Jazz Up Your Japanese with Onomatopoeia: For All Levels

Power Japanese

by Hiroko Fukuda

Onomatopoeia is one of the most outstanding features of the Japanese language. Its acquisition is essential for students who wish to speak (or understand) natural Japanese, read literature or manga, or watch anime in the original. The problem is that Japanese onomatopoeic words are so
different from their English equivalents (words such as pop, bang, splat, and squeak) that they are extremely hard to remember and put into practice.

The book begins with an introduction that outlines what "onomatopoeia" means in both English and Japanese. It covers sound and meaning in general, onomatopoeia in English, sound symbolism in English and Japanese, Japanese onomatopoeia and mimesis, types of Japanese onomatopoeia, grammatical
functions of Japanese onomatopoeia, Japanese written forms, and how new Japanese onomatopoeic words are formed (for example, in manga).

This introductory material is all-important, for without the overall picture it presents, students are forced to learn Japanese onomatopoeia by rote, one word at a time, as if each was unique unto itself, as if each had no logical connection with any other word, and as if Japanese onomatopoeia was a
huge, ugly hodgepodge instead of the beautiful, well-organized microcosm that it is.

However, this introduction alone would not suffice to produce fluency. Onomatopoeia must be seen in action for that to happen. This is done in the second part of the book, which consists of eleven situational dialogues that allow students to eavesdrop on Japanese speaking the way they do in real
life. The dialogues are given in Japanese script (with furigana over all kanji), romanization, and English translation. Each example of onomatopoeia that appears in the dialogue has its own commentary, including definitions, usage, and two or more sample sentences. Cultural notes are given when they
help to clarify the situation presented in the dialogue. Each dialogue is followed by a quiz.

With its edifying introduction and lively dialogues, Jazz Up Your Japanese with For All Levels will, without a doubt, help students come to grips with this intriguing aspect of the Japanese language, whether they be intermediate students who can benefit from seeing onomatopoeia used in
a variety of situations or beginning students who, as they slowly add new onomatopoeia to their vocabulary, will profit from seeing how these words fit into a larger, fully developed scheme. The book will also, whatever the level, make Japanese much more fun to study.

Previously published in Kodansha International's Power Japanese series under the title Flip, Slither, & Japanese Sound and Action Words (1993). Now with a new introduction and quizzes.

Genres: Language, Reference, Japan, Japanese Literature, Nonfiction, Linguistics

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

tl;dr: Not a bad book to add to your collection, but I'd only recommend this if you're at least around an N4 or N3 (beginner intermediate or intermediate) level. Heads up, there is romaji. -_-

Not tl;dr:

I love that the introduction covers how onomatopoeia works in English. As a native speaker, this isn't something I've ever really thought about, so it was very interesting to read that section, and hear about the patterns I had never noticed before.

The introduction also covers similar patterns and tricks you can use for Japanese onomatopoeia. It's not a catch-all, there are always exceptions, but still really handy!

Another review I saw mentioned confusion over the target audience for this book, and I have to agree. Onomatopoeia is already a more upper beginner/intermediate concept already, and the example sentences in the book are an intermediate (N3) level at least. Yet this book has romaji for all the Japanese included. (They use furigana quite a bit, so they obviously could've just done that instead. But chose not to.) My best guess is the typical, gotta aim for those absolute beginner's wallets to get that $$$, which I've unfortunately seen in a lot of language educational media. Despite the book's recommendations that this is for all levels, I would not recommend this book to a beginner, I would say be at least N4 level before you think about picking this up.

The main content of the book are sections of thematic situations, with a sample dialogue including several onomatopoeia, translation, short explanations + additional sample sentences of those onomatopoeia, and a quiz. There are also notations of the implication of the word (if it's more positive (G/good), neutral (N), or negative (B/bad)). In total, there are 11 scenarios, all with about ten onomatopoeia each.

I also liked the unique English translations, which read more like localizations, which I've been wanting more practice and familiarity with, so that was great for me. (After discovering Sarah Moon's channel on YouTube discussing the career of localizing, I've been more curious about it!)

Each chapter also contains small bits of culture references/descriptions, on food, clothing, customs, etc., which I appreciate.

The 20$ price tag feels a touch high to me, especially compared to other Japanese language resources, but it's not a bad book. I just really wish it didn't have romaji, and replaced it with additional example sentences or deeper explanations. (Especially, again, when it's clearly content meant for more intermediate learners.) Feels like a waste of space otherwise.

If you're looking for a free alternative, I recommend Onomappu's YouTube channel. His videos have onomatopoeia as a focus. (They're not affiliated, just a resource I recommend.)

All in all, it's a great resource. My biggest gripe is just the romaji. If it's in your budget, and you're looking for more books for your collection, I do recommend it. :)

PS I did find a spelling mistake in the furigana on page 98. お忙しい is missing the が, however they do include it in the romaji. There might've been other mistakes, I wasn't looking too closely, but it was the only one I noticed.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a very helpful way to extend my vocabulary of Japanese onomatopoeia (giongo/gitaigo). It has quite a lengthy introduction (35 pages) to the subject. After that, there are 11 chapters that all follow the same format: a dialogue containing 10-12 gitaigo, descriptions and example sentences for each gitaigo, and a quiz to finish. There are also various brief comments on Japanese culture and life dispersed throughout the book.

Many of the gitaigo were new to me. I recommend reading the ALC book "Giongo, Gitaigo" by Akutsu Satoru first as it is smaller and contains more familiar gitaigo.

The dialogues and example sentences were written in very casual Japanese, which is appropriate given that gitaigo tend to be used more in casual spoken Japanese than in formal written Japanese.

The quizzes were helpful for testing how much I could remember. Their only fault was that the answers tended to be in the same order as the words were introduced in the chapter, making it easy to guess the correct answer; it would have been better if the order had been mixed up.

[Mika · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is pretty good and comprehensive! a co-worker who majored in Japanese linguistics seemed to approve. I keep failing all the chapter quizzes, though, so that sucks.

[Louis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on this book, it was just a list of vocabulary set out in an almost interesting way, with frustratingly incorrect English translations that didn't really convey the meaning of the vocab at all. Has some interesting stuff, but I felt like it was a waste of my time going through it. The two indexes makes it kind of useful, but a good dictionary is a better read.

[Ruth Bogan]

I'm not going to read this straight through--okay, maybe I am. Just not in big chunks. A few pages a day or so. The intro was good. Once again, you learn a lot about your own language by studying somebody else's.