How long have you been studying Japanese?

I've been in Japan a year now, and it's happened to me already. When my mom was here last month, I actually started speaking Japanese to her about a dozen times. She actually understood what I said, but we've always been English only.

My listening, reading, and writing haven't suffered at all though. It's probably a "use it or lose it" kind of thing. I currently go months without speaking a word of English, but I usually read/write in English at least daily.

first off i remember back a few years ago All I did was was bleach/naruto anime, but I wans't really japanese then it was all english subtitled. Last year I did take a level one course but dreaded it cuz it felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. after that I've been learning japanese up until now. So that's 8.5 months+3months of kanji-Which I don't count. But if I count that, it's 11.5 months. I've taken into consideration to speak on skype, with some of my j-friends,etc. But when I'm with my other friends, just yesterday I stumbling forming sentences in english, felt weird because I'm a native-speaker of english. I can write english just fine, since I have to use it for school,etc. But speaking seems to be slowing going down as my japanese increases.

Grinkers wrote:

How long have you been studying Japanese?

I've been in Japan a year now, and it's happened to me already. When my mom was here last month, I actually started speaking Japanese to her about a dozen times. She actually understood what I said, but we've always been English only.

My listening, reading, and writing haven't suffered at all though. It's probably a "use it or lose it" kind of thing. I currently go months without speaking a word of English, but I usually read/write in English at least daily.

Nice. Although I do have to use english for school, I try to fill my day with japanese as much as possible, so instead of english songs it's japanese songs,etc,etc.

zanzou wrote:

This is...complete nonsense?   You're just confusing yourself, maybe.

I've had a year long relationship with a Japanese girl who didn't speak English, but when my English speaking friends were around I switched back and forth no problem. I think I remember one time when I was switching back and forth really quickly between different language speakers that I f'd up. I said something to a friend from the states in Japanese, then he looked at me like I was crazy and everyone laughed.  But it wasn't common at all.   

The only time it's ever seemed to be a problem for me or anyone I've ever known is when there are concepts you're familiar with in Japanese that aren't so easily translated into English.  Or some weird obscure word in Japanese that's not so common in English (I struggled to remember tonight that 鯛 meant "Sea Bream"...  not that I'm familiar with that term in English, but it's a super common fish in Japan).

So anyway, I think you're overthinking it.  Especially messing up your own native language seems strange.  Maybe you need to take a break from Japanese.

I am making some mistakes in my native-language and all but it isn't overly problematic. Just sometimes struggling/forgetting sometimes what I just said in English, some tendency's to talk in Japanese instead of English.  But I think my mind has just got more accustomed to japanese, since I keep listening/watching/reading it for the majority of the day if possible. Obviously some days I can't do this, but I try my best. Even my dreams nowadays had some japanese in it. There was one dream where it was all japanese, didn't seem like random nonsense japanese, made prefect sense.

Last edited by ta12121 (2010 May 04, 4:14 pm)

I think another problem I have is having completely different knowledge in English and Japanese. My Japanese is almost all "arts", and my English is almost all "sciences". I'm almost at the point where I can read more words in a fiction novel in Japanese than English. I think a lot of this comes from just ignoring a new word in English, but looking every new word/kanji I see in Japanese.

Actually now that I think about it, I've probably spent more time watching/reading fictional works in Japanese than in English. That's 22 years vs 1 year.

I'm supposedly immersed in English but I know so many foreign people that I now speak simplified English. Why use words they don't know?

I have noticed people (like me at one time) using non-first-language mistakes picked up from their partners and so on, which probably happens partly for affectionate reasons.

In the end I think you have to choose what you are and are not able to do. I have made mistakes in English but I think part of me enjoys that - I think it's partly voluntary.

Asriel wrote:

I thought it was cute when you said it like that,

It was cute~~

Nobody likes a pedant though. And I wouldn't like to be the pedant that nobody likes. Maybe that's how comes I can't talk right no more.

Last edited by philiphoward123 (2010 May 04, 6:52 pm)

I agree with not being a pedant, but there's a difference between speaking formally/correctly, and speaking like a toddler

Of course I have trouble speaking in English, I'm not a native speaker! XD
But yes, ever since I came to Japan (have been here for only over 2 years now), it happened to me, too, but not that my English got worse or that I mix English and Japanese, I mix English and German - especially when I try to speak German (which doesn't happen often).
Right now I have the feeling that I'm not fluent in any language anymore

Sometimes it even happens that I can remember the English and Japanese word for something, but can't remember the German one (o__o'') Should I be worried? XD

I actually new a guy who spoke like 4 languages but wasn't really fluent in any of them. He grew up speaking Russian, but even at 40 he spoke like a peasant and forgot words.

zanzou wrote:

This is...complete nonsense?   You're just confusing yourself, maybe.
...
So anyway, I think you're overthinking it.  Especially messing up your own native language seems strange.  Maybe you need to take a break from Japanese.

Hmmm, no, not complete nonsense, actually (though ta12121's writing can be a bit on the incomprehensible side at times...). It's called language erosion, and it happens to a lot of people, even in their native language. Some lucky people (like you, I guess) have brains wired to switch back and forth easily. I'm not one of them Sudden language switches make me grind to a halt.

I lived in Korea a couple of years ago, teaching English to kindergarten kids. I didn't lose my English per se, but because I spent all day speaking at a 5 year old level and my nights speaking a weird Korean/English hybrid with Korean friends, I lost a lot of my advanced vocab. My family used to comment on it when I called home, and spend half the call umm-ing and ahh-ing over words that used to be second nature. It's a use-it-or-lose-it thing, I guess.

Asriel wrote:

auxetoiles wrote:

It's a use-it-or-lose-it thing, I guess.

This is what makes me kind of question whether or not ta12121 is having some sort of placebo effect, or if he's just incredibly antisocial, or what it is.
He's still in Canada, and going to classes taught in English with people who are English, and just exposes himself to media as often as he can.

Yes the media I listen to is 90% japanese, english is always here I cannot deny that, but
I do listen almost all the time/watch dramas/read books nowadays. As for antisocial, no where close to that. But a lot of my friends are busy with university and such, so they can't meet up as much.

I usual only meet up here and there for some friends. My Japanese friends a lot of the time ask me to hang out with them. (I know some from my high school that's Japanese, I remember telling them back then I was going to learn Japanese, but I didn't get serious until this last year, So I can hang out with them/talk to them whenever they  time).

I used to waste a lot of time doing nothing a few years a go, I definitely had a large amount of time, nowadays I use every second of it. Time is precious, time goes fast(well this is for anyone), you might as well use every second of it well if possible of course.

Sorry about my writing I'll try to keep my points straightforward and stop the rambling ...

I do follow AJATT stuff if you guys must know. Obviously I've added what I think is effective into the mix and taken what parts of AJATT to my liking. Immersion is one of them and lots of it. I don't want to get into a debate but immersion does help a lot especially once you've reached a considerably level in japanese in terms of reading/listening

Last edited by ta12121 (2010 May 05, 1:02 am)