Absorbing Language ...

Nenji · Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 6:34 pm Post subject:

I used Nakama, Youkoso! In second year, last year we used one called J-Bridge, which is also all in Japanese as well. Nakama was very good though, we used the second book, but I've contemplated getting the first one as well as our in house textbook we used in first year wasn't very good.

Another good thing about Nakama is that it intoduces Kanji every chapter, usually relating to the topic covered in that chapter. Kanji are difficult for beginners and it's easy to want to stick with Hiragana, but Kanji make reading Japanese a lot easier to read, you no longer have to worry about hononyms and they are generally quite handy.

If you're serious about learning Japanese to the best of your abilities, then on top of Izu's suggestions I would recommend buying Kodansha's Dictionary to Japanese Gammar, it comes in three volumes of Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced but is an incredibly useful reference for grammar. It doesn't cover verb conjugation in depth but it does cover a lot of other things. I've found it to be invaluable.
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Mona Risa · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:46 am Post subject:

I gotta agree with Izumi about MnN that it's very bland and not THE best book for a beginner. Alas our policy at Uni is to throw freshman students upcreek without a paddle. It also focuses a lot on the office life, and uses example only from that environment. So basically, you'll learn words like Life Insurrance or Alien Registration Bureau, but not Rabbit or anything simple.

Another book that is helpful for learning kanji (and what practically every student here has) is Kanji & Kana. It comes with explanations on how kanji is written, complete with stroke order.

When it comes to kanji dictionaries, I prefer the Kodansha Essential Kanji Dictionary. That, or the Nelson, but that book is HUGE and not to mention expensive. I also have an electronic dictionary, but if you are just starting out, that kind of thing is not necessary.
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NetOperator Wibby · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:26 pm Post subject:

I also realized that learning grammar from anime could be a bad idea simply because phrases like "kisama" are thrown around often [depending on what you watch].
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Nenji · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:21 am Post subject:

Kisama is a word and not a phrase or grammar structure. It's sort of equivalent to bastard but not entirely like a swear-word. For instance Burai/Rogue calls everyone Kisama in Ryuusei 3/Starforce 3! XD
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NetOperator Wibby · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:26 am Post subject:

Ah okay. But yeah, I figured as much.
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Mona Risa · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:35 am Post subject:

Stuff like anime, games and manga is great for when you want to learn really casual Japanese. But in a regular conversation, it's best to NOT use this kind of language, since being polite is a very important thing in Japan.

Since I also only knew Japanese from anime prior to coming to Uni, I was kind of surprised finding out that words like "ore" are actually pretty rare in a regular polite conversation.
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Unknown Neo · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 1:41 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I can kind of figured that. It kind of sounds old-ish doesn't it.

Saito-kun · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:15 pm Post subject:

There are too many words for me and you. Shocked

ACME-Rian · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:04 pm Post subject:

Heh heh...might as well share my story:

I've tried taking up another language...and the results haven't been so great.Tried taking up Latin,but it didn't work.Spanish...not so great...

I tried taking Chinese(My parents' native language) FOUR TIMES...it didn't stick in my head.

Funny thing is...I took Malay in my Junior year of High School.Stuck in my head for a few months...

Japanese...tried remembering stuff...not working...

So...here I am...a Freshman in college...with only fragments on English and other language words from my art classes ringing in my head with fragments from failed languages trailing behind.
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Dark Roll · Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 2:12 pm Post subject:

i would sugest buying a laguage book, kana flashcards, and a kana/kanji workbook. my sugestions are what i have:

-idiots guide to learning japanese for the language book. (i have more books from this seiries, it is a realy good source of learning material)

-white rabbit kana flash cards, they have the letter and 5 vocab words on each card, and have helpful tips that actually help.

-and japanese for buisy people for the workbook. you can buy this rominized or in kana. i recommend buying it in kana, you will reenforce how to read each character this way, and become a faster reader.

to show my way works=

-i have rockman exe vol. 12 in nihonga (japanese) and know enough to under stand whais going on and who is doing what.

good luck!

-noko-chan