Basic Japanese grammar

by E.F. Bleiler

Basic Japanese Grammar is a refreshingly clear, simple and compact guide to colloquial, everyday Japanese. It teaches all the grammar needed to speak and understand simple spoken Japanese, but leaves aside the baggage of unnecessary or rarely used forms and constructions that are more important for written Japanese. Covering only what is essential, it provides an efficient way for learners who have limited time to gain basic proficiency and begin to communicate naturally with Japanese speakers.

Genres: Japanese Literature, Language, Reference, Linguistics

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) (see also Everett F. Bleiler) was an editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" series of science fiction anthologies, and his Checklist of Fantastic Literature has been called "the foundation of modern SF bibliography". Among his other scholarly works are two Hugo Award–nominated volumes concerning early science fiction—Science-Fiction: The Early Years and Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years—and the massive Guide to Supernatural Fiction.

Bleiler worked at Dover Publications from 1955, becoming executive vice-president of the company from 1967 until he left the company in 1977; he then worked for Charles Scribner's Sons until 1987. He edited a number of ghost story collections for Dover, containing what the genre historian Mike Ashley has described as "detailed and exemplary introductions".

Bleiler received the Pilgrim Award for lifetime achievement in science fiction scholarship in 1984, the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1988, the First Fandom Hall of Fame award in 1994, and the International Horror Guild Living Legend award in 2004.

Bleiler wrote two works of fiction: the fantasy novel Firegang: A Mythic Fantasy (2006), set in the tree of Yggdrasil as well as moving across time and space, and Magistrate Mai and the Invisible Murderer (2006), a detective story set in ancient China, similar to the work of Robert Van Gulik.

Bleiler's son, Richard, is also a science fiction historian and assisted his father on several of his works.

Reviews

[Frederike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though my 1963 7 by 4,5 inch edition only counts a 140 pages (not counting the table of contents nor index) it is informative to the max and a book to go back to while learning the Japanese language

[Nicki Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basic Japanese Grammar is an excellent text for those semi-new to Japanese. I say 'semi' because the book does anticipate you have a little basic knowledge and are looking to build a better understand of the grammar, having learnt some vocabulary/phrases. Unlike the last Japanese grammar book I borrowed from the library, this one does open by explaining important basic facts, such as the lack of plurals etc. In terms of conjugations, it sticks to two forms: abrupt/informal and polite/formal. That works well though, as it doesn't inundate you right off the bat. Everything was explained simply and well, and I had no trouble understanding any of the concepts. Yes, you would need to go beyond this book eventually for a more comprehensive understanding, but as a beginner's text, I thought it did a perfect job.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is at the same time annoyingly specific and exceptionally vague, and puts romaji ahead of kana in examples. It is also chock-a-block full of errors, making it a terrible text for beginners despite the title.

[Merenwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giving it four stars, just because there are some details that are contradictory to what I learned in other books. For instance, I always learned that "boku" was only used by men, and "hajimemashite" is more like "How do you do?" as it always precedes introducing yourself by name, rather than "pleased to meet you". That said, I like that they used the Hepburn romanization rather than the method that uses double-vowels for long vowel sounds (which makes "sayonara" look like "sayoonara" - Wikipedia tells me this is called the JSL romanization).

[S.M.Y Kayseri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book to supplement my Genki. But Genki already provided ample explanation on grammar and lots of practice.

[Galatea · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the clearest, most practical guides to Japanese grammar out there.

[Brendan Coster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outside of the the various websites I've been using, this book is the single best resource I've picked up for my studies so far. Has it stands it's a streamlined manual, but it given more space to explain things and more examples, it'd become a text book in no time, but, BUT, that would make it far clunkier to use.

The writing is clean, the explanations are all to the point, and what examples are given are all given in Romaji, 日本語, a literal translation, and in english. Which seems pretty basic to me, but this is one of the only resources I've found that does all four.

My only complaint, if you want to call it that, is that you kind of need to read the book through, to then use it. The entire book is annotated to refer you to later sections for information. I don't really see how you could fix that in a ~160 page bound volume. My point being, if you pick this up to help with your own Japanese studies, just push through it on a first read, then go back and use the sections for practice. I feel you are going to waste time otherwise.

It's so useful, I've taken it out for another 2 weeks from the Library. Though ultimately, I'll probably buy it. Just wished I found it 4 months ago.