Learning Japanese

[Syaoran]

I've been studying Japanese full time for almost a year now and I'm still reluctant to type Japanese or even try to be friends with one of the many Japanese people walking around on the campus.
I still have that idea in my mind of "if you don't know how to say it correctly, stfu". It's kind of problematic and I can't manage to get rid of it ^^'

[Mueti]

Originally Posted by ShikaShika

よしゃああ、カナで書きましょう！みんあどのぐらい日本語を勉強した？俺はもうすぐ４年間前勉強を始めたけ どその間に大体自分で勉強した。もちろん自分で勉強したからする気がだんだんなくなって全部で多分１年間以 下勉強した。まあ、新年から東京で日本語の学校に入って毎日すごく疲れてしまう。今日本で勉強している メンバーがいるのかな？文法と漢字はなんとなくできるなんだけど会話はへただと思う。

まあ、それでいいか。よろしく！

Edit: Ok, I'm feeling stupid now because I looked back a few pages and noone's speaking in Japanese even...

俺の日本語の勉強を始めた時はアニメを見る始めた時と同じぐらいなんだ。それは今年の一月だよ。尊敬語と謙 譲語はまだ全然わからないけど、たくさん日本語をアニメと漫画で習っただから。日本でいるなら問題ないって 希望するけどね。なんとなく習うからと思う。
会話の事は俺にちょっと難しいんだ、誰も日本語を話す人知らないだから。

それにバカみたいって思い必要はない。ちょっと日本語で書くはいいアイデアって思うから。


きっと何か誤りあるから誰か正してください！^^

[Shiroha]

Originally Posted by Syaoran

I've been studying Japanese full time for almost a year now and I'm still reluctant to type Japanese or even find try to be friends with one of the many Japanese people walking around on the campus.
I still have that idea in my mind of "if you don't know how to say it correctly, stfu". It's kind of problematic and I can't manage to get rid of it ^^'

Hey, me too. I haven't been studying continuously for that long, but from past experience I don't like saying something that I always thought was correct and have the other person blank me

[Vexx]

I hope people remember that when immigrants get embarrassed and stumble around with their English. Learning a foreign language and trying to use it with native speakers should be required just to force some recognition into people who make fun of english-as-second-language students

I'll admit to still separating my japanese writing with spaces though I've gotten to where I'll type the short phrases together. Also, I'm sort of at the tipping point with the language. I can sound out the phonetics, spot the words about half the time without looking them up... but the kanji has me constantly scrambling for my dictionary.

I guess in real times, I might be at a Elementary Grade 2 in reading/writing... but still some kind of very oddly enhanced pre-schooler in speaking skills who (like most pre-schoolers) can listen and understand more than they can create speech.

[Mueti]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I guess in real times, I might be at a Elementary Grade 2 in reading/writing... but still some kind of very oddly enhanced pre-schooler in speaking skills who (like most pre-schoolers) can listen and understand more than they can create speech.

Of course the gap between the words you understand upon hearing and the ones you are able to use yourself is bigger for children. But even though smaller it's there for everyone. Your passive vocabulary will always exceed your active one, even in your mother-tongue. The better you know the language the less the difference but it'll never disappear.

btw, your new avatar is irritating, I used to recognise you on the spot by your old one.

[Vexx]

Heh... yeah, its always irritating when someone changes their avatar... I've gone through 4 or 5 in a few years though. Yeah, after I posted that, I thought, "idiot, thats the way *all* people work (bigger passive versus active vocab)." But on the other hand, *KNOWING* a word or phrase means being able to use it properly as well as understand it from my perspective.

[CarpeDiem]

Originally Posted by Mueti

会話の事は俺にちょっと難しいんだ、誰も日本語を話す人知らないだから。

そうですね。私は二年前の十二月から、日本語を自習しています。それなのに私には会話ができません。一緒に 日本語の会話を練習する人がないし私の単語がまだまだですから。それに、残念だけど、最近学校の学業から勉 強できません。しかし、大学に入ったら、日本語を勉強するつもりです。

とにかく、これからもよろしくお願いします。

[Nagato]

Originally Posted by FatPianoBoy

日本語には一字空けるな。

kowai
You seem to be strict person, from that sentence

Originally Posted by CarpeDiem

そうですね。私は二年前の十二月から、日本語を自習しています。それなのに私には会話ができません。一緒に 日本語の会話を練習する人がないし私の単語がまだまだですから。それに、残念だけど、最近学校の学業から勉 強できません。しかし、大学に入ったら、日本語を勉強するつもりです。

とにかく、これからもよろしくお願いします。

こちらこそ夜露死苦　J/K
よろしくお願いします。カルペさん作文上手ですね。言葉の流れが自然で、読みやすい。私は４年前かな、日本 語を始めたのは。

ところで、ここでは、ときどき自動的にスペースができたみたいね。

[AndyTran]

would it not be awesome if from now on we try to speak in Japanese as much as possible?
It'd be tons of help for my Japanese and hopefully everyone else's as well.

日本語だけ話せようか。

じゃ、じこうしょうかいさせていただきます。私も二年前日本語を始めた。あまり上手じゃないけど、日本語で 話す事を続いたら、きっと進めるよ。今ゴールは高校に卒業する前に日本能力試験二きゅうを取ります。皆、ど うぞよろしくお願いします。

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by Nagato

kowai
You seem to be strict person, from that sentence

Sorry about that. I was really tired and my polite circuits wouldn't fire. I should have said 一字空けるのは正しくない or something instead
It does bug me when people make weird mistakes like that, though. I have no idea how it would enter a person's head, since I've never seen Japanese written with spaces outside of romaaji.

Originally Posted by AndyTran

would it not be awesome if from now on we try to speak in Japanese as much as possible?
It'd be tons of help for my Japanese and hopefully everyone else's as well.

いいイデアだな。どうしてずっとそのように書かないの？

[AndyTran]

もうイデアをだしているよ。英語でちょっと書いてもいいでしょう。じゃこのスレの中に出来るまで日本語で書 こうね。

[FatPianoBoy]

それじゃ、みんな日本語で書こうよ。

……が、何を口に上したいか？

[AndyTran]

だいたい、話ってないや。ちょっと考えたけど、いい題がないさ。あの。。。ファトピアノボイさ ん、選んで。
クラスにしょうらいの事などばっかりから、そんなような事を選ばないで下さい

[Vexx]

You people are making me work too hard .... argh....

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by AndyTran

だいたい、話ってないや。ちょっと考えたけど、いい題がないさ。あの。。。ファトピアノボイさ ん、選んで。
クラスにしょうらいの事などばっかりから、そんなような事を選ばないで下さい

何で俺が選ばなきゃ？
クラスのことがだめと言ったので…　ジュースが好き？
なんてね。えーと、誰かの日本に行った事があるか？
でも、ちょっと詰まらないんだろうか。面白い話は…　ブッシュ米大統領のヘアスタイル！これど う？

ところで、さんって言わないでください

Originally Posted by Vexx

You people are making me work too hard .... argh....

Then let me introduce you to your new best friend

[Vexx]

ooooooooh, shiny....

[ShikaShika]

Originally Posted by FatPianoBoy

何で俺が選ばなきゃ？
クラスのことがだめと言ったので…　ジュースが好き？
なんてね。えーと、誰かの日本に行った事があるか？
でも、ちょっと詰まらないんだろうか。面白い話は…　ブッシュ米大統領のヘアスタイル！これど う？

ところで、さんって言わないでください

小泉さんのヘアスタイルの方はかっこい。ブッシュ米大統領にも似合ってるかも。

[Syaoran]

How come people here use the informal/informal volitional tense instead of regular polite Japanese? I'm being taught formal speech and keigo O.o

Do you pick it up just by watching anime or what? Really, I watch some anime and don't pick up that much of everything.

Pfff... mom and dad were right with lots of things they said in the past T_T
And go study languages after high school was one of them... the older you get, the harder it gets >_<
I'm concentrating more on grammar rather than just speak and see how it gets.

* Makes a note for the next life: always listen to mom & dad's advice ^^'

[jianfish]

I was looking at Japanese characters and I realised that it incorporates quite some Chinese characters into it as well. Apparently the same characters are pronounced quite differently but end up having the same meaning. I was in Hokkaido recently and I could roughly get around reading the chinese in the signboards. So I was wondering a little about the correlation.

For example 英語 is pronounced Ying Wen in Chinese, which means English or English language. Can I assume it means the same in Japanese as well? How would you pronounce it in Jap.

I was wondering if the leap from Chinese to Jap is easier than the leap from English to Chinese. Perhaps I ought to tackle it in a different way. Anyway I will be taking up some classes at a Jap cultural association. Hopefully I will be able to converse with you guys in future.

[Mueti]

Originally Posted by Syaoran

How come people here use the informal/informal volitional tense instead of regular polite Japanese? I'm being taught formal speech and keigo O.o

Hmm, I don't really know what is appropriate/common on the internet. Could some regular visitor of Japanese forums (or else^^) please fill me in?

Originally Posted by jianfish

I was looking at Japanese characters and I realised that it incorporates quite some Chinese characters into it as well. Apparently the same characters are pronounced quite differently but end up having the same meaning. I was in Hokkaido recently and I could roughly get around reading the chinese in the signboards. So I was wondering a little about the correlation.

For example 英語 is pronounced Ying Wen in Chinese, which means English or English language. Can I assume it means the same in Japanese as well? How would you pronounce it in Jap.

I don't know any Chinese so please correct me if what I say is wrong but I believe the meanings of the kanji and even of compounds don't change that much in Japanese.
英語also means English language in Japanese but is pronounced "eigo".