Japanese Language Discussion

[scrilla4rella]

I know what you mean about the reading. It's like the whole challenge is to keep your brain from switching off when reading super boring articles. IF it's actually about something interesting then it's much easier to pay attention. When I failed the test in 2008 my reading scores were horrible. One of the readings was all about the fact that a persons hands are not completely identical. As an example the author went on to describe how if you were to place one of your hands over the other, your thumb would be sticking out on opposite ends, or something like that. Who decides to publish this crap?

[GaijinPunch]

The said thing is, they're excerpts from published articles!!!!

Whew... makes you want to have a fuck pillow in there.

[scrilla4rella]

exactly, and usually the excerpts are taken from major newspapers and magazines.
-
*SHIT!!!!*,
sorry, my fuck pillow just snapped in half

[NTSC-J]

The JLPT has been a hobby of mine for a few years, but now that I`m done I feel a bit of a void and kind of miss the studying.

So to fill that void, I`m moving on to the essentially useless Kanken because I like kanji and rote memorization. I`m using a Kanken soft for my DS and am currently working on level 4, with level 2 as my main goal. Curse these yojijukugo...

[Ed Oscuro]

After screwing around with trying to fix the filenames on Odd Mobs for a while (before I remembered I could just unzip in Virtual PC), I realized I have an important question: Does anybody know how to convert broken folder and filename encodings to something usable?

[GaijinPunch]

So to fill that void, I`m moving on to the essentially useless Kanken because I like kanji and rote memorization. I`m using a Kanken soft for my DS and am currently working on level 4, with level 2 as my main goal. Curse these yojijukugo...

The gaijin I personally know w/ the highest level of Japanese (he blew through L1 about a decade ago) did Kanken-3, and said "fuck this, nobody uses these" when he started studying for 2. He's a translator by trade... a lot of people here have probably seen his work.

[NTSC-J]

Yea, I can't really think of any use for it other than a feather in my cap. It's a good vocab builder at least, and of course really cements those kanji, plus it's something I can do at work during my free time that doesn't make me feel as guilty as when I watch Seinfeld.

Still, I bet I get bored before I get to jyun2kyuu.

[ancestral-knowledge]

Offtopic:

In every thread you guys mention how oppressive the system is and how they treat foreigners like shit. And how it's so hard etc etc...
What was the reason you guys moved to Japan again?

[hzt]

NTSC-J you are insane, Kanken is ridiculous. I think I could do some areas of the high levels because of all the really old stuff I read and Chinese, but the bits where you have to actually remember how to write everything, or know some obscure reading that was probably used once in the history of written Japanese... those bits can fuck off. Mainly the writing. I hate writing, I can barely even write English by hand.

I was going to do JLPT N1 this time round (I did L1 in its last year because I had to, I would have liked to wait for N1) but I just totally forgot. I should probably do it this year, the UK one is administered by my university after all and I actually like taking tests. I will not study for it though.

[NTSC-J]

Offtopic:

In every thread you guys mention how oppressive the system is and how they treat foreigners like shit. And how it's so hard etc etc...
What was the reason you guys moved to Japan again?

Easy access to fuck pillows.

For the record, I dont think foreigners get treated like shit, at least not in day-to-day interactions. Once some guy at the train station told me to go back to America, but he was obviously a rorenry virgin and I had a Japanese girl on my arm, so I still chalked that one up for the stars and bars.

Its more your rights as a human being that are compromised once you try to become a part of the society. And no matter how well you speak the jive, there`s always going to be some distance there between you and them.

NTSC-J you are insane, Kanken is ridiculous. I think I could do some areas of the high levels because of all the really old stuff I read and Chinese, but the bits where you have to actually remember how to write everything, or know some obscure reading that was probably used once in the history of written Japanese... those bits can fuck off. Mainly the writing. I hate writing, I can barely even write English by hand.

Kanken can be hard, but its not too bad up to level 2. At that level, native Japanese that are college-educated would only need to study a little to pass. Its the jyun1kyuu and 1kyuu that are retarded. I think people would be weirded out more than impressed if you passed one of those.

[GaijinPunch]

The racism here is really subtle... until you know how to read it. Some of it isn't really offensive. Due to their fucked up chicken scratch writing which we're talking about here, just about any time you're given a form, even if you're eloquently speaking your mind in Japanese, it will be handed to you in, "can you read Japanese?" Imagine if you said that to every non-whitey in the west.

Mix and match "Gaijin" with the following terms and google them for lols.
-Credit Card
-Housing
-Pink Salon

[rancor]

..And honestly, for us it's not even that bad. As much as we like to complain about the things that don't go our way, we've all probably received an equal amount of preferential treatment. I can't even imagine being a darker shade of brown and living here. Brazilians, Africans, Filipinos, hell - even Okinawans - they're the ones that experience the real institutionalized ugliness of what this place has to offer.

[Skykid]

-Pink Salon

Burakumin Pink Salon?

[GaijinPunch]

Asians even... technically westerners are all fighting for western jobs. Non-Japanese Asians are fighting for Japanese peoples jobs.

And yes, we do get preferential treatment. Pay, for starters. But, I'm of the camp that gaijin-ness should be exploited where ever possible since you are discriminated against as well.

Burakumin Pink Salon?

Only two types of Pink Salon. The ones where the girls brush their teeth between customers... and the other kind.

[ancestral-knowledge]

hahaha

had a blast googlin' up the word combinations GP !

Yeah well maybe i've exaggerated a bit but all of you still didn't answer my question.

What was the reason you guys moved to Japan again?

[rancor]

7 years ago I came here for the gigglez and lulz. Japan was the land of easy money and non stop pussy - all to a 4/4 beat. Now I'm stuck here with a wife and kid. I don't hate it and don't complain about it too much, but I would like to move on. GP and I are originally from the same city, and now we live in the same city, but I think we disagree on which is better. Or maybe I'm just never happy where I'm at. Always thinking about where I could be.

[GaijinPunch]

I studied Japanese in college b/c it would be "a great language to learn for business". Boy did that one backfire on me. But, it definitely challenged my brain and took me places so it all worked out in the end. Once I moved here I had a really good time. As rancor stated, there are some things that are just done really well. You can make good cash teaching English, and there are quite a few women of loose moral fiber. You can basically party any night you want. I didn't get home until 3:30 AM last night (Thursday) and there were plenty of people left at the bar I was at. There is no last call, ever, and you can buy from the convenient store at 8AM on Sunday morning even.

It's just not without caveat, and those are far more interesting to talk about b/c some of them hit legendary WTF status. I think my favorite was when the government paid nikkei visa holding Brazilians like 500,000 yen to go home and give up that visa status. This is long after the population crisis was apparent. Duh...

[GaijinPunch]

GP and I are originally from the same city, and now we live in the same city, but I think we disagree on which is better.

It's no secret, I'm not a fan of the Dallas Metroplex, or any place in Texas other than Austin. It has basically everything I hate in a city: big, spread out, guns, requires a car, conservative. Having said that, Texans are generally pretty friendly.

[Randorama]

Random question that I wanted to ask for ever:

How you guys fare with Japanese dialects? I am aware that Japan is much like Europe, so every city has its own dialect. Do you struggle with anything except the Tokyo dialect, whatever is called?

[GaijinPunch]

As with any dialect, it really comes down more to the person speaking than the dialect itself. There are some slang words and shit which are hard to follow, but generally if people speak clearly it's not a big problem. However, hearing a group of young people from Osaka talk to each other (and not directly to me) can be hard. Funny to note though, I've been told more than once in Osaka, "Haha -- you have a Tokyo accent".

Having said all that, I find talking to old people (from anywhere) to be the most challenging.

[nZero]

Funny to note though, I've been told more than once in Osaka, "Haha -- you have a Tokyo accent".

That is funny, I got the opposite reaction from a couple of people the last time I was in Tokyo

Having said all that, I find talking to old people (from anywhere) to be the most challenging.

Especially old men, too much mumbling. Personally, I have a hard time with phone conversations with people I've never talked to before, as well.

[scrilla4rella]

The JLPT has been a hobby of mine for a few years, but now that I`m done I feel a bit of a void and kind of miss the studying.

So to fill that void, I`m moving on to the essentially useless Kanken because I like kanji and rote memorization. I`m using a Kanken soft for my DS and am currently working on level 4, with level 2 as my main goal. Curse these yojijukugo...

Go for it! One of my good buddies here passed 2 kyu last year. Of course there is a bunch of kanji that aren't commonly used that appear on the test but I think a lot of it would be useful if your interested in JPN literature especially the pre-war stuff. If you have 2 kyu it also makes for good bragging rights to native JPN speaker. "Hey, guess what? My kanji is better than yours, haha!" You could also study for the JETTRO business JPN test.

This is what I've been using to study yojijukugo but kanken probably has tons of stuff that's not in this book.
http://tinyurl.com/896nbjg

edit: good looking GP

[GaijinPunch]

http://tinyurl.com/ -- it's your friend.

[greg]

So I'm finally taking the JLPT for the first time. My employer desires all of the foreign employees to take the test in July. Ten years ago, I was going to aim for the level 3. This is now level 4. I was thinking of taking level 4, but I decided to take level 5. I realize that this is too easy for me, but I do have a few reasons. This was short notice, and I don't have much time to prepare for a more adequate test. Second, I'll ace the test and my employer will be happy. Thirdly, I've never taken the test before, so this will give me an idea of what to expect. Lastly, maybe I am OCD, but I want to start out at the bottom and work my way up. I'm also not entirely sure that what I have studied up until now has covered everything on the level 5 test, so I'd like to not be taken by surprise on a higher-level test by something I somehow hadn't yet mastered.

The test is in July, and then I will apply for the next level up and take that test in December or whenever it is.

[hzt]

If you've been learning for that long and are currently employed in Japan it really is too easy, you're going to finish the test in a fraction of the time available and get 100%.

[greg]

If you've been learning for that long and are currently employed in Japan it really is too easy, you're going to finish the test in a fraction of the time available and get 100%.

Yep, that is my intention.

[Blade]

My problem is, I'm illiterate.

I'm okay at interpreting spoken Japanese or Romaji...but other than that...I'm kinda...bleh...

Does anyone have a basic of basics place to start learning how to read?

[GaijinPunch]

My problem is, I'm illiterate.

I'm okay at interpreting spoken Japanese or Romaji...but other than that...I'm kinda...bleh...

Does anyone have a basic of basics place to start learning how to read?

Hiragana flash cards, then katakana flash cards. When you have them memorized, read kids manga. Eventually you'll get up to the kanji. If you know the words already, that's going to help a lot.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

No matter what approach you take, learn to love learning kana/kanji. The way I fell in love with them was just through everyday practice. After a couple months, I started doing it out of habit and then I started to actually enjoy practising. You start seeing deeper into the characters and it's just fun to analyze them alone and within compound words. The book I used to learn most of the commonly used characters is Kanji ABC which I think has a decent approach and is cheap. There's probably a lot of better books tho.

Lately, my thing has been reading articles from here http://doraku.asahi.com/earth/showashi/list.html. They come out weekly, and I check every word I don't know and read each article over and over until I understand 80% or more. I also practice writing each of the new words that I look up, and it's helped me a lot to learn new vocab. It is actually one of my hobbies and I like doing it after a long day of work .

[Minzoku]

Hi folks, anyone wanna critique my work?

I've scratched my head over this one for a while, but this is a "ninja cyber sword" I found in the Hallowe'en section of Party City. This is the best I've been able to figure out for a translation--if anyone wants to clue me in as to what NOT-complete-gibberish meaning it has, lemme know =p [cfb]