learning japanese script

Tue Aug 14 14:04:34 EDT 2007

And I third that.
Learning kanji first has helped me from the beginning, and still helps now. 
As Jasper said, if I can visualize the kanji, I can learn any associations 
thereof much easier than if I were to learn the speaking portion first.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cindy Tokumitsu" <cindytoku at optonline.net>
To: <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 11:19 AM
Subject: Re: learning japanese script

> 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
>> >
>> > _________________________________________________________________
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>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
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