language – Page 2

New Edition of Integrated Korean: Intermediate 2

Posted on December 12, 2012 by stephchun

This is a thoroughly revised edition of Integrated Korean: Intermediate 2, the fourth volume of the best-selling series developed collaboratively by leading classroom teachers and linguists of Korean. All series’ volumes have been developed in accordance with performance-based principles and methodology—contextualization, learner-centeredness, use of authentic materials, usage-orientedness, balance between skill getting and skill using, and integration of speaking, listening, reading, writing, and culture. Grammar points are systematically introduced in simple but adequate explanations and abundant examples and exercises.

Audio files for this volume may be downloaded in MP3 format at http://www.kleartextbook.com.

KLEAR Textbooks in Korean Language
December 2012 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3813-3 / $35.00 (PAPER)
Published with the support of the Korea Foundation

Writing and Reading Japanese Characters for Upper-Level Proficiency

Posted on September 12, 2012 by stephchun

Students who have learned to read and write the kanji taught in Japanese schools run into the same difficulty that Japan university students themselves face: the number of characters included in the approved list is not sufficient for advanced reading and writing. Although each academic specialization requires supplementary kanji of its own, there is considerable overlap. With that in mind, this new, updated edition of Remembering the Kanji 3: Writing and Reading the Japanese Characters for Upper Level Proficiency, by James W. Heisig, employs the same methods as in Volume 1 and Volume 2 in this popular series to introduce additional characters useful for upper-level proficiency, bringing the total of all three volumes to 3,000 kanji.

The 3rd edition has been updated to reflect the 196 new kanji approved by the government in 2010, all of which have been relocated in Volume 1. The selection of 800 new kanji is based on frequency lists and cross-checked against a number of standard Japanese kanji dictionaries.

September 2012 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3702-0 / $34.00 (PAPER)

New Edition of Remembering the Kanji 2 Now Available

Posted on April 3, 2012 by stephchun

Following the first volume of James W. Heisig’s popular series of textbooks Remembering the Kanji, this new edition of Volume 2 provides students with helpful tools for learning the pronunciation of the kanji. Behind the notorious inconsistencies in the way the Japanese language has come to pronounce the characters it received from China lie several coherent patterns. Identifying these patterns and arranging them in logical order can reduce dramatically the amount of time spent in the brute memorization of sounds unrelated to written forms.

The 4th edition has been updated to include the 196 new kanji approved by the government in 2010 as “general-use” kanji. A new edition of Remembering the Kanji 3, which completes the series, will be available in Fall 2012.

April 2012 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3669-6 / $32.00 (PAPER)

Second Volume of Remembering Simplified Hanzi Now Available

Posted on January 31, 2012 by stephchun

Remembering Simplified Hanzi 2, by James W. Heisig and Timothy W. Richardson, is the second of two volumes designed to help students learn the meaning and writing of the 3,000 most frequently used simplified Chinese characters. (A parallel set of volumes has been prepared for traditional characters.) The 1,500 characters introduced in Book 1 include the top 1,000 by frequency, plus another 500 best learned at an early stage. Book 2 adds the remaining 1,500 characters to complete the set.

January 2012 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3655-9 / $29.00 (PAPER)

New Edition of Integrated Korean: Intermediate 1 Available

Posted on January 27, 2012 by stephchun

This is a thoroughly revised edition of Integrated Korean: Intermediate 1, the third volume of the best-selling series developed collaboratively by leading classroom teachers and linguists of Korean. All series’ volumes have been developed in accordance with performance-based principles and methodology—contextualization, learner-centeredness, use of authentic materials, usage-orientedness, balance between skill getting and skill using, and integration of speaking, listening, reading, writing, and culture. Grammar points are systematically introduced in simple but adequate explanations and abundant examples and exercises.

An accompanying workbook (forthcoming, April 2012), newly written, provides students with extensive skill-using activities based on the skills learned in the main text.

KLEAR Textbooks in Korean Language
January 2012 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3650-4 / $31.00 (PAPER)
Published with the support of the Korea Foundation

Second Volume of Remembering Traditional Hanzi Now Available

Posted on January 26, 2012 by stephchun

Remembering Traditional Hanzi 2, by James W. Heisig and Timothy W. Richardson, is the second of two volumes designed to help students learn the meaning and writing of the 3,000 most frequently used traditional Chinese characters. (A parallel set of volumes has been prepared for simplified characters.) The 1,500 characters introduced in Book 1 include the top 1,000 by frequency, plus another 500 best learned at an early stage. Book 2 adds the remaining 1,500 characters to complete the set.

January 2012 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3656-6 / $29.00 (PAPER)

An Oceanic Grammar of Vanuatu

Posted on November 10, 2011 by stephchun

Spoken on Mavea Island by approximately 32 people, Mavea is an endangered Oceanic language of Vanuatu. A Grammar of Mavea: An Oceanic Language of Vanuatu, by Valérie Guérin, provides grammatical descriptions of this hitherto undescribed language. Fourteen chapters, containing more than 1,400 examples, cover topics in the phonology and morphosyntax of Mavea, with an emphasis on the latter. Of particular interest are examples of individual speaker variation presented throughout the grammar; the presence of three linguo-labials (still used today by a single speaker) that were unexpectedly found before the rounded vowel /o/; and a chapter on numerals and the counting system, which have long been replaced by Bislama’s but are remembered by a handful of speakers.

November 2011 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3639-9 / $40.00 (PAPER)
Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications, No. 39

Remembering the Kanji App Now at iTunes

Posted on August 11, 2011 by stephchun

Remembering the Kanji, a new flashcard and review app, complements the bestselling kanji texts Remembering the Kanji 1 and Remembering the Kanji 2, by James W. Heisig. Review more than 2,000 kanji anytime, anywhere on your mobile device. The customizable, easy-to-use app is $9.99 at the iTunes Store.

Here are a few of the app’s noteworthy features:
—Create your own study lists and generate flashcards for review;
—Save notes on your own imaginative mnemonic stories for each kanji;
—Learn the stroke order of each kanji with animated diagrams;
—Learn the pronunciations of each kanji in Remembering the Kanji 1 and 2 and learn the readings of kanji combination words (jukugo);
—Look up the meaning of primitive elements quickly;
—Look up kanji by stroke number;
—Search for key words and find the kanji you want in an instant.

Updated Edition of Popular Japanese Language Text Now Available

Posted on May 24, 2011 by stephchun

Updated to include the 196 new kanji approved by the Japanese government in 2010 as “general-use” kanji, the sixth edition of Remembering the Kanji 1, by James W. Heisig, aims to provide students with a simple method for correlating the writing and the meaning of Japanese characters in such a way as to make them both easy to remember. It is intended not only for the beginner, but also for the more advanced student looking for some relief from the constant frustration of forgetting how to write the kanji, or for a way to systematize what he or she already knows.

April 2011 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3592-7 / $44.00 (PAPER)

Apps for KLEAR Integrated Korean Textbooks Now Available at iTunes

Posted on April 13, 2011 by stephchun

Use your iPhone or iPod Touch to study Korean vocabulary anywhere, anytime! Textbook Companion now offers apps designed to go hand-in-hand with the vocabulary from the KLEAR Integrated Korean series of textbooks.

Two versions of the apps are currently available for Beginning 1 and 2 (free)/(paid) and Intermediate 1 and 2 (free)/(paid).**

The paid apps access all the vocabulary from the texts with these features:

-Flash Cards: View in Korean or English, easily swipe through words from each lesson, and remove any words you already know.
-Vocabulary List: View all words in each lesson with the ability to show only one language at a time.
-Quick Search: Quickly search, in either Korean or English, for the definition and lesson of any vocabulary in the textbooks.

**Order the upgraded versions for just 99 cents until April 15. Apps will return to $2.99 after April 15.

New Title in the Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications Series

Posted on March 1, 2011 by stephchun

Saek, a Northern Tai language spoken in villages in Nakhon Phanom province on the border of Northeast Thailand and Laos, is noted for its unique phonological features within the Tai language family. This lexicon, originally compiled by the late Tai linguist William J. Gedney in the 1970s and organized by rhyme, highlights those characteristics that identify the older generation of Saek speakers. Because of these features, linguists believe that Saek will play an important role in the reconstruction of the proto-language of the Tai family. To make the lexicon more accessible, an English-Saek section has been added, something that does not appear in other treatments of Saek.

February 2010 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3538-5 / $35.00 (PAPER)
Oceanic Linguistics Special Publication #37

Learning Japanese for Real

Posted on February 22, 2011 by stephchun

Concise descriptions of grammar, use, and genres make Learning Japanese for Real: A Guide to Grammar, Use, and Genres of the Nihongo World, by Senko K. Maynard, indispensable for adult learners of the language. The volume presents a holistic view of the knowledge required for proficiency in Japanese. Following introductory chapters on the language’s background, sound system and scripts, word types, and grammatical categories, it introduces readers to simple then complex sentences. A chapter on emotive expressions contains highly useful entries on attitudinal adverbs, exclamatory phrases, interjections, and rhetorical questions—all of which carry emotive meanings. Learning Japanese for Real then goes beyond grammar to discuss how the language is used in interaction.