Why Japanese is easier to learn than you think

[Clephas]

I know that to many Fuwans, the learning of Japanese seems to be a huge hurdle, especially considering how different it is from Western languages.  However, there are a few reasons why it can be easier than you think.

 

The Obvious

 

No other language has so much of its media overseas, except maybe English.  Moreover, the existence of tens of thousands of episodes of subtitled anime gives a near infinite amount of source material to draw from when learning the spoken language.

 

The Less Obvious

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for the average person when learning Japanese is that it is so essentially different from any Western language.  However, this can actually be an advantage.  For one thing, there is little of the confusion you experience when you encounter similar terms in German, Spanish, or French, which can lead to mispronunciations.  Moreover, the fact that the Japanese language is so essentially different from a social linguistics perspective means that if you just take the time to understand why and how the Japanese think differently, the language becomes infinitely easier to grasp.  If anything, the fact that there is almost nothing in the way of similarities between the American mentality and the Japanese mentalities makes it easier to consciously shift one's consciousness.  Too many Americans, when learning Japanese, make the essential mistake of just assuming the Japanese are thinking the same as they are while speaking a different language (this is common to all Western cultures).  Let go of those preconceptions and things will be a lot easier for you. 

 

The existence of Kanji also serves to make understanding easier, for those who choose to attack initially from the written perspective.  By learning kanji and how it is used to form the Japanese language, one can rapidly increase understanding...if and only if this study of kanji is preceded by an intellectual understanding of grammar.

 

A major difficulty for people who can't comprehend context clues

Pseudo-anglicanisms.  Basically, these are katakana terms drawn from English or other languages that are not used in the same way as they are in their original language.  Most katakana terms are essentially the same as their originals, but ones like マンション (which is basically a certain type of rental apartment) really don't mean the same as their original term.  About seventy percent of everyone who tries to learn Japanese never fix their understanding of terms like these, so pay attention to things that you think are used oddly, so you can understand how your initial understanding could be wrong.

 

Internalization

This is the most important step of learning Japanese.  If you are having to logically consider what particles turn a sentence into and transform Japanese into English to understand it, you will never, ever be fluent.  This isn't a joke or an exaggeration.  Even if your speech is halting, if your comprehension is accurate without the need to translate in your head, you can be said to be reasonably fluent.  The best method to reach this stage isn't reading a textbook (in fact textbook learning just gets in the way of this) is immersion, which basically means giving up your original language for a period of one to three months, immersing yourself only in Japanese media.  During this period, you should avoid speaking, thinking, or listening to your native language, if at all possible.  If you are in high school, I'd suggest just using your summer break for this.  If you are an adult, this is harder.  It isn't like you can take a long vacation if you have to work or go to college.  However, this is effectively the only method by which you can internalize Japanese without your original language getting in the way of understanding at some point.  The only other possible method would be to get work in Japan and just live there for a period of time sufficient to create the same effect.

 

Internalization is really a step you need to take to become permanently fluent in any language, not just Japanese.  However, it is particularly effective with Japanese, because the language is so distinct form our own.

 

Note: Basic grammatical understanding must always precede immersion if you want it to be effective.

[zoom909]

Well that's fine except that immersion is wholly impractical for an adult learner who is not in Japan but who wants to learn to read.  And I think the ability to read is what most Fuwalings are interested in.

 

If you have the opportunity to be an exchange student or worker in Japan, then immersion is the way to go.

 

But if you're stuck in the U.S., then the traditional grammar method is the way to go.  It requires some geekiness, but it works.  It is the way people have learned to read for centuries (even dead languages like Latin).   Using a computer analogy, it is simply a bootstrapping process by which you download the assertions and rules into your brain so that your natural language processing can boot up in Japanese instead of English.  The comparison with English is a necessary part of this learning process, as you learn about any new thing by discovering how it is the same or different from what you already know.  What you already know, you learned by studying English grammar in school.

 

So, first you complete this learning period where you assimilate the basic grammar and some essential vocabulary, and read example dialogs and such with the textbook holding your hand.  After that, you are ready to dive into reading for real.  Perhaps "dive" is the wrong word here, because it's a more gradual process than that.  Here is where the internalization happens that Clephas mentions.  As you read, your mind will absorb that subtle language information that isn't part of the textbook rules.  It is an important step but it happens automagically.  The key to making this happen is to read some every day.  Note that reading Japanese for an hour out of a day, and watching a couple of hours of anime, in a day otherwise spent using English can hardly be called "immersion."  It is just called "practice."  But it will be enough--that is, as long as you didn't skimp on grammar learning and as long as you are satisfied with just reading and not speaking.

[OriginalRen]

Speaking to others. Think of how often you use your native tongue every single day of your life. Most members are very good at speaking English on Fuwanovel because they use it everyday on this forum. The more you talk in an L2 and read for pleasure (and I don't even mean VNs, because kindergarten level books help as well), the more you'll know.

 

This man says it well: http://www.fluentin3months.com/easy-japanese

[arakura]

Well, I think what's 'practical' is just a measure of how far you are willing to go for learning. I'm sure you won't die a tragic death after years of suffering if you choose to save up your money, quit your job, and move to japan for some immersion. It's just not worth it for most people. If you really care, then I think that immersion will give you the ultimate results, but if it's something you simply have a big interest in, then people can and have learned in the standard way that zoom talks about. It has worked in the past, but tends to produce weaker speakers, from what I have seen and heard.

[RinXD]

Best way to learn japanese is something like rosetta stone and practice, being immersed helps but only really with picking up dialect while speaking.

[Chronopolis]

 

So, first you complete this learning period where you assimilate the basic grammar and some essential vocabulary, and read example dialogs and such with the textbook holding your hand.  After that, you are ready to dive into reading for real.  Perhaps "dive" is the wrong word here, because it's a more gradual process than that.  Here is where the internalization happens that Clephas mentions.  As you read, your mind will absorb that subtle language information that isn't part of the textbook rules.  It is an important step but it happens automagically.  The key to making this happen is to read some every day.  Note that reading Japanese for an hour out of a day, and watching a couple of hours of anime, in a day otherwise spent using English can hardly be called "immersion."  It is just called "practice."  But it will be enough--that is, as long as you didn't skimp on grammar learning and as long as you are satisfied with just reading and not speaking.

This, total immersion is not required...I never did it. What's needed is hundreds of hours of practice, and the easiest way to do that for most people is making it a close to everyday thing.

 

Though...without exposure to RL conversation japanese (J-drama's are a lot closer than anime/VN's) and much speaking practice, I ended up both lacking knowledge of conversational phrases and skill generating sentences, replying, and holding a conversation, despite having strong grammar sense and a decent vocabulary from reading. After you hit intermediate level, it starts to depends what material you have exposure to and what you spend time practicing (reading, writing, speaking, listening).

 

Most katakana terms are essentially the same as their originals, but ones like マンション (which is basically a certain type of rental apartment) really don't mean the same as their original term.  About seventy percent of everyone who tries to learn Japanese never fix their understanding of terms like these, so pay attention to things that you think are used oddly, so you can understand how your initial understanding could be wrong.

This. That in itself is not a big problem, but it's a symptom of a more serious one (see below).

 

This is the most important step of learning Japanese.  If you are having to logically consider what particles turn a sentence into and transform Japanese into English to understand it, you will never, ever be fluent.

To be more clear:

Parsing japanese in logical units of meaning and then trying to figure out the meaning from there is OK.

Turning the japanese into english before deciphering the meaning is what Clephas is talking about, and you should avoid that from day one. For example, when you think of 元気（genki), you should recall the places you've heard it used (元気ですか？　はい、元気です。　；　とても元気な子。） and tie the word's meaning to that, rather than turn it into english and then interpret that english.

 

The following is a bit more for early intermediate learners who have begun to read native material:

Attaching 脆い to english definitions like "brittle" are ok, though one thing about building connotations for the word: associate the word with the contexts you see it in, not the connotations of the english keywords you are using (ie. "brittle" or "fragile").

[Cyrillej1]

This, total immersion is not required...I never did it. What's needed is hundreds of hours of practice, and the easiest way to do that for most people is making it a close to everyday thing.

 

I still think Japanese is harder to learn than you think. xD  ..but that could just be me.

 

It mostly comes down to constant studying and willingness to put time & effort to getting better at it all the time.  I agree with Chrono's statement about it requiring lots of practice and making it a everyday thing.  I think that's the most important to learning Japanese, is the motivation to keep going and not give up.. patience to let your mind absorb at its own pace too.  

[Down]

This man says it well: http://www.fluentin3months.com/easy-japanese

Uh... This guide is filled to the brim with very dubious arguments. His very first point is english loan words, which is precisely one of the huge pitfalls that several people brought up in this thread.

Honestly if you learn japanese and know english you basically know how to say coffee and 3 other words and that's about it. In my (admittedly limited, japanese experts feel free to correct me) experience of japanese, the most commonly used loan words are precisely those that have a different meaning from their english counterparts. Lots of kana stuff have also been deformed to the point of being unrecognizable, I honestly find those more troublesome than kanjis sometimes since they're harder to look up.

 

That aside, most of his point are non-arguments that are just describing properties of the language that don't exactly make it easier or harder to learn. (and usually he only brings up the positive side of things)

 

 

I don't think japanese is any harder or easier to learn than another language, but it's simply that learning a language and achieving a certain degree of fluency takes fucktons of time and some effort, no matter what.

[Snowtsuku]

I don't think japanese is any harder or easier to learn than another language, but it's simply that learning a language and achieving a certain degree of fluency takes fucktons of time and some effort, no matter what.

Pretty much. Time to learn the language is the only problem I have.

[Bolverk]

I agree with OP, but.

 

Even if the end goal of learning Japanese is becoming fluent. I believe you can get quite far in terms of thinking and speaking fluently without going to Japan. In terms of immersion, it's never really truly 100% only the new language. You might need to keep in contact with your parents. Paperwork, stuff always happens. It's terms of little to much. You can get a lot from just formulating all your thoughts in that new language, read in it, talk in it and write in it. Like replacing all of your eng vn reading, with jp vn's. Still, I agree going to Japan would be the ideal. But that's quite a big commitment.

I honestly don't care much about being able to speak or write for now. I just want to read vn's. lol.

 

As for the katakana words similar to English. I found it easiest to just consider them new words to learn. Only difference is that many are easier to remember.

 

Bottom line, I pretty much agree with Chrono.

[edwd2]

As a native Chinese speaker, learning Japanese was easier for obvious reasons. French was the hardest to learn though, I immigrated to Canada over a decade ago so luckily, I was young at the time. Then learning English after French was also easier.

[Christfall]

IMO, learning Japanese is no different than learning any other language. People who knows Asian language will have easier time to learn Japanese, just like how people who knows Western Language will have easier time learning other language that use English alphabets. However it still boils down to how people is willing to put in the time, and more importantly, the EFFORT to learn. Naturally, the ones who are truly passionate in reading VNs will voluntarily learn and get down to business and not sitting to wait for translations only.