followinggu(orgu), it represents English 'ng'; elsewhere it assimilates to

the following sound, representing 'm', 'n', or 'ng'.

Examples: zoo= 'zone'

noosumookigu= 'no smoking'kabozia= 'Cambodia'

rodo= 'London'

bakoku= 'Bangkok'

2. Is there an occurrence of tbefore i? The tmay represent the initial sound of English 'cheap' or

'team', or (rarely) 'theme'.

Examples: tiri= 'Chile'

batika= 'Vatican'sutiiru= 'steel'

etiopia= 'Ethiopia'

1We use the diacritical in this text to distinguish syllabic n from the n used in other romanized kana (na, ni, nu, ne, and no).


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3. Is there an occurrence ofsbefore e? The s in this environment may represent the initial

consonant of English 'Chet', but more usually, of 'set'.

Examples: sero = 'cello'seroteepu = 'cello[phane] tape'

Similarly,z(the voiced equivalent ofs) before emay represent the voiced initial consonant of

English 'jet', but more usually, of 'zero'.

Examples: zerii= 'jelly'

zero= 'zero'

4. Is there an occurrence of h? It may represent the initial sound of English 'hood' or 'food' The

latter correspondence is particularly common when his followed by the vowel u.

Examples: uuzuhuu= 'who's who'

hurasu= 'France'

seroha= 'cellophane'

Is there an occurrence of hobefore wa? This combination may represent English 'wh' + vowel,as in 'why', 'whine', etc. It approximates the 'hw' pronunciation used by some speakers of

English.

Example: howaito= 'white'


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5. Is there an occurrence of tbefore u? The tmay represent the closest English equivalent i.e.,

'ts' as in 'tsetse' but more commonly it corresponds to the initial consonant of English 'too'.

Examples: pootumasu = 'Portsmouth'tuu = 'two'

suutu = 'suit'

omuretu = 'omelet'

6, The consonantzbefore i, already identified as corresponding to the initial consonant of English

'jeep', 'zebra', and 'these', and the medial consonant of 'Asia', may also represent the initial

consonant of English 'deep'.Example: sauziarabia= 'Saudi Arabia'

7. Is there an occurrence of a long evowel? This may represent English 'y' + diphthong as well

as the more usual correspondence without the 'y'.

Example: eeru= 'ale' or 'Yale'

Japanese ibefore emay also correspond to English 'y' preceding the 'e' vowel, as in 'yes', 'yet',etc.

Examples: iesu= 'yes'

iesuma= 'yes-man'


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Examples:

ido 'India'

kogo 'Congo' rodo 'London'

misiga 'Michigan'

saigo 'Saigon'

bakoku 'Bangkok'

wasito 'Washington'

kabozia 'Cambodia' kigu 'king'

koonigu 'Corning'


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hu bu

pu

Examples:

hurasu 'France'

ahurika 'Africa'

hurorida 'Florida'

sahurasisuko 'San Francisco'

buraziru 'Brazil' arupusu 'Alps'


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eExamples:

eziputo 'Egypt'

isuraeru 'Israel'

ekuadoru 'Ecuador'

sueede 'Sweden'

eepuriru 'April'

eepuriruhuuru 'April Fool'

eeru 'Yale' or 'ale'

iesu 'yes'

iesuma 'yes-man'


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so zo

Examples:

sobieto 'Soviet [Union]'

erupaso 'El Paso' somaria 'Somalia'

sorutoreeku 'Salt Lake'

amazo 'Amazon'

azoresu 'Azores'

soro 'solo'

sopurano 'soprano' mezosopurano 'mezzosoprano'

zoo 'zone'

amerikazoo 'American Zone'


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uExamples:

souru 'Seoul'

uruguai 'Uruguay'

sausudakota 'South Dakota'

sauziarabia 'Saudia Arabia'

howaitohausu 'White House'

uesuto 'west'

uesutopoito 'West Point'

uesutobaazinia 'West Virginia'

ueetaa 'waiter'

ueetoresu 'waitress'

uee 'way'

wauee 'one way'

gooigumaiuee 'going my way'

uumaribu 'woman lib' (i.e., 'women's lib')


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ke

ge/(orge)

Examples:

kenia 'Kenya'

keeputaun 'Capetown' keeburu 'cable'

keeburukaa 'cablecar'

kemikaru 'chemical'

kemisutorii 'chemistry'

keesu 'case'

kaadokeesu 'cardcase' keesubaikeesu 'case-by-case'

baage 'bargain'


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ti

(occurs only rarely in modern spelling. It will be discussed in Lesson 8. Insofar as it occurs, its

romanized equivalent iszi, for which the usual katakana equivalent is .)

Examples:

tiri 'Chile'

haiti 'Haiti' karati 'Karachi'

batika 'Vatican'

etiopia 'Ethiopia'

tiizu 'cheese'

tiizukeeki 'cheese cake'

suisutiizu 'Swiss cheeze' sumookutiizu 'smoke[d] cheese'

pimetotiizu 'pimento cheese'

tiizubaagaa 'cheeseburger'


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se

ze

Examples:

seiro 'Ceylon' sahose 'San Jose'

setoruisu 'St. Louis' setopooru 'St. Paul' setorooresu 'St. Lawrence' rosazerusu 'Los Angeles'

azera 'Angela' sooseezi 'sausage'

seto 'cent' setimeetoru 'centimeter'

seruhusaabisu 'self-service' seruhutaimaa 'self-timer'

sero 'cello' seroha 'cellophane'

seroteepu 'cello[phane] tape' seroyaa 'cello[phane] yarn'

itariasooseezi 'Italian sausage' zerati 'gelatin'

sumookusooseezi 'smoke[d] sausage' zerii 'jelly'

suraisusooseezi 'slice[d] sausage' zero 'zero'

misesuazerasetorooresu 'Mrs. Angela St. Lawrence'


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nu

Examples:

1 seenu 'Seine' (river)

roozanu 'Lausanne' nuudo 'nude'

nuudobaa 'nude bar' nuudomoderu 'nude model'

nuudodasaa 'nude dancer'

nuudoru 'noodle'

nuudorusuupu 'noodle soup'

kanuu 'canoe'

kanuureesu 'canoe race'



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ne

Examples:

nebada 'Nevada'

tenesii 'Tennessee'

minesota 'Minnesota'

senegaru 'Senegal' nepaaru 'Nepal'

neburasuka 'Nebraska'

idonesia 'Indonesia'

neo 'neon'

neosai 'neon sign'

nekutai 'necktie' nekutaipi 'necktie pin'


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na

Examples:

kanada 'Canada' panama 'Panama'

monako 'Monaco' nairu 'Nile (river)'

banana 'banana' bananapai 'banana pie'

naihu 'knife' batanaihu 'butter knife' suteekinaihu 'steak knife' naitokurabu 'nightclub'

nabaa 'number' nabaawa 'number one'

nabarigu 'numbering' naitigeeru 'nightingale'

arabianaito 'Arabian Night[s]'

noosukaroraina 'North Carolina'

nabarigumasi 'numbering machine'


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he

be

pe

Examples:

herusiki 'Helsinki' siberia 'Siberia'

beruri 'Berlin' peruu 'Peru'

peki 'Peking' supei 'Spain'

kopehaage 'Copenhagen' hea 'hair'

heapi 'hair pin' heaburasi 'hair brush'

heripooto 'heliport' herikoputaa 'helicopter' besuto 'best' besutote 'best ten'

besutoseraa 'bestseller' pe 'pen'

boorupe 'ball[point] pen' peparu 'pen pal' pehuredo 'pen friend'


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mu

Examples:

guamu 'Guam'

betonamu 'Vietnam'

amusuterudamu'Amsterdam'

neemu 'name' peneemu 'pen name'

neemupureeto 'name plate'

tiimu 'team'

tiimuwaaku 'teamwork'

geemu 'game'

zerogeemu 'zero game' (tennis) hamu 'ham'

hamusado 'ham sand[wich]'

hamusarada 'ham salad'

A G A A S


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tu

(occurs only rarely in modern spelling. It will be discussed in Lesson 8. Insofar as it occurs, its

romanized equivalent iszu, for which the usual katakana equivalent is ).

Examples:

1 doitu 'Germany' 2 tuuru 'Tours'

pootumasu 'Portsmouth' tuu 'two' tuupiisu 'two-piece [dress]' tuubooru 'ball two' (baseball)

tuuda or tuudaun 'two down' (baseball)

tuaa or tuua 'tour'

sukiituaa 'ski tour' tuurisuto 'tourist'

suutu 'suit' suutukeesu 'suitcase'

tuusutoraiku 'strike two' (baseball)

wantuusurii 'one, two, three'

tuurisutokurasu 'tourist class'

1This is a borrowing from German.2This is a borrowing from French.

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yu

yo

Examples:

yuta 'Utah' yuutopia 'Utopia'

yuurasia or yuureezia 'Eurasia'

yuuesuee 'U.S.A.' yuugosurabia 'Yugoslavia'

yunesuko 'UNESCO' yunisehu 'UNICEF'

yuusu 'youth' yuusuhosuteru 'youth hostel'

yuumoa 'humor' yuumorasu 'humorous'

yuumorisuto 'humorist' yooku 'York'

1

riyo 'Lyon' yosemite 'Yosemite'

yohanesuburugu 'Johannesburg'


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ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

1. 9. 17.

2. 10. 18.

3. 11. 19.

4. 12. 20.

5. 13. 21.

6. 14. 22.

7.

15.

23.

8. 16. 24.

1.nairo'nylon' 9.aseteeto'acetate' 17.dakuro'dacron'

2.poriesuteru'polyester' 10.reeyo'rayon' 18.uuru'wool'

3.burausu'blouse' 11.sukaahu'scarf' 19.timunii'chimney'

4.erebeetaa'elevator' 12.puuru'pool' 20.goruhu'golf'

5.badomito'badminton' 13.bureeki'brake[s]' 21.hoo'horn'

6.beeko'bacon' 14.omuretu'omelet' 22.serori'celery'

7.yooguruto'yogurt' 15.buradee'brandy' 23.sooda'soda'8.sohutoaisukuriimu'soft ice cream' 16.supuu'spoon' 24.suteresusutiiru 'stainless steel'

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25. 33. 41.

26. 34. 42.27. 35. 43.

28. 36. 44.

29. 37. 45.

30. 38. 46.

31. 39. 47.

32. 40. 48.

25.perika'pelican' 33.zebura'zebra' 41.emerarudo'emerald'

26.ukurere'ukelele' 34.seminaa'seminar' 42.supiiti'speech'

27.peezi'page' 35.rezu'lens' 43.negatibu'negative'

28.yoga'yoga' 36.seeraa'sailor' 44.baate(daa) 'bartender

29.gerira'guerilla' 37.yuniiku'unique' 45.naiibu'naive'

30.eregato'elegant' 38.yuutaa'U-turn' 46.noosumookigu'no smoking'

31.nookometo'no comment' 39.huriisutairu'free style' 47.uiikupoito'weak point'

32.toraburu'trouble' 40.huuzuhuu'Who's Who' 48.etosetora'etc.'

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LESSON 3 SUMMARY

n wa ra ya ma ha na ta sa ka a





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LESSON 4

LONG CONSONANTS

Compare the following items:

The first has a long vowel indicated by the special katakanasymbol for vowel lengthening. The

second includes the katakanaequivalent of tu, written slightly smaller and lower than the

surrounding symbols.1 This usage of signifies the lengthening of the initial consonant of the

following syllable, regularly indicated by a double consonant in romanization; the combination

never occurs initially.2 Thus:

representspiiku'peak'

representspikku'pick'

In traditional Japanese words, this writing convention (i.e., using a kanaequivalent of tuto signify

1In vertical writing, the symbol is written slightly smaller and to the right.2Occasionally, the reduced occurs in final position, as an indication of a glottal stop. For example, the exclamation a!, ends

abruptly with a catch in the throat, the sound made when the vocal cords are pressed together to stop the flow of air, and would be

written .

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consonant lengthening) occurs only in combination with the following syllables beginning withp-, t-,

s-, and k-; but in words recently borrowed from foreign languages, it occurs both with these and with

following syllables having initial b-, d-1,z, andg-. Note that the occurrence of the latter group is

characteristic of a more innovative variety of Japanese. For example, the English word 'bed'borrowed into Japanese occurs both as bettoand beddo, the first being more traditional and thesecond more innovative.

A long consonant kk,gg, tt, dd,pp, or bb, in a Japanese loanword often represents the

corresponding English consonant when it occurs at the end of a word or syllable following a simple

vowel as opposed to a diphthong (for example, 'let' as opposed to 'late'). The simple vowels are

represented as short vowels in Japanese, whereas diphthongs are usually represented as long vowels

or vowel sequences. Compare:

netto 'net' and neeto

or neito 'Nate'

hitto 'hit' and hiito 'heat'

sumokku 'smock' and sumooku 'smoke'

rukku 'look' and ruuku 'Luke'

1Syllables with initial d- are da, de, and doonly.

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Examples:

ppa

bba ppi bbi

ppu bbu

ppe bbe

ppo bbo

yooroppa 'Europe'

misisippii 'Mississippi'

nobbuhiru1 'Nob Hill'

happii 'happy'

happiiedo 'happy end[ing]'

happiibaasudee 'happy birthday'

appuru 'apple'

appurupai 'apple pie'

painappure 'pineapple'

1Also nobuhiru.

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tta dda

tti

ttu tte dde

tto ddo

karukatta 'Calcutta'

mahatta 'Manhattan'

rittimodo 'Richmond'

samorittu 'St. Moritz'

pittubaagu 'Pittsburgh'

rotterudamu 'Rotterdam'

tibetto 'Tibet'

sukottorado 'Scotland'

bagudaddo 'Baghdad'

batto 'bat'

battaa 'batter'

batterii 'battery'

yunaiteddosuteetuobuamerika 'United States of America'

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ssa zza

ssi zzi

ssu zzu

sse zze

sso zzo

odessa 'Odessa'

assamu 'Assam'

assiria 'Assyria'

gessemani 'Gethsemane'

keburizzi 'Cambridge' hassuru 'hustle'

bassuru 'bustle' (clothing)

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kka gga

kki ggi

kku ggu kke gge

kko ggo

mekka 'Mecca' rokkii 'Rocky [Mountains]'

ketakkii 'Kentucky' burukkuri 'Brooklyn'

sutokkuhorumu 'Stockholm' morokko 'Morocco'

dekki 'deck' teepudekki 'tapedeck'

bukku 'book' bukkuedo 'bookend'

hadobukku 'handbook' sukurappubukku 'scrapbook'

bakku 'back' bakkuappu 'back-up'

bakkusutoretti 'back-stretch' baggu 'bag'

hadobaggu 'handbag' biggu 'big' biggugeemu 'big game' biggusurii 'big three'

biggubizinesu 'big business

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ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

1.

2.3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

1.koppu 'drinking glass'

2.matti 'match'

3.moppu 'mop'

4.mobbu 'mob'5.beddo 'bed'

6.ezzi 'edge'

7.bazzi 'badge'

8.eggu 'egg'

9.hottodoggu 'hotdog'

10.kuriikatto 'cleancut'

11.suitti 'switch'

12.surippa 'slipper'

13.mottoo 'motto'

14.passibu 'passive'15.sumokku 'smock'

16.sakkaa 'soccer'

17.toiretto 'toilet'

18.hamueggu 'ham [and] egg'

19.guddosesu 'good sense'

20.kopurekkusu 'complex'

21.bisuketto 'biscuit', 'cookie'

22.hottokeeki 'hotcake'

23.rettugoo 'let's go'

24.mazikkudoa 'magic door'

25.niisokkusu 'knee socks'

26.mazikkuai 'magic eye'

27.nootakkusu 'no tax'

28.reddoteepu 'red tape'29.dainamikku 'dynamic'

30.bakkunabaa 'back number'

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31.

32.

33.

31.kasettoteepu 'cassette tape'

32.noohittonoorangeemu 'no-hit-no-run game'

33.uesutanrukku 'western look'

Reduced katakana may also be followed by a syllable with initial h-. The combination often

corresponds to the English spelling doublet 'ff', and , , and approximate the kind of

final sound that occurs in German 'ach', 'ich', and 'och'. Thus:

sutahhu 'staff' or 'stuff'

bahha 'Bach'

hairihhi 'Heinrich'

bagohho 'Van Gogh'

The last three examples are borrowings from languages other than English. Note that in these words,

the vowel following -hh- in the Japanese, which is not present in the original language, is the same

as the vowel preceding the lengthened consonant.

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SYLLABLES CONSISTING OF CONSONANT +y+ VOWEL

Examine the following combinations:

The first katakanasymbol in each group represents a syllable consisting of a consonant + i, and the

second, a syllable consisting ofy+ a vowel1. In each case, the second symbol is written slightly

smaller and lower2than the surrounding symbols. Such combinations represent singlesyllables

romanized as consonant +y+ vowel.

Thus, is equivalent to the romanized two-syllable sequence biya, but is equivalent to the

romanized single syllable bya.

This writing convention is used for traditional Japanese words as well as recent borrowings into the

language.

1The only vowels possible are a, u, and o.2Further right, in vertical writing.

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Summary of Consonant +y+ Vowel Syllables

kya1 sya2 tya3 nya hya mya rya

kyu syu tyu nyu hyu my ryukyo syo tyo nyo hyo myo ryo

gya4 zya5 bya pya

gyu zyu byu pyu

gyo zyo byo pyo

When the vowel of the consonant +y+ vowel syllable is lengthened, the symbol indicating length is

written in line with the symbols of regular size. Thus:

nyuu 'new'

Note that the consonant + y + vowel combination may be immediately preceded or followed by

reduced , indicating consonant lengthening. Thus:

neeruporissyu 'nail polish'

syoppigu'shopping'

1occurs frequently as a representation of the initial consonant + vowel of English 'cab', alternating with ka.2Sycombinations () regularly correspond to the initial consonant of English 'show'.

3Tycombinations () regularly correspond to the initial consonant of English 'chin'.4oocurs frequently as a representation of the initial consonant + vowel of English 'gab', alternating with ga.5Likezbefore i,zy() may correspond to the medial consonant of English 'ledger' or of 'measure'.

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Examples:

tyado

or tyaddo'Chad'

kyuuba'Cuba'

hyuuro'Huron'

syanhai'Shanghai

zyoozia'Georgia' kyabera'Canberra'

zyakaruta'Jakarta'

bamyuuda'Bermuda'

nyuuyooku'New York'

aryuusya'Aleutian' (islands)

masatyuusettu'Massachusetts' riodezyaneiro'Rio de Janeiro'

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ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

1.

2.3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.9.

10.

11.

12.13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.19.

20.

21.

22.23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.29.

30.

1.zyuusu 'juice'2.nyuusu 'news'

3.tyooku 'chalk'4.hyuuzu 'fuse'

5.pazyama 'pajama[s]'6.gyappu 'gap'

7.gyagu 'gang'

8.zyabo 'jumbo'9.rezyaa 'leisure'

10.roosyo 'lotion'

11.syapuu 'shampoo'12.zyookaa 'joker'

13.boryuumu 'volume'14.hyuuma 'human'

15.pyuuree 'pure16.byuuroo 'bureau'

17.myuuzikku 'music'

18.pyuurita 'puritan'19.hyuuneraru 'funeral'

20.pussyuho 'push [button] phone'

21.baabekyuu 'barbecue'22.bebiisyoppu 'baby shop'

23.zyairosukoopu 'gyroscope'24.nyuusubaryuu 'news value'

25.kopyuutaa 'computer'26.massyuruumu 'mushroom'

27.kyaburetaa 'carburetor'

28.nyuurotikku 'neurotic'29.hearoosyo 'hair lotion'30.yunaiteddoneesyozu 'United Nations'

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INNOVATIVE PRONUNCIATION

For the representation of sounds and combinations of sounds that occur only in the more innovative

Japanese pronunciation of recent loan words, special conventions for the use of katakanahave beenadopted.

1. The combinations exemplify the same principle that was described in the

preceding section, i.e., the initial symbols retain their consonantal value but lose their vocalic

value, and the combinations represent unit syllables. They will be represented in our

romanization as t(e)yu, d(e)yuand h(u)yurespectively.

Examples:

t(e)yuuba 'tuba'

ed(e)yukeesyo'education'

h(u)yuuneraru 'funeral'

In the less innovative variety of Japanese, tyu, zyu, and hyuoccur instead.

2. A vowel symbol written smaller and lower1than surrounding symbols also indicates that the

preceding symbol has its consonant value only. For example, the combination representsa single syllable consisting of the sound symbolized by the h-of hu+ the evowel. This will be

1Further right, in vertical texts.

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indicated in romanization as h(u)e. The more commonly occurring combinations in this

category are:

t(ei s(i)e h(u)a d(e)i z(i)e h(u)i

t(o)u h(u)e

d(o)u h(u)o

t(i)e

Examples:

keepukened(e)ii 'Cape Kennedy'

t(i)ekosurobakia 'Czechoslovakia'

aruz(i)eria 'Algeria'

naiz(i)eria 'Nigeria'

h(u)aaiisuto 'Far East'

nyuuh(u)audorado 'Newfoundland' h(u)iripi 'Philippine[s]'

h(u)irado 'Finland'

h(u)iraderuh(u)ia 'Philadelphia'

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In the less innovative variety of Japanese the following alternations occur:

for

for

for

for

for

for

for

for

for

for

for

3. The katakanacombination occurs in loanwords only, as a representation of the sound

sequence k+ w+ o. This combination will be symbolized by kwoin romanization.

Example:

ratekwootaa 'Latin Quarter'

In the less innovative variety of Japanese, kuo(i.e., two syllables) occurs instead.

4. When katakana is followed by a reduced vowel symbol or , it is assumes the

consonantal value of the w- of wa. Thus, while is equivalent to romanized waboth in native

Japanese words and loanwords, , , represent wi, we, wowhich occur only in

loanwords. In the less innovative variety of Japanese, ui, ue, uo all two-

syllable sequencesoccur instead. A long uvowel () continues to be the correspondence

for English 'w' + 'u' (as in 'wool', 'woman', etc.).

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NG J N S

Examples:

wiburudo 'Wimbledon' weeku 'Wake'

miruwookii 'Milwaukee'

5. Katakanawith nigoriis used to represent the voiced labiodental1'v' which occurs in Japanese

only in loanwords in the more innovative variety of the language. When followed by a reduced

vowel a, i, e,or o, represents the vonly. Without a following reduced vowel, represents

the syllable vu.Thus: va vi vu ve vo

In the less innovative variety of Japanese, ba, bi, bu, be, booccur instead of

these special combinations.

Examples:

vatika 'Vatican' vakuuvaa 'Vancouver'

visii 'Vichy' voruga 'Volga' (river)

saavu 'serve'

1Consonants articulated with the lower lip and the upper teeth.

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6. When katakanais followed by a reduced vowel symbol , it assumes the consonantal values

of theyofya, and the combination represents the syllableyewhich occurs only in loanwords.

In the less innovative variety of Japanese, a two-syllable sequence or occurs instead.

Example:

yeeme 'Yemen'

ADDITIONAL PRACTICE

1.

2.3.

4.

5.

6.

7.8.

9.

10.

11.

12.13.

14.

15.

1.h(u)a 'fan' (i.e., enthusiast)2.h(u)oto 'photo'

3.h(u)oiru 'foil'

4.byuhh(u)e 'buffet'5.video 'video'

6.soh(u)aa 'sofa'7.h(u)assyo 'fashion'

8.haih(u)ai 'hi-fi'

9.t(e)iipotto 'teapot'0.h(u)oomaru 'formal'

1.aisut(e)ii 'ice[d] tea'2.h(u)eapuree 'fair play'

3.h(u)ensigu 'fencing'

4.weitoresu 'waitress'5.yott(e)igu 'yachting'

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16.

17.

18.19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.25.

26.

27.

28.29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

16.supagett(e)i 'spaghetti'

17.kaad(e)iga 'cardigan'

18.nuud(e)isuto 'nudist'

19.kwootarii 'quarterly'

20.vaiori 'violin'

21.vorat(e)ia 'volunteer'22.h(u)ookudasu 'folk-dance'

23.h(u)ezaaweeto 'featherweight'

24.h(u)eedoauto 'fadeout'

25.h(u)iirudowaaku 'field work'

26.h(u)ihut(e)ih(u)ihut(e)i 'fifty-fifty'

27.h(u)oomurabaa 'foam rubber'

28.d(e)irupikkurusu 'dill pickles'

29.vokyabyurarii 'vocabulary'

30.h(u)aurusuroo 'foul throw'

31.t(e)iieizyaa 'teenager'32.saadokwootaa 'third quarter'

33.vakyuumukuriinaa 'vacuum cleaner'

34.h(u)ogettomiinatto 'forget-me-not'

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SUMMARY OF COMMON VARIANT CORRESPONDENCES1

Romanized: may correspond to English: as in:

aa ar, er, ir, or, ur maaku 'mark'raitaa 'lighter'

b v banira 'vanilla'

do d dorai 'dry'ee y + vowel eeru 'Yale'

gy(before a) g gyappu 'gap'h f hooku 'fork'

ho+ wa wh +vowel howaito 'white'

i matti 'match'i+ vowel y + vowel iesu 'yes'

ky(before a) k kyabaree 'cabaret'

/2(or before a vowel) n zoo 'zone'guor gu ng kigu 'king'

oo or pooku 'pork'r l hoteru 'hotel'

1Not included here are the usual, predictable correspondences such as Japanese brepresenting English 'b', JapanesesyrepresentingEnglish 'sh', etc.2In this list the symbol / represents word-final position.

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s th sumisu 'Smith'

s(before e) ch sero 'cello'

s(before i)1 s sii 'scene'

t(before i)2 t tiimu 'team'

to t toroi 'Troy'

t(before u)3 t tuu 'two'

u misu 'miss'

u+ vowel w + vowel uuru 'wool'z th mazaa 'mother'

z(before e) j zerii 'jelly'z(before i)4 z iizii 'easy'

d sauziarabia 'Saudi Arabia'

vowel + a vowel + r hea 'hair'

1Sbefore imore closely corresponds to English 'sh'.2Tbefore imore closely corresponds to English 'ch'.3Tbefore umore closely corresponds to English 'ts'.4Zbefore imore closely corresponds to English 'j', or the medial consonant of 'Asia'.

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SUPPLEMENT

The following are lists of katakanaloanwords and loan-phrases that appeared in three seperate

articles in well-known Japanese publications. Contemporary foreign personal names, as well as

traditional Japanese words written in katakanain these particular articles for special effect, have

been omitted.

1. The following items occurred within a one-page sports article concerning Japanese mothers of

children who are being pushed as prospective swimming champions. It appeared in a popular

Japanese weekly magazine that includes articles on a wide variety of subjects.

1.

2.3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.16.

17.

18.

19.

1.memo'memo'2.tesuto'test'

3.medoree'medley'4.taoru'towel'

5.kooti'coach'6.eriito'elite'

7.amerika'America'

8.oripikku'Olympic'9.wotti'watch'

10.sutoppuwotti'stop-watch'11.guruupu'group'

12.eeziguruupu'age group'13.kurabu'club'

14.suimigukurabu'swimming club'15.supootu'sports'

16.supootumama'sports mama'17.puuru'pool'

18.puurusaido'poolside'19.puurusaidomama'poolside mama'

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2. The same publication included a political article on an American presidential visit. Within that

article the following loanwords (excluding contemporary personal names) occurred.

Place Names

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

1.azia 'Asia'2.tai 'Thai[land]'3.bakoku 'Bangkok'4.betonamu 'Vietnam'

5.saigo 'Saigon'6.manira 'Manila'7.guamu 'Guam'8.ido 'India'

9.nyuuderii 'New Delhi'10.ruumania 'Rumania'11.bukaresuto 'Bucharest'12.t(i)ekosurobakia 'Czechoslovakia'

13.puraha 'Prague'1

14.poorando 'Poland'15.amerika 'America'

1This borrowing is based on the native pronunciation of Prague.

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Miscellaneous terms and references

16.

17.18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.31.

32.

33.

34.

16.haroo 'hello'

17.guddobai 'good-bye'

18.aruh(u)a 'alpha'

19.omega 'omega'

20.meritto 'merit'

21.egoizumu 'egoism'22.inisiatibu 'initiative'

23.apurooti 'approach'

24.muudo 'mood'

25.purasu 'plus'

26.domino 'domino'

27.oobaakomittometo 'over-commitment'

28.terebi 'televi[sion]'

29.purezeto 'present'

30.tenpi 'ten-pin'

31.pareedo 'parade'

32.aporo 'Apollo'

33.isoppu 'Aesop'

34.ganzii 'Gandhi'

3. In a short newspaper article on the varieties of breads that are becoming popular in Japan, the

following katakanaloanwords appeared, borrowed from several languages.

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1.

2.

3.4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.10.

11.

12.

13.14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

1.pa 'bread'2.doitupa 'German bread'3.hurasupa 'French bread'4.raibureddo 'rye bread'5.reezubureddo 'raisin bread'

6.kaizaarooru 'Kaiser roll'7.teebururooru 'table roll'8.bagetto 'baguette'9.kuresseto 'crescent'

10.kurowassa 'croissant'

11.buriossyu 'brioche'12.padokapaanyu 'pain de campagne'

13.denissyupesutorii 'Danish pastry'14.suupu 'soup'15.nattu 'nuts'

16.tiizu 'cheese'17.hamu 'ham'18.sooseezi 'sausage'19.bataa 'butter'

20.zyamu 'jam'21.tyokoreeto 'chocolate'22.kuriimu 'cream'23.koohii 'coffee'24.wai 'wine'

25.sunakku 'snack'26.yooroppa 'Europe'27.demaaku 'Denmark'28.orada 'Holland'

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ROLOMAIL TRADING COMPANYKATAKANA WALL CHART


Genuine Elementary School Katakana Syllabary Wall Charts are used throughout the Japanese

educational system at the very youngest age. Each katakana symbol in the chart is accompanied by

an example Japanese word and picture.

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LESSON 5

INTRODUCTION

The next four lessons (i.e. 5 through 8) introduce hiragana, the kanathat is used to write all verbal

and adjectival endings, all forms of desu, and particles. Many other items are regularly written in

hiragana, either because no Chinese characters have ever been assigned to them, or because their

representation by Chinese characters has fallen into disuse in accordance with currently approved

writing regulations.

For each symbol in the katakanasyllabary there is a corresponding hiraganasymbol having the

same phonetic value. For these two overlapping sets to exist side by side represents redundancy inthe extreme. In terms of utilization, however, the two sets are kept distinct: katakanais associated

primarily with soundparticularly the pronunciation of foreign words that have been recently

borrowed into the language, of native words disassociated from their usual contexts or meanings, of

words misused or mispronounced, etc.; hiraganais associated primarily with representation of items

that are regarded as native to the Japanese language, being used in a traditional sense. Thus these

two syllabaries, both of which operate on the general principle of using one symbol to represent one

syllable, actually have distinctive connotations for the Japanese. The written representation of a

word like tabakois a clear indication of the distinction: as a new loanword it was regularly written in

katakana, but today, after many years of constant use within the Japanese language, it has lost its

foreign connotation and is often written in hiragana.

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Foreign students who know only kanaare actually able to write anything that occurs in the

Japanese language: katakanais used to represent recently borrowed loanwords and hiraganafor

everything else. However, native Japanese who have completed even one year of school would notnormally write any connected text in this way: they would regularly use a number of Chinesecharacters along with the two systems of kana. Nevertheless, by introducing only carefully selected

phrases and short drill sentences as examples, it is possible to practice katakanaand hiragana

without resorting to any distortion as a concession to beginning foreign students.

In developing the material that follows in this text, there was strict adherence to the following

principle: anything written in kanain these lessons must represent language that would also be

written in kanaby adult Japaneseif not always, at least often. Accordingly, the examples of

Lesson 5, and every subsequent lesson, can stand as written even after students have progressed to

the end of the book and beyond. In other words,suru, kore, koko, etc. are introduced in hiraganain

Lesson 5 not because the beginning student hasnt yet learned the Chinese characters for these words,but rather because this is in fact the way these words are regularly written.

Please note that unlike the katakana, which can be neatly drawn within the confines of a perfect

square, the hiraganaare circular forms which are perhaps best conceptualized as being drawn within

the confines of a circle. In fact, Japanese schoolchildren practice drawing hiraganainside of such

circles. As the hiraganasymbols are presented below, the stroke order is shown inside of a such apractice circle.

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Hiraganasymbol: KatakanaEquivalent Romanization Stroke Order

su

ru

si

ma

Examples:

suru do

anausu suru announce

simasu do F1

kopii simasu copy F

1F= formal.

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te

i

a

ri re

Examples:

site iru be doing

site imasu be doing F sutoraiki site imasu be on strike F

aru there is; have

arimasu there is; have F

are that thing (over there)

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so

ko

kaExamples:

sore that thing

kore this thing

koko this place

soko that place

asoko

or asuko that place (over there)

simasu ka do [you] do? F site imasu ka are [you] doing? F

kotorooru site imasu ka are [you] controlling? F

arimasu ka is there?; do [you] have? F

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ha; wa1

2 wo; o3

Example:

hai yes kore wa concerning this

asoko wa concerning that place (over there)

hawai wa concerning Hawaii

kore o simasu do this F

sore o site imasu be doing that F

are o taipu-site imasu by typing that one (over there) F

1is pronounced wawhen used as a topic particle.

2In the table of the Gozyuuo, these symbols are traditionally included in the w- row. Since katakanadoes not ordinarily occur in

loanwords, it was not introduced in Lesson 1-4.3only occurs as a particle. Insofar as and are otherwise used, they indicate historical, not modern, spelling.

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to

mo

Examples:

kore to with this

kore to sore this and that

koko to asoko this place and that place (over there)

wasito to bosuto Washington and Boston

kore to are o simasu do this and that (over there)

mosimosi hello (on telephone); say there!

kore mo aru have this, too; there is this, too

kore mo are mo both this and that (over there)

koko mo soko mo both this place and that place matti mo raitaa mo both matches and a lighter

are mo kore mo simasu do both that (over there) and this F

kore mo are mo arimasu have both this and that (over there);

there are both this and that (over there) F

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LESSON 5 SUMMARY

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DIACRITICS

The use of nigoriand maruwith hiraganais parallel to their use with katakana. Thus:

Hiragana Katakana Romanization ga orga

go or go

zi

zu

zo

de

do

ba

pa

Examples:

dore which one? doko what place?

dore desu ka which one is it? F doko desu ka what place is it? F

ikaga desu ka how is it? F doko de mo whatever place it is

dore de mo whichever it is kore de suru do with (i.e. by means of) this

koko de suru do here koko made suru do up to here

korega arimasu have this one; there is this one F

sore wa arimasuga have that one, but; there is that one, but F

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READING DRILLS

1Varieesyo doriri Variation Drill.

2Imeeziappu-suru improve ones image (based on image-up).

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1Risuposu doriru Response Drill.

2Gaadoma security guard, literally guard(man).

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1Kobineesyo doriru Combination Drill

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1Saabisu-suruprovide free as part of the services (based on service).

2Appuru-suruappeal, have appeal.

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PRACTICE

Reading

Practice reading the preceding drills aloud until you can read them rapidly and without any

hesitation. As you practice, change the order of the drills and the sentences within them, to avoid

reliance on knowing what is coming next through frequent reading of the same material. Are youunderstanding as you read? Consciously aim to acquire this skill. There should be immediate

association of the written sequences with sound and meaning.

Writing

1.Using the romanization and/or English glosses at the beginning of the lesson, practice writing the

Japanese equivalents. Be sure to use the prescribed stroke order in writing the kanasymbols.

2.Write out the English translations of a sampling of the drill sentences. From this English

material, reconstruct the original, written Japanese equivalents.

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HIRAGANA MOUSEPAD


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LESSON 6



na

raExamples:

naru become naranai doesnt become

nai there isnt; doesnt have koko kara from here

sinai doesnt do samu kara from Sam

site nai hasnt been done sore kara after that

site inai isnt doing nai kara because there isnt

anausu-site inai isnt announcing suru kara because [I] do

site kara after doing

site iru kara because [I] am doing

site aru kara because [it] has been done

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se

ze

Examples:

simase doesnt do F

narimase doesnt become F

arimase there isnt; doesnt have

amari simase doesnt do to any great extent F

naze why?

nazesimase ka why dont [you] do? F kona susi sushi like this

dona susi what kind of sushi?

ana pe that kind of pen

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ta

daExamples:

sita did sitai wants to do

simasita did F simasitaga did but F

sitai desuga would like to do but F donata1

who? simase desita didnt do F dare who?

dare de mo whoever it is donatade mo whoever it is

kore da is this takusii da is a taxi

asoko da is that place (over there) kore desita was this one F

dare desu ka who is it F mada desu (is) not yet F

donatadesita ka who was it F mada sinai hasnt yet done

1= politehonorific; = politehumble; = politeneutral.

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ku

gu /(orgu)/

yo

Examples:

sitaku nai doesnt want to do sitaku naru get to want to do

naritaku nai doesnt want to become sukosi-gurai (about) a little

sitaku arimase doesnt want to do F yoi is good

koko da yo is this place (informative) yoku naru become good

yoku suru do [it] a good deal sore yori more than that

kore yori yoi is better than this sore desu yo is that F

yooroppa yori more than Europe yoku nai isnt good

rekood(e)igu-sitaku arimase doesnt want to record F

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no1

1

ti

Examples:

kono susi this sushi ano soba that soba (over there)

dono-gurai about how much? koko no susi the sushi here

doko no soba the soba where? kotira this way or this alternative kona no da is one like this koko no desu is the one here F

dotira mo both dotira de mo either one

atiri de suru do [it] over that way

dotira which way? or which alternative?

kotira da is this way or is this alternative

sono d(e)isukassyo that discussion

2 doko no meesutoriito the main street where?

meesutoriito no doko where on the main street?

1For with nigori, see Lesson 8.

2Or

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u1

1

tu

Examples:

kore to sore to are no uti de among (i.e., given the alternatives of) this one and that

one and the one over there

koko to soko to asoko no uti de among (i.e., given the alternatives of) this place and thatplace and that place over there

ano guruupu no mebaa no uti de among the members of that group

itu when?

itu mo always

itu de mo any time

itu simasu ka when will [you] do? F

itu kara itu made from when until when? itu kara site imasu ka how long have [you] been doing? (lit. since when are

[you] doing?) F

1For with nigori, see Lesson 8.

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ki1 gi /(orgi)/

o

Examples:

dekiru can do

dekita could do

dekinai cant do

tugi da is next

kono tugi desu is next after this F

site oru be doing

site orimasita was doing F

oisii is delicious

oisiku nai isnt delicious

oisiku naru become delicious

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LESSON 6 SUMMARY

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LONG CONSONANTS AND LONG VOWELS

1. The hiraganarepresentation of long consonants1is parallel to that of the katakana: a reduced ,

the hiraganaequivalent of , precedes a symbol representing a syllable that begins with theconsonant that is being lengthened. Thus:

kka

ssi

ttu

ppa

In hiragana, the only long consonants that are normally written this way are kk,ss, tt, andpp.

Other such combinations that occur are present only in loanwords and therefore would not

ordinarily be written in hiragana2.

1Other than long nasals; the first syllable of these is regulary written with the syllabic nasal symbol .

2As discussed in Lesson 3.

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Examples:

atta there was; had

yokatta was good sitakatta wanted to do

kore datta was this one

yokatta desu was good F

sinakatta didnt do

dekinakatta couldnt do

sitaku natta got to want to do sitaku nakatta didnt want to do

dekinaku natta became unable to do

yoku naranakatta didnt become good

motto sitai wants to do more

sore yori zutto yoku natta became much better than that one

2. Unlike the katakanarepresentation of long vowels, which uses a straight line to indicate length,

the hiraganarepresentation regularly specifies a long vowel by writing a second hiragana

symbol.

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Thus:

Hiragana Katakana Romanization

ii kii

kuu

maa

However, what is pronounced as eeis usually written as eiin hiragana. Romanization in this e-

book will hereafter reflect kanaspelling and tradition rather than pronunciation.

Examples:

kireipretty

taiteiusually

Long o(romanized oo) is spelled with a final in hiragana. In this case, the ooromanization

will be continued in this e-book, conforming to both pronunciation and tradition.

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Examples:

doohow?

doo moin every way

doozoplease

doo itasimasitedont mention it F

soo dais that way

soo simasudo that way F

arigatoothank you

ohayoogood morning

moo sitahas done already

moo aruthere already is; already has

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Long oin only a few words is spelled in hiraganawith final

(for example,

ookiiisbig; tooiis far1), and only such words unambiguously correspond to ooin

romanization. In all other instances, the occurrence of a hiraganasymbol representing an o-final

syllable followed by , may correspond to ooor ou.

For example, hiragana soothat way orsousuit, meet. Ambiguity is resolved

by context in the written language and by pronunciation (as well as context) in the spoken

language.

1Under ordinary circumstances, these two words would not be written inkanaalone. The use of Chinese characters to represent their

roots would of course wipe out the use of hiraganain representing the long othey both include.

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READING DRILLS

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Toyota

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1

1Puripudding.

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PRACTICE

Follow the suggestions for practice at the end of Lesson 5. As one check on your reading and

writing facility, time yourself at intervals using one drill as a sample. Is your speed improving? Forexample, can you read Drill F within one minute? Can you write within about seven minutes theJapanese for the same drill, using dictation or a Romanized equivalent as the stimulus? If your speed

is significantly below that, continue to practice before moving on into the next lesson.

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HIRAGANA WALL CHART


Genuine Elementary School Hiragana Syllabary Wall Charts are used throughout the Japanese

educational system at the very youngest age. Each hiragana symbol in the chart is accompanied by

an example Japanese word and picture.

Reading Japanese.pdf

Documents

Transcript of Reading Japanese.pdf