JPN 30X: History of Kanji??
Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 1:50 pm
Har. This is like a syllabus!
Many learn kanji books have a similar approach to helping student of Japanese learn and remember kanji: mnemonics(SP? Might be a U in there...), stroke order, history, etc.
I find that knowing the history- the first forms, the evolutions, and the first denotations- help me the most and are often fascinating to know.
The difficulty will increase as I cover the Jouyou Kanji- a list of Chinese characters chosen by the Japanese government as necessary- (about 1945 kanji), 1006 of which are essential for everyday living.
The book I will use for the 'course' would be:
A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters by Kenneth G. Henshall (ISBN: 0-8048-2038-4; $29.95)
If you want to follow along or move ahead.
The order will differ from the book as I will choose kanji by grade and by the order established by the Japanese government as of 1997.
Every Week I plan to release a list of at least 20 kanji, their stroke order, origins, meanings, on-yomi (Chinese readings), kun-yomi (Japanese readings), and any other useful information.
The break down of the course would be as follows:
Grade One Kanji: 80 characters
Grade Two Kanji: 160 characters
Grade Three Kanji: 200 chacters
Grade Four Kanji: 200 characters
Grade Five Kanji: 185 characters
Grade Six Kanji: 181 characters
General Use Kanji: 939 characters
The course will be taught for as long as I am able and there are students to learn. I will gain as much from this as everyone else in many ways!
The purpose of the course is not to teach Japanese but to teach the Jouyou Kanji. However, it will be necessary to give a introductory explanation of pronunciation at the very least.
If enough people ask, I suppose I could teach a basic Japanese course but my position is that language is best taught with ears and mouth and not with eyes (unless you're learning to write, then you have no choice!)
It will also be possible for me to teach Hiragana and Katakana, the two kana alphabets derived from Chinese characters to be taught to women and layment during the Heian period and are now used in tandem with kanji. Since they have a history as well and there aren't that many of them to warrant a second course.
I also could create excercises and exams to go along with the course if students feel that they'd gain from it. Practice makes perfect and I'd encourage using the kanji that are learned as much as possible so that they are not forgotten. However, I can't force you to work and this is not a formal course for any school so the excercises and exams would be for the sole benefit of the student.
All interested parties say:
Hai, Sensei! <p></p>
Many learn kanji books have a similar approach to helping student of Japanese learn and remember kanji: mnemonics(SP? Might be a U in there...), stroke order, history, etc.
I find that knowing the history- the first forms, the evolutions, and the first denotations- help me the most and are often fascinating to know.
The difficulty will increase as I cover the Jouyou Kanji- a list of Chinese characters chosen by the Japanese government as necessary- (about 1945 kanji), 1006 of which are essential for everyday living.
The book I will use for the 'course' would be:
A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters by Kenneth G. Henshall (ISBN: 0-8048-2038-4; $29.95)
If you want to follow along or move ahead.
The order will differ from the book as I will choose kanji by grade and by the order established by the Japanese government as of 1997.
Every Week I plan to release a list of at least 20 kanji, their stroke order, origins, meanings, on-yomi (Chinese readings), kun-yomi (Japanese readings), and any other useful information.
The break down of the course would be as follows:
Grade One Kanji: 80 characters
Grade Two Kanji: 160 characters
Grade Three Kanji: 200 chacters
Grade Four Kanji: 200 characters
Grade Five Kanji: 185 characters
Grade Six Kanji: 181 characters
General Use Kanji: 939 characters
The course will be taught for as long as I am able and there are students to learn. I will gain as much from this as everyone else in many ways!
The purpose of the course is not to teach Japanese but to teach the Jouyou Kanji. However, it will be necessary to give a introductory explanation of pronunciation at the very least.
If enough people ask, I suppose I could teach a basic Japanese course but my position is that language is best taught with ears and mouth and not with eyes (unless you're learning to write, then you have no choice!)
It will also be possible for me to teach Hiragana and Katakana, the two kana alphabets derived from Chinese characters to be taught to women and layment during the Heian period and are now used in tandem with kanji. Since they have a history as well and there aren't that many of them to warrant a second course.
I also could create excercises and exams to go along with the course if students feel that they'd gain from it. Practice makes perfect and I'd encourage using the kanji that are learned as much as possible so that they are not forgotten. However, I can't force you to work and this is not a formal course for any school so the excercises and exams would be for the sole benefit of the student.
All interested parties say:
Hai, Sensei! <p></p>