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Originally Posted by Koir
Educate me. Start with why romaji remains to exist in modern times, despite this universal dislike for it.
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There are a number of reasons (to facilitate linguists who study Japanese grammar but don't need to actually be able to write or speak the language, to make survival Japanese possible for visitors, to make it possible to learn Japanese for the first couple weeks until kana is mastered, etc.), but "to be able to communicate in Japanese effectively" is definitely not one of them.
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I have no problem with your writing Japanese in the way you are most comfortable. What I was taking issue with was the perception that your question to the OP seemed to be a lead-in to another voicing of this romaji dislike. This may have had little to do with how the OP was expressing himself/herself. That's all.
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That may or may not be a fair criticism. Honestly, I'm too lazy to go back and look to see whether people jumped to conclusions. But can you blame us for getting frustrated with those who repeatedly try to convince us that romaji is a valid and useful way of writing Japanese?
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Lots here. I'll examine it point by point:
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2) Do not bring YuriTokoro into this argument. This is an issue between you and I, not you and I and her.
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This is a logical failing. YuriTokoro was not brought into this argument in the way "don't bring X into the argument" is used to mean. She was used as an example. There is a difference here. What you said does not a logical argument make.
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3) Similiarly, finding argument traction in my complete lack of knowledge of the Japanese language is not a part of this disagreement. If it makes you feel any better, however, I will admit I know very very little (practically nothing) about the Japanese language. This is not a big secret I keep hidden.
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If the argument is about whether the use of romaji is a remotely good idea outside of, say, the first two weeks of your endeavor to learn Japanese. You are suggesting otherwise. Therefore, your lack of Japanese ability harms your authority to make any such assertion.
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I certainly hope I have cleared up any misunderstanding surrounding my purpose for posting in this thread, and I do apologize for using such polarizing terms.
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It's OK. We all use polarizing terms sometimes. I often find myself editing posts (quickly) 3–4 times just to remove profanity and insults.
