In this forum there are various topics about how many words a native knows. I'm not interested in this specific info, but let's say a native knows "n" words. How he came to know all those words? Or, more specifically, of all the words he knows, he knows the written form for all of them? Because I suppose there are japanese people that don't like to read, so maybe they know "n" words thanks to conversations, family, tv, and only in part thank to reading. And I suppose at school they don't teach all possible words when they study kanji. So how it works for them? I hope this makes sense

Just the same way you probably learned your first language. By seeing words over and over in context. Even if a Japanese person doesn't like to read books, they'll need to read signs, instructions, forms, websites, etc. All of that is reading too.

cophnia61 Wrote:Or, more specifically, of all the words he knows, he knows the written form for all of them?

If you know you know how to pronounce a Japanese word, you automatically know two perfectly cromulent written forms for it (that is, if you know the kana) in most cases. That's as many as someone who knows British and American English!

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Even if you "don't like to read", television shows are constantly splashed with written text -there's always highlight quotes at the bottom of the screen in news programs, variety shows, documentaries, etc. I haven't seen it a lot lately but even in anime sometimes there are words dropped on a character's head (to dramatize how the word stuns them), or the imagery vanishes for a banner of text to scroll across the screen (usually repeating the words that were just said by a character, to dramatize how they effect the other characters). Video games obviously have tons of text (simple and repetitive in action games up to fully interactive 'books' a few paragraphs long in RPGs). Billboards, storefront signs, banners for any rally type gathering whether it's sports, politics, or recruiting for clubs... and many people that 'don't like to read' may still participate in online activities that are largely text based. Oh, and of course subtitled theme songs in anime and some few PVs, plus the written version of songs in karaoke.

Most people that 'don't like to read' are referring to sitting down and reading an actual book that has no pictures, that doesn't mean they don't read words in every other possible context (and they still will have to read a certain amount of books for school, at the very least.)

cophnia61 Wrote:In this forum there are various topics about how many words a native knows. I'm not interested in this specific info, but let's say a native knows "n" words. How he came to know all those words? Or, more specifically, of all the words he knows, he knows the written form for all of them? Because I suppose there are japanese people that don't like to read, so maybe they know "n" words thanks to conversations, family, tv, and only in part thank to reading. And I suppose at school they don't teach all possible words when they study kanji. So how it works for them? I hope this makes sense

I would imagine the vast majority of Japanese read quite a lot (even if it's not novels). Even in the electronic age, writing is still the best way to share information.

For instance, I despise it when someone tries to communicate something to me through video/audio rather than in written form. Listening to someone speak is just so much more tedious than reading what they've written.

I read about twice as fast as the audiobook version of novels I pick up (and readers speak pretty fast in audiobooks). So, if I have a choice (if I'm not driving or walking), I read rather than listen. Not just to novels, but news, work related stuff, etc. I don't work in a traditional office, but if I did, even there, I would probably prefer more complex communication be done in writing, rather than direct conversation and face to face meetings.

It just works better. Obviously, personal communication, jokes, etc. don't. But you don't get new vocab from hanging out with friends or family, you get it studying, working, reading, maybe tv or radio on rare occasion.