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+--- Thread: Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? (/thread-10973.html)
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - AkiKazachan - 2013-10-13
I took up the Japanese language about 7 years ago, when I was 13.
I'm sure at the time I had good reasons just like everyone else (i.e. katakana looks cool, zomg anime/manga, hot guys in dorama, j-pop/j-rock - at leas these were my reasons). But over time I've felt these reasons kind of slip away. I don't really watch or read anime/manga/dorama. I still listen to j-pop/j-rock but not as obsessively. And katakana will always look cool, so I guess there's that. But then I'm left with no reason to be studying Japanese.
It's just been irking me lately because it is one of my majors, and sitting at a table at 2 in the morning working on a 作文, I've just been thinking - why the hell am I even majoring in this language anyway? Why do I like it? What am I doing with it? I'm getting that question now - "What are you going to do (with your major) when you graduate?" And I don't know. I just know it better have something to do with Japanese or I don't think I'll be very happy.
But I can never give a good reason why. And at this point I can't think of anything more than "I just really like the culture" and I guess that's it, but I still don't feel that sums it up well enough... I don't have anything specific. I've never been yet, so Japan is still... intriguing. Just everything about it. I want to go and submerse myself in it. I want to see what it's like.
My mom says I feel this way because I've "found my passion." I've been explaining it to myself like this: it's become second nature, like breathing. Japanese is just that "thing" I do, that I can't not do. There is no future I can imagine for myself where Japanese does not play a part, even if it's something so simple, like just listening to the music, or watching out for anything Japan-related, even if I've lost the language somehow. It's become a given. Of course I'm majoring in Japanese. Of course I'm taking the JLPT. Of course I'm applying to the JET program. Of course I (think? I maybe?) want to live in Japan.
And I don't know why. I've no "good" reason - nothing tangible, nothing I can explain, nothing I can put into words.
I guess it's like... it's become a part of me. It just is.
Maybe it's the lack of sleep that's getting to me - I did just go through midterm hell, after all ^^; - but maybe other people kind of know what I'm talking about? Can you adequately explain why you're still learning Japanese? Or has it become so ingrained in your life that it would be absurd to imagine your life without it?
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - uisukii - 2013-10-13
AkiKazachan Wrote:Can you adequately explain why you're still learning Japanese? Or has it become so ingrained in your life that it would be absurd to imagine your life without it?It is one of those things in my life wherein either it exists as a part of it or I don't exist. It is part of the raison d'être, as it were; rooted in a 物の哀れ. There aren't many concrete aspirations in my life and several times I have, to put it euphemistically, tried to cut the strings and let the marionette fall. Japanese is one of those few strings I am unable to cut through. Suppose you could say that any reasoning towards Japanese in particular could be the same as why I've ultimately chose life as opposed to not. If there is an answer to that it's probably in a language reliant upon non-verbal and non-literate communication. That I don't comprehend enough to put into words. If words were suitable. I don't know: why does anybody do anything in life? Because they have to? Because they want to feel as though they have to? Because they want to? Because they have to feel as though they want to? I've stopped trying to think about that too much. Or too little.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - Zgarbas - 2013-10-13
Man, I've worked so hard to build a routine in which I guilt-trip myself if I don't study that I don't think i can stop. Also, the whole "making it part of your career" and "quite possibly moving there for 7 years" makes it more difficult to quit.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - TheVinster - 2013-10-13
AkiKazachan Wrote:hot guys in doramaThe greatest struggle.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - NickT - 2013-10-13
Trust me, just about every Japanese person you ever meet will want to know, "Why do you speak Japanese?", so you'd be wise to have an answer. At least you will be able to say you majored in Japanese, which will probably satisfy most of them. In my case I just decided as an adult that I wanted to, and now after many years of hard work I (mostly) can.
But it has nothing to do with my job, I've never lived in Japan, don't have a Japanese spouse or significant other and I am not an anime/manga otaku, so it confuses the hell out of people when I start speaking in Japanese.
Is it so hard to understand that I just randomly made the decision one day, and actually followed through with it?
Anyway, I have developed a standard spiel, and I'm sure you will too. I guess if you end up using your Japanese for something, it will make it easier for people to understand even though technically that has nothing to do with why you started in the first place. People's brains work in strange ways.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - Ash_S - 2013-10-13
Yeah, I know what you mean OP. With me I think it's just reached the point where the Japanese language is too much a part of my life for me to stop using it. I have friends who only speak Japanese; I have Japanese websites I frequent; I have books I want to read that are only available in Japanese, etc etc. In other words, the reasons I continue to use Japanese are pretty similar to the reasons I continue to use English. There's probably a lot of people on this forum who can relate to this lol.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - spideymike - 2013-10-13
NickT Wrote:Trust me, just about every Japanese person you ever meet will want to know, "Why do you speak Japanese?", so you'd be wise to have an answer.Most people who have asked me that seem to accept "趣味です" as an answer.
To the OP: You don't need to feel obligated to have a reason that you continue to study. If you enjoy it, that's reason enough.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - PkmnTrainerAbram - 2013-10-13
I kinda feel the same way. I'm at a point where it would be stupid to just cut it out of my life, after spending time with it somewhat since 2006 as more than a hobby.
At one point I did try to cut it loose from my life because I burned out from studying and wasn't really using it, and it really was cutting into my time on other things I thought I should have been doing, and then the motivation came back when I rediscovered that I really wanted to learn the language not only just to play games in, but for the fact that I originally had a motivation to just be able to use 2 languages in this day in age. And I was going to give all that up because the games I was playing at the time where no longer fun? Would I really have wasted 4 years(2 years...actually) just to forget everything because one source of entertainment wasn't doing it for me anymore? I honestly asked myself that.
I decided to give it another go about almost 2 years ago.....2011....12 I think? I decided that if I couldn't get through RTK on the second try, I'd drop it from my life. Get rid of all my games, my books, textbooks and things I haven't been using. So I ordered the RTK book in Febuary and plowed through it, going through all the lessons, making stories, and dealing with this crap memory I have, and 3 and something months later, I made it through to the end and spent the next 3 months learning 1500 vocabuary words.
Which honestly astounds me. In all those years I spent drudging through on and off, I never once made it through 1/3 of RTK, never learned more than 800 vocab words, not once read through an entire book in Japanese. And yet in 1 year I've done more than in the 6 years since I decided to learn the language.
Then I realized that Japanese wasn't causing me to miss out on my life, I was the one doing it to myself. I was always procrastinating one way or the other over something, not spending my time wisely, or worrying and getting mad over things I had no business concerning myself with. I've gone back and taken care of alot of things I wanted to do and started working on things I should have been more focused on back then.
Sometimes I do fall into that trap of wasting my time(I think I'm doing it now spending my time here writing this....<_<) but at least I'm aware of these things now. I just know that I want to do this so I can get to the fun stuff faster, and not because I HAVE to do it just because I spent so long with it. The focus on this has helped with other things in my life as well. I one day want to publish my own comics and stuff and I actually didn't draw for quite awhile while finishing RTk, but when I did I filled up 5 11X 14 sketchbooks in about 2 months were as before I was slacking and didn't do that many in the last 2 years. Those games I had on the shelf I hadn't played in years? 100% most of them in 2-5 months. Teaching my nephews and nieces to read during the summer? They want to learn now even if I didn't get to the level I wanted them to reach. Procrastinating on exercise and taking care of my health? Not so much anymore, lost 20 pounds in the last two years(still need to exercise more though).
So yeah, even if I do at times want to quit Japanese now, I don't think my newfound habits of determination would let me.
Now if you excuse me, I need to go punch myself repeatedly in the face for taking the time to write this instead of doing my gesture drawings.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - FloconDeNeige - 2013-10-13
I did a double major with Japan being one of them on the side of my main degree and lived there for a year. After that I realised I did NOT want to live in Japan again or work in Japan. As a female I don't see it having any added benefit that my country can't provide with greater opportunities. However I do feel consistently drawn to the ability to decipher texts and the way of communication I can't possibly express in English. I love reading Japanese and I feel it brings me back to my childhood when I was a avid reader. I think deep down there is also that feeling that even after living there, after committing a degree to it, I want to know it meant something, but overall it's still just a hobby.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - netsplitter - 2013-10-13
NickT Wrote:Anyway, I have developed a standard spiel, and I'm sure you will too."It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - Inny Jan - 2013-10-13
NickT Wrote:Trust me, just about every Japanese person you ever meet will want to know, "Why do you speak Japanese?", so you'd be wise to have an answer.I hear they "get it" when you answer:
"Because I have fetish for black hair."
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - drdunlap - 2013-10-14
I started as a hobby because I wanted to know another language and I like the sound of the Japanese language.. but I studied Japanese to this point (and will continue to do so) because of... curiosity.
Somewhere along the way I became interested in the idea of "becoming" bilingual. I just assumed that it was possible from the beginning without looking into any linguistic study. Linguistics then tried to tell me that it was impossible for an old man like me (anyone older than 16 is an old man or.. whatever). I promptly gave up on linguistics.
Now that I've realized that it's not only possible but not even that much of a stretch I can't stop now! This also makes me an incredibly lonely person in Japan as people who can speak reasonably fluent English are somewhat rare. Bilinguals... :| The only people I've met dancing effortlessly between two languages in Japan are foreigners.. Not sure where the ハーフ and 帰国子女 population is hiding.
Maybe I should move to the west coast of the USA.
When asked by Japanese people why I chose Japanese/why I'm in Japan etc etc I say なんとなく (・ω・)b
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - s0apgun - 2013-10-14
"寿司はうまいよー”
”寿司は日本の心臓部よー”
”日本は楽しいよー”
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - dizmox - 2013-10-14
drdunlap Wrote:The only people I've met dancing effortlessly between two languages in Japan are foreigners.. Not sure where the ハーフ and 帰国子女 population is hiding.Well yeah, there's not that many, but there are a lot in the more prestigious international companies in Japan from my experience... maybe try hanging around Marunouchi wearing a sign saying "Seeking billingual friends"?
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - ryuudou - 2013-10-14
I really don't understand these threads. You don't need a reason to do something you enjoy. The end.
If you don't enjoy it (and don't have a need) then don't do it. If you do then do it. There's no unambiguity.
FloconDeNeige Wrote:I think deep down there is also that feeling that even after living there, after committing a degree to it, I want to know it meant something, but overall it's still just a hobby.Living isn't a hobby. Living in Japan was no more of a "hobby" than your growing up in (presumably) Australia was.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - drdunlap - 2013-10-14
dizmox Wrote:I live in Osaka, which has already hurt my chances considerably. :|drdunlap Wrote:The only people I've met dancing effortlessly between two languages in Japan are foreigners.. Not sure where the ハーフ and 帰国子女 population is hiding.Well yeah, there's not that many, but there are a lot in the more prestigious international companies in Japan from my experience... maybe try hanging around Marunouchi wearing a sign saying "Seeking billingual friends"?
Maybe I'll try out the sign idea. I know a few T-shirt makers.. maybe even make it into a T-shirt. Yeah...
ryuudou Wrote:I really don't understand these threads. You don't need a reason to do something you enjoy. The end.Let the (wo?)man think, man!
If you don't enjoy it (and don't have a need) then don't do it. If you do then do it. There's no unambiguity.
Even if you like something you may occasionally find yourself thinking about it.
And anyway some post is more fun than no post!
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - uisukii - 2013-10-14
ryuudou Wrote:I really don't understand these threads. You don't need a reason to do something you enjoy. The end.Perhaps, and call this outrageous, but that you don't find reason in something may not lead everyone else to the same conclusion? Though, here is an examplary rephrasal:
If you don't enjoy it (and don't have a need) then don't do it. If you do then do it. There's no unambiguity.
Quote:I really don't understand these forums. You don't need to discuss something you enjoy. The end.How does that sound?
If you don't enjoy it (and don't have a need) then don't do it. If you do then do it. There's no need to discuss it with strangers online.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - howtwosavealif3 - 2013-10-14
drdunlap Wrote:I started as a hobby because I wanted to know another language and I like the sound of the Japanese language.. but I studied Japanese to this point (and will continue to do so) because of... curiosity.I haven't seen it in real life but i've seen it on tv with shelly.
Somewhere along the way I became interested in the idea of "becoming" bilingual. I just assumed that it was possible from the beginning without looking into any linguistic study. Linguistics then tried to tell me that it was impossible for an old man like me (anyone older than 16 is an old man or.. whatever). I promptly gave up on linguistics.
Now that I've realized that it's not only possible but not even that much of a stretch I can't stop now! This also makes me an incredibly lonely person in Japan as people who can speak reasonably fluent English are somewhat rare. Bilinguals... :| The only people I've met dancing effortlessly between two languages in Japan are foreigners.. Not sure where the ハーフ and 帰国子女 population is hiding.
Maybe I should move to the west coast of the USA.
When asked by Japanese people why I chose Japanese/why I'm in Japan etc etc I say なんとなく (・ω・)b
http://tsukinofune.tumblr.com/tagged/shelly
this was pretty interesting lol because she keeps switching back and forth. she even has to translate. I think she did it rather well and very quickly.
I've also seens kikokujoshi on tv who speak english better than their japanese as in their japanese was sorta sucky lol as well as the halves that only speak japanese. there was this kikoku girl that spoke in this really bizarre way ON THIS SHOW I SAW in 2009. it's this:
5:40 && 30:50
http://varadoga.blog136.fc2.com/blog-entry-456.html
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - loonytik - 2013-10-14
whats up with that kikoku girl. haha that is really weird @.@ weird way of speaking she has.
Reasons I'm studying Japanese: Can I even put my finger on it? - drdunlap - 2013-10-14
@howtwosavealif3 aaaahhh that's terrifying haha.
Shelly is a good example.