Talking Business in Japanese by Mami DoiReview by: Tamae PrindleThe Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Apr., 1992), pp. 63-66Published by: American Association of Teachers of JapaneseStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/489449 .

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Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese

few, Brent in katakana has shi instead of n (p. 20), and that shi is small as if it were part of a /CyV/ sequence. Also, the middle kana of Sasha is tsu instead of shi (p. 306). The word for Taiwan, which hap- pens to be given in katakana for some unknown reason, is rendered as

X '7 ". ^Y7,, which is hardly used nowadays to refer to the now for- mer Soviet Union, is rendered as 7Y7. There is no explanation of the basic phonetics of Japanese. All material in Japanese in this textbook is written with spaces between words.

Lastly, a question must be raised as to whether this textbook is truly intended for American college and university students. The dia- logues, selection of photographs, and illustrations suggest that the textbook might have been designed for junior high school or high school students, perhaps for use in Australia or New Zealand. In the English text and the selection of vocabulary, these two countries are dispropor- tionately represented and, although there is nothing wrong with that in principle, the book feels foreign when read.

It is rare to find so little that is good about a textbook. Riddled with mistakes, lacking a coherent body of knowledge about the lan-

guage which can serve as a foundation for further study, and marred by aberrant dialogues, it cannot be used at any level. It disturbing to find that the field of Japanese language teaching is still in an embryonic stage which allows a book of this quality to be published as a textbook. Moreover, it is disheartening to think that the large amount of resourc- es which must have gone into this project could have been used to pub- lish a more worthwhile textbook.

TALKING BUSINESS IN JAPANESE, by Mami Doi et al. Tokyo: The

Japan Times. Pp. xiv + 121. Y2,500 (paper).

Reviewed by Tamae Prindle

Japanese business acumen has attracted international attention, envy, and even criticism. American businessmen are encouraged to learn from Japanese business culture, but that is easier said than done. To do so requires the combined knowledge of language, business, and general culture. Seen from an academic standpoint, diverse fields of study im-

few, Brent in katakana has shi instead of n (p. 20), and that shi is small as if it were part of a /CyV/ sequence. Also, the middle kana of Sasha is tsu instead of shi (p. 306). The word for Taiwan, which hap- pens to be given in katakana for some unknown reason, is rendered as

X '7 ". ^Y7,, which is hardly used nowadays to refer to the now for- mer Soviet Union, is rendered as 7Y7. There is no explanation of the basic phonetics of Japanese. All material in Japanese in this textbook is written with spaces between words.

Lastly, a question must be raised as to whether this textbook is truly intended for American college and university students. The dia- logues, selection of photographs, and illustrations suggest that the textbook might have been designed for junior high school or high school students, perhaps for use in Australia or New Zealand. In the English text and the selection of vocabulary, these two countries are dispropor- tionately represented and, although there is nothing wrong with that in principle, the book feels foreign when read.

It is rare to find so little that is good about a textbook. Riddled with mistakes, lacking a coherent body of knowledge about the lan-

guage which can serve as a foundation for further study, and marred by aberrant dialogues, it cannot be used at any level. It disturbing to find that the field of Japanese language teaching is still in an embryonic stage which allows a book of this quality to be published as a textbook. Moreover, it is disheartening to think that the large amount of resourc- es which must have gone into this project could have been used to pub- lish a more worthwhile textbook.

TALKING BUSINESS IN JAPANESE, by Mami Doi et al. Tokyo: The

Japan Times. Pp. xiv + 121. Y2,500 (paper).

Reviewed by Tamae Prindle

Japanese business acumen has attracted international attention, envy, and even criticism. American businessmen are encouraged to learn from Japanese business culture, but that is easier said than done. To do so requires the combined knowledge of language, business, and general culture. Seen from an academic standpoint, diverse fields of study im-

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Volume 26, Number 1

pinge upon one another, from linguistic to economic to cultural. The de- tails may seem too fluid to yield a simple starting point.

"Start from the beginning" is what people say, and that is just what Talking Business in Japanese does. This text is structured on the

simple motif of selling American carpets in Japan. Throughout the twenty lessons, there is only one cast of characters. The protagonist, Smith, is the new head of the Japanese branch of the S&A "interior furnishings" company. His staff consists of Yamamoto (head of sales) and Watanabe (secretary). Smith has a Japanese friend from some years back, Ogawa, who works for Tokyo Trading Company and serves as a contact person with the Yoshida Trading Company. At Yoshida, Director Suzuki, Yamada (head of the sales) and Ito (sub-head of the sales) deal with the S&A case.

This cast of characters not only helps students recognize the negoti- ation route but also learn the proper vocabulary and levels of speech. Smith talks to Watanabe in the "plain" form (So da ne. Ii ne.) but uses "polite" endings (. . . desu/-masu) with the receptionist and telephone operators of other companies. With his old friend and business contact person, Ogawa, his language is generally "polite." The honorific and humble expressions are reserved primarily for the Yoshida men. The combination of the proper language and its proper "flow" is nothing but Japanese business culture enacted in words.

Apart from the introductory message, the English translation of the main text (appended at the end of the text), and the on-the-page trans- lation of the "Flow Chart," the entire book is written in Japanese, mak- ing it available to non-English speakers as well. A furigana annotation is attached below the respective kanji so that students can hide it with a piece of paper when they practice reading.

Each lesson consists of:

mokuteki Goal ryuijiko Notes fu rcha to Flow Chart kaiwa Dialogue jyuyohyogen Important Expressions goi Vocabulary hyogen Expressions

The "Goal" summarizes the objective of the lesson and the ways to at- tain it. Examples are: asking a contact person to introduce a proper dealer (Lesson 3) and responding to customers' complaints (Lesson 18). "Notes" explains in more detail the nature of the situation, the signifi- cance of the transaction in question, and the ways to reach the goal.

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Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese

This section is useful not only for cultural understanding but also for vocabulary expansion; the words here complement those in the "Dia- logue." Examples of ideas which cater to cultural understanding are: Japanese dislike negotiating over the telephone (Lesson 5); it is not im-

proper to ask for suggestions from the other party, so long as a favorable outcome benefits both (Lesson 12). As vocabulary, menshiki ga aru

(slightly acquainted with, Lesson 4), onsha (your company) and heisha (my company, Lesson 5), ken'an jiko (pending issue, Lesson 10), and others are essential in business. The "Flow Chart" is a simple diagram indicating the "flow" of dialogue, which assists our memorization of the Dialogue. "Important Expressions" excerpts a handful of core sen- tences and fragments from the Dialogue. Each Dialogue is about one

page long. Its language is smooth, natural, and useful even to those not engaged in business. It is uncompromisingly Japanese. Where another language text might teach Sore ja, so shite miru yo, Smith exclaims Yoshi, ja sono sen de buttsukete miru yo (p. 67, "Sure, I'll give it a try along those lines").1 Lessons 6 and 8 supplement the short Variations to the main dialogue, offering alternative topics to discuss. The contents of "Vocabulary" (words and expressions without explanation) and "Ex-

pressions" (those with explanation) are less than sufficient. A larger listing of definitions and explanations of euphemistic expressions and

kanji phrases from both Dialogue and Notes would yield higher returns in terms of the students' understanding of the text. Collapsing the dis- tinction between the Vocabulary and the Expressions to define the meanings of all noteworthy words and expressions would lead to even greater gains in efficiency. Kanji ni imi o motaseru in the Vocabulary section of Lesson 1, for instance, needs as much explanation as those in the Expressions.

As the dust jacket claims, this "totally innovative textbook de- signed for business persons who are now actively in business in Japan and feel a strong need to use Japanese in order to make their business more smooth and successful" is a godsend for those who are already in busi- ness and in Japan. There would be a problem in its use in American col- leges, however. Where can one find the kind of Japanese business person the authors recommend as a co-teacher? It would be much more realistic to dispense with either the language instructor or the business person.

A substitute for the language instructor would be a supplementary booklet2 with (1) a detailed vocabulary list with an English or Japa- nese definition and explanation of the usage of each word and expres- sion, (2) substitution drills with applied usages of noteworthy words and expressions,3 (3) blank-filling exercises or a list of questions to check on the comprehension level,4 and (4) a list of the kanji compounds

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Volume 26, Number 1

derived from some of the kanji words in the lesson (e.g., menshiki, menkai, mendan, etc.).5

To replace the business person, on the other hand, some lessons would have to be supplemented by (1) an alternative set of business terms, (2) short newspaper articles, excerpts from "keizai shosetsu" (business novels) or other sources.

Also useful are cartoons, such as Japan Inc.,6 which pursue the topics such as trade friction, yen appreciation, industrial structure, and others in both dialogue and thesis formats. Parts of the Nihon Keizai News- paper's Seminar: Introduction to Japanese Economy7 may also work as a helpful supplement.

Taken all together, Talking Business in Japanese does mark a new beginning for foreign business people in Japan who have access to the combination of a language instructor and a business person as a co-teach- er, for adventurous language instructors who would assemble business- related materials, for creative business persons who can effectively teach Japanese, and for flexible students who can undertake acquiring a highly contextualized professional dialogue without a language teach- er and/or a business person.

NOTES

1. This rendering comes from the English Translation section of the text (p. 113). Literally, Smith is saying: "Good; in that case, I'll try throwing [it at them] in that line."

2. Something like Mutsuko Endo Simon, Supplementary Grammar Notes to An Introduction to Modern Japanese (The University of Michigan, 1986), or Esther M. T. Sato, et al., Japanese Now, Exer- cise Sheets (University of Hawaii, 1983) would be useful.

3. As in Japan Language Research Group, University of Tsukuba, Nihongo hyogen bunkei (Iseba Publishing Co., 1983).

4. As in Yuichi and Yuriko Sunakawa, Intermediate-Advanced Text: Radio Program, Listening to the "Voice of Asahi" (Kuroshio Shup- pan, 1988).

5. As in Nobuko Mizutani's Intermediate Japanese, An Integrated Course (Bonjinsha, 1987).

6. Ishinomori Shotar6, trans. by Betsey Scheiner, Japan Inc.: An In- troduction to Japanese Economics. "The Comic Book." (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986). The Japanese original of this book is Ishinomori Shotaro's Manga Nihon keizai nyumon (Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, 1986).

7. Zeminaru Nihon keizai nyumon (Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, 1985).

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