qwertyytrewq Wrote:

jimeux Wrote:You really need to get used to deciphering strange contractions if you read manga.

No doubt. The question however is: how?

That line does seem to contradict my first paragraph. Maybe it should be: "You'll really get used to deciphering strange contractions if you read manga."

Maybe I should ask you what you've tried so far. If you've read 100 manga as part of your Japanese studies, then obviously I'm wrong already. Do you struggle to understand casual text in manga, books or TV? Are you exposed to it at all?

My assumption and experience is that your existing knowledge goes a long way in helping you recognise contractions, since they're nothing new grammatically speaking. For example, as someone familiar with「何ということだ」and「なんて」, how hard would it be to work out「なんてこった」in a scene with a shocked character?

for me reading tae kim was enough to help me figure out slang (I'm sure some of the stuff I would've never figured out by myself like the toiuka -> ttsssuka or at least it would've took a while). He doesn't cover everything about slang but it's enough to help me figure out whatever isn't there or is a variation of that or an even more extreme version of that. just read stuff with lots of "slang" japanese ( I don't even consider it slang. It's just how people talk in real life) and try to figure out what's going and if you have trouble try googling and if that doesn't work ask on the thread called "what does this word/phrase mean" on this forum.