Are you studying japanese?

WackyTaffy

I've been studying japanese very hard (9+ hours a day) in the last few weeks or so. Overall, I've been studying it for several months. I know how to conjugate verbs, form sentences, etc, but many time SI still get the particles wrong.



http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa031101a.htm

http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa031101a.htm
This is a very good starting point for anyone.

Unfortunately, I'm a very hands on person. It's difficult for me to learn particles on my own, so I've decided:
A) ONc eI get a job (hopefully soon)
B) Once I get enough money to buy a car (Im 17, parents just sold my car, soo I have to buy another)
C) I will enroll in a college in Mesa Arizona which teaches Japanese. Yahooo!

I can't wait. It'll be so fun.

I have audio jaapnese "I am yan", and grammar books (Which is too hard, too many confusing english sentences), and 2 more books. One has work stuff in it, both are converstaional.

If I get a tutor it will help so much.

So, are you fluent in japanese, or are you studying it?

Astronuc

Studying it in between other things. I used to go to Japan at least once a year to provide a seminar on nuclear technology, when I worked elsewhere. I am hoping to get back there soon, and more often, as the rest of Asia.

z-component

Nice beard, Astronuc!

Cyrus

Yeah, his new avtar is great.

Astronuc

Thanks gentlemen. It will be 25 years old in the about the first week of June. It's slowed down. I was hoping by now I could tuck it into my belt, but after 25 years (I shaved once in 1981), it's only halfway there.

That was back when my management asked me to get a haircut.

I haven't had haircut for a while so maybe I just keep growing it.

So, is anyone else studying Japanese?

1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21

way to hijack a thread.

Astronuc

I brought it back on topic!

The romanized Japanese word for beard is "hige".

and

Jim Breen's WWWJDIC Japanese-English Dictionary Server
(Monash University Site)
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html

Links - http://www.mooncrystal.com/japanese/

http://www.japanese-online.com/

Now I just need the Japanese word for grey.

WackyTaffy

Here's the defintion for grey/gray:
灰色 【はいいろ】

Or in roman letters, haiiro.

dilan

Hi,
I studied Japanese. But it was realy tuff for me. The worst was when I was talking to a Japanese (there is a japanese in the teaching center) I hate to talk with him because he is too fast. But anyway Japanese is realy a great subject. I know some basic grammar and some words (not expert)

Moonbear

I've experienced that trying to learn other languages as well (Japanese is on my list, and I have some books and CDs to start, but due to time constraints, haven't gotten very far...even just going through the initial sounds, I'm finding I'm having a MUCH harder time getting the words to sound right when I say them...I really need to sit down with a native speaker and watch them for a bit to help with how to form the correct sounds). I'm not fluent in anything but English, but I enjoy it even if I just learn a few useful phrases here and there to help make a visitor comfortable or to ease the transition of visiting another country. Anyway, back to the point I was going to make...when learning a new language and realizing how hard it is to pick out words from a sentence when a native speaker is talking, because it all seems too fast and blends together, it helps me to become aware and sensitive to this issue when speaking with people who are still learning English. I know to tell them right up front that I sometimes forget and start speaking too rapidly, so they should remind me to speak more slowly as many times as needed; I won't be offended or annoyed, and prefer it over them saying they understand when they don't. I'm also very careful to enunciate every consonant sound, because that helps them hear the beginnings and ends of words (not to mention just generally helps in understanding the word). I spoke with one of my really good friends over the holidays, and she really flattered me by sharing that I was the first person she was comfortable speaking English with, and she didn't think she'd have learned as quickly or as well if I wasn't so patient when speaking with her so she could really practice her speaking and listening skills without feeling embarrassed. I don't know that I deserve so much credit, because she also contributed to her own learning by being open to corrections...if she used a wrong word, I explained the right one and the meaning of the wrong one. Anyway, that patience came from my own experiences trying to learn languages (my Spanish improved quite a bit when I was with her too, though, since I wasn't exposed to it everywhere I went, I didn't ever become fluent, but had become better at listening for the gist of a conversation anyway), so I thought I'd mention it when your comment reminded me of it. It's really helpful when you meet people who are still struggling with English.

The hardest time I have remembering that is when I'm conversing with someone who speaks English well enough that I forget they don't "hear" it that well yet. I work with a technician like that now. He speaks English fairly fluently, with the occassional odd word thrown in, so I forget I need to speak slowly, clearly, and be careful about my sentence structure around him, or he won't fully understand what I tell him. Though, I'm also finding that it helps to supplement the spoken instructions with diagrams or written instructions. Since we know even from these forums alone that scientists are a part of an international community, being able to communicate with people not fully fluent in your native language is an important skill to develop.