NationStates Jolt Archive

I was watching Takeshi's Castle the other day and I was wondering what the contestants we're yelling so I decided I'm going to learn to speak Japanese. I know a few words.. Nintendo.. Samurai.. Wasabi.. but considering after five years of german I only know how to say "I have chocolate." and "What time is it?" I was wondering if you have any tips? What are your experiences of learning a new language?

Takeshis castle, the best god damn show on the plant, thankyou and goodbye.

Japanese? Sehr interessant, auch sehr schwer. Fur Japanese mussen Sie ein ganze neue Buchstaben lernen, und es ist nichts wie die Englische Buchstaben - ganz besonders.
But hey, if you want to learn Japanese, go for it. Enrol in night school or something. I fancy learning Welsh myself, as, although I live in England, I am ancestrally Welsh and I woudl like to learn the language of my heritage.

CYMRU AM BYTH! PLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLAD! PEN-AUR-Y-CHALON WIR!

i just watch MXC on spike

i know its not litteral translation but im betting its just as funny if not funnier

Japanese is an interesting language to learn, but it's tough going unless you can come into contact with it in daily life. Not only do you have to learn all the new grammar patterns, there are three new alphabets - hiragana and katakana are simple enough, but kanji has some 2000 - I think - characters (and the latter pops up in most written texts). Because I couldn't get in the daily practice (all of the Japanese people I met over here could speak really good English anyway, and i've never been overseas to use it in any other context outside of school), I eventually stopped learning it...I can only learn and remember so much from books alone.

I'd recommend a language based on the latin alphabet if you're learning a new language for the first time. It'd be much simpler to practice with outside of textbooks, even if it's only reading random wikipedia articles in that language or something.

Trilby63']I was watching Takeshi's Castle the other day and I was wondering what the contestants we're yelling so I decided I'm going to learn to speak Japanese. I know a few words.. Nintendo.. Samurai.. Wasabi.. but considering after five years of german I only know how to say "I have chocolate." and "What time is it?" I was wondering if you have any tips? What are your experiences of learning a new language?

Don't go to a class. Classes do not teach slang Japanese, but that literal stuff no one uses. So learn it from someone FROM Japan.

Don't go to a class. Classes do not teach slang Japanese, but that literal stuff no one uses. So learn it from someone FROM Japan.

Well you could take a class taught by someone from Japan, no? (I did.)

Baka. ;)

Trilby63']I was watching Takeshi's Castle the other day and I was wondering what the contestants we're yelling so I decided I'm going to learn to speak Japanese. I know a few words.. Nintendo.. Samurai.. Wasabi.. but considering after five years of german I only know how to say "I have chocolate." and "What time is it?" I was wondering if you have any tips? What are your experiences of learning a new language?
The only thing I can say in Japanese is 'press the green button on the telephone please'. No, seriously.

Because i love takeshis castle so much:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OCRuRLUzfU

The only thing I can say in Japanese is 'press the green button on the telephone please'. No, seriously.

Really? How do you say it?

my husband knows Japanese, he uses this knowledge to mumble things as I walk out of the room.......it's quite annoying. If you find a way to learn it, let me know, I would love to come back with a smart assed comment in Japanese just to scare him. ;)

He learned while he was a missionary in Japan, so I don't know the method he used.

The best way to learn Japanese is to marry a hot Japanese chick. :)

Edit: Not implying that Smunkee's husband learned it that way. :D

I think that, after learning a language from one group (i.e., Germanic, Slavic, Romance, etc.), trying to learn one from another group is extremely difficult. A native English speaker, I studied Spanish for several years, then tried German. It was rough.

The best way to learn Japanese is to marry a hot Japanese chick. :)


You just made me wanna learn Japanese. :p

my sister learned a long time ago by getting a Japanese Dictionary and having an overseas penpal
I only know how to say hi, my name is..ect how are you doing? that really simple stuff

Japanese is a difficult language to learn, especially if you know english. This is in part because the grammar is completely different. If you want to learn japanese you probably should take a class.

I speak 3 languages fluently. Mandarin, Cantonese and (case in point) English.

You ain't tried to learn a hard language until you learnt mandarin Chinese and their script system.

Japanese? Sehr interessant, auch sehr schwer. Fur Japanese mussen Sie ein ganze neue Buchstaben lernen, und es ist nichts wie die Englische Buchstaben - ganz besonders.
But hey, if you want to learn Japanese, go for it. Enrol in night school or something. I fancy learning Welsh myself, as, although I live in England, I am ancestrally Welsh and I woudl like to learn the language of my heritage.

CYMRU AM BYTH! PLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLAD! PEN-AUR-Y-CHALON WIR!
That German didn't sound right, but it's too good for Babelfish. Congratulations! :D

http://www.rosettastone.com/en/individuals/languages/japanese

:)

Good luck. :) I know someone who took Japanese in college and loved it, but also found it fairly difficult. I love languages, despite the fact that the only ones I can speak with any accuracy are English and French. I also used to speak Italian fairly well, though that ability is rapidly declining due to disuse. I've found that the best way to learn and maintain a second (or third/fourth/etc.) language is to be immersed in it. Any chance you'll be moving to Japan? ;)

http://www.japanesepod101.com/

Start from the beginner lessons, pretty helpful.

Nihon wa sugoi, ne? ^_^

It's the sort of language that's easier to learn to speak and write phonetically first. Once you've got that, the actual writing comes quite a lot more easily. However, learning Kanji will take a long time. I, for one, don't intend to bother save for the odd useful symbol here and there.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I found that learning the underlying mechanisms that make language work (phonology, orthography, different kinds of grammar etc.) helped me to learn a load of languages. I can't speak them all fluently, but I can read and write in several languages - mostly indo-European.

why do people always want to learn Japanese :confused:

I myself might take up German, Polish or maybe (dare I say it) Swedish so that I can feel well educated (though I'll probably just get caught up in other things and forget about it:( )

I can't even speak English properly. :(

I took Japanese 1, but without being able to practice it in everyday life, I've forgotten most of what I learned now. I found it pretty easy to pick up that level of knowledge at the time, though. Yeah, the grammar's screwy-seeming to an English speaker, but rather than trying to learn it strictly in a "sterile"-academic/bookish manner, it was easier to try to learn it like basic English grammar is actually learned by kids: "Getting a feel" for how sentences are formed, and then refining it in a more academic way.

Plus, fun was, like Yoda speak, to. (That's probably a bit wrong, since it's been so long since I took that class. But you get the general idea; you pick up the patterns soon enough.)

In the manner of most languages, it's of course easiest to remember how to curse in it. I still remember some of the phrases I got from Outrageous Japanese. So I can tell somebody to "go to hell" ("Bachi de mo ataryagare!" or "kono bachi atari me!" according to the book) quite readily. Too bad less than 1% of the people around me would know what I said...

why do people always want to learn JapaneseWhen I took it, it was because I thought it might become useful for some business communications (which turned out to be totally unneeded).

But now, I'd like to bring my knowledge back up because I like RPG games, and there are A LOT that are released over there that are never released in the US (and therefore aren't translated). And an unreadable RPG is about as useful as a coaster.

In my everyday life outside of game-playing, I foresee a greater use for Spanish. Before I move to Florida I'll probably learn at least a basic amount of it. On trips there, I've seen that a lot of skilled-trades people were fluent only in Spanish. Which irks me, but not as much as the winters in Michigan do ;)

www.thejapanesepage.com

This site is unbelievably helpful. Complete Hiragana and Katakana lessons, Kanji, and grammar. It's done by a guy who's lived in Japan for about fifteen years, and his wife (who is native Japanese) helps out with the site.

It's rock-solid stuff.

I've learnt the hiragana, but how in hell are you supposed to pronounce ra, ri, ru etc.? I've heard the r should be like a d, an l, and an r. Which one is it?

I've learnt the hiragana, but how in hell are you supposed to pronounce ra, ri, ru etc.? I've heard the r should be like a d, an l, and an r. Which one is it?

The link I provided has sound clips for each Hiragana/Katakana. For the R's, it's a cross between an "R" and an "L" sound.

I might learn Chinese in college because of the engineering opportunities there...

I suggest listening to some Japanese first.. there's nothing more disappointing than learning too late that you can't pronounce half the sounds in the language..

Apart from having learned English (and still picking up a new word or learning the correct spelling or pronouncing of another, once in a rare while) I'm slowly learning Japanese. (currently, about two thirds of my vocabulary comes from the hentai I've watched:p)

I suggest listening to some Japanese first.. there's nothing more disappointing than learning too late that you can't pronounce half the sounds in the language..

Nah, Japanese is easy like that.

Watashi wa chotto Nihongo o hanashimasu.

Sumimasen. Daigaku ga doko desu ka.

Tabemono ga suki ja nai desu.

Biiru ga arimasu ka.

Sumimasen ga, chotto...

Sudoku ga joozu desu.

Really? How do you say it?
It's something like (warning: non-standard romanisation of Japanese): denwar no sheroi botano osheetay kudasai

Trilby63']I was watching Takeshi's Castle the other day and I was wondering what the contestants we're yelling so I decided I'm going to learn to speak Japanese. I know a few words.. Nintendo.. Samurai.. Wasabi.. but considering after five years of german I only know how to say "I have chocolate." and "What time is it?" I was wondering if you have any tips? What are your experiences of learning a new language?

1. Move to the country in question.
2. Get a live-in girlfriend who is from that country.

In six months, you'll speak like a native.

I've learnt the hiragana, but how in hell are you supposed to pronounce ra, ri, ru etc.? I've heard the r should be like a d, an l, and an r. Which one is it?

You sort of roll the R.

1. Move to the country in question.
2. Get a live-in girlfriend who is from that country.

In six months, you'll speak like a native.

Hell, doesn't take that long. I picked up a Chilean accent -- and they've got an odd accent -- to my Spanish in just a couple of days.

I'd like to learn Greek or Hebrew. Greek because I learnt ancient greek and i'd like to use it in some way and hebrew because it looks so cool!!!

I'd like to learn Greek or Hebrew. Greek because I learnt ancient greek
I think you'll find the language has changed just a little in the last two thousand years...

I think you'll find the language has changed just a little in the last two thousand years...
Its the principle! Mabe it got rid of all those untranslatable tenses..... You can always dream!

Hell, doesn't take that long. I picked up a Chilean accent -- and they've got an odd accent -- to my Spanish in just a couple of days.

Cluich, your Spanish sounds funny - kinda like a woman screaming in orgasm...

Cluich, your Spanish sounds funny - kinda like a woman screaming in orgasm...

Uh...I don't believe you've heard me speak English, let alone Spanish...

Uh...I don't believe you've heard me speak English, let alone Spanish...
If it's not you, whose voice have I been hearing in my head all this time?

If it's not you, whose voice have I been hearing in my head all this time?

*waves* :)

my husband knows Japanese, he uses this knowledge to mumble things as I walk out of the room.......it's quite annoying. If you find a way to learn it, let me know, I would love to come back with a smart assed comment in Japanese just to scare him. ;)
Next time he gets up to leave the room, mutter "Goyukkuri" just as he's walking out.
It's Japanese for 'Take your time'.

If it's not you, whose voice have I been hearing in my head all this time?

Blame Ruffy. :p

I've learnt the hiragana, but how in hell are you supposed to pronounce ra, ri, ru etc.? I've heard the r should be like a d, an l, and an r. Which one is it?

Meh, pronounce it however you want, chances are the Japanese will make fun of you no matter how you speak.

Do the Japanese actually say "itadakimasu" or is it just an anime thing?

I honestly dont know, Id like to learn a new language, Ive just always been too lazy to. I did take 1 year of Spanish and 4 years of Latin in HS...but thats not really learning much. Id LOVE to learn Afrikaans, and since I speak English, Im already halfway there, but where would I learn it around here?
Tis a good question, though

I honestly dont know, Id like to learn a new language, Ive just always been too lazy to. I did take 1 year of Spanish and 4 years of Latin in HS...but thats not really learning much. Id LOVE to learn Afrikaans, and since I speak English, Im already halfway there, but where would I learn it around here?
Tis a good question, though
:confused: This has me puzzled. Why would you think you're halfway to learning Afrikaans because you speak English? Am I missing something here?

:confused: This has me puzzled. Why would you think you're halfway to learning Afrikaans because you speak English? Am I missing something here?Indeed a bit odd as it's pretty much a dialect of Dutch..

why do people always want to learn Japanese :confused:

I myself might take up German, Polish or maybe (dare I say it) Swedish so that I can feel well educated (though I'll probably just get caught up in other things and forget about it:( )
That's interesting that you think you would like to learn Swedish to feel well educated. Out of those, I would chose German, probably the most 'valuable' to be able to speak. In my experience, the proportion of Germans with a very good command of English is far lower than amongst us Swedes. The benefit of learning Swedish is though that you should be able to understand Norwegian with no problems also and also Danish with a bit more of a struggle (at least in speech, written is no problem).

But, English people living here that I have met have complained that it's hard to learn Swedish in Sweden for an English-speaker, as they find that we just switch automatically to English with them and therefore they don't get so many chances to use their Swedish and it's not so "forced" that they need to learn it.

Anime. I know two people who have a descent understanding of of Japanese from Anime. Start with Japanese w/ English subtitles, then (once you know the plot of the episode) get the same episodes without the subtitles.

It won't be great Japanese, but it would probably help. Especially if you can really get into it. Having a good Japanese tutorial could be helpfull too.

Blame Ruffy. :p
Time to get my tinfoil hat on, methinks!

Time to get my tinfoil hat on, methinks!


http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y138/Dragonkirby/Non-Kirby/Photos/ruffy.jpg

all the japanese I know is like...Agari, tea...Ah! Gari! I am so full! I cannot eat one more piece of Gari!

then "desu" is like "there is" or "is"...hey, how about I just tell you all the Burmese I know? I know all the inappropriate rude words...you know, chi pa, day pow, ee pow, guasey, gobia (dustpan, or as my grandpa says, "It's like shovel, or you know when you sweep the floor, the stuff you put the dirt into.")

all the japanese I know is like...Agari, tea...Ah! Gari! I am so full! I cannot eat one more piece of Gari!

then "desu" is like "there is" or "is"...hey, how about I just tell you all the Burmese I know? I know all the inappropriate rude words...you know, chi pa, day pow, ee pow, guasey, gobia (dustpan, or as my grandpa says, "It's like shovel, or you know when you sweep the floor, the stuff you put the dirt into.")

"Desu" is a partical that shows state of being. It's one very simple, concise word.

How about going to www.thejapanesepage.com to learn Japanese for real?

Rameria, well yes, I was being intentionally obscure. Most people dont know this, but on the Linguistics Tree, the closest developed language to Afrikaans (also known as the newest separate language) is actually English, even though its a bastardization of Dutch (primarily), English, Sotho, Tswana, and Zulu....if someone speaks English as their learned language, they often have an easier time reading Afrikaans (Ive done it) than someone who speaks Dutch as their original language.

Takeshis castle, the best god damn show on the plant, thankyou and goodbye.

I like the MXC version of TC :).

I like the MXC version of TC :).

MXC was how I found out about Takeshi's Castle...it's one of those weirdly cool shows that could only be imagined in Japan.

MXC was how I found out about Takeshi's Castle...it's one of those weirdly cool shows that could only be imagined in Japan.

I have to ask: How much different is the real Takeshi's Castle compared to MXC?

I mean, I fricking love MXC as it is. But what's it like, uncut and without the overdubbing?

I have to ask: How much different is the real Takeshi's Castle compared to MXC?

I mean, I fricking love MXC as it is. But what's it like, uncut and without the overdubbing?
I'm pretty sure that there are less contestants with the last name Bubbaganush.

I'm pretty sure that there are less contestants with the last name Bubbaganush.

Aw... "Crabcake Bubbaganush" is my favorite!

I might learn Chinese in college because of the engineering opportunities there...

小子, 一个明智的选择。
(Wise choice, young man.)

小子, 一个明智的选择。
(Wise choice, young man.)

I'd like to take Chinese someday, too, but if I took it now, it would interfere with my Japanese.

Now, I know the second Kanji you have there... In Japanese, anyway. It's the Kanji for "young" or "child". Shi and Ko are the readings.

That German didn't sound right, but it's too good for Babelfish. Congratulations! :D

Why thankyou. I try my best. I thought it was BRILLIANT for saying I haven't had a German lesson for three months. Brava to me.

The Welsh was right though.

CYMRU AM BYTH!

Why does nobody want to learn Welsh???
It is an awesome language, so many strange rules and weird sounding vowels. And, because only 710,000 people worldwide speak it (the majority of whom live in Wales) you can hurl Welsh insults at people and there is only the tiniest minority that they will know what you mean.

Mae Cymraeg iaith hen Cymru fynyddig, paradwys y bardd a gwlad beirdd a chantorion a enwogion o fri!

I am trying to learn Russian at the moment. The Cyrillic alphabet is quite interesting. I am taking a course in the language at my university next year.

I did get a GCSE (a basic British qualification) in German about 4 years ago and I wish I had carried on with it. I may do so at some point in the future.

I really do despise the general attitude of the English speaking world when it comes to learning a new language. Everyone seems to believe that because lots of foreign natives know how to speak English, it is somehow a pointless exercise to learn their language as well.

I am trying to learn Russian at the moment. The Cyrillic alphabet is quite interesting. I am taking a course in the language at my university next year.

I did get a GCSE (a basic British qualification) in German about 4 years ago and I wish I had carried on with it. I may do so at some point in the future.

I really do despise the general attitude of the English speaking world when it comes to learning a new language. Everyone seems to believe that because lots of foreign natives know how to speak English, it is somehow a pointless exercise to learn their language as well.

Au contraire, mon frer. If you are able to understand the idiosyncrasies of other languages, you get more out of them. I present this commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAuMX0_8Wbg) as an example. It's amusing enough on it's own, but it's funnier in Russian.:D