ASIAN 30
Languages and Cultures of Asia
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Comparative perspective on Asian languages, with emphasis on three major East Asian languages--Chinese, Japanese, and Korean--to show what they share and how they differ in terms of linguistic features, historical development, and larger cultural settings in which these three languages are used. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2021 - This class was a fun and fairly easy GE. I went in knowing nothing about linguistics or any Asian languages, and this class still felt very accessible since it goes over the absolute basics of linguistics. Prof is really enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Her lectures can be a bit confusing and fast paced, but the textbook helps a lot and the professor was very open to answering questions. Participation and group work make up a good amount of the grade.
Summer 2021 - This class was a fun and fairly easy GE. I went in knowing nothing about linguistics or any Asian languages, and this class still felt very accessible since it goes over the absolute basics of linguistics. Prof is really enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Her lectures can be a bit confusing and fast paced, but the textbook helps a lot and the professor was very open to answering questions. Participation and group work make up a good amount of the grade.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Honest to god, entered this class hating it. I only had taken it because I was looking up 'easy GE's' and when I started I hated the class. But honestly, I'm astounded by how genuine Professor Iwasaki was and my TA (Jaehyun Jo), and they were always available to help. I didn't even need to attend office hours because my TA covered everything I needed to know in section. Throughout the quarter, I started getting more interested in the class and even sharing knowledge I learned about Asian languages to my friends (who are asian ofc lol) and by the end of the quarter I was sad to leave the course. The workload is not that heavy (apparently there used to be much more and they lowered the workload this quarter) and the professor is very lenient/receptive to suggestions, and the midterms/exam is easy if you just pay attention to the slides (which are posted!) and the review that he gives you. I met a lot of great people in this class (and some koreaboos whom I'm scared of now) and I would totally recommend this class to an Asian friend (if you don't know an asian language/tonal language then maybe don't take the class because the listening part might be a little hard)
Fall 2019 - Honest to god, entered this class hating it. I only had taken it because I was looking up 'easy GE's' and when I started I hated the class. But honestly, I'm astounded by how genuine Professor Iwasaki was and my TA (Jaehyun Jo), and they were always available to help. I didn't even need to attend office hours because my TA covered everything I needed to know in section. Throughout the quarter, I started getting more interested in the class and even sharing knowledge I learned about Asian languages to my friends (who are asian ofc lol) and by the end of the quarter I was sad to leave the course. The workload is not that heavy (apparently there used to be much more and they lowered the workload this quarter) and the professor is very lenient/receptive to suggestions, and the midterms/exam is easy if you just pay attention to the slides (which are posted!) and the review that he gives you. I met a lot of great people in this class (and some koreaboos whom I'm scared of now) and I would totally recommend this class to an Asian friend (if you don't know an asian language/tonal language then maybe don't take the class because the listening part might be a little hard)