Japanese in 3 months?

I’ve just picked up an interesting looking book from the local Oxfam bookshop; “Japanese in Three Months” by John Breen, from the Hugo’s Simplified System langage book range. It looks pretty good so far; chapter one takes you through the sounds and a few basic phrases – pretty much as you’d expect. I’m looking forward to seeing how the 3 month claims works out. I already know some basics so I might even be able to master it in less time!

I was quite interested to read that quite a few words exist in the Japanese language that are of a foreign origin. Tabako (cigarettes), hoteru (hotel), basu (bus), naifu (knife) and koppu (cup) to name but a few. I found when learning German that little similarities like this can make a big difference, and although I’m sure they’re much rarer in Japanese, I’ll be listening out for them in earnest!