A Simplified Grammar of the Japanese Language: Modern Written Style (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from A Simplified Grammar of the Japanese Language: Modern Written StyleIn Japan, as in other Eastern countries, two dialects are used simultaneously, one for speaking, the other for writing purposes. The spoken or colloquial dialect is that to which consuls, merchants, missionaries, and others who are brought into daily relations with the Japanese, must devote their first efforts. Their next step should be to acquire the written language, without a knowledge of which every book, every newspaper, every post-card, every advertisement, every notice in a railway-station or on board a steamer remains a mystery, even when transliterated into Roman characters. Some of the differences affect the vocabulary. But the constantly recurring difficulties are rather in the grammar, and may be mastered in a few weeks by those to whom the colloquial is familiar. The great obstacle hitherto has been the absence of any book specially devoted to the elucidation of the modern form of the written language. Mr. Aston's admirable treatise covers a much wider field. Previous writers had left Japanese grammar a chaos. Mr. Aston brought light and order into its every part. But most persons have neither time nor inclination to investigate every part. Their concern is, not with the Japanese classics and philological research, but with the language as commonly written now; and they weary of searching through the pages of a learned work for the every-day forms, which alone to them are useful.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.