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Hey Li. Welcome to TF :). Good luck with learning Japanese.
Hey Ari. Welcome to TF :) . Seeing a non Japanese person able to speak Japanese makes me envious but full of confidence knowing that it is achievable. It is also one of the reasons why I’m learning it too. Good luck with your studies.
Koichi made a video on how to pronounce it halfway through chapter 6. http://www.textfugu.com/season-1/japanese-grammar-with-yoda/6-4/
Hey orianna. Welcome to TF. Good luck with learning Japanese :)
I agree with you both when you say it depends on a persons aspirations, goals and situations they will find themselves in, that determines a level of fluency. Situations such as being able to read shop signs, menus, talking with the natives, and writing/typing are all definitely acheivable when learning a second language/subsequent languges.
Reading classical texts or teaching a class in another language will definitely be harder and require a higher level of fluency.
I think we all make mistakes with grammar and spelling, even in our native language. When I write an official document, I always use spell check to check over my spelling and grammar.
When I speak to people who aren’t native English speakers, I’m very forgiving on spelling mistakes and grammer errors. As long as I can make out what they’re trying to say either written or spoken, I don’t mind too much.
Hey Shelley & Brad. Welcome to TF. :)
@ Drawing Daggers
Your welcome. Good luck with your studies and future goals.
Welcome to TF :)
Welcome to TF :)
That’s good to know. I think my main concern if I knew Mandarin and Cantonese would be getting them mixed up or using an incorrect tone. Mandarin will definitely surge in popularity in the future.
The subject of fluency is interesting. My definition of fluency is not necessarily about how much vocabularly you know, but more to do with grammar. How sentences are structured, rules, use of verbs, adjectives, nouns, etc. Vocabularly can be picked up any time, but if you understand and know how to use grammar correctly, you will find it alot easier learning a language and maybe one day reaching the level of a native speaker. Of course, reaching a level of a native speaker takes years. When learning our native language, we are fully immersed in it 24/7 and pick up things naturally without intentionally learning about them.
Knowing alot of vocabularly does help alot too. They both fit in with each other.
I’d be happy just knowing enough of the languages I want to learn to use in day to day life.
Welcome to the forums Delphine. Good luck learning Japanese :)
@ Yippy
Thanks. If I have anymore questions, I’ll be sure to ask. As for the overseas Chinese communities in countries like the USA and Australia, from sites I’ve read, it seems they speak Cantonese as their main/first dialact due to originating from places like Canton Province/Guangdong Province in China. Cantonese is also one of the main languages in Hong Kong along with English. Recently I read that there’s been a rise in Mandarin speakers in the overseas communities who come from Mandarin speaking areas in the mainland. I wonder if eventually there will be more Mandarin speakers than Cantonese ones in the overseas communities?
I really would love to know both Mandarin and Cantonese once I feel I have learned enough Japanese. The satisfaction you get from knowing another language is truely a unique feeling.
I’m not as advance into my studies as other people on TextFugu yet, but I’m also guessing that the popularity of western culture plays a part too. The younger generation in Japan are more likely to have been exposed to the English language and elements of western culture compared to the older generation.
Hey Kevin. Welcome to TF. It’s great you’ve been to Japan before. Good luck learning Japanese on here. If you need any help or questions answering, don’t hesitate to ask :)
@ Kaylan
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 also. I’m upgrading to Android 4.0 ICS today :).
Anyway, back on topic. I agree that using Anki on a pc/mac, smartphone or iPod touch is better than using physical cards. It’s not that physical cards are bad or anything, it’s just a pain carrying them around and there’s loads of cards in all 3 volumes of the WRP series. I think WRP should release digital versions of their flash cards so people can use them with SRS like Anki or Mnemosyne. I also bought the WRP Kana flashcards and used them for abit before I discovered TextFugu. As with the Kanji flashcards, they are useful but having all the cards in digital format is so much more convenient.
