Timothy G. Stout - Japanese Katakana for Beginners: First Steps to Mastering the Japanese Writing System

Acknowledgments I am deeply grateful to the many individuals who have contributed valuable comments and suggestions on this book. I am particularly grateful to former colleagues at the American School in Japan: For help especially on hiragana sections, Clark Tenney, Keiko Yasuno, Keiko Ando, Sumino Hirano, Mariko Smisson, Jo Ash, Anita Gesling, Maki Ushigome, Machiko Romaine, Naoko Pennell, and Leslie Birkland; for help especially on katakana sections, Keiko Yasuno, Keiko Ando, Sumino Hirano, Mariko Smisson, Yuko Hayashi, and Clark Tenney. I also wish to thank Noriko Okada (Waterford School) and Shauna Stout for their careful proofreading and valuable feedback. Many others offered their support, and I wish to sincerely thank Dr. Masakazu Watabe, LaNae Stout, Linda Gerber, Shauna Stout, and Ricky Stout. FLASH CARDS Suggested Activities As mentioned in the Introduction it is much easier to learn to read katakana than to write it. FLASH CARDS Suggested Activities As mentioned in the Introduction it is much easier to learn to read katakana than to write it.

With the right kinds of activities, diligent students can learn to read the basic 46 katakana in a few hours. You will more readily learn the writing once you have mastered katakana reading recognition, so it is suggested you begin with the flash cards at the end of the book. Separate the flash cards by tearing or cutting along the perforated lines. If you are unfamiliar with katakana take the time to read the front and back of each flash card, paying close attention to the number and type of strokes used in each character. Many katakana characters look similar, and it is the number and type of strokes that will help to tell them apart. Katakana Flash Card Drills (alone or with a partner): It is helpful to start with a few, perhaps 10, flash cards.

Shuffle the flash cards and look at them one at a time. Say the name of the character on the top flash card, then look at the back to see if you got it right. Start two piles of flash cards. If correct, place it in one pile. If not, place it in another pile, to be reviewed again. Continue looking at the flash cards one at a time and placing them in the appropriate pile.

When you are finished, you will know which characters you can read and which ones need more practice. Now put aside the ones you already know and study the flash cards you had difficulty with. When ready, repeat the activity with the difficult ones. As you gain mastery add more flash cards, until you know all 46 hiragana and all 46 katakana. Then, shuffle both groups of cards together to do a challenge round! You can repeat this simple activity from time to time to refresh your basic hiragana and katakana reading skills. Katakana Chart Activity (alone or with a small group): This is an excellent activity to improve your hiragana/katakana recognition skills and become familiar with gojon orderthe way dictionaries, web searches, etc., are organized.

Place all the flash cards on a large surface (the floor works well) face up, in random order. Then, try to put them into order as quickly as possible. For an extra challenge use a stopwatch. Katakana Pick-up (small group): Place all the flash cards on a large surface face up, in order or mixed up. One person calls the name of a hiragana/katakana character and the other players try to quickly put their hand on it. The first one gets to keep it.

Continue playing, and when all the flash cards are gone, count to see who has the most. The winner gets to be the caller for the next game!

CONTENTS SECTION ONE SECTION TWO SECTION THREE FLASH CARDS Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (Hong Kong) Ltd., with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, Vermont 05759 U.S.A. and 61 Tai Seng Avenue, #02-12Singapore 534167. Copyright 2007 by Periplus Editions (Hong Kong) Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

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Introduction The aim of this book is to help beginning Japanese learners to quickly master katakana characters. Katakana is one of two sets of Japanese phonetic characters (used for their sounds, not their meanings). The other is hiragana. Both hiragana and katakana are essential to basic Japanese proficiency, but normally hiragana is learned first.