I Want To Learn Japanese!

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I Want To Learn Japanese!
Tweet Topic Started: Feb 23 2012, 05:49 PM (1,821 Views)
MidiPour	Feb 27 2012, 02:40 PM Post #26
Power of Sardines Posts: 3,000 Group: Founding Members Member #17 Joined: Jan 27, 2009 Currently Playing with Pete's hedgehog! :3	sushi_b Feb 27 2012, 10:19 AM I think that Muragaru, and I could be wrong, is getting at the point that a large number of people only want to learn Japanese because they think it's cool and that it's going to mean they can import video games, manga and movies. It's not easy to learn something new and languages are probably the most difficult of all. It takes serious commitment and the best way to learn is to build a solid basic foundation in a class or at a school and then to drop yourself cold turkey in town where no one speaks your native tongue. You learn because you need it to survive. If you are considering learning the language, make sure you are in the proper mindset from the start and keep being motivated despite any set backs you may face. You can do it if you have the drive and ambition to do so. Well, considering we're in a gaming community with collectors and video game players who have a passion for video games. I wouldn't say it would be a leap in the wrong direction if you learned Japanese, actually, in the long run it can benefit your hobby. Especially since many Japanese oriented games do not come due to marketing problems, publisher problems. Of course there will always be fan translations (as we've seen for Mother 3), but it would much more convenient and reward to know the language yourself. I also stressed the difficulty of learning Japanese, I don't think I undermined how difficult it is to learn a language. But for a gamer who who has a passion for games, especially the Japanese ones (which is a large market), the benefits would outweigh the costs. Also, check my second post, I suggested OP to take courses on Japanese rather than doing self-studies. I agree, you'll need that basic foundation of being force-fed the information from a teacher before you can swim on your own.



muragaru553	Feb 28 2012, 04:41 AM Post #27
(ノ^^)八(^^ )ノ Posts: 742 Group: Members Member #2,196 Joined: Jun 11, 2010	MidiPour Feb 27 2012, 02:40 PM sushi_b Feb 27 2012, 10:19 AM I think that Muragaru, and I could be wrong, is getting at the point that a large number of people only want to learn Japanese because they think it's cool and that it's going to mean they can import video games, manga and movies. It's not easy to learn something new and languages are probably the most difficult of all. It takes serious commitment and the best way to learn is to build a solid basic foundation in a class or at a school and then to drop yourself cold turkey in town where no one speaks your native tongue. You learn because you need it to survive. If you are considering learning the language, make sure you are in the proper mindset from the start and keep being motivated despite any set backs you may face. You can do it if you have the drive and ambition to do so. Well, considering we're in a gaming community with collectors and video game players who have a passion for video games. I wouldn't say it would be a leap in the wrong direction if you learned Japanese, actually, in the long run it can benefit your hobby. Especially since many Japanese oriented games do not come due to marketing problems, publisher problems. Of course there will always be fan translations (as we've seen for Mother 3), but it would much more convenient and reward to know the language yourself. I also stressed the difficulty of learning Japanese, I don't think I undermined how difficult it is to learn a language. But for a gamer who who has a passion for games, especially the Japanese ones (which is a large market), the benefits would outweigh the costs. Also, check my second post, I suggested OP to take courses on Japanese rather than doing self-studies. I agree, you'll need that basic foundation of being force-fed the information from a teacher before you can swim on your own. I'm sorry, MidiPour, but I am going to respectfully disagree with you. I would highly recommend against learning Japanese simply to try and expand the horizons of a hobby due to how young the OP is or at least what was listed on his youtube page. It's a hobby and, unless the OP is thinking of turning the hobby of game playing/collecting/whatever into something of a profession (game magazine writer, programmer, etc.), the OP should hold off and strive towards a profession that will allow him to invest into his hobby financially, or otherwise, later. I see it a lot of times with Japanese adults. You'll get the younger ones interested in learning English, but simply end up not having time for it and regress or quit learning, because, as a hobby, it shouldn't be priority number 1. Then, you have the younger ones studying, because it's integral to their profession, which usually means they are hitting the books, going overseas to study and talking with English speaking people to strengthen their skills. Unless the OP is some sort of language savant (If he is, I'm super jealous.), it will be an arduous task simply for the sake of a hobby. To be happy with yourself for being able to play a game in another language is nice for yourself, but it will hit pretty hard once you start to realize that outside of your family (odds are they won't be too enthusiastic with the time[most of it on their dime]/money spent only to end up playing games in Japanese) and some of your friends, no one will give two shits if you can play a game in Japanese. Which is why... I think it would be a similar situation for someone to learn Italian, go to Italy, learn how to cook exquisite authentic Italian cuisine and come back to the States only to cook for your family and friends. That's great if you can afford to do it, but, unless the OP and his family have mad bank for the OP to use however he sees fit, I would highly recommend the OP to hold off on learning Japanese solely for the benefits of a hobby until a later time. @JohntheGameCollector - If you are planning on moving to Japan, what are planning to do once you're here? Teach English? Work for a game company? Become a ninja? I'm interested to know why you want to make the tough choice of moving to Japan.
	My 3DS Friend code: 2148 - 8833 - 4520 Ao no Kiseki Nayuta no Kiseki (July 26th) Power on Podcast: (Youtube/Latest Episode) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esaWXwEXSb4 血の海に沈むがいい！ (Archive) https://ia601402.us.archive.org/0/items/PowerOnPodcastPortableEpisode21/Power%20on%20Podcast%20Portable%20Episode%2021.mp3Contra III vs. Gunstar Heroes


MidiPour	Feb 28 2012, 05:12 PM Post #28
Power of Sardines Posts: 3,000 Group: Founding Members Member #17 Joined: Jan 27, 2009 Currently Playing with Pete's hedgehog! :3	Quote: I'm sorry, MidiPour, but I am going to respectfully disagree with you. The pleasure is mines really, I like when people disagree with me. Quote: I would highly recommend against learning Japanese simply to try and expand the horizons of a hobby due to how young the OP is or at least what was listed on his youtube page. It's a hobby and, unless the OP is thinking of turning the hobby of game playing/collecting/whatever into something of a profession (game magazine writer, programmer, etc.), the OP should hold off and strive towards a profession that will allow him to invest into his hobby financially, or otherwise, later. I don't really get why you make this jump from being committed to learning a language to making a profession out of it. Yes, you will definitely thrive if you utilize the language in your everyday living condition, but it's not and shouldn't be mutually exclusive to adapting to your current environment. For instance, you can learn how to play a musical instrument without the social interactivity of being in front of a stage or making an occupation out of it. A language can be read the same way, and although OP may never be a virtuoso at the language, what he knows might be sufficient to the practical use of appreciating Japanese videogames. And your post is somewhat insulting to me because I'm someone who studies 3 different languages outside of English. I don't learn languages to pursue a career, I do it to be cultured and open minded, to open up to diverse experiences outside of the English convention. Again, learning a language is NOT an easy task, but it shouldn't solely function as a tool to land a career. And unless you dislike other languages, I strongly advise everyone to learn other languages outside of their native language. Quote: You'll get the younger ones interested in learning English, but simply end up not having time for it and regress or quit learning, because, as a hobby, it shouldn't be priority number 1. This opens up to another problem, the younger crowd is less likely to have their priorities straight. They're likely less responsible and probably aren't disciplined when prioritizing their leisure time. That's why I suggested OP taking a course first. Later in his life he can worry about prioritizing his routine responsibilities, if he sees he still has a passion for videogames and learning Japanese. Quote: To be happy with yourself for being able to play a game in another language is nice for yourself, but it will hit pretty hard once you start to realize that outside of your family (odds are they won't be too enthusiastic with the time[most of it on their dime]/money spent only to end up playing games in Japanese) and some of your friends, no one will give two shits if you can play a game in Japanese. I'm not even going to bother with this rhetoric. Edited by MidiPour, Feb 28 2012, 05:19 PM.



CarsAndGames	Feb 28 2012, 05:27 PM Post #29
Level 4 Posts: 456 Group: Members Member #4,712 Joined: Jan 28, 2012	Again This is America. Learn Spanish



muragaru553	Mar 1 2012, 12:40 PM Post #30
(ノ^^)八(^^ )ノ Posts: 742 Group: Members Member #2,196 Joined: Jun 11, 2010	MidiPour Feb 28 2012, 05:12 PM Quote: I'm sorry, MidiPour, but I am going to respectfully disagree with you. The pleasure is mines really, I like when people disagree with me. Quote: I would highly recommend against learning Japanese simply to try and expand the horizons of a hobby due to how young the OP is or at least what was listed on his youtube page. It's a hobby and, unless the OP is thinking of turning the hobby of game playing/collecting/whatever into something of a profession (game magazine writer, programmer, etc.), the OP should hold off and strive towards a profession that will allow him to invest into his hobby financially, or otherwise, later. I don't really get why you make this jump from being committed to learning a language to making a profession out of it. Yes, you will definitely thrive if you utilize the language in your everyday living condition, but it's not and shouldn't be mutually exclusive to adapting to your current environment. For instance, you can learn how to play a musical instrument without the social interactivity of being in front of a stage or making an occupation out of it. A language can be read the same way, and although OP may never be a virtuoso at the language, what he knows might be sufficient to the practical use of appreciating Japanese videogames. And your post is somewhat insulting to me because I'm someone who studies 3 different languages outside of English. I don't learn languages to pursue a career, I do it to be cultured and open minded, to open up to diverse experiences outside of the English convention. Again, learning a language is NOT an easy task, but it shouldn't solely function as a tool to land a career. And unless you dislike other languages, I strongly advise everyone to learn other languages outside of their native language. Quote: You'll get the younger ones interested in learning English, but simply end up not having time for it and regress or quit learning, because, as a hobby, it shouldn't be priority number 1. This opens up to another problem, the younger crowd is less likely to have their priorities straight. They're likely less responsible and probably aren't disciplined when prioritizing their leisure time. That's why I suggested OP taking a course first. Later in his life he can worry about prioritizing his routine responsibilities, if he sees he still has a passion for videogames and learning Japanese. Quote: To be happy with yourself for being able to play a game in another language is nice for yourself, but it will hit pretty hard once you start to realize that outside of your family (odds are they won't be too enthusiastic with the time[most of it on their dime]/money spent only to end up playing games in Japanese) and some of your friends, no one will give two shits if you can play a game in Japanese. I'm not even going to bother with this rhetoric. 'As you sow, so shall you reap.' If someone's going to spend all that time and effort solely for that, more power to them, like I said in my first post. I'm not going to stop them. I was sharing my opinion on the matter of the practicality of learning Japanese solely for video games, while disagreeing with your thoughts that the benefits outweigh the costs, which you completely disregarded at parts. The OP said he wants to move here, so that's partially why I bring up learning Japanese as a means to an end and not simply an end as it would be if only used for video games. If he wants to do the former, he's going to have to crack down and get to work and worry about the hobby stuff later. Of the people I have known to study Japanese, friends, friends of friends, friends of friends of friends, family and so on, a majority of them quit within such a short time or grew tired of the class. There is an intrinsic quality in people to, not only have an interest, learning a foreign language, to keep at it and eventually use it. For those who didn't quit and continued pursuing the language for their hobbies like anime, games, J-dramas, manga, they were met with the issue of having to spend a good chunk of their time devoted to learning the language simply to enjoy their hobby. Honestly, a good chunk of them have told me that they wished they had studied something else, because outside of their hobby they have no practical use for it after graduating. I have friends who graduated back in 2008/2009 and still have not found any jobs to help pay their school loans and are miserable because of it. They are now forced to pay incredible amounts of money for schools loans, go back to school and spend another x amount of years to get a degree they can use to get a job to help pay their mounting debt or end up working somewhere simply trying to make ends meet. I bring it up as a warning and, of course, that is not the only result, but seems to be a common result. From the experiences I have had, I think Japanese is not a language to take up solely for the ends of a hobby until you have a way to afford it. It's a luxury and the addiction many people seem to have in regards to feeding their hobbies or thinking they need to do so,(games, anime, electronics, etc.) while not building any sort of practical skills, seems to be pretty common. Their hobby of games becomes games and language study and tends to compound itself, from what I have experienced, becoming a large time drain. I would give a 16 year old version of myself the same advice. At 16, I didn't have a thought in my head about going to college; I didn't think it was financially feasible for my family nor was I aware of school loans at the time. What did I do? I dicked around and indulged in my hobbies, chasing girls, sports, writing/reading, history, cooking, and, when I felt like it, did my homework. Studied Spanish all 4 years of high school and was going into college with my eyes set on becoming a Chemistry teacher. ...I wish someone would have made me think about how my decisions at the time would benefit or hinder me down the road. When I was younger, I thought in the now, so if I was interested in Japanese video games at that time, I would have definitely been gung ho about it with little thought about how difficult it would be and how much effort, time, money would be needed... I took Japanese on a whim when I started uni. The end of my second year was when I really thought about committing myself to Japanese and going into a profession, which would demand me to use it. Even after 2 years of college classes, I could tell you then I wasn't able to play many Japanese games. Part of it was due to me having only an interest in it and not fully devoting myself to it. As with most kids going to college and being away from daily supervision of parents or responsibilities such as babysitting younger siblings and what not, I shirked my responsibilities of student from time to time. However, between being a young adult free from the clutches of 'evil' parents and concentrating on Chemistry/Education and the classes needed for a degree in those fields, Japanese was taking a back seat. It wasn't until I changed my Major and actually devoted a much larger part of my time and energy into studying the language was I able to do things like comprehend playing video games in Japanese (Ys I & II, Metal Max, Rudra no Hihou, Fire Emblem), which still took great effort, a lot of time, and, as nice as it is, it didn't benefit me any. I got that sense of accomplishment once. However, I get more joy and sense of accomplishment from my job daily. Anywho, depending on what Japanese games you are wanting to play, you might not even need to know Japanese. However, if you're going for the RPG sorts, you're going to need to crack the books a lot more and even that will prove a bit difficult unless you can comprehend the spoken language in the newer games that come out nowadays or are going to learn a whole set of vocabulary words/grammar structures used more heavily in retro video games. Xenoblade and The Last Story are two good examples of how spoken language, as well as dialects, can feel like a completely different language from the written, which is where you start when learning a language in a classroom. Fire Emblem, as well as many games in a similar setting, is a good example of ye olde Japanese at work. That's why I feel like learning Japanese solely for appreciating video games and not for any sort of job prospect, keeping you from devoting more of your time towards trying to make your job prospects as plentiful and enjoyable to you as possible can be put on hold until later. Not once do I say it's a waste of time nor do I advise people to never try to learn a second language. My personal experiences, and those of the people I once surrounded myself with, led me to suggest that, for OP's age and situation, he should avoid simply trying to feed his hobby until he's older. On the point of being cultured, go live outside your home country for some time. You will develop and learn so much more than simply studying it from a book or through different forms of media.
	My 3DS Friend code: 2148 - 8833 - 4520 Ao no Kiseki Nayuta no Kiseki (July 26th) Power on Podcast: (Youtube/Latest Episode) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esaWXwEXSb4 血の海に沈むがいい！ (Archive) https://ia601402.us.archive.org/0/items/PowerOnPodcastPortableEpisode21/Power%20on%20Podcast%20Portable%20Episode%2021.mp3Contra III vs. Gunstar Heroes


MidiPour	Mar 1 2012, 03:48 PM Post #31
Power of Sardines Posts: 3,000 Group: Founding Members Member #17 Joined: Jan 27, 2009 Currently Playing with Pete's hedgehog! :3	muragaru553 Mar 1 2012, 12:40 PM Quote: 'As you sow, so shall you reap.' Again with the rhetoric... I could take this quote way out of context, merely because of how vague it is. Just to be clear, I was brought up with the Quran, so I'm not very familiar quotes from the Bible. Well, not all too familiar. But I'll try to respond to this the best I can. Based on the information given on the majority of sites I've checked, what your quote suggests is that karma has consequences. Which I'm inferring what you're intending to say is my negative action towards OP will consequently result in bad action towards myself. Which case, I will point how I don't believe there is an objective positive or negative in this situation. I'm merely presenting my subjective opinion, and that means so are you. Quote: If someone's going to spend all that time and effort solely for that, more power to them, like I said in my first post. Again, why would they spend ALL their time and research devoted to one task. I've already mentioned how I disregarded this, because obviously I don't think you need to spend all your time and effort to learn a language. However, that being said, as I've stated before, a sufficient amount of time and routine is necessary for them to progress. And solely for a medium? Yes, I think there is value in mediums. I personally believe the videogame medium is an artistic medium, therefore I think all the amount of time and effort put into enjoying his hobby is justified simply by the fact that videogames is more than just for fun. It's an expressive medium, and we value that. I'm not trying to suggest that all videogames are expressive, because obviously that's a lie. But if you're in PGRF, you're probably not just playing Call of Duty and the blockbuster releases. You know, playing more than just the refined rehashes the larger corporations tend to finance Quote: I was sharing my opinion on the matter of the practicality of learning Japanese solely for video games, while disagreeing with your thoughts that the benefits outweigh the costs, which you completely disregarded at parts. I disregarded it because we have vastly differing opinions, in which I have stated you do not necessarily need to spend all your time learning Japanese. If a majority of your time is devoted to that, obviously you're doing something. We're more than capable of possessing the ability to speak and comprehend many languages, hence that's why there are linguists. So I do agree you do need to put a sufficient amount of time in order to progress in your foreign language, but it isn't necessary for you to beat yourself on the head. Quote: The OP said he wants to move here, so that's partially why I bring up learning Japanese as a means to an end and not simply an end as it would be if only used for video games. If he wants to do the former, he's going to have to crack down and get to work and worry about the hobby stuff later. He can learn the language alongside him studying. Learning a foreign language isn't pre-med or astro-physics. Unless you're suggesting that, then mind=blown. But again, you can't expect to learn a language on a whim. But I can't stress this enough, but if you're beating yourself in the head with a foreign language, I have reason to believe you're doing something wrong, hence, what about linguists? Quote: Of the people I have known to study Japanese, friends, friends of friends, friends of friends of friends, family and so on, a majority of them quit within such a short time or grew tired of the class. There is an intrinsic quality in people to, not only have an interest, learning a foreign language, to keep at it and eventually use it. For those who didn't quit and continued pursuing the language for their hobbies like anime, games, J-dramas, manga, they were met with the issue of having to spend a good chunk of their time devoted to learning the language simply to enjoy their hobby. Honestly, a good chunk of them have told me that they wished they had studied something else, because outside of their hobby they have no practical use for it after graduating. I have friends who graduated back in 2008/2009 and still have not found any jobs to help pay their school loans and are miserable because of it. They are now forced to pay incredible amounts of money for schools loans, go back to school and spend another x amount of years to get a degree they can use to get a job to help pay their mounting debt or end up working somewhere simply trying to make ends meet. I bring it up as a warning and, of course, that is not the only result, but seems to be a common result. From the experiences I have had, I think Japanese is not a language to take up solely for the ends of a hobby until you have a way to afford it. It's a luxury and the addiction many people seem to have in regards to feeding their hobbies or thinking they need to do so,(games, anime, electronics, etc.) while not building any sort of practical skills, seems to be pretty common. Their hobby of games becomes games and language study and tends to compound itself, from what I have experienced, becoming a large time drain. I really like this part of your post, it gives insight to why you hold your opinion. But more importantly your experience, which I think shedding first-hand experience can always be informal and interesting. shrug Quote: On the point of being cultured, go live outside your home country for some time. You will develop and learn so much more than simply studying it from a book or through different forms of media. You're undermining the value of the medium as an expressive piece, which to me is just as significant as visiting/living in other countries. Personally, I would not want to live in another country where I would fit in, because I think it would be infinitely more hard for me to live amongst a mass of people of a specific race I'm not a part of than it is to see the cultural exploitation of the medium. What I mean is, we're always told Western thought, Western ideals, and I personally think that's not cultured enough. I've even criticized my college professors on this ground, because I do believe that other cultures have made contributions that haven't been acknowledged by the western world. And I think it's mainly due to a cultural/language barrier. In conclusion, I do hold great value in the medium, just as anyone who holds great value in canon literature, philosophy, the arts, etc. Quote: I would give a 16 year old version of myself the same advice. At 16, I didn't have a thought in my head about going to college; I didn't think it was financially feasible for my family nor was I aware of school loans at the time. What did I do? I dicked around and indulged in my hobbies, chasing girls, sports, writing/reading, history, cooking, and, when I felt like it, did my homework. Studied Spanish all 4 years of high school and was going into college with my eyes set on becoming a Chemistry teacher. ...I wish someone would have made me think about how my decisions at the time would benefit or hinder me down the road. When I was younger, I thought in the now, so if I was interested in Japanese video games at that time, I would have definitely been gung ho about it with little thought about how difficult it would be and how much effort, time, money would be needed... I kept this part for last because I think we have a agreement here. OP has said he was interested in living in Japan. In terms of him living in the now, I completely agree. At that age, most people go through several different phases before realizing who they are and what they will continue on to value. I personally think that teenagers need supervision and consolidation until they can live and think on their own, and are well off due to their parents. I could probably go on a tangent about parenting, but that's a whole different topic. So meh. In short, I agree with the circumstance of being 16 and not being matured. I kind of think this is strong enough to sway me to tell OP to not think about until he's reach some level of maturity. And I'd be saying this because I sincerely do believe you will regret your actions at that age if you commit to them, because you might find out you're not who you thought you were back then. I had a conversation about Ageism with someone here on the forum, and they've brought up the same point.



EuropeanGamer	Mar 1 2012, 06:35 PM Post #32
Level 5 Posts: 727 Group: Members Member #1,111 Joined: Aug 6, 2009	CarsAndGames Feb 28 2012, 05:27 PM Again This is America. Learn Spanish Again Why post if your not going to be helpful in any shape and form and just dismiss his idea completely. To add to further thoughts on this thread , learning any language is always tough but get to grip with the basics early on and it makes learning so much simplier but japenese is a tough language so prepare for hard graft if you are set on learning it but only learn if you will benifit in some form Edited by EuropeanGamer, Mar 1 2012, 06:38 PM.



muragaru553	Mar 2 2012, 09:15 AM Post #33
(ノ^^)八(^^ )ノ Posts: 742 Group: Members Member #2,196 Joined: Jun 11, 2010	@MidiPour - The quote was my way of trying pinpoint how I tend to look at life. Not necessarily karma, but also things like exercise/fitness and what not. I didn't even think about it being something from the Bible (not really a religious person), since a lot of Americans use the phrase, you reap what you sow. I actually taught the idiom in my evening class; I try to cover one once a class with them. Anywho, I wasn't hinting at your suggestion being as negative action. It's simply our two separate ideologies being presenting and offered to the OP. I entirely agree with you about it being subjective opinion. One's not more right than the other. I may disagree with your views on the matter, but that doesn't mean my advice/opinion is correct or the best. - I think the point I make about devoting substantial amounts of effort and time into studying is derived from personal experience, which I was hoping I was able to express properly. Games can definitely be art. Maybe, it's all this time I've spent over here that's got me thinking as I do in regards to it. This is another point where we do not put equal value into the hobby, which is no biggie. I disagreed and made my points why or tried to explained why I felt that way. I am glad to see you explain your reasoning a bit more for me to get a better perspective of where you're coming from. Also, nice dig at COD, haha. - You bring up something I wanted to point out earlier. Studying Japanese in a class, both in the States and Japan, has felt like being beat over the head repeatedly@_@ I am making it a point that I have witness many people study the language for their hobby, but feed their hobbies rather nurturing the language learning. You pointed it out as well about how younger people generally do not have their priorities set. Simply because learning foreign languages is not like learning pre-med or astrophysics doesn't equate it to being easier. You bring up linguists and I could easily say doctors and astrophysicists. Some people are naturally skilled with the gift of learning languages. Some are not. Personally, learning wasn't difficult for me (always learning new and quirky things though), but I'm not willing to project the lack of difficulty I had onto others. I see more people struggle with it than succeed, so I tend to think that learning a foreign language can be difficult. - Since I'm gave my advice and opinions on the matter, I figured it would be a good idea to explain why or where they stem from. It may not be best or the most correct or what have you, but I think seeing the reasons, people are able to at least understand my perspective and apply it however they see fit to their own situation. - I made the point about living in another country as a suggestion, because you made the point of studying languages to become more cultured. Didn't think of it in the regards of linguistic relativity and that's a whole different beast of its own. I guess, maybe, try visiting for a short time? It's definitely an interesting bit to experience being in the minority and on the outside of the norm. I think it's a good thing to be outside your comfort zone from time to time. - I respect and appreciate you expanding on your views and taking the time to counter my own. It's always nice to question your own ideas and do some introspecting. It definitely made me take a moment and explain to myself why I think the way I do, which is always good. Edited by muragaru553, Mar 2 2012, 09:16 AM.
	My 3DS Friend code: 2148 - 8833 - 4520 Ao no Kiseki Nayuta no Kiseki (July 26th) Power on Podcast: (Youtube/Latest Episode) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esaWXwEXSb4 血の海に沈むがいい！ (Archive) https://ia601402.us.archive.org/0/items/PowerOnPodcastPortableEpisode21/Power%20on%20Podcast%20Portable%20Episode%2021.mp3Contra III vs. Gunstar Heroes


J-R	Mar 24 2012, 02:09 AM Post #34
Crossover guru Posts: 1,145 Group: Members Member #3,708 Joined: Apr 11, 2011	I don't know if you are still trying to learn Japanese but I just found an amazing book on how to memorize Kanji and I though of you when I started reading it. It's calleD "A guide to Remembering Japanese CharactersA guide to Remembering Japanese Characters" by Kenneth G. Henshall. This book shows you Kanji by grade level and explains their origins and gives suggestions on how to memorize them. I've read up to 30 characters and have managed to memorize almost all of them just by reading this book. I highly recommend it to aid in your studies.



0verkill	Mar 28 2012, 10:07 AM Post #35
New User Posts: 4 Group: Members Member #4,902 Joined: Mar 26, 2012	@johnthegamecollector I'm not sure if this will be helpful or not at this point but I initially wanted to learn Japanese because i enjoy watching anime, reading manga, wanted to import games or at least go on holiday there without having to rely on people being able to speak English. I never really decided to do anything about it because i realize learning a language does require a lot of commitment and wasn't sure if it would be worth it but after finding out for certain jobs i would be interested in doing in the future, knowing Japanese ( or Mandarin) was considered bonus and would increase my chances of getting hired, i decided to start learning. I'm looking into whether anywhere local has any classes at the moment because i do realize the best way to fully learn a language is to have someone teach you. However i started out by buying a book called 'Learn Japanese in 30 days' one of those books made for people thinking of visiting Japan that just goes over some very basic grammar and vocabulary and i think that's a brilliant way to test the water. I felt like if i could take some time out my day to learn some very basic language and enjoy it, it would be worth seeing though, instead of jumping right in and spending money on things like Rosetta stone and paying for language classes which aren't exactly cheap. It's almost become a hobby in itself and im really enjoying it so far and intend to stick with it, ended up getting Rosetta stone for Christmas and hopefully come September will be taking classes. I don't think learning any language is a waste of time so long as you enjoy it or in benefits you in some way, loads of people in my family speak multiple languages just because its something they wanted to learn and i've never heard one of them say they regret the time/money they spent on doing so.



Barney	Mar 28 2012, 12:01 PM Post #36
Officer on Duty Posts: 102 Group: Members Member #4,710 Joined: Jan 27, 2012	CarsAndGames Feb 28 2012, 05:27 PM Again This is America. Learn Spanish well said.. but what if you already know Spanish and English? What language should be next? hmmmm Japanese sounds way to complicated.



Inazuma65	Mar 28 2012, 12:16 PM Post #37
Level 2 Posts: 70 Group: Members Member #4,655 Joined: Jan 12, 2012	You can do it. Don't let others discourage you. My story: I learned Japanese from playing video games and watching anime. I was a huge fan of Phantasy Star Online. PSO originally had worldwide servers, but since American players cheated, hacked and were overall assholes, the games were completely ruined. Japanese players were pissed off, so when Blue Burst came out on the PC, Sega separated the regions. I knew I wanted to play Blue Burst, but I didn't like the idea of having another game ruined by assholes. Despite not knowing Japanese, I decided to play the Japanese version. I wanted to play the best version of PSO, even if I didn't understand the language. All I had to do was learn it, right? So that's what I did. I learned while I played. After 2 years, the other players had no idea I wasn't Japanese. I went on to play 3 years of the Japanese version of Phantasy Star Universe after that, for a total of 5 years of Japanese MMO experience. When I wasn't playing Japanese games, I watched anime (without subs) and listened to Japanese music. I learned Japanese the same way I learned English as a baby, immersion. Thanks to learning Japanese, I can enjoy the original versions of games and anime, and understand most of it. I watch anime on a regular basis and I'd say I understand around 95% of it. The rest, I can usually figure out from context or by looking up a word or two. Same with manga. I can read and understand it just fine. When it comes to Japanese video games, I can easily play everything except text heavy RPGs with lots of difficult kanji. I can only read about 600 kanji characters, so unless there is furigana or voices to go along with it, I may have some trouble.



k1ngN0thing	Mar 30 2012, 03:56 PM Post #38
New User Posts: 3 Group: Members Member #4,922 Joined: Mar 30, 2012	I tried a Rossetta Stone Spanish demo (no Japanese demo), and it really is a quality and intuitive piece of software. I'm confident it would teach me japanese, if I could afford it. Seriously, what is it, $400 for the software? No thanks, there's no way that price isn't insanely marked up. I use My Japanese Coach for DS, but have been slacking. Picked up a grammar book which is pretty decent, as well as a phrase book. I mainly want to learn to read it so I can import games. Edited by k1ngN0thing, Mar 30 2012, 04:17 PM.
	Handheld Video Game Reviews


J-R	May 17 2012, 07:26 PM Post #39
Crossover guru Posts: 1,145 Group: Members Member #3,708 Joined: Apr 11, 2011	I don't know why but I thought of this thread when I saw this video.



AndsyRR	May 18 2012, 03:48 AM Post #40
Posts: 1,114 Group: Sub-Forum Moderator Member #4,914 Joined: Mar 29, 2012	Pro tip: Don't use anime as your main source of spoken Japanese material. That shit is as ridiculous as it is retarded. Immerse yourself with television shoes, movies, books, games, anime, ALL sorts of things. If you stick to anime, you'll become fat, sweaty, have hella bad acne, need glasses and lose any remote chance of getting laid in the next century. True story.



MidiPour	May 18 2012, 11:36 AM Post #41
Power of Sardines Posts: 3,000 Group: Founding Members Member #17 Joined: Jan 27, 2009 Currently Playing with Pete's hedgehog! :3	AndsyRR May 18 2012, 03:48 AM Pro tip: Don't use anime as your main source of spoken Japanese material. That shit is as ridiculous as it is retarded. Immerse yourself with television shoes, movies, books, games, anime, ALL sorts of things. If you stick to anime, you'll become fat, sweaty, have hella bad acne, need glasses and lose any remote chance of getting laid in the next century. True story. I guess what you're intending to say is close-minded people close themselves off, or become introverted to point where they're only able to speak to a certain niche. Where open-minded people embrace the bigger picture and pretty much get more benefits of a foreign language socially and in scope. Kind of works for anything else, but it's really up to the person whether they want to branch out of their habit.



RockmanDash12	May 23 2012, 10:46 PM Post #42
Anime Fan, Handheld Lover, VN Nut Posts: 1,553 Group: Members Member #5,081 Joined: May 23, 2012	I think you should take Japanese as a foreign language class, that's what i'm doing because foreign language is required to go into a University in California, plus it's really fun. learning the characters are the hardest part, i'm only a first year though, so i barly know any words, but i do know some, and i know katakana and hiragana. Once you learn the hiragana, it should be much easier. I still can't read the instruction manual of my pokemon green, so i still have alot more to learn. The textbook i have is on amazon, and it's really easy to learn from, so if anybody wants to give it a try here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Japanese-Textbook-Hiromi-Peterson/dp/0887275494/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337831557&sr=8-1 Edited by RockmanDash12, May 23 2012, 10:55 PM.
	Video Game, Anime and Tech Fan


Ripleysdude	Jul 1 2012, 06:33 PM Post #43
Game enthusiast Posts: 67 Group: Members Member #5,103 Joined: May 31, 2012	JohntheGameCollector Feb 23 2012, 10:20 PM Thanks for all the suggestions, but at this point I'm going to wait til college to take Japanese classes..... it's kinda depressing how my school doesn't offer a Japanese class (i have to take spanish) but a school the next district over offers Japanese.... Mine is the same way.



OneLonelyPickle	Jul 2 2012, 02:16 AM Post #44
Canadian Posts: 59 Group: Members Member #2,781 Joined: Sep 22, 2010	I know every single Japanese teacher or English speaker of Japanese in the world will disagree, but I really suggest watching some anime with English / your native language subtitles. I know that characters in anime don't speak properly lots of the time, and I know they use the improper version of many different words. But honestly, it gives you a VERY good impression on how to pronounce words, and if you look up things about the characters and the settings you learn about how different names are written, what they mean, what the different kanji, hiragana and katakana mean... etc. Just don't take it all to heart too much. I only suggest anime to you because you're still in high school. Unless you REALLY, REALLY want to learn Japanese, you're not going to sit down for hours every night practicing this stuff, that is, if you even have the time with homework, friends and what not eating away at your life. If I can use myself as an example, I have learned a lot about the Japanese culture and language from watching anime. Not anywhere near enough to say I am even a beginner in speaking or writing it, but enough to give me some confidence if I were to walk into a basic Japanese course in university (provided such a course exists). Edited by OneLonelyPickle, Jul 2 2012, 02:18 AM.
	Listening since episode 2


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