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Japanese

In the College of Arts and Letters

Office: Adams Humanities 4188
Telephone: (619) 594-5338




The Major

Advising

Japanese Major
With the B.A. Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences

Japanese Minor

Foreign Language Requirement for the

High School Equivalents

Courses

Faculty

Chair: Underhill

Professor: Higurashi

Assistant Professor: Kitajima

Lecturer: Miyamoto

Offered by the Department of
Linguistics and Oriental Languages

Major in Japanese.

Minor in Japanese.

The MajorTop of Page

Japanese is the fastest growing language in U.S. higher education. Due to the interdependence between the U.S. and Japan, as well as Japan's role in the world economy, the importance of Japanese has become evident.

Students who major in Japanese will gain proficiency in Japanese language skills, and the department offers a broad variety of courses designed to prepare majors for a number of careers after graduation. A major in Japanese is also a good preparatory curriculum for graduate programs in such areas as international business, international law, librarianship, public administration, and journalism.

A knowledge of Japanese is a valuable asset in finding positions as interpreters and translators employed by the federal government, the United Nations, international conferences, trade councils, and publishers, as well as internationally oriented companies, government agencies, the press corps, and the tourism industry. It also gives graduates an advantage in looking for positions in Japan in such areas as language teaching, business consulting, or journalism.

AdvisingTop of Page

All College of Arts and Letters majors are urged to consult with their department adviser as soon as possible; they are required to meet with their department adviser within the first two semesters are declaration or change of major.

Japanese MajorTop of Page

With the B.A. Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences

(Major Code: 11081)

All candidates for a degree in liberal arts and sciences must complete the graduation requirements listed in the section of this catalog on "Graduation Requirements."

Students majoring in Japanese must complete a minor in another field to be approved by the departmental adviser in Japanese.

All students with transfer credits must take placement test at the Test Office at SDSU.

Note: Speakers of Japanese who have completed compulsory education through junior high school in Japan, or those who pass level one of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, created and edited by The Association of International Education and the Japan Foundation, or equivalent, will receive no credit for Japanese 311, 312, 321, 322, 411, 412, 421, and 422.

Preparation for the Major. Japanese 111, 112, 211, and 212. (24 units) A maximum of 24 lower division units of Japanese courses may be used to satisfy degree requirements.

Foreign Language Requirement. The foreign language requirement is automatically fulfilled through coursework for preparation for the major.

Upper Division Writing Requirement. Passing the University Writing Examination or completing one of the approved writing courses with a grade of C (2.0) or better.

Major. A minimum of 32 upper division units in Japanese to include Japanese 311, 312, 321, 322, 411, 412, 421, and 422.

Japanese Minor Top of Page

The minor in Japanese consists of a minimum of 24 units in Japanese, at least 12 units of which must be in upper division courses.

Courses in the minor may not be counted toward the major, but may be used to satisfy preparation for the major and general education requirements, if applicable. A minimum of eight upper division units must be completed in residence at San Diego State University, and a proficiency level equal to that of Japanese 411 must be demonstrated.

Foreign Language Requirement for the
B.A. Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences
Top of Page

Students electing the study of Japanese to fulfill the foreign language requirement for the Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal arts and sciences must successfully complete Japanese 211 or the equivalent level of achievement. The usual sequence of coursework is Japanese 111, 112, and 211. Refer to section of catalog on "Graduation Requirements" for additional ways to satisfy competency.

High School Equivalents Top of Page

High school foreign language courses may be used for purposes of placement in college courses and may be counted toward meeting the foreign language requirement in various majors. These high school courses will not count as college credit toward graduation.

Secondary school language courses can be used as follows:

1. The first two years of high school level language count as the equivalent of the first semester of a college level course, although students with fewer than three years of high school level language may complete the first semester college course for graduation credit.

2. The first three years of high school level language count as the equivalent of the first two college semesters, although students with fewer than four years of high school level language may complete the second semester college course for graduation credit. Students who have completed three years of foreign language in high school will not receive credit for the first semester college course unless at least five years separate the last high school course and the first college course.

3. Four years of high school level language count as the equivalent of three college semesters, thus fulfilling the foreign language requirement.

CoursesTop of Page

LOWER DIVISION COURSES

Native speakers of Japanese will not receive credit for taking lower division courses except with advance approval from the department.

All lower division courses in Japanese are taught in Japanese.

No credit will be given for Japanese 111, 112, 211, 212 taken out of sequence.

111. Elementary Japanese I (6) I

Six lectures and one hour of laboratory.

Elementary language skills: fundamental grammar, idiomatic expressions, hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji characters. Reading, writing, speaking, oral-aural drills, and relationship between language and culture. Not open to students who have completed three years of high school Japanese unless the third course was completed five or more years ago. (Formerly numbered Japanese 101.)

112. Elementary Japanese II (6) II

Six lectures and one hour of laboratory.

Prerequisite: Japanese 111.

Continuation of Japanese 111. Preparation for Japanese 211. Not open to students who have completed four years of high school Japanese unless the fourth course was completed five or more years ago. (Formerly numbered Japanese 102 and 202.)

211. Intermediate Japanese I (6) I

Six lectures and one hour of laboratory.

Prerequisite: Japanese 112.

Continuation of Japanese 112. More kanji and grammar. Further development of language competence for advanced courses in Japanese. Preparation for Japanese 212. (Formerly numbered Japanese 201 and 303.)

212. Intermediate Japanese II (6) II

Six lectures and one hour of laboratory.

Prerequisite: Japanese 211.

Strengthening communication skills in Japanese; various literary styles; additional kyoiku kanji. Cultural values shaping modern Japanese society; intercultural communication. Preparation for Japanese 311.

296. Experimental Topics (1-4)

Selected topics. May be repeated with new content. See Class Schedule for specific content. Limit of nine units of any combination of 296, 496, 596 courses applicable to a bachelor's degree.

UPPER DIVISION COURSES
(Intended for Undergraduates)

All upper division courses in Japanese are taught in Japanese unless otherwise stated.

311. Third Year Japanese I (4) I, II

Four Lectures and one hour of laboratory.

Prerequisites: Japanese 212 and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations II.C., Humanities.

Continuation of Japanese 212. Strengthening of communication skills in Japanese; various literary styles; all kyoiku kanji. Cultural values shaping modern Japanese society; intercultural communication. Preparation for Japanese 312.

312. Third Year Japanese II (4) I, II

Four lectures and one hour of laboratory.

Prerequisites: Japanese 311 and completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations II.C., Humanities.

Further strengthening of communication skills in Japanese; various literary styles; introduction of chugaku kanji. Social and economic issues in Japan and the U.S.; cultural values shaping business conduct in Japan; characteristics of Japanese management; intercultural communication. Preparation for Japanese 411.

321. Advanced Japanese Discourse (4)

Prerequisite: Japanese 212.

Varieties of Japanese such as broadcasting Japanese, lectures, business negotiations, and ceremonial discourses. Focus on listening comprehension.

322. Advanced Conversation Through Media (4)

Prerequisite: Japanese 311.

Development of advanced conversation skills through understanding and analysis of social and linguistic aspects of modern Japanese drama. Role play, practical vocabulary, and useful expressions; conversation on assigned topics.

411. Fourth Year Japanese I (4)

Prerequisite: Japanese 312.

Continuation of Japanese 312. Further strengthening of communication skills in Japanese; various literary styles; more chugaku kanji. Social and economic issues in Japan and in the U.S.; cultural values shaping business conduct in Japan; characteristics of Japanese management; intercultural communication. Preparation for Japanese 412. (Formerly numbered Japanese 401.)

412. Fourth Year Japanese II (4)

Prerequisite: Japanese 411.

Continuation of Japanese 411. Further strengthening of communication skills in Japanese; various literary styles; all joyo kanji. Social and economic issues in Japan and the U.S.; cultural values shaping business conduct in Japan; characteristics of Japanese management; intercultural communication. (Formerly numbered Japanese 402.)

421. Japanese Literature Through Text and Film (4)

Prerequisite: Japanese 312.

Japanese literature from earliest times to present. Major works of modern Japanese fiction as a literary genre and their cinematic interpresentation.

422. Newspaper Reading and Advanced Composition (4)

Prerequisite: Japanese 411.

Advanced readings in general and specialized texts selected from current newspapers and magazines published in Japan. Discussion of text and development of related compositions.

496. Topics in Japanese Studies (1-4)

Topics in Japanese language, literature, culture and linguistics. May be repeated with new content. See Class Schedule for specific content. Limit of nine units of any combination of 296, 496, 596 courses applicable to a bachelor's degree. Maximum credit eight units.

499. Special Study (1-3) I, II

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Individual study. Maximum credit six units.

Journalism

Refer to "Communication" in this section of the catalog.



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