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Japanese Language

Japanese CD-ROM
RRP: £24.95
Our Price: £19.99
with FREE P&P

Where does Japanese come from?
No certain relation between Japanese and any other language has been established. Structural similarities suggest a possible remote relationship with the Korean language and with the Altaic languages, including Manchu, Mongolian, and Turkish.

In the 3rd and 4th Centuries AD, the Japanese borrowed the Chinese writing system of ideographic characters. In the 8th Century AD, two phonetic syllabaries, or kana, were devised for the recording of the Japanese language. These are used along with the ideographic characters (or kanji characters) to indicate the syllables that form suffixes and particles. The direction of writing is usually from top to bottom in vertical columns and from right to left. The Roman alphabet has also been used increasingly to write Japanese.

How many people speak Japanese?
Japanese is spoken by more than 125 million people in Japan, and ranks among the top ten languages of the world.

In how many countries?
The Japanese language is spoken in Japan, Brazil, Guam (U.S.), Hawaii, the Republic of Palau, the Ryukyu Islands, Korea, Peru, Taiwan and in the USA.

Japanese Culture

Japanese Food and Drink
Sushi is a staple of the Japanese diet; small cakes of cooked and vinegared rice that are filled, topped, or wrapped with other ingredients. Raw fish is used in most sushi, with only the freshest fish being selected. The cutting and preparation of fine-fish sushi is a sophisticated culinary art.

Japanese cuisine is also known in other countries for Teriyaki and sukiyaki (thinly sliced beef, vegetables and tofu cooked in broth). However, there are numerous other eating options. There are 'cook-it-yourself' restaurants - 'okonomiyaki', serving a mixture of meat, seafood and vegetables to fry up in a cabbage and vegetable batter. 'Robatayaki' is a rustic drinking restaurant specialising in charcoal grills.

Drinking is social bonding activity in Japan, practised by almost every adult, male or female, and a good number of teenagers. Beer is the favourite tipple of the Japanese and is sold practically everywhere. Sake (rice wine) is served warm or cold and is known for the hangover it can inflict. Japanese green tea is very healthy and refreshing, and is said by some to prevent cancer.

Japanese Attractions
Tokyo: The city of Tokyo is a vast conurbation that spreads out across the Kanto Plain from Tokyo-wan Bay. It was almost completely rebuilt after an earthquake in 1923 and again after US air raids in WWII. Tokyo is a place where consumer culture collides with Japan's older traditions; old wooden houses and kimono shops are juxtaposed with high-rise office blocks.

Mt. Fuji: Fuji is Japan's highest mountain at 3776m/12,385ft high, and one of the few natural attractions that people make an effort to visit. It's a perfectly symmetrical volcanic cone, which last erupted in 1707, covering the streets of Tokyo 100km away with volcanic ash. Unfortunately, Mt. Fuji is often obscured by cloud.

Kyoto: This was the imperial capital between 794 and 1868, and it continues to function as the major cultural centre of Japan. In spite of a growing business and industrial area, traditional architecture still remains as do the many raked pebble gardens and temples. The Imperial Palace, constructed in 1855, is one of the few sights in central Kyoto.

About Talk Now! Language CD-ROMs
This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun, easy and relaxing. There is no better way to teach an old dog new tricks and this fun element of the program means that your fears are forgotten as you absorb words and phrases without even realising you are learning them.

Talk Now! is the world's best selling language learning CD-ROM series for beginners, used by more than three million people to date. It's ideal for travellers, holidaymakers, business people, schoolchildren, students and families.

Anyone over 10 years of age will find the disc indispensable for improving listening, understanding and spoken language skills. There are nine topics: first words, food, colours, phrases, parts of the body, numbers, time, shopping and countries.

The games and quizzes included on the disc ensure that users have fun whilst using the disc, without realising that they're learning. The "intelligent" software feature remembers words you get wrong and targets your weak points.

"This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! Uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun and relaxing." - PC Answers

"I bought your Learn Malay CD today - I've only just begun, but I wanted to say how much I am enjoying it. I studied Malay from a book all day yesterday, making some 25 pages of notes on grammar and vocab, but I remember more from your CD from just an hour!" - James Bryce