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This guide points you to some of the Library's main resources that will support the Japanese language classes on campus and so focuses on resources to help learn Japanese, as well as resources that are IN Japanese.
- For a list of Japanese Language classes at Carleton see the undergraduate calendar.
- For students residing in Ottawa, the Ottawa Public Library has a number of resources that can help with learning Japanese.
NOTE: Print books can be requested through the Library's Curbside Pickup service
Language Dictionaries
- Oxford beginner's Japanese dictionary <print only>
- Periplus Pocket Japanese Dictionary : Japanese-English English-Japanese
- Random House Japanese- English/ English-Japanese dictionary - we have temporary online access via HathiTrust. Once connected to Hathi, click on the Temporary Access link, and then use the "Check Out" link in the orange header to view the book
- Tuttle mini Japanese dictionary - Japanese-English/English- Japanese. Japanese headwords are in romaji but Japanese characters are also included.
- Tuttle pocket Japanese dictionary 2nd ed.- Japanese-English/English-Japanese. Japanese headwords are in romaji but Japanese characters are also included.
- WordReference.com: has Japanese-English/English-Japanese dictionary as well as a language forum so you can ask questions and get answers
Grammars
- Making sense of Japanese grammar - we have temporary online access via HathiTrust. Once connected to Hathi, click on the Temporary Access link, and then use the "Check Out" link in the orange header to view the book
- Modern Japanese: A practical guide
- Reference grammars - used more as thorough references tools to teach someone about the language and to allow users to look up specific details of a language. (as opposed to learner or pedagogical grammars which are aimed more at students learning a language, tend to be simpler, more focus on usage of the language)
- Japanese, 2nd ed
- A reference grammar of Japanese <print only>
Help with Kanji/Kana
- Japanese Kanji and Kana: A complete guide to the Japanese writing system <print only>
- Japanese kanji power : a workbook for mastering Japanese characters
- Kanji handbook
- Learning Japanese Hiragana and Katakana: Workbook and Practice Sheets
- Learning Japanese Kanji Practice Book Volume 2
General
- 600 basic Japanese verbs: The essential reference guide
- Handbook of Japanese syntax
- Gender, language and ideology : a genealogy of Japanese women's language
- Issues in Japanese phonology and morphology
- Japanese - overview of the language from the International encyclopedia of linguistics, 2nd ed
- Japanese words and their uses - gives detailed explanations of usage for over 300 Japanese words
- Languages of Japan and Korea - descriptions of the major varieties of languages in the region, both modern and pre-modern
- Nihongo pera pera! a user's guide to Japanese onomatopoeia
- Oxford handbook of Japanese linguistics <print only>
- Turn-taking in Japanese conversation: A study in grammar and interaction
Reading Books in Japanese:
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- Japanese ebook websites you can use for free - short video that explains navigating a few sites for free Japanese ebooks (links to each source provided in video description)
- HathiTrust - Note, this gives access to mostly older titles. Once connected, make sure to "Log In" and choose Carleton University.
- switch the search default to "Catalog" insted of "full text"
- to find only ebooks we have access to make sure the "full view only" box is checked
- search for a specific author, title, or a keyword search (you can search in English, or in Japanese characters)
- If needed, on the results page limit the language to Japanese
- Our own collection of literature is mostly in print, and is mostly in translation.
- You can look up a specific title of a book, or author, or you can browse what we have in Japanese by trying this search in Omni:
use the wildcard *, but put it in quotation marks and then limit the language to Japanese
- You can look up a specific title of a book, or author, or you can browse what we have in Japanese by trying this search in Omni:
Scholarly journal articles
- Omni: our easy-to-use search tool, right on the Library home page. You can limit results by language OR
- You can search some of our other recommended databases:
- Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) : for more linguistics related articles (e.g. grammar, syntax, morphology etc) as well as other language related aspects
- ERIC: for articles related to teaching and learning of Japanese
- Scholars Portal Journals: a full-text collection of thousands of scholarly journals, covers all subject areas
- Web of Science Core Collection : Don't let the name fool you: covers social sciences topics too. You'll be able to see if other articles have cited the ones you find in your search
News & Magazine Sources
We subscribe to a number of databases that have the full text of magazines, newspapers, and and other news sources from around the world
- Factiva full text news from around the world. Some important notes for finding material in Japanese
- To find the most resources you need to search using Japanese characters. If you search using English words results are more limited because only extra information such as subject terms are in English. The full text of the news items are in Japanese.
- Note that the default date limit is "in the last 3 months", so change as needed
- You can choose one or more specific sources to search, example: Asahi Shimbun
- You can choose to search news sources from one or more cities, countries, or regions. Example: sources just from Tokyo
- Very important: Remove the default language= English and add language = Japanese
- Nexis Uni - To find the most resources you need to search using Japanese characters. If you search using English words results are more limited because only extra information such as subject terms are in English. The full text of the news items are in Japanese. You can then filter results to specific regions or specific sources. All dates are included by default
- Press Reader - access over 5000 newspapers and magazines from over 100 countries. 90 day backfile only. Language or country can be selected from the menu on the left, and then subcategories by topic. For example, there are over 40 titles in Japanese
- News in slow Japanese - for intermediate to advanced, includes transcripts in Japanese characters and romaji, vocabulary help, and ability to listen to the news item in 2 speeds.
- NHK for news IN Japanese and NHK World-Japan News for news about Japan IN English
- Asahi Shimbun - in Japanese, leading Japanese newspaper (also available in their English version)
Our Collection:
- Do a Keyword search in Omni for a specific title or by topic.
- Once you get your results, limit the "Resource Type" to "videos" . (NOTE: you will probably have to click on the "Show More" to see the video options)
- Limit the language to Japanese
- If you only want to see videos available via online streaming, limit the "Availability" to "Available online"
- You can request physical DVDs through our Curbside Pick-up service.
- We also have 2 streaming video database you can search
- Films on Demand
- Kanopy - films not already part of our collection can be requested
Other Video Sources
- YouTube: you can find a vast amount of free Japanese language videos. Some channels that might be of interest:
- JapanesePod101 - for beginners
- That Japanese man Yuta - for intermediate. Does a lot of on-street interviews related to Japanese language & culture
- Top 25 YouTube channels for learning Japanese - a blog post with reviews/descriptions of some other interesting channels
- Learn Japanese - from NHK World Japan , the international arm of the Japanese news site, it includes video lessons at various levels. For each lesson you can download a transcript, view with English or Japanese subtitles.
- Your favourite video streaming service, for example:
- Netflix: just search "Japanese and you'll get a large selection of TV shows and movies, including Anime. Note that sometimes they may default to an English dubbed version, so just change the audio to Japanese and then choose your preferred subtitles: English or Japanese.
- Prime Video: search "Japanese". Many movies and TV shows have dubbed versions, just check the audio options once you start watching.
Listening to Japanese music and ollowing along with lyrics, can be a great way to improve your language skills, especially with pronunciation. Listening to audio podcasts is another way to get your ear familiar with rhythm, tone, flow of a language
General sources & Podcasts:
- 15 best podcasts for studying Japanese in 2020 - descriptions of podcasts broken down by level. Includes:
- Fun Japanese listening - beginners, host speaks slowly, and will repeat important phrases
- Ottawa Public Library: Mango Audio and text, each language course consists of 100 lessons. You must use your Ottawa Public library username and password to access Mango (anyone who lives in the city of Ottawa can get a free username and password, contact your local branch )
- The OPL has many other language learning resources: browse by going to their advanced search screen, limit Language to Japanese and Collections to "adult language learning"
Music & Lyrics:
- Anime Lyrics -
- Japanese song lyrics - includes English translations for anime, Jpop
- Youtube: keyword search a song, artist, or Japanese with the word "lyric" to find lyric videos. For example, Let it go, from Frozen
Curate your own playlist, or discover curated playlists of Japanese language music using your preferred way of listening to music, here are some examples:
- Spotify : Try searching J-pop or J-rock on spotify to find playlists
- Tune in: Top40 & Pop - lists a number of Japanese radio stations you can stream live
