Using Japanese to learn other things?

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Printable Version

+- kanji koohii FORUM (http://forum.koohii.com)
+-- Forum: Learning Japanese (http://forum.koohii.com/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: The Japanese language (http://forum.koohii.com/forum-10.html)
+--- Thread: Using Japanese to learn other things? (/thread-5167.html)

Using Japanese to learn other things? - dante_gabriel - 2010-03-09

I got hold of a copy of アシモフ雑学コレクション　almost by accident in japan, and recently started adding random trivia from it into anki, and have found it a good way to make anki more interesting- not only am i learning new japanese, I am also learning odd facts about the world from it.

I wondered if anyone else had had any luck with this sort of thing, where Japanese becomes the medium for other learning, rather than the subject of study itself?

R

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Rekkusu - 2010-03-09

A classmate of mine reads game design books in 日本語, I plan to do the same for 人工知能 (AI) once my Japanese gets to a decent enough level to read books Wink

.
Iirc, khatz also read programming books and API's, etc, in japanese during his study.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Evil_Dragon - 2010-03-09

Sure, I'm learning Korean in Japanese. Wink

Also, in my dorm there was a guy who frequently read Japanese books on mathematics.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Babyrat - 2010-03-09

When I get to a better level I will be studying 日本史　in 日本語　which I'm really looking forward to as It will be build my vocab very nicely.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Asriel - 2010-03-09

does reading about the smart.fm API in Japanese count?
Because if it does, then I'm learning that through Japanese...despite there being an english version as well

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Tobberoth - 2010-03-09

I learned Ruby from the original Japanese text by the creator.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - hereticalrants - 2010-03-09

Quote:Using Japanese to learn other things?

No duh.

There's no point in knowing a language if you don't use it, and in terms of learning the language quickly, it is a waste of time to study other things via anything other than the target language.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - mullr - 2010-03-09

I tried to read "Javascript: the good parts" in Japanese, but it didn't go well. I was able to understand stuff, but the trouble was that I really needed to know what was in that book quickly. After spending about a week of my own time going through it page by page, I eventually got the english version and read the whole thing in an hour. Undecided

Using Japanese to learn other things? - jettyke - 2010-03-09

I am trying to learn about architecture in japanese

made a thread here:

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?pid=91984#pid91984

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Tobberoth - 2010-03-09

jettyke Wrote:I am trying to learn about architecture in japanese

made a thread here:

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?pid=91984#pid91984

That's sorta amusing, my friend is going to Japan on a 3 year stipend to study Architecture in Japanese. ^^

Using Japanese to learn other things? - jpkuelho - 2010-03-09

I bought a book about playing the bass and other about song writing in japanese
pretty nice

Using Japanese to learn other things? - yudantaiteki - 2010-03-09

hereticalrants Wrote:
Quote:Using Japanese to learn other things?
No duh.

There's no point in knowing a language if you don't use it, and in terms of learning the language quickly, it is a waste of time to study other things via anything other than the target language.

I guess I consider it more of a waste of time to use a second language to learn something that you could learn perfectly well, if not better, in your native language. I view my Japanese ability as something to use to enjoy/learn things that I wouldn't be able to otherwise.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - chamcham - 2010-03-11

You can also use Japanese to learn Japanese....lol....

A good book that I found is the official textbook for the Nihongo Kentei Shiken (it's like the JLPT but it's aimed for native Japanese speakers). The exam even covers keigo.

I have the beginner level book (5-kyuu and 6-kyuu).

Something that I like about the textbook is that it's not formatted like a typical textbook (with patterns and exercises). It reads more like a novel with examples spread out within the paragraphs. The style of writing reminds me of "Making Sense of Japanese", but without the humor. It almost feels like someone is sitting next to you talking about japanese grammar in practical, very easy to understand language, without getting crazy about the nitty-gritty details.

Great for learning the Japanese needed to ask people about using grammar in hypothetical situations.

Beginner (敬語, 文のきまり, いろいろな言葉, 言葉の意味, 書き表し方, 漢字):
http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/guest/cgi-bin/wshoseaohb.cgi?W-NIPS=998364066X&AREA=02&LANG=J

Intermediate　(敬語, 文法, 語彙, 言葉の意味, 表記, 漢字):
http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/guest/cgi-bin/wshoseaohb.cgi?W-NIPS=9983640643&AREA=02&LANG=J

Advanced (敬語, 文法, 語彙, 言葉の意味, 表記, 漢字):
http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/guest/cgi-bin/wshoseaohb.cgi?W-NIPS=9983640635&AREA=02&LANG=J

The books are relatively short (150-170 pages) with maybe 30-40 of those being grammar and kanji guides in the back of the book.

And unlike the JLPT guides, these books are aimed at native Japanese speakers.

Speaking of languages, does anyone know any good Japanese books for learning Korean?

Thanks.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - ruiner - 2010-03-11

I think it's worthwhile to use the L2, at various stages, to learn other things, because that info-seeking can be a motivational tool and a recreational one (I know I prefer nonfiction to fiction, in general... I once spent a year trying to read a new book each day, and 2/3 was 'elective' nonfiction... after summer vacation was over, I ended up only reading the equivalent to 4-5/week, and I retained a relative fraction compared to if I hadn't given myself a deadline, but it was so worth it--but I digress, this relates to my info-processing vs. info-retention pet theories that I've since conflated in Anki).

For the more functional, intermediate to advanced stages, there's also the differing perspectives, in some fields, that you can only really access in the target language. That's one of my main purposes for learning multiple languages. For example, I have an interest in a particular country's particular area of history, and after a certain amateurish period of research+paper-writing, I grew tired of only accessing secondary sources, or relying on whatever some other researcher decided to find and translate for me (I consider a translation of a primary source to be a secondary source regardless, as there is a mediator (or more) interjecting their own interpretation(s), however closely they attempt to adhere to the original). History's just one example, I can think of equivalents in other fields, and ironically it's our growing 'connection' and translation abilities online that gives us this 'negative knowledge' of what we don't/can't know, but we know it's out there, 'in the raw'...

Have you seen those マンガでわかる books? The Manga Guide to Statistics, Molecular Biology, Physics, etc...

http://www.kenleewrites.com/2010/03/manga-textbooks.html
http://timmaughanbooks.com/2009/06/07/the-manga-guide-to-2008-2009-review/

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Jarvik7 - 2010-03-11

mullr Wrote:I tried to read "Javascript: the good parts" in Japanese<snip>

It must be a short book! harhar

</obligatory>

Using Japanese to learn other things? - chamcham - 2010-03-11

Jarvik7 Wrote:
mullr Wrote:I tried to read "Javascript: the good parts" in Japanese<snip>
It must be a short book! harhar

</obligatory>

Shouldn't it be:

<obligatory>

It must be a short book! harhar

</obligatory>

:-)

Using Japanese to learn other things? - ruiner - 2010-03-11

Since I'm OCD, I'm going to have to go through all my /(insert action here) statements and add opening tags or whatever. Thanks J7 and chamcham. Sad

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Jarvik7 - 2010-03-12

Obligatory's opening tag isn't obligatory. Read the errata.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Tobberoth - 2010-03-12

Jarvik7 Wrote:Obligatory's opening tag isn't obligatory. Read the errata.

Yeah. Same with </sarcasm> and the special case of </life> on a gravestone.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Thora - 2010-03-12

Tobberoth Wrote:the special case of </life> on a gravestone.

haha. Reminded me of Ozu's gravestone which has only 無.

I sometimes wish </sarcasm> were obligatory. :-)
(btw, I copied that from you guys - am I meant to use the < >s? And what's != ? not?)

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Rekkusu - 2010-03-12

@Thora != is a programming operator, meaning "is not equal to".
I.e:
if (sex != girl) {
// Some code for the guys' only :o
} else {
// Girly code
}

The <> and </> tags are used to define html stuff, btw Tongue

Using Japanese to learn other things? - ta12121 - 2010-03-12

Using japanese to learn other things shouldn't be used. Well only until you've mastered japanese to the point where you can use it at ease and understand it with ease.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - ruiner - 2010-03-12

ta12121 Wrote:Using japanese to learn other things shouldn't be used. Well only until you've mastered japanese to the point where you can use it at ease and understand it with ease.

Unless, obviously, they find it motivating and fun. Which is often the case.

Using Japanese to learn other things? - Thora - 2010-03-12

Rekkusu Wrote:if (sex != girl) {
// Some code for the guys' only :o
} else {
// Girly code
}
The <> and </> tags are used to define html stuff, btw

Thanks for the != explanation. btw, I wasn't suggesting guys and girls code differently. (It was a gender neutral "guys" Smile

) I was kind of laughing at myself for copying J7 and T's shorthand for a while, but possibly getting it wrong (by leaving out the < >s).

Quick html question: can anyone point me to a very basic reference that might be useful for setting up Anki card templates? I find myself having to copy and paste from other decks b/c I don't know how to do it myself.