learning japanese script

Peter Larson peter_larson2000
Tue Aug 14 11:33:40 EDT 2007


At first it's rather daunting, but a little bit a day
helps. It will take years to get to the point where
you can read even the most mundane of comic books but
hard work and regular perserverence will pay off in
the end. Personally, while I think that brute
memorization is possible, true comprehension of the
written word is not possible outside of japan. You may
obtain some functional knowledge, but a couple years
in Japan after a time of dedicated study will put you
on the path to being able to read regular things.

It takes time and hard work, there is no magic pill.
Put it this way, it takes Japanese children 6 years to
be functionally literate in the most basic sense.

Pete


--- Cindy Tokumitsu <cindytoku at optonline.net> wrote:

> Jasper and Emma --
> 
> I guess I'm about at Jasper's level (6 years) -- and
> I wholeheartedly 
> agree with his approach of integrating kanji
> learning/use as early as 
> possible -- for many reasons, not least enjoyment,
> clarity, holistic 
> orientation within the language...
> 
> Cindy
> 
> At 11:16 AM 8/14/2007, you wrote:
> >Hi Emma,
> >
> >Good look on taking the plunge. Yes, the three
> scripts do all occur in the
> >same sentence on many occasions!
> >I'll just add that as someone who started learning
> fairly recently (about 6
> >years ago) and counts himself as a far better
> reader than a speaker, I found
> >Japanese For Busy People very limited in their
> usefulness. The fact that
> >they use only romaji and hiragana up a fairly high
> level, without really
> >introducing kanji at all, indicates that they
> werent designed by a Japanese
> >person.
> >
> >There's a school of though that says you should
> learn how to speak first and
> >learn kanji later. I personally disagree - I think
> they are too seperate
> >skills which can be learn in tandem without any
> detriment to each other, and
> >in fact facillitate the learning of each other. As
> you'll have noticed,
> >Japanese vocab, esepcially at a more abstract
> level, doesnt bare much
> >relationship to any European language, and i found
> it a lot easier to
> >remember how to pronounce a word if you can
> visualise its kanji.
> >
> >So I would suggest keeping Japanese For Busy People
> on the backburner or as
> >supplmentary material, and use the brilliant Minna
> no Nihongo books, which
> >is what any Japanese teacher in Japan would use.
> >I am not sure if these books are easy to get on
> line, as I bought mine in
> >Japan, but here's a starting place for your search:
> >http://www.3anet.co.jp/english/books/books_01.html
> >
> >The books are great because they introduce the
> simple kanji, for example,
> >'hito' or 'ue', as you come across them. You can
> get up to a good 100
> >serviceable characters in a very short time.
> >
> >Another great resource for kanji that I used which
> explains how it works was
> >a Tuttle publication called something like How to
> Learn Kanji. It only
> >introduces a few simple ones, but it explains how
> they work conceptually. I
> >remember when I first moved to Japan sitting on the
> Odakyu line every day
> >looking at the signs with this book in my hands and
> gradually working out
> >that places like Machida  meant "town-field" and
> Yokohama meant "next to the
> >beach" etc, and it soon flowed from there.
> >
> >I've also got a great book, A Guide to Remembering
> Japanese Characters,
> >which lists about 1800 kanji and explains their
> derivations - its very
> >intimidating at first, but very useful in the long
> run.
> >
> >So there's my tips - Minna no nihongo!
> >
> >Jasper
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >Midnight Eye: The Latest and Best in Japanese
> Cinema
> >www.midnighteye.com
> >
> >===
> >
> >View my Myspace page: www.myspace.com/jaspersharp
> >
> >
> >
> >--------- Original Message --------
> >From: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> >To: kinejapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> <kinejapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
> >Subject: learning japanese script
> >Date: 14/08/07 05:03
> >
> > >
> > > Hello all.
> > >
> > > I have just embarked upon the long path of
> learning to read and write
> > > Japanese. I am using the 'Japanese for busy
> people' workbooks, and have
> >been
> > > sailing through learning hiragana, but much to
> my dismay when i went to
> >try
> > > out my new skill on www.amazon.jp i find all the
> sentences to be
> >combination
> > > of hirigana, kanji and katakana. I realise to
> all you who know how to read
> > > japanese this is very obvious, but it there
> anyone out there to whom
> > > japanese is not their first language who can
> instill me with some
> >confidence
> > > that it is possible to learn it all -  and why
> are there 3 forms within
> >one
> > > sentence!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Emma Newbery BA (hons), MA, PGCE
> > > Programme Leader
> > > BTEC National Diploma in Media Productions
> > > Blackpool and the Fylde College
> > >
> > >
>
_________________________________________________________________
> > > The next generation of Hotmail is here! 
> http://www.newhotmail.co.uk
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >________________________________________________
> >Message sent using Hunter Point Online WebMail
> 
> 



       
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