Japanese

I have a few years worth of high school and college experience and a few months living under my belt, but I do not profess to be anywhere near proficient...the most I'll say is that games like Shenmue and Sakura Taisen do not pose a huge problem for me....if it's fairly conversational, and has voices with written dialog, I can manage.

It's funny because all foreign languages are NOT the same...having studied Spanish, French, and Italian to varying degrees, those languages are infinitely easier to learn than Japanese...and I'm not even talking about the words that sound the same...it's the whole grammar and thought process. But that's what makes it fun.

If you seriously want to learn Japanese, take a few basic courses here and spend awhile in Japan. It's amazing what you can pick up. Anyway I'm always looking to improve my abilities so please continue the discussion and questions here.

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Originally posted by Yamcha
It's funny because all foreign languages are NOT the same...having studied Spanish, French, and Italian to varying degrees, those languages are infinitely easier to learn than Japanese...and I'm not even talking about the words that sound the same...it's the whole grammar and thought process. But that's what makes it fun.

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Funny, its the exact opposite for me, Japanese is the easiest language I have ever learned (although Chinese comes damn close in easiness, with pronounciation the determinant factor)

I'm actually enjoying picking up German as a serious 2nd/3rd language.

I'm a damned fool, I say. I was thinking about taking Japanese this year at school but, of course, my damned family had me convinced to go along with Spanish... considering I had "three years experience"...

Bah!

I've been basically self-teaching Japanese since I got out of High School, which would be like.. 5 years now or something. I tried taking a college class here and there but I couldn't stick it long enough for reasons completely unrelated to the material or how it was instructed... which pisses me off. I like to think I know a fair amount of it.

My method of study has always been take some source (manual, manga, etc), write it out verbatim, use a Kanji dict. to translate what's not known. It helped me learn how to write it as well, which is also important...

I think immersion is the single necessity for learning this like any other language; hear and see and think it enough, it isn't as foreign in the weeks and months ahead. Probably common sense but it seems to help me.

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Originally posted by Zenigata
I'm currently learning a good deal of Romanji. Learning characters will be hard..

Toire wa doko desu ka?

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http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/bi...nigataHira.gif

wakkaranai.

Gomen nasai. m(_ _)m

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Originally posted by Regus
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~thoureau/japanese.html

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Seen that before. Somewhat funny. The best part:

As if learning the language wasn't hard enough, Japanese classes in America tend to attract the kind of student who makes you wish that a large comet would strike the earth.


I took Japanese from 97 to 2000, about the time the Sailor Moon-obsessed freakbeast started infiltrating the classes (since our class was so small, about 5 people, we were lumped in with the beginners - AKA them).

I'm afraid to go back into Japanese classes. I'm thinking about finishing that on my own and taking some Chinese or (gasp!) a non-Asiatic language.

I was in a class that only taught the kanji. Which wasn't much fun, since it was only one day and for a hour. I didn't learn much. But I will continue on with it down the road.

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Originally posted by Seven Force


http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/bi...nigataHira.gif

wakkaranai.

Gomen nasai. m(_ _)m

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Hrm. That's Zenigata in Hiragana? Cool, thanks :) How about the Romanji, I'm not that advanced :(

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Originally posted by Zenigata




Hrm. That's Zenigata in Hiragana? Cool, thanks :) How about the Romanji, I'm not that advanced :(

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"I don't know. I'm sorry"