Learning Japanese

[The Fighting_Crusnik]

I've been looking into learning Japanese and I'm wondering which method (ie computer software, text books, other?) is the best method and I'm looking for suggestions, be it a piece of software, a text book or something other. Also, what are some tips that could help when studying the language?

I've looked into Human Japanese, and I like it, but I don't know how far it will take you, and I've thought about the Genki textbooks since they seem to be popular...

[leftace53]

I have a few books on it, I tried learning it about 5 years ago. I'd say the main reason it failed was because I didn't stick with it. The book I had was very good though, it came with stickers for objects (alarm clock is mezamashi dokei), and it really helped that it jogged my memory each time I hit the snooze, or went to my basement. I'll refrain from suggesting a specific item, because I really don't know how indepth some things go, but look around the interwebs. You could probably learn the basic script from interwebs alone, and figure out conversational things through a talkie software/freeware.

In my many attempts at learning a new language, the most successful was dutch, because after I learnt something new, I went back to make sure I remembered the old stuff. I also tried to use it in everyday conversations. I also liked watching movies with subtitles in a language I was trying to learn, so that I could hear it in english, and figure out the statement in a different language (or vice versa for pronunciation)

From my understanding we've got language study groups/help on the forums, maybe a comrade wants to learn with you/practice what you learn.

The best is of course, if you can find a pal who wouldn't mind teaching it to you, maybe in exchange for computer help :P or any other skills you feel like trading :lol:

Good luck!

[Tablo]

If you are in school it helps to take a class on it. I'm taking Japanese in college.

[The Fighting_Crusnik]

lol, I graduated from high school, and my college only offers Spanish... So, I'll have to learn it on my own or wait (assuming that I decide to do this) until I immigrate to Japan and join a local language school... but I'd prefer not to do that because it would make some stuff difficult.

[Bright Banana Beard]

I have ton of ebooks and books, a kanji poster in my bedroom, a whiteboard for tracking my progress, and tons of anime/drama to help me learn Japanese. You personally need to be committed to it, I only know 30 kanji this moment since I figure that learning the phrase is more helpful for me than just memorizing the hiragana/katakana. It that I just not that committed to learn it.

[The Fighting_Crusnik]

As long as I don't let myself get too busy, I should be able to commit even it it's only 30 or 45 minutes a day... but I think the writing will be one of the more difficult stuff to remain focused to...

[Sendo]

Dont get discouraged if you cant read it too well, though. When the Japanese use Chinese characters, unlike how the Koreans once did, they don't just use it for Chinese words (with a similar but different Mandarin and Korean and Vietnamese equivalent pronunciation), but they use it for native words. When they use it for native Japanese words the characters take arbitrary meanings barely related to the Chinese source and have completely random and inconsistent pronunciations.

It will take many years of intense study to get adult-level mastery of that, but if you stick to simple characters and focus on the listening, you will be more satisfied with your progress. I'd suggest staying away from modern film especially if it's annoying, indie shit (sparse dialogue), or in high pitch stereotype gyaru accents. You wont be able to learn much from it and if you do you'll sound like a 6 year old girl, since there are basically different dialects for age groups and genders in addition to regions.

Look at what other colleges are using for their curriculum. Order books that are not flashy, not found in your bookstore (the survival books are garbage) for the most part. And above all, stick to books authored by native speakers. It's much better to sift through broken english than to internalize others' errors.

[The Fighting_Crusnik]

http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Modern-Japanese-Book-Vol/dp/052154887X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278363732&sr=8-3 <-- this book set interested me just from the way that it is organized and from the reviews... though, it is a bit expensive, but not too, too bad.

[Tablo]

If you watch films I suggest you watch magical girl shows like Sailor Moon and Card Captor! xD

Seriously, please do this. :laugh:

[The Fighting_Crusnik]

If you watch films I suggest you watch magical girl shows like Sailor Moon and Card Captor! xD

Seriously, please do this. :laugh:


lol, that could be a bit painful :D I'd rather watch the good stuff like Trigun, Last Exile or Trinity Blood in Japanese... especially since the magical girl series make me cringe regardless of what language they're in :laugh:

[Os Cangaceiros]

Learn Japanese by watching Takashi Miike films.

[DecDoom]

Learn Japanese by watching Takashi Miike films.

This.

Other than that, if you don't want to be traumatized, and you have the money, there's Rosetta Stone. I have it for Russian, and a relative is getting me a German edition for Christmas. The Russian version is fantastic, and if I weren't lazy I'm sure I'd be able to speak it by now. :lol:

[The Fighting_Crusnik]

I tried out the Rosetta stone... a lot of experienced Japanese students hate it and refer to it as a cookie cutter program that fails to teach proper Japanese because it tries to teach Japanese as if it is an indo-european language like English, German or Russia. And I'm planning on studying German too, but I already have my text book picked out for that, and I did do most the first course of Livemocha, so I have a little experience. Good luck with Russian btw .:) lol, committing time to something like this in our busy, chaotic world is difficult. I had to take months off of studying German because of how busy school got. I'm hoping though, that college won't be as bad, and my schedule, though a little busier than others, is still pretty light. :D

[Tablo]

The newest version of Rosetta stone can help some, but it is best to use it with formal practice to actually learn the language.

[Forward Union]

I've been looking into learning Japanese and I'm wondering which method (ie computer software, text books, other?) is the best method and I'm looking for suggestions, be it a piece of software, a text book or something other. Also, what are some tips that could help when studying the language?

I've looked into Human Japanese, and I like it, but I don't know how far it will take you, and I've thought about the Genki textbooks since they seem to be popular...

As someone who have learnign two Languages, German and Spanish for a while, i want to caution you one something. German, being a Case language is incredibly fucking hard, at least, to begin with it's a giant learning curve, endless demoralising frustration, anger, disorientation, and defeatism quickly take over. Because the Grammer is totally upside down, backward and constantly mutating. And this is a language very closely related with English.

I can only imagine what Japanese will be like. Be prepaired for that in advance. A friend of mine has been learning Japense for 5 years and she is very bad at it (And this is not a refletion on her). Another friend has been learning Chinese and is in a similar position. Korean is actually a lot easier, because it has an Alphabet, rather than characters and much less tones than Japense. Maybe consider that instead.

My advice to you, if you really want to learn Japense, is first to consider why you want to learn it. If it's a passing interest or not, do you think that will be enough to keep you going with 5 to 10 years of agonosing study? If yes, pay for a proper course or get a tutor. You cannot mess around with Japanese, putting in some effort here and there wont cut it. You will really have to commit to it for a long time, perhaps 10 years. Download a very good piece of software like Roseta Stone. And stick to it, very closely, for a couple of years, it will help, but you will need far more than that to get to terms with it. Join a Japanese conversation group and get some childerens books. And eventually look at moving there.

DO NOT start watching Japense films (at least, not to try and learn it). You wont understand a single word and you will get confused and annoyed. Start very, very small, take it bit by bit, be incredibly patient, and be prepaired for it to take years and to never fully understand it.

I don't want to discourage you just make you aware of what you are in for. Learning Japanese is a very noble thing to do, there are not many westerners who can speak Japanese. The costs are high but the benefits higher.

I hope this advice helps a bit, and I wish you luck.

[The Fighting_Crusnik]

^ I decided, after reading some comments left by people on various sites, to just focus on German at the moment. I found a really good book that is setup quite well and is easy to understand. So, I'm just going to focus German for the first little while. I'm planning on giving 30 minutes to 45 minutes a day, and I have a trip coming up that will leave me stuck on a bus for three days... so, I'll probably be able to do a lot. Also, one thing that I like about the book is that while each chapter is laid out in the same way, it still keeps you interested through short stories and because of the tone used in writing the notes on grammar and the reasoning on why "A" or "B" is this way.

[leftace53]

Livemocha

Yes! thank you, I was trying to learn basic dutch on there about a year ago, and totally forgot what the site was called! Then again, now that I'm taking dutch in school, I'll try it out for spanish or something.:lol:

[The Fighting_Crusnik]

Yes! thank you, I was trying to learn basic dutch on there about a year ago, and totally forgot what the site was called! Then again, now that I'm taking dutch in school, I'll try it out for spanish or something.:lol:

lol, your welcome :laugh: Livemocha is great for the community aspect, but to me, it just seemed limited when it came to the actual learning and there aren't that many activities... But having written content and reading rated by others makes it worth it :p

[Forward Union]

^ I decided, after reading some comments left by people on various sites, to just focus on German at the moment. I found a really good book that is setup quite well and is easy to understand. So, I'm just going to focus German for the first little while. I'm planning on giving 30 minutes to 45 minutes a day, and I have a trip coming up that will leave me stuck on a bus for three days... so, I'll probably be able to do a lot. Also, one thing that I like about the book is that while each chapter is laid out in the same way, it still keeps you interested through short stories and because of the tone used in writing the notes on grammar and the reasoning on why "A" or "B" is this way.

Fair enough, German is one of the most mentioned languages in discussions of "which is the most difficult to learn" but that is probably due to people expecting it to be easier than it is, rather than an inherant complicated nature.

I've learning German to, for several months now, and it's been a total headache, completely soul destroying. I pretty much hate it now but I'm too stubborn to quit, and have personal reasons for learning it.

If you're feeling the same, I reccomend readign this for a (truthful) laugh The Awful German Language - Mark Twain (http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/awfgrmlg.html)

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Korean is actually a lot easier, because it has an Alphabet, rather than characters and much less tones than Japense. Maybe consider that instead.

Japanese has an alphabet too.. actually two of them: hiragana and katakana. Kanji (characters) are also used.

The Hangul (Korean) alphabet is made up of 24 jamo (자모). There's a bit of variance in the sounds the jamo make, depending on the word (sort of the way c is different in cinnamon and clam in English). The use of characters (Hanja) was largely phased out, though you can still see it (e.g. in some publications).

Unlike Chinese, neither Japanese or Korean is tonal.

For a Native English speaker Japanese is easier to pronounce, as most of the sounds that exist in Japanese also exist in English. The Hangul alphabet is easier to learn, but there are sounds in Korean that don't exist in English.

The main thing, I think, is having a desire/need to learn the language. You are more likely to learn a difficult language that you really need than to learn an easy language that you have no practical use for.

[The Fighting_Crusnik]

The main thing, I think, is having a desire/need to learn the language. You are more likely to learn a difficult language that you really need than to learn an easy language that you have no practical use for.

Agreed. I took Spanish my junior year of high school, and the teacher was great. But because I had no real interest in learning Spanish, I only got a B- in the class, and I didn't really come out knowing much. Within German, there are a few sounds, especially the o and the u umlauts, which have no real English equivalents. I've them easy to master by just listening to German music and by listening to German interviews. Also, by doing so, it helps to keep my interest high simply because I want to be able to understand what is said/sung in its entirety someday. So far, it takes me about a day to a day in a half of 30-45 minute study to complete a chapter and there are about 40 chapters in the book. But, much of what I'm studying is review at the moment. I think that once I get into the harder stuff that I don't know, it'll probably take two to three days to get through a chapter. Or maybe not. :)

[bobagopa]

alljapaneseallthetime is a very popular site focusing on immersion. Try to read atleast the "about" part

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Yeah: http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/

Another user here recommended that site to me, but I haven't found it to be incredibly useful. I've had more luck with audio programs, a workbook I picked up and language exchange.