Nihongojouzu

Remembering the Kanji 2 and 3 reprinted

Volumes 2 and 3 of Remembering the Kanji are now available for pre-ordering on Amazon or direct from the publisher, University of Hawai'i Press. Copies of the earlier edition of Volume 2, which deals with the readings for the kanji set out in Volume 1, are still available in shops and online, but Volume 3 has been out of print for a while. Remembering the Kanji 3: Writing and Reading Japanese Characters for Upper-level Proficiency covers an additional 1000 kanji based on the primitives described in Volume 1, and adds a few bonus primitive elements. It is also possible to place an order through Nanzan University, where James Heisig teaches. Hardcore paperless people can always opt for the e-book version of RTK3.

New General Use Kanji from 2010

What do the following kanji have in common?

「奈」「岡」「熊」「梨」「阜」「埼」「茨」「栃」「鹿」「阪」「媛」

If you guessed that they all belong to the names of prefectures, you'd be right.

「奈良」「岡山」「熊本」「山梨」「鹿児島」「大阪」

「岐阜」「埼玉」「茨城」「栃木」「愛媛」

But that's not all they have in common - none of these kanji belong to the official General Use or Joyo kanji. Despite the fact that these kanji are widely known and commonly used they have managed to escape inclusion in the official list of kanji that you simply have to know. The Nihon Keizai Shinbun reports that the Council for Cultural Affairs has finally caught on, and from 2010 these 11 kanji will be included in a new, revised version of the Joyo kanji. In practical terms this means that schoolchildren will have to not only be able to read the "new" kanji, they will have to learn to write them - there goes my party trick whereby I challenge people to write the kanji for Ehime...

Original article: NikkeiNet

Kanji extensions for internet domains: .日本 from 2009

The Asahi Shimbun had an article this morning about the introduction of non-alphabet internet domain extensions. In response to demands from countries where the roman alphabet is not used, ICANN decided in November last year on a policy allowing non-alphabetic extensions. The example given in the article was kanji: from 2009 it will be possible to have a URL which looks like this:

http://OOOOOOO.日本

Since 2001 it has been possible to use non-alphabetic characters for domains, eg:

http://日本.com

So from 2009 this will be possible:

http://日本.日本

The details of the policy will be hammered out this year. Though the article focused on Japanese, naturally these changes will also allow the use of Arabic, Devanagari etc.

NB According to the TV news, Japanese seniors will find the changes helpful, as they haven't really taken to those newfangled roman letters.

Facebook: Kanji Box

Users of social networking wunderapp Facebook know that not only is the site a great way to waste whole days throwing sheep and zombie-biting people but you can also keep tabs on all of your friends. I spend more than enough time online and ignore anything on Facebook except messages (so if you have been wondering why your ninja invitation lies unanswered - now you know!) but I am only human, and when I noticed an app called Kanji Box my curiosity was piqued. Kanji Box is a simple quiz application which operates within Facebook. It allows you to choose an ability level (grasshopper through to JLPT Level 1) and then test yourself on kana, kanji and vocabulary. Once you have trained up via the drill function you can sit a quiz and then get feedback in the form of stats: having a score is a great motivation because it gives you a clear target to beat next time you sit the quiz. The stats page also shows your progress in terms of both JLPT level and 常用漢字 - General Use kanji (plus the 人名用漢字 - kanji used in personal names). I gave the quiz function a try. Fast, straightforward and fun - if you are going to blow off some time online at least with Kanji Box you are learning something (not that zombie-fighting isn't a useful skill......). The best part is the social networking aspect - you can invite friends and compare scores. Nothing quite like the motivational factor of "OMGWTF! - Tom scored 1076 points on JLPT Level 1! My score is pathetic - better start drilling." (cue Rocky theme song)

Since we are all wont to visit Facebook at some time or other I recommend Kanji Box as a way to harness the power of constructive procrastination. The only downside - at some point your concentration will waver and you will start seaching for that girl who used to sit next to you in kindergarten. And it's a minor bugbear, but I like kanji for either the singular or plural - "kanjis" sounds like a type of fruit or a venereal disease.

(I'm off to see if I can match Tom's score.)