Learning Japanese; If I don't live there am I kidding myself?

It is difficult. But spoken Japanese is not so hard.

Then you can speak Squiggles.

Being outside japan your accent suffers, mine's got really bad in the past eight months i've been back in t'uk, but the rest is doable if you're not there. Just don't expect to be able to understand young people talk.

http://twoday.net/static/synopsis/images/ai_no_corrida.jpg

naruhodo. osake o nomisugi de konna interripoi na kaiwa chotto rikai dekinaki. gomen ne

http://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/

Here you can click on the letter to learn the proper way to write hiragana: http://www.geocities.co.jp/NeverLand/8857/hiraganawrite.html

Why do you want to learn Japanese? Do you want to speak with Japanese people? Do you want to be able to read manga? Your goals should direct your learning approach.

I've only ever tried to learn Asian languages (Chinese & Japanese), so I can't really compare it to 'easier' languages. Certainly based on people I've known, Japanese can be learned and mastered.

I think the trick is to employ several methods of learning. I used flashcards for the kanji, practiced with tapes and a fluent friend for language, and sometimes came up with really weird ways of remembering specific phrases. "Do itashemashite" will never be forgotten in my household, as it sounds a lot like "don't touch my machete!"

You can learn it if you want to, but you do have to work harder at it than with, say, French or Spanish.

Just be glad you're not trying to learn Chinese. Practically every syllable can be said with one of four different tones, all of which seem to change the word's meaning. I love to learn languages, but I fear Chinese.

"Unfortunately finding a Japanese speaking environment may be the tricky part."

Take a trip to the Gold Coast.

I tried to learn Japanese and I DID find it difficult - but no more so than I would have done any other language I think. I realised that I was completely paralysed by my embarrassment at making mistakes and so didn't practise talking to Japanese friends nearly enough. A lot of adult learners have that problem I think, but Japanese is no more difficult than any other language in that respect (and actually you're a lot less likely to muck up the pronunciation than with say, Chinese or Russian). Don't be too scared of the different characters - Hiragana and Katakana can be easily memorised with enough repetitive practice. And Kanji can come later...

Are there any ILX dudes who are learning Japanese out there?

eh, sort of (i mean i have a degree in it but keeping up is an eternal struggle)

I wanted to start a sister thread to the Help me Learn Mandarin one, but I'm sensing now that there's probably not much Japanese learning discourse to be had on ILX, which is a shame, as I am just starting in with proper tuition, chewing my way through Haragana and buying loads of books and I want to pester people.

wakare masen

MN you can pester me if you like!
We're currently studying nominalisers, if that helps.

I do know some kana. Although my hiragana is much better than my katakana. Kanji? A few but not much. Certainly not the 1945 you're about to know lol (if you graduate from" japanology" here or high school in Japan). lol

I do enjoy reading it so post away. :-)

My oldest is sort of interested in learning it since her grandmother lives in Japan. Weird. She's six. lol

Nan sai desu ka? Watashi 38 sai desu yo.

I took it for 2 years in college, but that was years ago. At the time it was alot easier than it should have been because i was listening to nothing but Shibuya-kei and getting heavily into anime. It's a wonderful language and I will probably take it up again in the future. I always wonder what it would be like to live there - and teach English while learning Japanese!

Most stuff, wakarimasen.

Kyo wa Thom-chan to isho ni sushi o tabeta. Oishikata desu yo. Demo doorayaki wa ichiban oishii desu yo.

I suck at Japanese. Which I had continued studying the language.

Doorayaki oishii ne! Except the ones with chestnuts (kuri), I'm allergic. That was one of the first kanji I learned. I remember at least one awkward conversation that hinged on the difference between kuri and kyuuri (cucumbers).

I lived for 3 years in Kyoto, years ago, teaching on JET. Spent most of my time speaking English to other gaijin or to Eikaiwa-interested Japanese, never studied enough on my own. I speak badly but my listening skills and reading aren't terrible. Learned a few hundred kanji -- studying the written language suited me better than getting into conversations in which I couldn't express myself clearly.

I live with 3 native speakers now, and the dominant language in the house is Nihongo as long as the kids are awake. They speak to me in English. My oldest is kind enough to translate what Mama said, even when it's easy enough for me to understand. He's very fluent at 5, watching TV reports on the Japanese soccer team and reading Doraemon manga (which have the kana printed next to the kanji). At Christmas we were watching some J-TV show that printed on screen a kanji/word I didn't know, kazaru. I asked him what "kazaru" means and he thought a moment and said "decoration". Pin-pon!