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Since I won't be able to learn it in college like I previously planned, I'm going to have to learn on my own time.
Things on the list:
1. Get Rosetta Stone or something
2. Purchase English -> Japanese Dictionary
3. Watching some kids shows helps I hear.
Any further advice? I know a lot of you here on EoFF have experience in learning the language.
After/while you learn the kana, browse Japanese sites regularly. Follow Japanese people on Twitter and try to translate their tweets, too, if you want. Like you probably expect, repetition is the key.
This is a good online dictionary: WWWJDIC: Word Search
For me, watching lots of subtitled anime helped with vocabulary :D
For reading, after/whilst learning the kana, I started playing RPGs in japanese, which helps with the kanji :p The Multi-Radical Kanji Lookup tool in the link above is very good for learning/looking up new Kanji. I also downloaded a list of the Jouyou kanji, or the ones taught at japanese schools, to learn from. Can't remember where I got it from, but a quick google search gave this nice wikipedia list which is basically the same thing. (No I still don't know all of them, I tend to know the ones which crop up more often in games :p )
The only book I've bought is a grammer book to learn details about grammer, conjugations etc. :p For dictionaries, there's either the online one posted above, or I've downloaded an old shareware program from NJStar which has a built-in dictionary and kanji lookup tools so I don't need to be online to do lookups. (Or I use Meredy's IRC dictionary script I wrote when I was still in uni :D ) I very rarely browse japanese websites - only started that recently looking for guides to RPGs not released outside Japan which I've been playing :p
Don't expect to learn it overnight though, I've been interested in it in my spare time for a quite a few years now, and still need to keep referring to dictionaries and stuff, and I certainly couldn't speak the language since I've not practised that side of thing :p
I've been practicing Japanese lately, too. Since I just started, I can't really give much advice, but there's something interesting called SharedTalk that I found. You can find people from around the world there who are also studying languages, so if you need a pen pal, maybe that'll help. :p
Also, I can speak from my own laziness that neglecting to practice and memorize Kana is bad. :(
I'll be starting Japanese classes soon at the community college nearby, so maybe I'll be able to help by telling you some of the things they tell me. If I may ask, what makes you want to study the language anyway?
What really helps me is watching Animes and movies in Japanese. I sometimes leave subtitles on, but a lot of times I take them off to see if I really grasp and understand what's being said. Also, like was mentioned before, playing games like FFI in Japanese while learning your Kana is a very good idea, although if you're like me and you've played through FFI with every feasible party the game could throw at you and the prospect of rushing the game again just turns you off, then you might want to find a different game...
Thanks for the advice everyone! That should all be very helpful :3
I've always wanted to learn more languages. I feel boring just knowing one! Call me a weeabo, but all of the anime and Japanese games I've experienced over the years has caused me to grow more and more interested in Japan. Not exactly the easiest foreign language to start with, but it's probably the only one I regularly expose myself to xDQuote:
Originally Posted by Kentarou
I think learning in a classroom experience was fantastic, but since you can't do that, see if you can download Japanese beginners lesson plans and drills aimed for classrooms. I learned hiragana in a month after just doing a ton of exercises and drills. I really enjoyed learning in that way.
I wouldn't say anime and television should be the only way to learn, but it definitely expands vocabulary when combined with a proper way of learning. The best thing Japanese television helps with is pronunciation. I was told I had the best pronunciation of the class when I took Japanese in college. That's probably because I was always watching Hard Gay.
It's exactly the same with me, admittedly. xD I also have the excuse of having an aunt who happens to be from Japan, but besides that, it's pretty much exactly what you said. We should study together! :jess:Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessweeee♪Thanks for the advice everyone! That should all be very helpful :3
I've always wanted to learn more languages. I feel boring just knowing one! Call me a weeabo, but all of the anime and Japanese games I've experienced over the years has caused me to grow more and more interested in Japan. Not exactly the easiest foreign language to start with, but it's probably the only one I regularly expose myself to xDQuote:
Originally Posted by Kentarou
i already said this somewhere else, but it worked really well for me when i couldn't take japanese for two years because of some time constraints...
watch elementary-level tv cartoons or movies in japanese, sing along with the songs, and try to find kids books (x3 with looooots of pictures)
it can be tough, like the equivalent of watching blues clues or barney in english, but they're designed to teach in ways that are much more fun than just read-repeat-repeat-memorize. they also speak a lot slower than in your average anime XD
Try this thread for online sources: http://forums.eyesonff.com/help-foru...uage-desk.html
Also, I came across this: ŽOd‚‚‚‚‚‚‚ | ŠŒŽOd It is a bunch of kids stories in Japanese. A good source to start with.
Also, you can find books that have excerpts from popular Japanese novels along with the translation on the page facing it.
EDIT: I haven't touched the language in ages. :/
Call me crazy, but I thought you already spoke/wrote Japanese Jessweeee♪
Nope. Not a single word!
WORD OF THE DAYYYY♪
"Ichigo"
(ee-chee-go)
苺
いちご
イチゴ
"Strawberry"
Second to the last section, bunches of links: The Grown-Ups are Lying: Planning a Trip to Japan: Part 8
new word of the day, monda-chiyan~~~!