The Beginning Japanese course is concerned only with spoken Japanese in the 'standard' dialect of educated inhabitants of Tokyo. Learning to speak the language at normal speed is emphasized since the aim of the course is to teach you to understand and speak the everyday language just as it is spoken by the Japanese.
This textbook is concerned only with spoken Japanese. Reading and writing involve a different set of habits and are best begun after acquiring some basic control of the spoken language. It is suggested that students interested in studying written Japanese begin using an introductory reading text only after completing at least ten or fifteen lessons of this volume.
