Though it may seem challenging, to learn Japanese now is far from impossible. Just bring along some enthusiasm, commitment, and focus and you're off t...
Though it may seem challenging,
to learn Japanese now is far from impossible. Just bring along some enthusiasm, commitment, and focus and you're off to a good start. Aside from those traits, it is, of course, important to know the basics. Japanese is written using three different writing systems:
* Kanji * Hiragana * Katakana
Borrowed from the Chinese, Kanji is a collection of images that represent things or ideas.
Katakana and Hiragana, both based on Chinese characters, are scripts that represent sounds like Western alphabets. Used in tandem, Kanji and Hiragana are the most used writing systems in today's Japanese publications. Because of today's broad culture, Katakana is necessary to form the sounds of borrowed words, and to refer to other sounds, like the ticking of a clock.
Asians accuse Westerners of doing things backwards, our script is horizontal, theirs is vertical, running from top to bottom. Westerners read left to right, Japanese read right to left. This method is standard in almost every sort of publication, but the Japanese have adopted the Western style for scientific journals as well as computer displays.
Folks from Western egalitarian cultures may find it odd that the Japanese language takes on different subtleties when it comes to the class of the person speaking or spoken to, and there are levels of politeness as well. Beyond social class, the use of vocabulary, grammar, and tone of voice, it is possible to determine the gender of the person speaking as well as the gender of the listener.
As expected, the sort of teaching and learning available from certain language schools is always promoted as the easiest and quickest way to pick up another language. When you are ready to pursue learning a new language, you should consider your budget, of course, your level of interest, as well as the amount of time you're willing to spend. Pay attention to the curriculum or manner of teaching employed by different schools or methods to learn Japanese now. Learning to read and write well is one thing. Getting around the country and engaging the natives is quite another. Which do you need to do? Reading and writing is one thing, mastering conversational language is quite another.
To learn Japanese now, the reading and writing is the hard part, whether or not you're going to pursue that, it's best to get a handle on the speaking part. Listening to a native speaker pronounce and use words is the best way to pick up conversational language, get yourself audio files to help you with this. (Even if your focus will be on reading and writing, most books teaching those skills also contain CD-ROMs.) Japanese employs many subtleties of tone, it's important to listen carefully and imitate them.
Grammar and vocabulary are two important considerations - how much do you need of each? To save time, focus on important, elemental words and phrases and then later start to flesh out your vocabulary. As with vocabulary, learn more as you go along but master the basics of grammar enough to set yourself at ease as you tackle the necessities of getting around and getting along.
Patience and perseverance, remember those two words as you focus on learning the language. Textbooks, teachers, and drill exercises are important, but what you bring to the process is most important. Which classroom is always open? Which classroom can you find almost anywhere you go? Which classroom always has a curriculum suited to your needs? The one you carry with you!
