japanese language...

[ceniack]

...is really freakin hard to learn.

i am taking elementary japanese I at my university, and it is tough, last week was my first week of class, right now we are learning some basic phrases and also trying to learn hiragana (which is one of 3 character sets/alphabets) and trying to memorize the symbols and the sounds that they represent is somewhat tough.

oh and i have a quiz tomorrow that is probably gonna kick my arse.

anyway, that is my somewhat rant

although i am really driven to actually learn the language (international buisness is my major and this is going to be my language) so i think if i just buckle down and study i can do it.

[twong85]

Omg I so wanted to learn japanese so I took it in HS for two years. All I can say it was a pain.... I basically had to cheat to pass the class since it moved at such an accelerated pace but I still came out of it understanding a lot of japanese (still have horrid accent tho). I think it takes at least 3-4 years to get decent in speaking japanese.

[180fan]

Damn that sucks to hear dude. Kana's not too bad to learn. Just use flash cards and go at em 5 at a time till you're familiar enough with them and go at the next five. When you're comfortable with them, mix the two sets and go at em. That'll help with the kana, or at least it did for me. Phrases, you just gotta keep on at em, don't know of any other way seriously. Of course, keep practicing, practicing, practicing.

It's tough if an Asian language isn't your first (it helps since the sent. structure's pretty damn similar or at least was for me and some of the vocab sounds really similar) but keep at it and try not to fall behind.

[ceniack]

yeah, that is what i am trying to do, working on flash cards now, and bought a better workbook at B&N than the one for the course (that and they were out of the book at the campus bookstrore that i have to have for the course)

so that already put me almost a week behind.

and english is my first language, so i know that is kind of against me, but i am really driven to learn the language

[Hijacker]

i felt japanese was easy to learn. Since it doesn't relate to english in the grammar department, i wasn't getting it confused with language knowledge i already had.

what i did was get a small note book. and then I would drill myself by writing down all the kana symbols. The ones I couldn't remember or took too long to remember I would further drill on by repeatedly copying them until it was burned in my brain. Then I would start over again with all the kana.

I drilled myself much in the same way over kanji, but you should get a kanji workbook from B&N. It will help you learn the radicals, and the patterns of the characters. For months, I used to dril myself continuously on my kanji. I was up to 350-something, which isn't bad for a 1 year american student. now I've lost most of that since I don't use it

[AZhitman]

Here's something impressive: My good friend is Mormon, and when he went on his mission, he entered a 6 or 8-week "immersion" course in Japanese... He was fairly proficient by the time he arrived in Japan, and spent 2 years there.

He remains fluent in the language 15 years later.

[vicki]

Japanese is one of the easiest languages to learn, IMO. It's really straight foward, few patterns and sentence structures, etc... but like every other language, it has its odd words or uses thrown in here and there.

FLASH CARDS ARE GOD.... Get Vis- Ed cards - I get the ones on the rings and I carry them around religiously. The only way to learn is to completely immerse youself in the language. And do it because you enjoy it and you're curiois about it, not because it's required for the field you think you want to be in....

[vicki]

Oh and if you need help or get confused with a pattern, feel free to ask.

[Anand]

I forgot how to say "I love you" in japanese

can some one remind me???

[vicki]

it's ais hiteru... remove the space in between the s and h, of course.

[Anand]

thank you

[180crafter]

thank you

U mean, arigato!!!

I am trying to self teach. Trust me, not easy.

[BuudWeizErr]

not according to brainpig!

He went up to Koguchi yesterday at Formula D and said something like "ishtay mas" and Koguchi goes "NO!.....NO NO NO NO" it was HILARIOUS.

[Anand]

not according to brainpig!

He went up to Koguchi yesterday at Formula D and said something like "ishtay mas" and Koguchi goes "NO!.....NO NO NO NO" it was HILARIOUS.

that's why I asked... yes, he did say ishtay mas..

PGBrian got :owned by Koguchi!!!

it was Teh Halarious moment of the night...

[w1ngzer0]

Here's something impressive: My good friend is Mormon, and when he went on his mission, he entered a 6 or 8-week "immersion" course in Japanese... He was fairly proficient by the time he arrived in Japan, and spent 2 years there.

He remains fluent in the language 15 years later.

remember he is mormon :P. Anyway thats awsome. Guy must have a good brain i wonder what he eats.

The flashcard thing you can get from j-list or jlist i forget if there is a - there or not. But they have kana and hira flash cards there along with DOMO KUN !!! :ylsuper

[prigo]

Its "ai ****eru", get your spacing right if you're gonna talk in romajin

[Hijacker]

Its "ai ****eru", get your spacing right if you're gonna talk in romajin

and if you're gonna be schooling people in japanese spelling, use the proper word. Romaji. not -jin. And if you want to know something, most of the japanese i knew in Osaka didn't know what the hell romaji meant.

[vicki]

^Werd... And I have Japanese professors who will tell you otherwise. It's basically one phrase and written in one line in Japanese, so if you want to romanize it, then it can be ais hiteru (without the space).

[Hijacker]

and technically, it should be aish1teiru. it's te + iru.

as in "to continue to love"

[prigo]

owned via censorship too

[Hijacker]

go figure the japanese word for loving somebody would get filtered. that's what i call irony

[prigo]

[BuudWeizErr]

so what does 'ishtay mas' mean?

[skydragoness]

I took one semester of japanese once, i loved it. i had a knack for it, since i had a visual memory, and calligriphy skills--so i could write the characters good and remember the stroke order. It was taught by two professors, one american and one japanese. Both were excellent. The american professor that i did my japanese final exam for wanted me to come back for the next class. But i couldn't, i really ought to be learning spanish instead since it's supposed to be my native tongue.

[Hijacker]

being an artist helped me out when it came time to learn kanji.

[Cyberkreig]

I only 'know' one japanese phrase. I quote know because i dont KNOW i've just been told.

Anatta wa kwaii > I think you are cute.

Seems like a most useful phrase to me.

[Hijacker]

anata wa kawaii

you'd never catch a male saying that. it's such a "girl's phrase"

[Cyberkreig]

then give me a better, polite phrase to hit on japanese girls, Just in case.

[vicki]

anata no manko o misete kudasai.

i could be wrong about the manko part but it means show me your pu ssy

[Hijacker]

i so need to get a slang or dirty japanese book