Learn to Speak and Read Japanese Through Manga

Review of Wayne Lammers’ Illustrated Japanese Language Study Guide

Sep 20, 2009

Lammars' unique guide to Japanese grammar and language structure draws on popular manga comics and graphic novels as a teaching tool, but has some drawbacks.

Translator and university instructor Wayne P. Lammers has tapped into a cultural phenomenon and turned it to an educational advantage in his study guide, Japanese the Manga Way. In his 2005 book, Lammers uses the popular cartoon and graphic novel panels of manga to illustrate Japanese grammar and language structure.

What is Manga?

For those not in the know, manga is the term used for a genre of Japanese comics and graphics novels that has become wildly popular with teens and adults all over the globe. According to Lammers, the Japanese have been publishing manga for over half a century.

Manga is read in Japan by every segment of that society: boys and girls as well as adults, both men and women, from all walks of life, including students, laborers, businessmen, and other professionals. But the phenomenon only became popular in the U.S. and other countries within the past decade or so, primarily among the younger adult set.

Using Manga to Illustrate Japanese Language Structures

Lammers tapped into the manga trend in order to offer students an alternative method of studying Japanese that is culturally relevant and focuses on the everyday language used in country. Lammers does not simnply use “manga-style” comic frames, but rather uses actual manga panels from a variety of comics and graphic novels, all attributed in the appendix at the end of the book.

Lammers uses the introduction to Japanese the Manga Way to provide a brief but detailed explanation, of the Japanese sound and writing systems. The first lesson, which describes what Lammers calls the “three basic sentence types,” presents the construct of the Japanese language system in a practical way that most Japanese language courses never point out. Thus the learner gains a deeper understanding of why certain language constructs are the way they are.

Each chapter of Japanese the Manga Way builds on the information in prior chapters. Early sections discuss sentence particles, the use of desu and –masu, question formation, modifying verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and explaining the use of no, ga, o, and wa. Later chapters get into negative verbs and adjectives, the if/when construct, and modifiers such as probably, surely, and maybe.

The Disadvantages of Lammers’ Japanese Instruction Book

Japanese the Manga Way is not a book for the very beginner. Lammers’ instruction guide is dense with explanations and illustrations; a beginning language student might find the content overwhelming. The book also lacks exercises to help the language student practice the skills being learned.

Also, Lammers’ book does not include any kind of a CD for the learner to hear language pronunciation. While fans of manga are content with reading text, language learners benefit most when they can hear the correct pronunciation of words, phrases, and conversations.

However, Japanese the Manga Way was never intended as a stand-alone language course and is a good addition to a diverse program of Japanese language study.

The Role of Respect in Japanese Language Learning

A deeper criticism of Lammers’ book, that might be taken as a caution rather than a reason not to use it, is that the Japanese culture is built on levels of respect that are reflected in grammar and language usage. Foreigners are generally expected to speak formal Japanese when visiting the country, not the informal manga-style dialogue. However, understanding cultural expectations and standards for respect are part of learning a new language, and learning informal Japanese will benefit the traveler when that language is encountered in real life situations.

Wayne P. Lammers’ Japanese the Manga Way is a unique language guide that draws on a cultural obsession to induce learners to approach Japanese language learning from an alternative perspective. For manga enthusiasts, as well as for those who love the Japanese culture as represented by this literary art form, and for those who want an alternative method to complement their language studies, Japanese the Manga Way is an excellent resource.

Lammers, Wayne P. Japanese the Manga Way: An Illustrated Guide to Grammar & Structure. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press, 2005.

The copyright of the article Learn to Speak and Read Japanese Through Manga in Learning Japanese is owned by Margaret M. Williams. Permission to republish Learn to Speak and Read Japanese Through Manga in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.