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Until recently, kanji dictionaries found in many denshi jisho models were of limited use to English-speaking Learners of Japanese (EsLJ) in the elementary to intermediate levels since its entries, written in Japanese, presupposes a considerable degree of literacy in Japanese to be able to use it profitably. Generally, EsLJ use a denshi jisho's kanji dictionary to merely obtain a kanji's on-kun readings and still have to rely on their paper editions to learn its meaning and stroke order. (While some denshi jisho makers recently began to include stroke-order animation this feature is quite limited to a few select models.) Furthermore, using a denshi jisho to look up kanji when reading a Japanese magazine, newspaper, or book also requires some knowledge about kanji radicals and parts to expedite the look-up process.
It is little wonder then that Casio's March 2007 release of Jack Halpern's Kanji Learner's Dictionary (KALD) for EX-word Dataplus models has created quite a stir because this is perhaps the first time that a kanji dictionary principally geared towards the learning needs of EsLJ has become available as electronic dictionary content. At present though, there is yet no Dataplus model that includes the KALD as a bundled-in dictionary; instead, users will have to purchase this separately in either a CD-ROM or SD card as add-on content.
This characteristic usefulness of the KALD mainly derives from its providing the English core meanings of kanji - a simple enough difference but one that is of great significance as to how EsLJ memorize kanji characters. The English core meaning "is a concise keyword that conveys the character's most fundamental meaning," and "appeals to the learner's powers of association," thus greatly facilitating the learning event.
KALD entries also features a stroke-order diagram that will certainly be most helpful to beginner-level kanji learners. With 2926 kanji entries, the KALD will enable users to look up almost any kanji encountered while reading modern print literature such as newspapers, books, magazines, including the 285 kanji in the official list (Jinmei list) of kanji approved for use in personal names. Each kanji entry usually also includes a list of words using that kanji and a short definition of each. This compound-kanji word list often saves the user the extra effort of looking up the meaning of a compound-kanji word in the denshi jisho's Japanese-English dictionary.
The cumbersome process of looking up kanji using conventional dictionaries has long vexed both EsLJ and native Japanese learners alike. These kanji dictionaries use stroke count, radicals, and kanji parts singly or in combination as kanji search indices. The print edition of KALD uses an ingenious "System of Kanji Indexing by Patterns (SKIP)" that enables users to look up kanji much more quickly, and this was hailed by many Japanese language educators as a major breakthrough with regard to this problem.
The denshi jisho edition of KALD also offers the use of SKIP as an alternative kanji look-up method in addition to the conventional search methods using radicals and on-kun readings. Thus, when looking up kanji encountered from external content (i.e. content that is not stored in the denshi jisho's memory resources) such as print materials, even users who own older-generation Casio Dataplus models that are not equipped with handwriting recognition can still benefit from the use of SKIP. However for those fortunate users who already own any of the latest models from the EX-word Dataplus3 series (e.g. Casio XD GW6800), looking up kanji has never been easier since KALD also allows a search based on handwriting input.
What both the print and denshi jisho editions of KALD lack is an index based on the English core meanings of kanji. For a dictionary that touts the mnemonic significance of English core meanings to an EsLJ's learning of kanji this oversight seems all the more baffling. Since many EsLJ will more readily recall the English meaning of a kanji character than its on-kun reading or stroke order, there will be many occasions wherein they will want to verify the meanings of vaguely familiar kanji using an English-meaning index. Enabling such a search also greatly helps reinforce the associative link between a character and its meaning. Adding an English-meaning index seems simple enough though, and perhaps we can expect the creators of KALD to include this in the next edition.
"Triple Tsuika" is the defining feature of the EX-word Dataplus series - the feature that allows users to add to the internal content (i.e. Data that resides in the denshi jisho's memory resources) via CD-ROM, SD card, and text download. This is the very feature that makes it possible to install KALD into a Casio Dataplus denshi jisho. Once installed, a user browsing an entry in a different dictionary (e.g. Japanese-English dictionary) can use the denshi jisho's Superjump function to select a particular kanji and segue to the KALD to look it up. This also works just as well for user-installed content, such as books or encyclopedias from commercial content providers or internet freeware sites, allowing a Casio Dataplus to function as an e-book reader.
More than obviating bulky paper editions, the integration of KALD into a Casio Dataplus3 series model will encourage EsLJ to delve more into the wealth of available denshi jisho content, both external and internal. Educators may also recognize the viability of creating language-teaching materials such as grammar guides as internal content. By this measure alone, the future impact to and possibilities that this will create in the realm of Japanese language studies and teaching are indeed immense.
