150075 VO Japanese Writing Systems (2017S)

This course aims to transition students from "textbook Japanese" to "real Japanese" and from translating Japanese texts under supervision to actually reading them with some degree of independence. In a sense, this is where we finally get down to business. It is meant to be taken in tandem with Japanese Grammar II [Japanische Grammatik II] and Japanese Communication in a Business Environment [Kommunikation in der japanischen Wirtschaftswelt].

After an introduction to using Japanese dictionaries and especially kanji dictionaries effectively, students will be provided with short texts, e.g. newspaper articles, given time to study them (at home) and document their efforts, for instance by creating vocabulary lists, summaries etc. Finally the texts will be read together in class, as a kind of dénouement. By varying the length and complexity of chosen texts as well as the amount of annotation provided, the difficulty will be steadily increased.

As far as is feasible texts will be business- or economics-related ones aimed at a general audience; students may also suggest texts or types of texts.