Japanese Language Learning Reviews

Barron’s Japanese Grammar by Carol and Nobuo Akiyama

Score:
8 / 10
Pros:
low price; small and compact; covers every major topic of grammar; great organization; easy to search index and table of contents; real-life Japanese examples for every grammatical point; even includes verb, classifier and number tables!

Cons:
no Japanese script (only romaji, or Romanization); not in-depth enough for advanced students

Barron’s small, pocket sized Japanese Grammar sets out a comprehensive overview of every major aspect of Japanese grammar.

The layout of the book befits a reference guide perfectly. There are no exercises, no lessons, and explanations are kept short and relevant. Sections are numbered and written in red, and headings are subnumbered (like “2.1″) and titled in all caps. Japanese examples are also in red, and English translations in bold. Key words and points are set apart in boxes with a colored background.

The linguistic organization is hierarchical and logical. For instance, section 6, “Particles”, includes a subsection 6.2 “Particles Used with Words or Phrases” that explains and gives examples of 18 important particles. The examples are displayed in a very useful way. Each red Japanese word has a line pointing to it that indicates the grammatical function of that word below it. Then, the full English translation is given in bold. Extra information is brief, but occurs frequently and points you in the right direction.

The bulk of this Japanese grammar deals with parts of speech (nouns, particles, adverbs, pronouns and, especially, Japanese verbs and adjectives). Short sections on pronunciation, writing and word order give extra help to learners, but don’t teach those topics beyond the surface level. “Special topics” follow the parts of speech topics and deal with classifiers, numbers and a few useful categories of words. A Japanese-English vocabulary reviews many of the words used in this grammar.

The index and table of contents are both robust and easy-to-use, allowing you to quickly look up specific topics and find exact page or sub-section numbers.

For all that it does well, this guide is written entirely in Romanized characters. Students who have traveled deeper into their Japanese studies might find themselves disappointed. After all, you’re reading transliterated Japanese here, not “authentic” Japanese.

This little book isn’t detailed enough to answer every single question you’ll have about the Japanese language, but it covers all the topics of beginning and intermediate grammar. It gives real-life examples for each topic. It’s easy to flip and search through. It’s color coordinated. Granted, it’s missing true Japanese script, but you might overlook that for its organization and low price.