Lang-8, Best Place to Practice Japanese Writing

2010-02-08, 1:46 am

Unless specifically requested, I only correct English journals that include the original Japanese (about 10% of the entries). It is too difficult to guess what the intended meaning is sometimes without it. I have a list of favorite journals that I always look for each morning. Even if you don't care to write your own, it is good practice to read the Japanese journals of students learning English. Though, as long as you are reading them, you might as well correct a few Wink

2010-02-16, 7:02 am

日記, Journal vs. diary
I have been seeing many Japanese users translate 日記 as diary. Which is correct, but for the context of sharing thoughts, journal seems better. In my mind, a diary is something you don't allow anyone else to see; something a girl locks with a key so her younger brat brother can't read about her crush on the 9th grader. A journal is meant to be published. No one else is correcting this mistake so I am wondering if I am in the wrong.

2010-02-16, 7:06 am

IceCream Wrote:"journal" is an american term. So, in british english, it's always "diary", for both meanings.

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2010-02-16, 7:14 am

You can pick up on subtle mistakes for advanced students if they include the original Japanese draft. For beginners, ugghh! It gives me a head ache trying to figure out what the intended meaning is if the original Japanese draft is not included. I stopped correcting journals without both after one week.

epsilondelta · 2010-02-16, 3:08 pm

I agree with bodhisamaya -- while I'll correct English entries without Japanese translation, I always supply an English translation with my own entries. (I write them in Japanese and then translate paragraph by paragraph to English; this way I write original Japanese, and the English still comes out reasonably idiomatic.)

I also simply enjoy reading native speakers' Japanese writings, so I'm trying to do the same with English.

Spines11 · 2010-02-16, 3:59 pm

I also like it when users write in Japanese and English. That way I can be learning Japanese while correcting their English, and also I can figure out what exactly they were trying to say.

I wonder is there a way to search for users that do this?

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