FAQ FOR SCI.LANG.JAPAN - VOCABULARY BOOKS

"Body" Language (Power Japanese series) by Jeffrey G. Garrison

General Information: Publisher: Kondansha International. 1990. ISBN 0-87011-955-9 Price: $6.95/1000 yen/4.95 pounds Main Features: This book details various idioms that use parts of the body and categorizes them by body part. It provides sample sentences but unfortunately does not explain how the phrase came to be used as an idiom. Examples in kanji/romaji

Instant Vocabulary through Prefixes and Suffixes (Power Japanese series) by Timothy J. Vance

General Information: Publisher: Kondansha International. 1990.ISBN 0-87011-953-2 Price: $6.95/1000 yen/4.95 pounds Main Features: Kanji used as common prefix/suffix (eg: dai-, sai-, -butsu) Examples of usage in kanji/romaji.

A Dictionary of Japanese and English Idiomatic Equivalents by Charles Corwin (ed)

General Information: Publisher: Kodansha International. 1968. ISBN 0-87011-1116 Price: 16.95 pounds, 3900 Yen Main Features: idiomatic equivalents (with example sentences) indexed under 222 Japanese thought categories with cross-reference from English

Minimum Essential Politeness: A Guide to the Japanese Honorific Language by Agnes M. Niyekawa

General Information: Publisher: Kodansha International. 1991. ISBN 4-7700-1624-7 Price: 2000 Yen/12.95 pounds/$14.95 Main Features: Explains respect language, ingroup/outgroup distinctions, status. The appropriate level for various occasions, respect words and how to construct respect forms.

Making out in Japanese by Todd and Erica Geers

General Information: Publisher: Yen Books (Charles Tuttle). 1988. ISBN 0-8048-1541-0 Price: $5.95
Main Features: Colloquial expressions, lover's talk, and insults

Japanese in Action (Revised Edition) by Jack Seward

General Information: Publisher: Weatherhill. 1968/83. ISBN 0-8348-0033-0 Price: $12.50/6.95 pounds Main Features: Unorthodox, very interesting.

An Illustrated Dictionary of Japanese Onomatopoeic Expressions by Taro Gomi

General Information: Publisher: Japan Times. 1989. ISBN 4-78990-0482-1 Price: 11.50 pounds/1550 Yen

Japanese Street Slang, by Peter Constantine

General Information: Published in 1992. No illustrations. 190 pages, US$9.95.
Main Features: Covers slang for all the subjects your Japanese teacher will be too embarrassed to mention: sex, crime, drugs, etc. Many taboo words. Each headword followed by an essay on the word and similar vocabulary. Many sentence examples with idiomatic English translations. Romaji only. Both Japanese and English indexes. Recommended if you plan to become a heroin-addicted pimp who hangs out with a motorcycle gang.
Review by tomgally@twics.co.jp

Beyond Polite Japanese, by Akihiko Yonekawa, translated by Jeff Garrison, extensively rewritten by Michael Brase (Power Japanese Series)

General Information: Published in 1992. 173 pages. No illustrations. 1,200 yen. US$8.00.
Main Features: All entries in romaji with kana/kanji and English equivalents. Japanese index. Less racy than "Japanese Street Slang" but more practical for most students of Japanese. Review by tomgally@twics.co.jp

Click Rafael Santos (santos@mickey.ai.kyutech.ac.jp) Last Update: March 25, 1995