JAPANESE LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION I

Course objectives

The three-year course aims at the Japanese Language acquisition in the written and oral component and the development of communication skills from the elementary to the advanced level, with different degrees for each year. Although a framework of reference as for the European languages has not yet been definited for the Japanese language, the JF Standard proposed by the Japan Foundation, based on the European CEFR, is in use; this scheme refers to the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) with the N1-N2-N3-N4-N5 levels that are used in the following descriptions. At the end of first year the student will reach the basic knowledge of grammar and their application in everyday life situations. The course includes language lessons aimed at providing the elementary syntax, the writing of alphabets and about 220 ideograms; many hours are dedicated to the development of communication skills, according to new language teaching techniques, to the strengthening of the concepts learned through class exercises and translation tests. Classes with native speakers further support the writing and conversation exercises. Specific Goals At the end of the first year the student will be able to present himself and others, to communicate in simple everyday situations, to translate basic sentences from Japanese to Italian and vice versa; he will then be able to obtain the N5 level and to use some grammatical and communicative structures of the JLPT level N4.

Channel 1
MATILDE MASTRANGELO Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
Program Introduction to the characteristics of Japanese language, explanation of teaching methods, guidance on recommended study and learning techniques. Introduction to writing the syllabic alphabets. Introduction to writing and learning ideograms. Basic structures of the Japanese language. Practice with Italian teacher and native speakers. Periodic verifications (not valid for final grade purposes) through written tests and oral tests in order to assess learning achievement and progress.
Prerequisites
Not required
Books
M.Mastrangelo, J.Oue, Il giapponese per gli italiani, Hoepli, Milano, 2018, I volume nuova edizione; Mastrangelo, Ozawa, Saito, Grammatica giapponese (nuova edizione), Hoepli, 2016.
Frequency
Attendance is not compulsory but strongly recommended.
Exam mode
Written exam consisting of grammar and translation exercises related to the syllabus explained in the course. The grammar part includes: exercises related to recognizing and writing kanji; exercises in which sentences are completed with agglutinative particles; multiple-choice exercises designed to test knowledge of grammatical structures; reading and comprehension; and elaboration of a short composition using the structures studied. The translation part consists of a passage of about 400 words to be translated from Japanese into Italian, without the use of dictionaries, to test comprehension and ability to render grammatical structures into Italian. Both tests must be passed with a passing grade. The final grade is derived from the average of the marks obtained from the two tests.
Lesson mode
Method of conducting lectures Frontal lectures with in-class exercises. Weekly assignment of homework and corrected by teachers via the Classroom platform.
  • Lesson code1055368
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseOriental languages and civilizations
  • CurriculumLingua coreana
  • Year2nd year
  • Duration12 months
  • SSDL-OR/22
  • CFU12