JAPANESE LANGUAGE 2

The course is one of the core courses of the Master's Course in Languages, Economics, and Institutions of Asia and the Mediterranean. It aims at:

1) Support the student when facing original texts' translation.
2) Stimulate the research of specialistic texts from Japanese sources.
3) Develop the student's skills of high-speed text reading/re-elaboration and, at the same time, of identifying the key points.
4) Acclimate the student to short expositions of seminar nature.

Provide the student with the methodological toolkit to conduct their research facing Japanese sources in view of the completion of the Master's Thesis.

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

1) Express thoughts and ideas in Japanese with technological supports.
2) Rapidly read through academic articles and other sources in Japanese.
3) Re-elaborate on an original source and identify its key points.

The course will relate mainly to the comprehension and translation of original sources, both textual ad audiovisual.
Expected level at the end of the course: C1 (CEFR)

Students must have successfully passed the first exam of Japanese language in the first year of the "Magistrale".
They will have at least a level corresponding to JLPT 2 (or to CEFR B2l).

The course is divided in three parts:

1) Lessons by Dr. Stefano Lo Cigno (30 hrs.): seminar lessons with active participation by students on economic and political topics of modern Japan with questions and discussions in class. Attending students will be asked to complete assignments (translations and brief academic papers). Completion of such assignments will contribute to the exam's final grade.
2) Exercise lessons by Dr. Nakayama Etsuko. The lessons will concentrate on the production of written texts in Japanese, analysing and developing specific skills in writing various textual typologies. Aside this main goal Mrs. Nakayama will offer the students the possibility to practice translation from Italian to Japanese.
3) Exercise lessons by Dr. Suzuki Masako. The lessons will concentrate on the study of the correct use of Japanese linguistic registers (e.g. keigo, taigu hyogen, etc.) and students will practice within the frame of various social situations (including the so-called "business Japanese").

Texts will be uploaded on the teacher's Moodle personal webpage.

The use of the following Japanese dictionary (available on the students' electronic dictionaries and online) is recommended:

Kōjien, (7th ed.) Tokyo: Iwanami
Weblio Kokugo Jiten, online at: https://www.weblio.jp/
Kotobank, online at: https://kotobank.jp/

The final score will be assigned based on the results of written and oral tests.
Regarding Dr. Lo Cigno's part of the course, both attending and non-attending students will have to sit a written test. It will consist of a translation of a text not read in class supported by the use of a dictionary (electronic dictionaries are allowed, but applications for smartphones/tablets are prohibited).

The course is structured in frontal classes, practical exercises with the language instructors, and class discussions.
Traditional activities will be coordinated with weekly in-class assignments (translation and discussion of translation choices). It is highly recommended that students bring their laptops/tablets with suitable writing devices to class.
Students will be required to complete weekly tasks (individual or group work) such as translation, transcription of audio/video, presentation, and report writing.

Italian

written and oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development