julisk Wrote:2. It's given me a perspective on the English language and American culture that I would never have gotten otherwise.

I cheer you for having this reason, Good Luck with your language and cultural learning!!

Hello everybody,

I used to be an amine / manga and j-rpg fan, just like i guess most of you ^^. I started to learn japanese chen i was 16-17 a bit but didn't go far. Just kanas and very basic grammar. Then i lost interest or focus on those. In September, I graduated from the university, i wanted new challenges but couldn't and didn't want to do a Phd in computer science so i started learning japanese again. Almost finished RTK1 after 8 months of study (phew)

I don't have much of a plan, i just enjoy learning new languages. Conceptualize the world differently ... and if i'm bored with my job, i may try to go to Japan

I find the Kanji characters especially interesting to learn!! I learn them through Mind Maps, which I find that the best ones are at lannilan.com/category/knowledge-base/

Well, i sort off got betrayed and i was really depressed, started cutting, taking alot of pills, suicide ran through my head over 100x a day, so i kinda had alot of free time since im kinda like a NEET, then i found visual novels and light novels, i started enjoying them so i just went ahead and started learning japanese in order to play vn and read ln & manga without the need to wait for translation and mb even participate on translation projects on later stages. the other reason is that im kinda trying to give some meaning to my life so that i can feel better with myself.

But after started studying, i found it quite enjoyable, studying, finding new stuff everyday, testing my knowledge so i guess i also do it for this^ right now.

Raina0h
That's a great story. It sounds like visual novels saved your life. 良かった。

My decision to start learning Japanese was on a whim. When registering for my second year of community college, I was sincerely bored and wanted something to challenge me. I'd had quite the history of playing Japanese-made games, and had other Japanese influence such as music and a little anime, so I said "why not?" and registered for Japanese 1.

My interest in Japanese took a severe dip after I'd finished the last Japanese course I could take. I started getting overwhelmed by the fact that I was still a beginner and hadn't even made it through 200 kanji yet even though I'd been studying for over a year.

But recently, I have regained interest, working through RTK 25 kanji a day. And, hell, it keeps me busy--I don't think I'm going to stop.

My initial interest was sparked by listening to Japanese through anime.

Once upon a time when I was in high school I went with other students to Japan for two weeks and they were the best two weeks of my life. I would love to go back some day. And of course, now the Japanese language is tied strongly into my memories of the best two weeks of my life. Studying Japanese is making me remember those times much more clearly

Am I an awesome polyglot? Nah, but I have taught myself German and received high enough certification to study at a German-speaking university, so I do have some experience in learning languages and I find it enjoyable.

Do I think Kanji is beautiful? YES! When I first opened up a book in Japanese I thought it was the coolest looking thing ever. Being able to read it would be awesome.

I appreciate anime sometimes but I'm not an otaku. I've watched more anime in German than in English because that was a pretty productive and fun way of practicing listening.

Hello all, quick introduction: Tommy, 23, Irish. よろしくおねがいします！

I'm studying Japanese because I have the time to study Japanese, having to repeat a couple of modules in my main course... Haha well that reason aside, I guess like a lot of people I've always had a big interest in Japanese culture from Japanese films, anime, writers, games etc. Anyway right now studying Japanese feels like the best thing I've ever done. I've been taking classes since September which use the Genki textbook with kanji lessons from Basic Kanji.

I started Heisig's RTK last week. Right now I'm completely hooked and am running slightly ahead of my target of a lesson a day... Currently completed lesson 8 which is 184/2200!

I've been using Anki's Genki 1+2 deck to keep up with the Genki vocabulary (currently on chapter 7). I'm tempted to buy a volume of Japanese manga to give myself something to pick away at aside from study (although to be fair I've never had more fun studying in my life). Manga I'd be interested in reading would be 20th Century Boys, GTO, Nausicaa, Lone Wolf & Cub...stuff like that. Even if it's gibberish, it will be a long term investment!

I'll definitely sit the JLPT N5 in December. Our teacher told is that we would probably have to go ahead and cover Genki 2 to attempt N4.

Hey all,

so the beginning of my story is pretty similar to a lot of other people here: I started reading mangas. A little later I got hooked by the postwar history through a couple of books ("Embracing Defeat" is a fantastic one, if you are interested) and by Japanese architecture (especially Tadao Ando). In highschool I had the opportunity to take Japanese, but couldn't seize it, because I'd have had to give up English for it. So about a year ago I just began on my own and now I have lessons once a week in the evening. Additionally I started with the Heisig book and just hit 500 Kanjis. Still a long way to go, especially because I can't spend much time on studying, but I'm very much enjoying the language.

Several reasons I guess...

First of all, I've been a big consumer of Japanese pop-culture ever since final fantasy VII and dragon ball ... I've since then dug into everything from movies and video games to contemporary literature and mangas. For that reason, I've always looked at people who spoke japanese with envy. I kept telling myself "man, are they lucky to speak Japanese". But then one day, I realized luck had nothing to do with it. So I decided to dive right it, because hey, why not me too ?

Which leads me to the second reason ...

I like the challenge. Japanese is such a highly mystified language, I must admit it really motivates me to prove everyone (especially the naysayers) that yes, it IS possible =)

Thirdly... well, I simply enjoy it. Learning a language so different from my own is a fantastic experience that doesn't quite compare to anything else out there. It's like... learning to speak and write all over again, and I must admit I love that feeling and the sense of accomplishment that comes with it.

Fourthly... that'll be the third language I master, and damn, isn't saying that you speak english french and japanese damn sexy ? :p

edit : typo / phrasing

Hi,

In 2011 I was at a science conference in Kyoto and it was like another planet to me Than in 2013 I made a small project and went for 1 month as a visiting researcher at University of Tokyo. From that point my interest in Japan/japanese hit the sky-high

Now I'm waiting for post-PhD position for 2 months and if I have success I will see this amazing country again

Mainly study for fun

PS
currently at chapter 8 Genki + 1-6 grade kanji +Tae Kim essentials

It's actually the third time I'm trying to learn Japanese. The first one was when I was still 12-13 years old and was fascinated by JRPGs in general. Tried to learn the language in order to actuall understand certain games that didn't have English versions at the time (such as the イナズマイレブン series), but had no idea of how to find material to study and also didn't have a firm grasp in English (actually, I'm still far from perfect), so I ended up giving up just after learning just Hiragana and Katakana.

The second one was more or less one year and a half ago, when I discovered anime. I got quite addicted to it at the time, so it ended up being a huge motivation for me to restart my studies. However, I ended up getting busy with school stuff and also got a part-time job when I was about halfway through Genki I, so I ended up quitting it due to lack of motivation.

With time, I ended up discovering quite a lot more about Japanese media and culture in general, and also decided that I wanted to fulfill my dream of going to another country to study (my country's - Brazil - government has created a program called Ciência Sem Fronteiras for those who want to study in other countries and don't have money but are capable enough). So, I'm here, back to studying once again. My current goal is to get to JLPT N2 level in two or three years, so that I will be eligible for CSF, and I'm doing my best to reach that goal. Of course, I'm also studying so that I can enjoy anime, manga, novels, games and things of the sort too, but that kind of became a second goal at the time (and also works as additional motivation as well). I'm currently 1000 words into Core2k/6k, studied about 555 kanji through RTK and have studied Tae Kim's guide up to the Essential Grammar section. I don't plan on stopping anytime soon, even if things get busy again, since I've finally realized that it's best to make a bit of progress everyday than to make a lot of progress just on certain days.

Well, that's pretty much it, I think.

Like most Chinese people, I hold rather mixed feelings toward everything of Japan. When I was little, some of the more interesting stories told by my grandma were about her personal experience of 跑日本， literally meaning fleeing Japanese devils, during which the whole family ran across a considerable part of the whole country and relocated in southern China eventually. And 跑日本 has been a word my grandma uses frequently to discribe a state of chaos, hecticity or disaster ever since.

When I grew older, I inevitably became drawn to Japanese anime and manga like most of my classmates. We were amazed by the 二次元 world constructed by the Japanese masters, which in our opinion dwarfed any work put forth by any of our current Chinese author. As addicted as I was to the anime and manga, I never ventured to pick up the language itself. It might have had something to do with the fact that Japan was casted in such negative light by elders within my family. But the main hindrance factor is undoubtedly the ever intimidating 五十音図, which seemed to defy any attempt to surpass. Surely I am not the only one to feel that way.

Then came the "nationalization" of Diaoyu Island in September 2012, which threw the whole country into an anti-Japan frenzy. The dispute between the two countries has been a hot topic on TV and newspapers ever since. Articles on Japanese media have been translated and quoted extensively, yet selectively, by Chinese media to suit its case undoubtedly. In several months, the manipulation had turned too blatant for me to tolerate. That was when I finally pulled myself together to make my first attempt to learn some Japanese, just to be better informed.

My first try at the 五十音図 wents surprisingly smooth and the learing has been sweetened each day. Being a Chinese lends me a natural advantage in that 漢字 makes up a considerable part of Japanese. And with the vast ocean of manga and anime, Japanese is by far the most accessible among all foreign languages.

I don't have any particular goal in mind at this moment. The learning experience itself has been rewarding and motivating enough, which is a mentality quite desirable and I mean to keep it that way.


私は一般中国人のように日本への複雑な思いを抱いている。子供のころ、うちのお婆ちゃんから話をたくさん聞いた。そのなかで、一番面白いのは、お婆ちゃん自分の「走日本」の経験だった。　それは、お婆ちゃんと家族全員が、「日本鬼子」から逃げるために、 慌てて大半の中国を越し、中国南方に引越ししてしまった話だった。　その故で、「走日本」が、混乱や恐慌や災難などの同義語として、今までも婆ちゃんに頻繁に使われている。

大きくなると、私と友達が一緒に日本のアニメとマンガに魅せられた。私たちから見ると、日本の大師達が作た二次元の世界より、現在の中国著者の作品はずっと不十分だった。　ただ、その時、熱心な漫画ファンの私は、なぜ日本語を学ばなかったか。　恐らく、一つの理由はお婆ちゃんから聞いた日本に関する悪い話だったかも。しかし、最も主要な妨害要因は間違えなく五十音図だった。その時、五十音図は私から見ると、マスターができなく怖いものだった。　同感を持つのは、私一人じゃないだろう。　

そして2012年9月に釣魚島の国有化事件が起こった。それ以来我が国で反日運動が盛んに行われていって、両国間の紛争もテレビや新聞などで一番ホットな話題になった。中国のマスコミが、都合の良いために、大量の日本メディアからの記事を選択的に翻訳して、引用した。そんな記事が信用できないと思った。まさにその時私は日本語を学ぶことに決めた、見聞を広めるために。

最初の五十音図への試みは意外に難しくなかった。それから、毎日の勉強に慣れで、どんどん楽しみになった。　中国人にとって、日本語の中でかなりの漢字があるのは、一番有利な要素だろう。そして、インタネタで汗牛充棟な漫画やアニメがあるので、日本語はきっと最も近づきやすい外語でしょう。

私は今日本語に明確なゴールを持っていないし、学習経験自身だけがとても楽しく値打ちのあるものだ。　それはなかなかいい気持ちから、ずっとこのままでいてほしい。

I've wanted to since I was a little kid, before I even knew what languages even were.

I just love the language and the culture. Simply as that.

Well I guess my reasons were quite different. My main reason to study Japanese is: study Japanese. I never liked anime (in fact I hated them), nor manga, nor doramas, nor absolutely nothing related to Japan.

I just stood in front of my pc one day and thought "wouldn't be super ultra cool to know another language, I mean a real one, not just English or Spanish?" Then two options came into mind: Japanese and Russian, I loved Russia back then but I decided to look for some Japanese stuff first, I searched for "como aprender Japonês" (creative, I know) and found a blog made by another ajatter, I learn about the kanjis, the kana and at the end of the day I put in my mind that someday, somewhere, somehow I was going to know Japanese.

The anime stuff came later when I decided to do everything to have more and more Japanese, including getting away of my old beliefs, a drastic change that few people consciously do in their lives but one for good.

I always had a extreme positive mindset, I always said that Japanese was perfect and everything about it was easy. And several thousands of words/hours later and after being really proficient in the language I wouldn't change a comma of those statements.

I don't understand why many people (who had way less progress and way more free time and energy than I had) actually feel a kind of proud to say that Japanese is hard and like to make it feels like it takes blood and tears to be mastered, maybe they were taught that everything in the world that's good takes herculean efforts so they find honor in making the world see how hard and painful their efforts are, I dunno.

Livonor Wrote:I don't understand why many people (who had way less progress and way more free time and energy than I had) actually feel a kind of proud to say that Japanese is hard and like to make it feels like it takes blood and tears to be mastered, maybe they were taught that everything in the world that's good takes herculean efforts so they find honor in making the world see how hard and painful their efforts are, I dunno.

I know a bunch of people like that. For some, it's a way of justifying their lack of progress ("it's not me or my methods, it's the language that's too hard !"). For others, it's a simple case of ego-boosting. Everyone likes to feel exclusive - and after all, Japanese is so mystified that it's not hard to play along with the stereotypes that surrounds it.

I've tried explaining to a few relatives that Japanese is actually not harder than any other languages out there - it is merely different. But the elephant in the room is almost always the kanji. It's scary for many people - so much so that they don't realize that it's not so different from learning words in any other languages.

Linval Wrote:

Livonor Wrote:I don't understand why many people (who had way less progress and way more free time and energy than I had) actually feel a kind of proud to say that Japanese is hard and like to make it feels like it takes blood and tears to be mastered, maybe they were taught that everything in the world that's good takes herculean efforts so they find honor in making the world see how hard and painful their efforts are, I dunno.

I know a bunch of people like that. For some, it's a way of justifying their lack of progress ("it's not me or my methods, it's the language that's too hard !"). For others, it's a simple case of ego-boosting. Everyone likes to feel exclusive - and after all, Japanese is so mystified that it's not hard to play along with the stereotypes that surrounds it.

I've tried explaining to a few relatives that Japanese is actually not harder than any other languages out there - it is merely different. But the elephant in the room is almost always the kanji. It's scary for many people - so much so that they don't realize that it's not so different from learning words in any other languages.

Fair points by both of you. In addition to the above, I would like to offer an alternative third view. This alternative view is made without any intention to boost egos or to justify lack of progress. This alternative view is:

Japanese is hard.

Quote:The time taken to reach a high level of proficiency can vary depending on the language learned. In the case of native English speakers, some estimates were provided by the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the U.S. Department of State, which compiled approximate learning expectations for a number of languages for their professional staff (native English speakers who generally already know other languages). Of the 63 languages analyzed, the five most difficult languages to reach proficiency in speaking and reading, requiring 88 weeks (2200 class hours), are Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean. The Foreign Service Institute and the National Virtual Translation Center both note that Japanese is typically more difficult to learn than other languages in this group.

Also, I wouldn't put TOO much stock into Livonor's analysis of the difficulty of the Japanese language. It's like asking an elementary student whether quantum physics is hard or not. By his own admission, he has been learning 400-1000 words a day... for a day (whether this is true or not is unconfirmed and never will be) and that he may or may not "know" it yet.

Livonor Wrote:I've been learning 400-1000 words a day, if that's not being efficient I don't know what is. Of course, I don't really know them, at least not by many other's people standards, but after a couple of months I will.

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?p...#pid204370

I'm just pointing out the situation: A person who may or may not have memorized his first several thousand vocabulary that he recently learned, lecturing us on whether Japanese is a hard language or not.

And I quote

Livonor
"Registered: 2011-12-20"

Likely scenario:
He relearned a couple thousand words.

"I don't understand why many people (who had way less progress and way more free time and energy than I had) actually feel a kind of proud to say that Japanese is hard and like to make it feels like it takes blood and tears to be mastered, maybe they were taught that everything in the world that's good takes herculean efforts so they find honor in making the world see how hard and painful their efforts are, I dunno."

Be happy, live easy. Be optimistic.
Doubts solve nothing~ a hearty optimism is good for us all.
Learning for learning changes everything.

A lot of debbie downers in this forum might tell us to slow down. And then there are experienced users who write about learning 60+ words a day. There should be some kind of balance, no? But I wholeheartedly agree, Livonor. Optimism is probably the most beautiful thing in this world, and ya don't see it very often on the net.

qwertyytrewq Wrote:I'm just pointing out the situation: A person who may or may not have memorized his first several thousand vocabulary that he recently learned, lecturing us on whether Japanese is a hard language or not.

I'm not a man to give orders, but I really thing that is not a good idea to bring this unrelated discussion to this thread. Also, I never claim that those words were my base vocab, they were not.

@Aspiring Thank you for you kindness sir. Great efforts move mountains, but good hearts move humans.

I was stupid enough to begin and not to stop.

I want to fend off Alzheimers and yell at people in Japanese as if it were my native language.

I study out of stubbornness.

I started reading the Fullmetal Alchemist when I was in middle school and it really got me into manga. I was always a little jealous of fan-translators and their ability to read manga in Japanese, but I never really thought about trying to learn the language.

I only decided to self-study Japanese in my senior year of college with the goal of working abroad with an American company within the next 3-5 years. But along the way I've really come to enjoy learning Japanese and the whole language-learning process; in fact, learning Japanese has rekindled my love for French as well, a language I studied for 8 years! I'm planning in a year or so to pick up another language that would be useful at work. Still deciding between Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, or German.

I look forward to being able to add some manga in Japanese next to my French and English translated volumes