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Akenabi:
You could mention that Japanese is one of the fast spoken languages – there was a study about the relation of the amount of information packed into a single syllable and the reading speed of a language. Tofugu covered that story not long ago too ;)I like this idea for sure. Esp, considering how many Japanese people must think English sounds so fast to them.
It might be hard to explain though, but if they like the idea, I’ll bring it up.As for the orgin of kanji, although interesting, might be less interesting to a crowd interested in English.
Keep in mind, this is more of a comparison of Japanese and English, but also how each culture (and their differences) have influenced the languages.
Thanks for all the input so far! I will be having another meeting with the network tomorrow after work =D
Those are some good ideas that i’ll definitely keep in mind.
@Mark – We talked a bit about how keikog is different/similar to can/could/may etc… We also played with the idea of onomatopoeia and the likes…
@kanjiman8 – I’ll try to get it recorded so I can upload it.
Keep the ideas comin’!
You will often そ see like that.
It is generally hand written as two strokes. that top left dash like stroke, and then what almost looks like て but starts top right.
i bought anki for my iphone almost a year ago.
Best app i’ve bought.
I never use anki on my computer anymore. even when i’m infront of my comp. (unless I want to make a deck, then I make it in plain text and import it super ez)
<3 Anki on iphone. Study everyday on the subway etc..
Wow, that’s a cool story and a good reason to study. You’ve got lots of support and people to practice with!
Good luck!
Actually last week I tried making some Japanese sweets for the first time.
I made some ohagi おはぎ, imagawayaki 今川焼き, and doraiyaki ドライ焼き.
They were rather easy to make, but the imagawayaki was a bit of a pain to do it well. I don’t have a proper mold, so I tried using a muffin try on my stove… didn’t work as well as i’d hoped…
PICS v
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiaida/sets/72157629769280158/born in Canada, been living in Japan for the past 3 years tho.
カナダで生まれたけど、今まで、３年間日本に住んでる。July 1st, (sadly Canada day, but I can celebrate after writing the test =D)
I am currently working on JLPT lvl 3/2 grammar and vocab. also, building a vocab list from some manga to build kanji and vocab.
when it comes to kanji and vocab you should look elsewhere. I am not a big fan of using lists other people compiled (except at the early stages). once you have you basic vocab down, move to learning what you want to know how to say. (ie look shit up in dictionaries)
@ Sheepy: I won’t be so naive as to say my study method isn’t different because I live in Japan. Indeed it is, but there are tools that exist to give people opportunity to practice output. Be it Lang-8 or other pen-pal~like sites or the teamspeak here or whatever it may be.
If your excuse for not practicing output is that you don’t live in Japan, then I think that doesn’t hold up. We have to make our own opportunities. Even I do too. I spend all day at work speaking English and talking to my friends and family back home in English. Aside from the casual encounter at stores etc, I have to go out of my way to really “practice” Japanese speaking too.
I’m gonna have to to ahead and disagree with you on that one Mister.
Learning just Japanese->English is useless, (in my opinion). If you are unable to recall the word you want to use when you are speaking/writing Japanese, you haven’t truly learned it. Maybe, MAYBE it is in your passive vocabulary and if you are lucky, you might recognize it when you hear it… but what’s the point if you can’t use it.
Learning a language is an active process, not a passive one. Just listening and reading won’t give you any ability to communicate and use the language in question. You have to make effort to use it and teach your brain that it is important so you’ll be able to use and recall it much easier.
Wow, some interesting stories. I know we all must have a tall tale to tell that could give some insight (on a number of things I am sure, but take from it what you will)
In my case, if I look back far enough, my first encounter with Japanese culture was learning origami in grade 4 of elementary school. That started my brief interest in the country and allowed me to take note of its existence at such a young age.
After that though, it laid dormant in the background until grade 8 or 9 when I was introduced to “Akira” the anime movie by my friend. After that began a fascination with the language and culture. I bought a rudimentary book on grammar and read it casually. At that point I decided that one day I wanted to visit Japan.
I didn’t commit to it seriously, but when I entered University, I saw an opportunity to take a Japanese class (even though my major was computer science) I applied to get it as a credit towards my degree. Eventually I was granted permission but a teacher was not found and the class was pulled from that semester. After that, I focused my talents on programming.
Finally after I graduated, I reconnected with my brother who had shared my passion for Japan on some level. In January of 2009 we decided to go for it. We would apply together and move to Japan together to teach English. At that time I was a freelance programmer.
We applied to several private Eikaiwas and I moved in with my brother who was living in Toronto at the time, so I could attend the interviews easier. After that we went in for the interview and we both rocked it. They gave us the opportunity to choose what city we wanted to live in, but we just asked for the first available area with two openings near each other because we wanted to live in the same area.
Less than a month later, they had an offer for us in Sapporo. We arrived in Japan in August of 2009. My brother stayed here for his 1 year contract and decided to return to Canada. However I continue to live in Japan and my current contract has been extended until spring 2013 (with the possibility to extend further).
I still haven’t made up my mind on whether or not I could live here for the rest of my life. I do love Japan, but the hardest part is being away from your friends and family.
The greatest thing I could have EVER asked for was sharing this experience with my brother. I never felt home sick and my brother (being my best friend) got to share in the most meaningful experience of my life.
sorry for the long post. it’s hard to summarize the past 3 years, let alone something that started in grade 4..
For asking someone to help you, I might use..
時間があれば、手伝ってもらってもいいですか？ (If/when you’re free, could I receive your help?)To offer help, I wouldn’t say ‘Do you want me to help?’ as it could be interpreted too directly and perhaps rude. (手伝って欲しいですか？） Rather, Let me help you would be easier for them to refuse if they don’t need/want your help.
手伝わせてください。That is interesting and I have heard that typically in kanji, some radicals indicate meaning while others indicate pronunciation/reading.
one thing tho, this kanji 夭 is used in 笑う however, the kanji 咲 (from 咲く) is composed of 天 (as in 天気) meaning heaven
and so, in that chinese poem, it might be better translated as “birds sing, flowers bloom” referencing spring time.
I know how much of a pain in the ass kanji is. It takes a while to study it and this is one situation where stroke order/direction is more important than we might think. because 夭 and 天 are different kanji with different meanings and readings. the only difference is the first stroke. (in 夭 it is right to left, in 天 it is left to right)
This is the same problem I am sure many people have with 入 and 人 or ソ and ン.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 7 months ago by
KiaiFighter.
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