Manga is a really good source for sentences so I thought maybe it would be a good idea if we had a thread were we could share tips on the matter.

I don't know if this one is common knowledge or not, but I thought this one was quite good when I found out about it.
I often find sentences that are just plain text get forgotten the most in my deck, so I though it would be a good idea to put a picture of the panel the sentence as well as the text. I used to printscreen and then cut the panel I want with photoshop. I soon got tired of this as it takes a while to do and slows everything down =( However I found out about this neat app which lets you select the area of your screen you wish to copy. Very convenient, as you can set up hotkeys, so when you press print screen you can select the panel you want to copy, then paste it directly into anki. Really quick and convenient.

Unfortunately Jing is only for Windows and Mac, there is also a way to do a similar thing on linux.

If you type the following in console:
import filename.png

I didn't have to install anything on Ubuntu Intrepid, but I don't know about other distros.. It does pretty much the same thing as Jing, but it saves to a file instead of your clipboard. I usally leave a terminal window open and just press up and enter whenever I need it.

On Mac you can do this without any extra software. Just hit Shift + Apple + 4, then drag around the area of your screen that you want. It'll save it as PNG to the desktop. I do it constantly.

The Shift + Apple + # shortcuts for taking screenshots are so awesome.

Not a bad idea, but it only works (=it is convenient) if you read the manga from the screen.

For "paper" manga, I use tiny stickers that I put on the sentences I like while reading. Then, when I get the chance to add some cards into anki, I go through the manga again and collect all the stickers and sentences.
I don't know if everybody does this already, but I couldn't do without this method.

nac_est Wrote:I don't know if everybody does this already, but I couldn't do without this method.

I am using the bilingual version of Doraemon, which has both english and japanese (in tiny print above the frame). I mark it with a pencil and then will go back once I am through rtk1 to add them to my sentence deck.

I've just started to go through some manga (I'm starting out with Dragon Ball) after finishing RtK ~3 weeks ago, but I've been having a few problems.

First of all since I'm such a beginner I understand very little (obviously). If I stop to look up all the words I don't know my pace slows to a crawl and reading the manga becomes very boring. On the other hand, not looking anything up makes things more fun/faster but I feel like I'm not really learning anywhere near as much. Perhaps I should start doing the tip posted before, and take a screencap of the panels I want to look up and then look up all the words after I'm finished reading for the day?

Second of all (this applies more to the other stuff I've been reading, like Harry Potter) with more complicated texts I can sometimes look up every word in the sentence and sill be at a loss for what it means. It feels like such a waste of all the time I spent looking up! Due to this I've just started following along with the Harry Potter audiobook (while reading) without looking anything up at all. I've read to chapter 8 by now and its heaps of fun- but again, I feel like I haven't really learned all that much compared to if I had looked up words.

Because of these problems I tend to get kind of frustrated when I try to mine natural sources. I either feel like its impossibly hard and moving at a snail's pace or that I'm not looking things up and not learning at all. Is there no happy middle ground? Any advice?

My best tip is: don't, unless you want to end up speaking like a manga.
By all means read manga for enjoyment or to improve reading comprehension and speed. By all means look up words you don't know and add dictionary sentences for them. But don't study manga sentences as-is.

It's not a vague possibility, I know a few people who sound like a manga/anime character and are constantly laughed at because of it.

I think you worry too much Jarvik. A few manga sentences will do only good.

A good anki deck must have sentences from dictionaries, novels, newspapers and manga.
How much you add of each, you'll find by yourself while doing.

If you do the input method, it'll take a very long time so you can speak naturally, anyway.

If I'd take guess. These people you talk about are not bad because they read manga, but because they lack more serious reading.

Reading is vital not only for Japanese. Also in your native language, you sound like if you only have air in your head if you don't read.

I agree that a few won't hurt, but I doubt the OP had the intention of using only a few (hence the need for them to find a less time consuming method of grabbing panels).

Even if you had enough mined content from more natural sources in your deck to offset the manga, what exactly are you mining? Manga text heavily relies on modifying language in unnatural or unique ways for impact and to give characters personality. If you use manga sentences are you studying those modifications or something that has practical use? Is it an effective use of time?

I get the mental image of a Japanese salaryman, who wants to speak English to use in business, studying ebonics with flashcards made from rap lyrics. Sure comprehending it never hurts, but he'll never use any of it so it just takes away from time he could be learning something immediately useful. He can still listen to rap music without having to study it.

200-300 sentences are only a few.
Specally if they are simple. They'll receive high notes and will fade in the reviews.
The modified languages from mangas is something you have to learn afterall, if you want to read mangas.

People aren't idiots, they won't start to talk like a samurai just because they watch Dramas. From my own experience, mangas don't harm your language ability, at least when they're not your only source of Japanese. In my language courses here in Japan those who often read manga, watch lots of television/movies etc. (just a small hand full of people) tend to sound way more natural than those who just "study" a lot.. or do not spend much time with Japanese altogether.

I'm with mentat_kgs on this one, variety trumps.

I never said stop reading manga or watching tv/movies/anime. I just think it's silly to seriously study & drill affected language.

You know what I think are the best things you can take from manga? Expressions you'll see or hear anywhere else (with confirmation from something like a google search), like "気が進まない," "不治の病," or 四字熟語 like "正真正銘（の...),” or phrases that don't fit into a category, but don't particularly feel like something that's just typical of manga. For example,

うちの一等の客
反省しています
石がたくさん売ってる
仲直りする余裕

If people want to avoid sounding too "anime" maybe limiting SRS entries to sentences like these would be a good idea? For example, not including sentence endings that are characteristic of age and sex, not including words like "あいつ," etc. ...(and definitely try to be aware of different dialects while adding sentences so as not to mingle 標準語 with 関西弁 :B) If a reader of manga is also a reader of others sources like newspapers, he/she would most likely be able to distinguish between what sounds like a manga character and typical Japanese after some time.

Just using a little common sense is enough to know what to avoid. And not all manga are about cute 魔法少女 ending all their sentences in でちゅ or some other similar silliness. More realistic manga will have natural Japanese.

I've learned so much from manga, mostly stuff that I was able to verify and use in totally different contexts. I would never give up that knowledge, and I probably wouldn't have gained it otherwise, at least for a long time. And if my Japanese seems odd at first, I'll just need to correct it. But it's still better than not having learned those things.

Sorry buddy. If I were to stop reading manga, I migh as well stop with Japanese. It is 20% of the fun.

mentat_kgs Wrote:Sorry buddy. If I were to stop reading manga, I migh as well stop with Japanese. It is 20% of the fun.

Jarvik7 Wrote:I never said stop reading manga or watching tv/movies/anime. I just think it's silly to seriously study & drill affected language.

I'm with Jarvik7, I think it's dangerous that so many people learning Japanese has manga and games as their main interests and mine ONLY from those sources. It's important to remember that real Japanese people do not talk like that, usually. Even "slice-of-life" manga is usually exaggerated, just like JDrama.

Mining manga is definitely good. Reading manga is superb. I just think that instead of taking 50% of your sentences from manga, find words in the manga, then get examples sentences elsewhere. (Of course, you can still get sentences from manga! Just don't get all your sentences from mangas just because you find the words there.)

Mix it up. Get from manga, get from dictionaries, get from news, get from conversations, get from official documents, get from dramas, movies... the list goes on and on. No sentence is dangerous as long as it's written by a native, the only danger is getting WAAAY too much exposure to one small aspect of Japanese.

Tobberoth Wrote:The only danger is getting WAAAY too much exposure to one small aspect of Japanese.

I think people are exaggerating that danger WAAAY too much.

I learnt English mostly from the internet but I don't talk in memes. I learnt Lithuanian from watching soap operas but I don't talk like a soap opera character. I learnt Russian from watching game shows and comedy shows but I don't talk like a game show host or a comedian. You simply use common sense and your experience with your own native language for this stuff.

fanty Wrote:

Tobberoth Wrote:The only danger is getting WAAAY too much exposure to one small aspect of Japanese.

I think people are exaggerating that danger WAAAY too much.

I learnt English mostly from the internet but I don't talk in memes. I learnt Lithuanian from watching soap operas but I don't talk like a soap opera character. I learnt Russian from watching game shows and comedy shows but I don't talk like a game show host or a comedian. You simply use common sense and your experience with your own native language for this stuff.

I guess you're a genius.

No, but seriously though, it's QUITE common to hear people use incorrect Japanese, let's make sure people stop doing that. Also, getting your sentences from several sources makes sure your knowledge is broad and versatile. Being able to listen to or even write your own samurai manga is great, but it would be kinda embarrassing to be in Japan and realize you only know words which come up in such manga, so you sound like a complete beginner UNLESS you're talking about samurai.

Tobberoth Wrote:No, but seriously though, it's QUITE common to hear people use incorrect Japanese, let's make sure people stop doing that. Also, getting your sentences from several sources makes sure your knowledge is broad and versatile. Being able to listen to or even write your own samurai manga is great, but it would be kinda embarrassing to be in Japan and realize you only know words which come up in such manga, so you sound like a complete beginner UNLESS you're talking about samurai.

You can read a *variety* of manga. Different authors are going to use slightly different vocabularies even in manga about the same topic. And since all manga isn't about the same thing, and isn't geared at the exact same demographic, you're going to piece together the bigger picture sooner or later.

I guess some would like to learn all there is to learn sooner, but I personally put fun over speed.

Anyway, everybody's saying the same thing.

One side: reading manga is good. Of course it shouldn't be your primary source of sentences.

Other side: Manga shouldn't be your primary source of sentences! But it is good, of course.

fanty Wrote:

Tobberoth Wrote:No, but seriously though, it's QUITE common to hear people use incorrect Japanese, let's make sure people stop doing that. Also, getting your sentences from several sources makes sure your knowledge is broad and versatile. Being able to listen to or even write your own samurai manga is great, but it would be kinda embarrassing to be in Japan and realize you only know words which come up in such manga, so you sound like a complete beginner UNLESS you're talking about samurai.

You can read a *variety* of manga. Different authors are going to use slightly different vocabularies even in manga about the same topic. And since all manga isn't about the same thing, and isn't geared at the exact same demographic, you're going to piece together the bigger picture sooner or later.

I guess some would like to learn all there is to learn sooner, but I personally put fun over speed.

Manga is still manga. Sentences are short and to the point. They focus fully on conversations and very little on explanations (which is why people who are experienced with reading manga still has problems reading "proper" novels). It's just a facet of Japanese.

Besides, how much fun is it really to just read manga all the time? There's so much more to enjoy with the Japanese language. Japanese literature for example. Why get stuck in manga just because it's accessible and simple? Personally, I enjoy a challenge

Tobberoth Wrote:Manga is still manga. Sentences are short and to the point. They focus fully on conversations and very little on explanations (which is why people who are experienced with reading manga still has problems reading "proper" novels). It's just a facet of Japanese.

Besides, how much fun is it really to just read manga all the time? There's so much more to enjoy with the Japanese language. Japanese literature for example. Why get stuck in manga just because it's accessible and simple? Personally, I enjoy a challenge

My point is simply that if you find yourself reading a newspaper article not because you're interested in it but because someone told you that you need to mine sentences from many different sources and not just from manga, then you are doing it wrong. I wouldn't want people fall into that just because people tell them that mining exclusively from manga will be bad for them. (Once you're good at Japanese you'll start reading stuff other than manga anyway, and fill up any holes there might be in your vocabulary).

One of the best sources: manga magazines with interviews, articles, quizzes, etc, so you're not just reading a bunch of speech bubbles filled with dialogue. Some of the magazines I have also have short stories in them, which really helped me level up to literature.

I figured that if I were to speak like Naruto, I would gain his friendship making abilities. With those in mind I would form a team of other similar minded ninja and set out on epic quests around Feudal Japan!

So..I just add ってばよ!　to the end of all my verbs right??!?!? Will that make me a good Japanese speaker ;P???