The Japanese Language and Learning it (Julien)

Like learning any language, learning Japanese takes time, patience, and perseverance.  You may find learning Japanese too difficult and quit. You may even believe that learning Japanese is an unfruitful process. As the language is spoken quickly and uses a different alphabet, you may deem it un-learnable by a Westerner. However, all of this could be no further from the truth. Japanese, in fact, is no harder than learning French. It is even the author’s opinion, who has both extensively studied Japanese and French, that it is easier. Am I crazy to say this? No, I am not and I will tell you why.

Japanese is based on two completely similar and phonetic alphabets, whose sounds are more easily pronounced by an English speaker, than those of French or German. In fact, many linguists would say the phonetic sounds of the Japanese language are relatively close to those of Indo-European languages, if not the closest among Asian countries. Some Japanese might boast that their language is one of the most difficult. Don’t fret-this is only because most Japanese who claim this only are familiar with one language; Japanese.

 

Apart from the Chinese characters used in Japanese writing, which tend to scare off Westerners, Japanese is fairly simple. Unlike most European languages, there are no articles (the, a, ex.). Unlike Romantic languages, such as French and Italian, which are notoriously structured, the Japanese language applies no notion of gender to objects and has no mind-boggling lists of conjugation. In fact, the Japanese language was created with a notion of practicality. Even pronouns are sparsely used. Like many things in Japan, much is implied and indirect in the Japanese language. Though it may seem weird at first, you will soon find that it is a very relaxed way of speaking, as one doesn’t have to tediously explain every aspect of the situation such as in Romantic languages. Take the sentence “Pan wo tabemasu” for example. In Japanese this can mean he, she, I, we, or they are eating or will eat bread. In French, this sentence would have to begin with either: Je mange, tu manges, il mange, vous mangez, nous mangeons, or ils mangent. Added to this would be a pending article (du, un, le, ex.) before pain, the word in French for bread. Ultimately, there is an exponential curve of ways to explain this one Japanese sentence. The only thing that may be similar is that there is both a casual and formal way to say things, as in most languages.

So what about the writing? As mentioned above, there are two alphabets that are the basis for the whole Japanese language. They can both be easily learned within a month’s time. The harder aspect, however, is the kanji, characters based on Chinese. There are thousands of them; though only a couple hundred will be seen on the street. They, ultimately, exist to make writing easier; as they replace the phonetic symbols of the Japanese alphabet. Anyways, one is fully capable of writing without them, though, it may be longer.

So what is my advice when it comes to learning it? Like learning any language, practice it, study it, and try to utilize it as much as possible. In Japan, you may find that many people will want to practice their English with you. Insist on speaking their language, however, as you will learn faster this way. Always try to make local friends, especially those who do not know English, and try not to spend too much time with your compatriots. This is a dangerous trap, as it is very feasible to go a whole year in Japan without learning much Japanese. Remember its up to you, so make the initiative!