Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Because Every Nerd Wants to Learn Japanese

I'm sure that every other person out there who loves anime, manga, and other various Japanese things wants to learn the native language of the art they love. I always have a good laugh when I hear some nerd saying things like, "I'm learning Japanese by watching anime! I'M STUDYING LOL!"

First off, most Japanese used in anime is very informal and is therefore rude to use in an everyday setting (unless you're going to be talking with very close friends). Second, this does nothing to teach you how to read Japanese, so if you're planning to go there, you'll end up being a very annoying tourist, asking everyone what a simple sign means. Third, if you're just learning on your own through anime, you are relying on your own inferring skills, so simply put, you're going to mess up someway somehow. There might be a grammatical rule that you don't understand, difficulties with pronunciation, amongst other issues.



Simply put, you are NOT going to learn on your own. Of course, the best way to learn is in an actual class where you have a helpful instructor. Another option is to use a well recommended software program like Rosetta Stone. But classes and other programs are both expensive and can be time consuming, and might be too much of an investment if you are just a beginner. Fortunately, there is a little game that should be helpful for beginners:

Enter My Japanese Coach. In all honesty, you get what you paid for, and if this $30 game surpassed Rosetta Stone, I'm sure more of us would have heard of it. It has its own flaws and bugs (like a lack of kanji, unclear training methods, amongst other things) but for a beginner this is a great start. It was the only way I was able to learn katakana and hiragana, and it helped some basic sentence structure. While you may not learn a lot of kanji, it will at least increase your vocabulary if you're a newbie to this language.

Beyond that, there's also Livemocha.com Most of the site is free-- the entirety of the Japanese section is unless you want a live tutor -- and is pretty awesome. The only problem is that in the beginning it focuses on simple words rather than helping out with syllables, which is the greatest trouble I had while learning Japanese. I recommend this pathway for people who know a little more. And I don't mean, "I know what yaoi and ohayo mean!" level of "knowing some Japanese," I mean knowing how to form sentences and need a little more vocabulary and grammar support.

But if you're already at the point that neither Livemocha nor My Japanese Coach can help you, and still are looking for a way to expand your Japanese, I sincerely recommend sucking it up and paying for classes or an expensive program like Rosetta Stone. You've already dedicated so much time to learning this language, so what are you looking to gain from a simple blog post about it?

I've covered most of the options that I think are helpful, but I'm sure there's plenty more out there. I'm actually still learning myself so I can't say I have the final word on it yet, haha.

So let me ask you:
What steps do you take when learning a foreign language?
Do you know more than one?
How long did you study?
Any tips for newcomers?

Hope this helped! See you tomorrow.

15 comments:

  1. lol, kk:

    - What steps do you take when learning a foreign language?

    Find a way to be totally immersed in it. Go to a place that only speaks that lanuage in your city... trust me, theres at least 1 place.

    - Do you know more than one?

    Yes, 3 laguages

    - How long did you study?

    Most of my life, cause in hawaii, some people are fresh off the ship.

    - Any tips for newcomers?

    Dont give up, find someone that also speaks the language, have a word of the day, and never go a day without speaking your desired language.

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  2. I've never really understood the obsession with learning Japanese merely to consume media. If one's to move there or marry a Japanese person, that's different. For example, I learned Spanish because I live in California and there are as many Spanish speakers as there are English speakers.

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  3. A very intriguing post...

    I studied Russian in high school and college and pretty much have the fundamentals down to the point where I wouldn't be completely helpless if I suddenly found myself walking around in Moscow. But at the same time I don't think I could have a detailed and informal conversation with a Russian friend.

    I speak Spanish from growing up in South Florida and living here in Costa Rica, and that tends to be a lot better because it was more experiential as opposed to lessen based. In other words, it was the sink or swim approach were you had to really listen. And that method seems to work better for me as my three years of Russian is horrible but my Spanish is great without "lessons".

    I think Japanese is way too complex a language to ever hope to learn from an anime. With no base of reference in the real world, it would provide for some very embarrassing possibilities. Like going up to a cop in Tokyo thinking that you are asking for directions when in fact the words that come out of your mouth actually say "I am space bounty hunter...give me sword!".

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  4. I have a lot of friends that are obsessed with everything Japanese. Personally, I don't fully understand it, but I can't say word one because I have studied some D'ni. (A made up language for the Myst series.)

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  5. What steps do you take when learning a foreign language?
    I listened to some cassettes.
    Do you know more than one?
    hardly
    How long did you study?
    about a year
    Any tips for newcomers?
    It begins to hurt your brain after a while, like math.

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  6. I tried to learn Japanese when I was in highschool TT^TT
    When I left highschool at 16 I didn't pursue it any further because I realized I didn't actually want to learn the language, I just wanted to be cooooool.

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  7. My friend has learned a ton of Japanese phrases just from watching anime. The stuff he shouts out goes way over my head though....he always sounds so angry

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  8. I never was one that took the language classes seriously in school. But recently I have had the desire to learn italian.

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  9. another great post, keep em coming.

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  10. lol...i am a nerd and i am just too lazy to learn

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  11. I read a blog post on tynan.com not too long ago and he was talking about just getting a tutor to learn a new language. Way cheaper than taking a class, and way more individualized.
    You could simply find someone - in real life or online - to tutor you, and offer them a little bit of money or something else in return. Easy as pie. =D

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  12. master hiragana + katakana then find romanji subtiles for any anime/drama, it's a quick boost for beginners

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  13. heh.. my sister is learning Japanese on her own, and my friend's sister learned on her own, so it could happen..

    I speak English and Russian, and grew up speaking both so I'm not sure how to help you.

    I am learning Spanish with the Michel Thomas method (apparently really good), and I plan on learning French next, followed by Arabic.

    All it really takes is dedication.

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  14. "First off, most Japanese used in anime is very informal and is therefore rude to use in an everyday setting (unless you're going to be talking with very close friends). Second, this does nothing to teach you how to read Japanese, so if you're planning to go there, you'll end up being a very annoying tourist, asking everyone what a simple sign means."


    Wrong....95% of the Japanese spoken in anime exactly the same as Japanese spoken just about everywhere else in real life.

    And about reading, yeah you have to read, but what does reading have to do with watching anime? One is listening comprehension, the other is learning vocab and grammar.

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