For Instant Communication in Japanese
In the last few decades there has been a huge jump in the number of people around the world studying the Japanese language—a phenomenon some attribute to the extraordinary popularity of Japanese manga [mahn-gah], “comics,” and anime (ah-nee-may), animated films and TV fare....rather than to foreigners planning on visiting Japan or to the travel and hospitality industries that cater to the several million Japanese who travel abroad each year.
Years ago [in 1951] I created a system for using English language phonetics to help English-speaking members of the Occupation Forces of Japan communicate in Japanese “instantly” without previous study....primarily to aid American GI’s in communicating with their Japanese girl friends and mistresses.
I subsequently used this system in some 30 books I published on the business practices, culture and language of the Japanese, beginning with the first books ever on doing business in Japan, Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business, first published in 1959 [and still in print in its 7th edition at McGraw-Hill] and How to Do Business in Japan, published in 1962.
Among the now well-known Japanese business-oriented terms I introduced in these pioneer books: nemawashi (nay-mah-wah-she), behind-the-scenes-lobbying; wa (wah), harmony; tatemae (tah-tay-my), a front or façade, and honne (hoan-nay), one’s real intentions.
I subsequently published Instant Japanese and Survival Japanese for businesspeople and travelers who wanted to be able to communicate in Japanese quickly but had not studied the language.
My latest book in this phoneticized series is SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY – A Little Language Goes a Long Way!, a handy manual which features key vocabulary and example sentences for specific categories of people, including airline pilots, stewardesses, Immigration officials, Customs officials, hotel staff, restaurant staff, bartenders, shop clerks, taxi drivers, tour guides, doctors, families hosting Japanese students, and foreign students of Japanese.
The book literally makes it possible for anyone to pronounce Nihongo [Nee-hone-go], the Japanese language, correctly the first time and be understood without any previous study or practice.
Speak Japanese Today is available from Amazon.com.
