Learning Japanese

bigjohnsonrichard said:
surprised how many people have dabbled with learning japanese.
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It is a very alluring language! I just wish it was more useful. If Japanese was mandarin then I'd definitely have kept it up, despite the difficulty. I just can't see the use in it really, aside from fun, unless you like manga/anime or live in Japan :(
 
Lil old me said:
It is a very alluring language! I just wish it was more useful. If Japanese was mandarin then I'd definitely have kept it up, despite the difficulty. I just can't see the use in it really, aside from fun, unless you like manga/anime or live in Japan :(
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You could say the same about any language, I suppose if you don't need it for a specific purpose. Why would you personally find Mandarin more useful?
 
ic1male said:
You could say the same about any language, I suppose if you don't need it for a specific purpose. Why would you personally find Mandarin more useful?
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I feel like it will become more prominent globally over the next 20 years, is useful for travelling in China (obviously), but also parts of Africa and the East and will be a genuine benefit in business. Japanese, on the other hand, along with population, is in decline unfortunately and its reach will diminish.

Edit: that said if I was going to learn a language again, and I've done French, Spanish and Latin at school, i would go back to japanese because it is satisfying and fun (mostly!) I don't much like the sound of Mandarin, tonal languages scare me and having to use hanzi for everything is just terrifying! (though it is meant to be easier than Japanese overall!)
 
Yes, Barnsley :)

I've got a very nerdy reason for wanting japanese skillsets.

Early release console dates :D And all those games that never make it over here :(
 
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Lil old me said:
It is a very alluring language! I just wish it was more useful. If Japanese was mandarin then I'd definitely have kept it up, despite the difficulty. I just can't see the use in it really, aside from fun, unless you like manga/anime or live in Japan :(
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It does seem that an awful lot of people learn it as a result of liking anime.
 
bigjohnsonrichard said:
It does seem that an awful lot of people learn it as a result of liking anime.
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I've been working my way thru studio ghibli with me gf and it certainly has come in useful. Especially as we used to teach children, some of the, lets say, inventive, translations are amusing! We also love how well they capture a japanese 8 yr old's whining やーだ！
 
Lil old me said:
having to use hanzi for everything is just terrifying! (though it is meant to be easier than Japanese overall!)
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Yeah, I don't like the look of the kanji at all - the way they have multiple pronunciations. How the heck are you supposed to know when to use each one? At least in Chinese, each character is pronounced only one way.
 
ic1male said:
Yeah, I don't like the look of the kanji at all - the way they have multiple pronunciations. How the heck are you supposed to know when to use each one? At least in Chinese, each character is pronounced only one way.
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It's situational and contextual. English is no easier when you think about it. Read and read for example. I think it's important not to panic too much about kanji because they will scare you! Best is to not worry too much about them for now, get hiragana and katakana sorted, listen and read, get that book I recommended for meaning and they will come along slowly.
 
Indeed, as I said earlier, Kanji is something you pick up in a lifetime, not quickly. People who are fluent in Japanese, who have lived in Japan all their lifes, Even they don't know all Kanji.

There are 1000s of Kanji. 10's of thousands in fact, but I think only a thousand or so are regularly used. And you cant rush to learn them. you'll gradually pick them up and memorize them.
 
wannabedamned said:
Indeed, as I said earlier, Kanji is something you pick up in a lifetime, not quickly. People who are fluent in Japanese, who have lived in Japan all their lifes, Even they don't know all Kanji.

There are 1000s of Kanji. 10's of thousands in fact, but I think only a thousand or so are regularly used. And you cant rush to learn them. you'll gradually pick them up and memorize them.
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On the other hand you only need 2000 or so to be able to read a newspaper and theyre the ones in regular usage.

As a benchmark, both my managers in Japan had been there 5 and 8 years respectively, we're married and had a Japanese wife and children. Both of them said it took them 3 years to feel really comfortable with the whole language, but even when I met them there was still much to learn. One of them (8 years) had done his JLPT level 1 (highest gvt recognised foreigner Japanese language test which many Japanese people wouldn't pass), so he sorta knew what he was on about!
 
I was looking to learn Japanese 8 years ago but it was way too expensive for what my part time wages could afford.

Now I spent 5 days in Japan last week, I be looking for learn the language and return to Japan in 2 years with better knowledge of speaking to them.
 
Main problem I normally run into in Japan with trying to practice speaking the lingo is that the locals want to practice their English on me :) ... last time I ended up chatting with one of the Hiroshima station maintenance staff whilst having okonomiyaki there as he wanted to practice his.
 
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