日本語

1. 日本語

2. 日本語の勉強を 楽しくしましょう

3. Table of Contents • Speaking Japanese ♦Pronunciation 　♦Vowels 　♦Consonants • Writing Japanese ♦Hiragana　　平仮名 ♦Katakana　　カタカナ ♦Kanji 　漢字　

4. Speaking Japanese • 日本語　(nihongo) Each region has its own dialect, but a standard version of Japanese is taught in schools and understood by people all over Japan. http://japanese.about.com/library/blhiraganaaudio.htm http://japanese.about.com/library/blkatakanaaudio.htm

5. Pronunciation When speaking Japanese, it’s important to make each syllable the same length and say it clearly. Vowels Consonant

6. Vowel sounds are shorter than their English equivalents. a as in rather i as in beat u as in book e as in get o as in hot When i and u follow a consonant, they are not always sounded clearly. e.g. desu => dess suki => sski Two vowels together should be pronounced as separate sounds and not combined. e.g. kouen (park) => koh en Some syllables can be combined to form one. e.g. kya is a combination of ki and ya. Vowels

7. The pronunciation of consonants is not as strong as English. R is between an r and l sound. V is pronounced the same as b. If there is a double consonant, pause slightly before saying the consonant. The sound of borrowed words has to be changed to fit with Japanese pronunciation. In most cases, consonants must be followed by a vowel. e.g. hot dog=> hotto doggu Consonants

8. Japanese Writing • ひらがな: Hiragana -- Curving, flowing look. • カタカナ: Katakana – Straight, angular look. • 漢字: kanji – Characters adapted from Chinese writing. • Horizontal and Vertical Writing: Japanese can be written both horizontally and vertically.

9. What is ひらがな？ All Japanese words can be written in hiragana, a writing system with 46 syllables. http://japanese.about.com/od/hiragan1/Hiragana.htm Imu Neko Uchi Hana dog cat house flower いぬ ねこ うち はな

10. Hiragana

11. What is カタカナ？ • Foreign words are written in katakana which also has 46 syllables. • http://japanese.about.com/od/kataka2/Katakana.htm koohii keeki chiizu pan coffee cake cheese bread コーヒー ケーキ チーズ パン

12. Katakana

13. Hiragana and Katakana • Hiragana and Katakana syllables are derived from the kanji Chinese characters: katakana from the radical or component part of kanji, and hiragana from the characters themselves. • In addition to being used to transcribe the foreign words, the katakana are also used for sending Japanese language telegrams. http://japanese.about.com/library/blbeginkanji.htm

14. What　ｉｓ　漢字？ • 漢字 (kanji) are characters of symbols that are borrowed from the Chinese about 2000 years ago. • There are about 50,000 of the Chinese characters, but in Japan only about 3,000 are common, and of this number, 1945 have been designated by the government for daily use.

15. The Japanese gradually assimilated kanji to meet their own need for a script – but without changing the pronunciation of their own language. Most kanji can be read in two or more different ways with the meaning depending on which way the kanji is read. Example: 白鳥 means “swan” when pronounced hakuchou, but “white bird” when read as shiratori. Kanji

16. kanji • To read newspaper or magazine, it is necessary to know all hiragana, katakana, and about 2000 kanji. • Kanji were originally formed from simple pictures, mostly taken from nature. These were later standardized and additional words were formed by combinations of kanji.

17. 富士山 (Mt. Fuji) More 漢字 … 日本桜 (Japanese Cherry Blossom)

18. 寿司 sushi Can you read these hiragana, katakana and kanji?

19. References • http://japanesei.wikispaces.com/file/view/bowing2.gif • http://japanesei.wikispaces.com/file/view/hiragana_symbols.gif • http://japanese.about.com/library/blbeginkanji.htm • www.google.com • www.japan.about.com • www.clipart.com • Zen meditation Retreat www.deltaentertainment.com • In Japan EMC Publishing 1992 • Everything Japanese by Boye DeMente Passport Books 1975

20. The End 終