Lesson 2
SECTION A
Core Conversations (CC)
Note: Every CC in this course is presumed to have as one of its participants a non-native speaker of Japanese (N) and a native Japanese (J).
The CC of this section are brief exchanges between individuals who maintain a certain amount of distance when communicating with each other. The participants are business colleagues or supervisors with their assistants. All of the exchanges take place in an office setting.
Instructions:
1 (N) Nan desu ka. (J) Tegami desu.
'What is it?' 'It's a letter.'
A Japanese graduate student (J) brings some mail to a foreign student (N) who has recently joined the seminar group.
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
1. nan what?
X desu (SP1) it's X
tegami letter
2 (N) a. Suzuki-san. (J) a. Nan desu ka.
'Mr/s. Suzuki!' 'What is it?'
b. Odenwa desu. b. A, doo mo.
'Telephone.' 'Oh, thanks.'
(N) informs his Japanese colleague (J) of a telephone call.
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
Suzuki (family name)
-san Mr.; Mrs; Miss; Ms.
denwa/odenwa telephone (call)
a/aa oh!
3 (N) Suzuki-san desu ka. (J) Hai, Suzuki desu. Doozo.
'Are you Mr/s. Suzuki?' 'Yes, I am (Suzuki). (Pointing to a chair) Please [sit down].
(N) arrives for an interview with Mr. Suzuki, whom she has not previously met.
4 (N) Doo desu ka. Dame desu ka. (J) Iya, daizyoobu desu yo.
'How is it? Is it out-of-order?' 'No, it's all right.'
(N) checks on the condition of the computer with his Japanese colleague (J).
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
doo what way, how?
dame no good
daizyoobu all right; safe
5 (J) Tanaka-san desita yo. (N)Aa, soo desu ka.
'That was Mr/s. Tanaka.' 'Oh, is that right?'
(J) identifies the person who just passed through the office for his foreign colleague (N).
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
Tanaka (family name)
X desita (SP1) it was X
soo (SP2) that way, like that
6 (N) Dame desita nee. (J) Soo desu nee.
'It wasn't any good, was it!' 'That's right, (isn't it)!'
Two colleagues commiserate over a report that has come in.
7 (N) Nihongo desu ka. (J) Iya, nihongo zya arimasen yo. Tyuugokugo desu.
'Is that Japanese?' 'No, it isn't (Japanese). It's Chinese'
A foreigner (N) checks on the language her colleague is reading.
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
nihongo Japanese language
+kokugo the Japanese mother-tongue of the Japanese
tyuugokugo Chinese language
+eego English language
+huransugo French language
+doitugo German language
+supeingo Spanish language
+rosiago Russian language
+nanigo what language
X zya arimasen or
X zya nai (desu) (SP1) it's not X
8 (N) Yamamoto-san zya nai desu ka. (J) A, soo desu ne!.
'Isn't that Mr/s. Yamamoto?' 'Oh, it is, isn't it.'
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
Yamamoto (family name)
9 (N) a. Kiree desu ka. (J) Soo desu nee. Amari kiree zya nai desu nee.
'Is she pretty?' '(Looking at photograph) Hmmm. (She is) not very (pretty), is she!'
b. Aa, soo desu ka. Zannen desu nee.
'Oh really? That's too bad, isn't it!'
The setting of this conversation is the examination of the formal photograph of a prospective bride for an arranged marriage.
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
kiree pretty; clean
zannen regrettable. too bad, a pity
10 (J) Tookyo desita ka. (N) Iya, Tookyoo zya arimasen desita.
'(Asking about a telephone call) Was that Tokyo?' 'No, it wasn't (Tokyo).'
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
Tookyo Tokyo
+kyooto
X zya arimasen desita or
X zya nakatta (desu) (SP1) it wasn't X
Structural Patterns (SP)
1. /NOMINAL +desu/
In Lesson 1, verbals (- masu/- masita words) and adjectivals (- i/- katta words) were introduced. We now add a new word-class, the NOMINAL. Using X to represent a nominal, the distal-style (polite and formal) nominal sentence chart, corresponding to the verbal and adjectival charts of Lesson 1, looks like this:
SECTION A
Core Conversations (CC)
Note: Every CC in this course is presumed to have as one of its participants a non-native speaker of Japanese (N) and a native Japanese (J).
The CC of this section are brief exchanges between individuals who maintain a certain amount of distance when communicating with each other. The participants are business colleagues or supervisors with their assistants. All of the exchanges take place in an office setting.
Instructions:
- Please go to the "Pronunciation and Romaji" page first to learn the correct pronunciation
and familiarize yourself with the Romaji - To play the audio file for this Core Conversations (CC), press the "play button" at
the bottom of this page - You can pause the audio at anytime by pressing the "pause button"
- After each lesson, please go to the "Drills" section for that lesson. It is the most important part of your learning process, make sure you master the drills before proceeding to next lesson.
1 (N) Nan desu ka. (J) Tegami desu.
'What is it?' 'It's a letter.'
A Japanese graduate student (J) brings some mail to a foreign student (N) who has recently joined the seminar group.
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
1. nan what?
X desu (SP1) it's X
tegami letter
2 (N) a. Suzuki-san. (J) a. Nan desu ka.
'Mr/s. Suzuki!' 'What is it?'
b. Odenwa desu. b. A, doo mo.
'Telephone.' 'Oh, thanks.'
(N) informs his Japanese colleague (J) of a telephone call.
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
Suzuki (family name)
-san Mr.; Mrs; Miss; Ms.
denwa/odenwa telephone (call)
a/aa oh!
3 (N) Suzuki-san desu ka. (J) Hai, Suzuki desu. Doozo.
'Are you Mr/s. Suzuki?' 'Yes, I am (Suzuki). (Pointing to a chair) Please [sit down].
(N) arrives for an interview with Mr. Suzuki, whom she has not previously met.
4 (N) Doo desu ka. Dame desu ka. (J) Iya, daizyoobu desu yo.
'How is it? Is it out-of-order?' 'No, it's all right.'
(N) checks on the condition of the computer with his Japanese colleague (J).
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
doo what way, how?
dame no good
daizyoobu all right; safe
5 (J) Tanaka-san desita yo. (N)Aa, soo desu ka.
'That was Mr/s. Tanaka.' 'Oh, is that right?'
(J) identifies the person who just passed through the office for his foreign colleague (N).
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
Tanaka (family name)
X desita (SP1) it was X
soo (SP2) that way, like that
6 (N) Dame desita nee. (J) Soo desu nee.
'It wasn't any good, was it!' 'That's right, (isn't it)!'
Two colleagues commiserate over a report that has come in.
7 (N) Nihongo desu ka. (J) Iya, nihongo zya arimasen yo. Tyuugokugo desu.
'Is that Japanese?' 'No, it isn't (Japanese). It's Chinese'
A foreigner (N) checks on the language her colleague is reading.
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
nihongo Japanese language
+kokugo the Japanese mother-tongue of the Japanese
tyuugokugo Chinese language
+eego English language
+huransugo French language
+doitugo German language
+supeingo Spanish language
+rosiago Russian language
+nanigo what language
X zya arimasen or
X zya nai (desu) (SP1) it's not X
8 (N) Yamamoto-san zya nai desu ka. (J) A, soo desu ne!.
'Isn't that Mr/s. Yamamoto?' 'Oh, it is, isn't it.'
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
Yamamoto (family name)
9 (N) a. Kiree desu ka. (J) Soo desu nee. Amari kiree zya nai desu nee.
'Is she pretty?' '(Looking at photograph) Hmmm. (She is) not very (pretty), is she!'
b. Aa, soo desu ka. Zannen desu nee.
'Oh really? That's too bad, isn't it!'
The setting of this conversation is the examination of the formal photograph of a prospective bride for an arranged marriage.
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
kiree pretty; clean
zannen regrettable. too bad, a pity
10 (J) Tookyo desita ka. (N) Iya, Tookyoo zya arimasen desita.
'(Asking about a telephone call) Was that Tokyo?' 'No, it wasn't (Tokyo).'
BREAKDOWNS (AND SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY)
Tookyo Tokyo
+kyooto
X zya arimasen desita or
X zya nakatta (desu) (SP1) it wasn't X
Structural Patterns (SP)
1. /NOMINAL +desu/
In Lesson 1, verbals (- masu/- masita words) and adjectivals (- i/- katta words) were introduced. We now add a new word-class, the NOMINAL. Using X to represent a nominal, the distal-style (polite and formal) nominal sentence chart, corresponding to the verbal and adjectival charts of Lesson 1, looks like this:
