Do you understand Japanese ?

[Gazpacho]

I have learned Japanese for many years. My level is good enough to watch anime in OV (but with subtitles to help). I was wondering how many of you can follow an anime in Japanese.

[Vexx]

I guess there isn't enough choices.... so I just picked the one closest.
1) I can watch anime without subtitles but it depends on how much jargon or punnery is going on before I need a subtitle assist. I understand enough that I get really twitchy at awkward, poor, incorrect, or sloppy subtitle translations.
2) I can read at about the, um, 2nd or 3rd grade japanese school level without reaching for a dictionary ... so something like Yotsuba is little problem, but a light novel requires me to be using scratchpad, kanji dictionary, and general dictionary most of the time.
3) I'm terrible at *speaking* Japanese because I do not get enough practice. Time for more conversational lessons I guess.

[synaesthetic]

I speak two languages, English and bad English.

Seriously I did take Japanese in junior college when I was younger, but I never finished it. Now that I'm headed back to college, I'm going to need a foreign language as part of my "stuff we make people take for a degree even if you won't use it" and I'm considering what language would be most useful as an electrical engineer... which means... probably Chinese!

But I may go and pick Japanese back up.

[Theowne]

While I'm just guessing at what OV means, I guess the closest match is "I can watch an anime in OV with some help of English subs." Essentially I have a pretty strong grasp of Japanese conversation and sentence structure, but am lacking in the vocabulary department. So subtitles sometimes serve as an "instant dictionary" for different words.

This is one of the reasons that these quasi-translated Japanese books like the "Read Real Japanese" series are so helpful - they translate only vocabulary and leave you to read the actual sentences, so it allows you to strengthen your grasp of Japanese grammar even if you haven't completed the monumental task of acquiring all the vocabulary.

As for reading without that assistance, unfortunately kanji is a whole another mountain I need to climb.

[Lady P!nk]

I don't speak japanese but, i doo understand some easy word, not hard one :3

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

I speak two languages, English and bad English.

Seriously I did take Japanese in junior college when I was younger, but I never finished it. Now that I'm headed back to college, I'm going to need a foreign language as part of my "stuff we make people take for a degree even if you won't use it" and I'm considering what language would be most useful as an electrical engineer... which means... probably Chinese!

But I may go and pick Japanese back up.

Yeah, for the same reason I took Russian back in my EE college days (during the Cold War), I'd suggest Mandarin/Chinese. You're likely to be working with them at some point. But that's also true of Japanese -- they're doing a lot of engineering research as well.

[Raiga]

Closest to the third option I guess. I generally treat subtitles as footnotes for vocabulary or fast-talking, or I just read them if I'm feeling tired/lazy.

As for reading, I've quickly amassed a completely useless kanji vocabulary from spending too much time lurking places like Nico. '_'

[RadiantBeam]

Gonna go with the third option. I've been watching anime and such long enough now to know the meanings of some things said in Japanese, but I still prefer to read the subs if it's going by too fast or if they're getting detailed with some things.

[Kaelidoscopes]

I can watch the Japanese version without subtitles and can for the most part follow what's going on, but I've always preferred to watch anime with subtitles.

[Chrisjon]

Unfortunately I have just recently got into anime about 2 months ago. I can understand the very simple stuff and I am starting to understand structure a bit more, but other then that I am completely dependent of the subtitles. Hopefully I will come to understand the langauge more as I teach myself Japanese and watch anime.

[Spring-heeled Jack]

Meh, It wouldn't be worth the effort really. Learning Spanish and French was bad enough, but i guess compared to freakin Japanese, they're a cakewalk lol. Going through that kind of hell just to read/understand some foreign cartoons seems like to much of a hassle for the wrong reasons : /

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Spring-heeled Jack

Meh, It wouldn't be worth the effort really. Learning Spanish and French was bad enough, but i guess compared to freakin Japanese, they're a cakewalk lol. Going through that kind of hell just to read/understand some foreign cartoons seems like to much of a hassle for the wrong reasons : /

You're right.. if thats the *only* reason, one will probably fail. OTOH, if one is interested in Japanese culture in general (of which anime/manga is one component), then learning the language is helpful just as it is for understanding any other culture. Often time, what is important to a culture (principles, values, etc) comes out in the language constructs when it might be otherwise hidden.

Also... people should remember that a great deal of anime uses what is coarse/vulgar/uncivil grammar and etiquette that you'd never see in daily real life. Polite language is best learned first... then one can loosen up.

I've lost count of the fansub translations where it is pretty clear the translate/edit/qc team have a crappy grasp of their target language (English), much less the original Japanese, so YMMV.

[Qikz]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I guess there isn't enough choices.... so I just picked the one closest.
1) I can watch anime without subtitles but it depends on how much jargon or punnery is going on before I need a subtitle assist. I understand enough that I get really twitchy at awkward, poor, incorrect, or sloppy subtitle translations.
2) I can read at about the, um, 2nd or 3rd grade japanese school level without reaching for a dictionary ... so something like Yotsuba is little problem, but a light novel requires me to be using scratchpad, kanji dictionary, and general dictionary most of the time.
3) I'm terrible at *speaking* Japanese because I do not get enough practice. Time for more conversational lessons I guess.

Pretty much this, maybe a little bit lower than you on the grade level though, but I've only been learning for around 6 months. I can watch anime without subtitles and get the general gist of what's going on, same with J-Dramas. I watched Densha Otoko for the first time I could generally understand it other than when there's a few people talking at once or they start talking really fast

I just have trouble remembering words, so playing through a game is quite useful, especially Persona as certain words just keep coming up over and over again making the Kanji kind of cement itself in my mind.

I'm terrible at speaking Japanese mainly due to the fact I'm still at the stage I find it really difficult to make up my own sentances. I think my pronounciation is alright though for my level, if I'm saying something out loud I generally don't have a problem other than when words have like loads of similar symbols close together. :P

[Haladflire65]

I lived in Japan for a year so my Japanese got good enough to go to a normal Japanese middle school with not much problem. The language used in anime and manga are quite simplistic so I have no problem understanding them, but I can't say I'm completely fluent >.<

[Kafriel]

I've picked up some general notions off of anime and manga, so I can listen and speak bits and pieces, but my reading/writing skills are zero, save for a few kanji. If I actually bothered to learn Japanese, I bet I'd be good at it since I'm familiar with the syntax.

[Jaden]

I haven't learned japanese in any other way than watching translated media, and I've become able to understand the bulk of what they're saying without subs...I picked the third option. I've even corrected fansubbers a few times.

[Repelsteeltju]

I'll pick the third option. I've been watching anime for almost three years so I have a decent understanding of what is said without subtitles. But when characters are talking fast or using more difficult words I sure am glad that I'm watching a subbed version.... When I am of course.

Not to sure on the meaning of 'OV' mentioned in the poll. Original voices perhaps?