Introduction to Japanese Language and Culture on the Internet

University of Texas at El Paso, October 18, 2000
Keiko Schneider, Saboten Web Design kschnei@sabotenweb.com
http://www.sabotenweb.com/bookmarks/

This handout is available at http://www.sabotenweb.com/conference/utep.html

Table of Contents
I. Japanese Capability on English System Computers
II. Communicating with the Japanese on the Internet
III. Japanese Search Engines
IV. Handy sites, interesting sites
V. Studying Japanese on the Internet

1-1 Making English system computers Japanese capable (both PC and Mac)

In order to take the full benefits of the discussion, please check the operating system (Windows 95 or Mac OS 8.6, etc.) and version of Microsoft Office (97/98/Me/NT/2000) of your school/home computer and lab where you can possibly conduct your class. Questions are highly encouraged during the presentation. Internet and non-internet issues are welcome.

1-2Windows-based:

Windows 2000

Multilingual capability is there. You have to make sure your computer is upgradable to 2000. Check hardware requirements. After all, 2000 is an NT upgrade. If you have Office 2000, it should work fine. Other software might have backward compatibility problems. You may still need Japanese version of software (e.g. Dreamweaver J) to make fully Japanese capable.

Windows 95/98/Me

My article on winter issue of AATJ newsletter: MS Global IME and Word 2000
http://www.asu.edu/clas/dll/jpn/aatj/articles/schneider9910.html

Global IME works with Netscape Communicator 4.72 or later (Latest is 4.75) Greg Dablestein sensei reported MS Messenger (instant messaging tool) is also Global IME compatible.

Third party software that makes it possible.
(List provided by Tae Kunisawa of University of Alberta)

Word processor only solutions:
1. JWP
ftp://ftp.cc.monash.edu.au/pub/nihongo/00INDEX.html

2. JWPce
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~grosenth/jwpce.html

3.AsianSuite 97
Go to http://www.unionway.com. and download evaluation version that allowsyou to use the software for 60 days free. You can type, send e-mail and make homepage in Japanese with this.

4.Kanjikit 2000
This is similar to AsianSuite 97 http://www.pspinc.com/lsg/kkit/index.htm

5. NJStar
Although Kunisawa sensei left it out from the list, NJStar is also very popular. Similar to Kanji Kit and Asian Suite. Real version is said to be a lot better than demo version.
http://www.njstar.com/

 1-3 Apple/Macintosh

Mac OS 9
Japanese Language Kit (along with other languages) comes with the system. Catch? You have to have PowerPC processor and huge memory to run it. That means some Performa is lucky to be able to upgrade but nothing older. (For OS X, the next system, it is said that you need G3 chip.)

Step-by-step graphical instruction on how to install Language kit, by Yasuhiro Omoto sensei from UC Berkeley.
http://www.nihongoweb.com/Computing/JLK.html

Mac OS 8.x or earlier
If you don’t have JLK already, you are out of luck? Apple and other stores do not sell JLK anymore. But wait, if you have OS 8.6, you can view Japanese, but not to write. If you have 68030 based chip or later, you can install old version of Kanji Talk, Japanese system.
http://www.apple.co.jp/ftp-info/reference/kt753.html
Then you can later update to 7.5.5 with this updater.
http://www.apple.co.jp/ftp-info/reference/kt755.html

Last touch to make you enable Japanese over the Internet
For both platforms, you may have to play with browser setting. Here are examples with Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

My presentation at SEATJ ’99.
http://www.sabotenweb.com/conference/SEATJ99/readj.html

 If you can’t print Japanese correctly and really desperate, print your page as graphic.
http://www.sabotenweb.com/conference/SEATJ99/readsoft.html

Now you can read/write on the Internet, how do you find friends from Japan?

e-mail
Japan Pen Friend
http://www.japan-guide.com/penfriend/index_e.hts

Penpal Box
http://www.ks-connection.org/penpal/penpal.html

Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections (IECC)
http://www.iecc.org/

chat
WebJapanese Chat
http://webjapanese.com/cgi/chat/intro.html

Nihongo Café Chat
http://www.best.com/~byte/Cafe/index_e.html

Apricotweb.com (chat and BBS)
http://www.apricotweb.com/bbschat/index_e.htm

regular mail
JPA PenPal page
http://www.gakubun.co.jp/JPA/index.html

Google
The search engine most favored by US educators can be searched in Japanese
http://www.google.com/
Click on Language, Display, & Filtering Options
Change Interface Language to Japanese
And you are ready to go!

AltaVista
Another popular search engine can search in Japanese
http://doc.altavista.com/help/search/language.shtml

Moshix2
Search Japanese web pages in English
http://www.moshix2.net/

Japanese Search Engines
Amazing collection of search engines that you can search in English and Japanese
http://www2.gol.com/users/andrew/jse.html

Edo Japan Virtual Tour
Wonderful site to explorer Edo period of Japan
http://www.us-japan.org/edomatsu/

Joseph Wu's Origami Page
http://www.origami.vancouver.bc.ca/

Bob & Angie's Japanese Food Recipes
http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/English/index_e.html

Festivals in Japan
http://leahi.kcc.hawaii.edu/~jclub/festival/main.htm

Teaching (and learning) about Japan
http://www.csuohio.edu/history/japan/index.html

Shodouka
If you can't download anything to read Japanese web sites, go to the following site to read Japanese
.http://www.lfw.org/shodouka/

Rikai.com
You go to the following site and punch in web address. When you put a mouse over a Japanese word you don't know, it will give you English definition!
http://www.rikai.com/cgi-bin/HomePage.pl?Language=En

Naoko no Daihitsu
If your Japanese is not quite good enough to write letters fluently, this online software will write one for you!
http://www.teglet.co.jp/scripts/naoko/default.asp

http://www.sabotenweb.com/bookmarks/language.html

Gahoh
Study Japanese writings
http://www3.wind.ne.jp/gahoh/home.html

Teach Yourself Japanese
http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/index.html

Copyright 2000 Keiko Schneider

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