Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueRusalka
I would say that working with a live teacher/tutor would be the best way to go, since inflection can be so important in Japanese. Where you place emphasis is a really significant, and it helps to have a native speaker or fluent person critiquing you. (Example: aME is candy, but Ame is rain.) Failing that, I've heard that Rosetta Stone's program is quite good, although I haven't tried it. If you're on a somewhat lower budget (language programs can get quite expensive >.<), there's a website called LiveMocha that allows you to take beginner language courses for free, and connects you to native speakers willing to critique your pronunciation.
Whatever you choose, you'll probably want to learn hiragana and katakana first. These are just alphabets you'll need to memorize. You can find them on the internet, or in any Japanese textbook. I found that knowing them actually helped me understand the spoken language, since from the alphabet you know exactly what sounds are possible within the language. I've actually found Japanese a lot easier to learn than French (which I studied for five years, and still don't know that well) for exactly that reason. 
Best of luck! |
Umm.. I have to disagree a little.. while inflection is important it is not essential to learning the language and being able to communicate with native speakers.. they will know what you are talking about.
Aside from that, the sound system and hiragana is the place to start.
As far as difficulty goes, well it is not going to be easy I can say that much, but I think you might be able to look past the difficulty since the enjoyment factor (at least for some people) is very high. It really all depends on your goals and how quickly you want to attain them.
And well, the best way to learn would of course be to come to Japan, but that is probably not an option. For me I started out taking a couple elective courses in college, and did a study abroad in Japan. It gave me a good base, and I just studied on my own from then on. Plus I came back to Japan and have been living here the past 5 years.. so that helps..
It really just depends on what type of learner you are. For me the pressure of tests and grades is a motivator and gave me the real drive i needed (at first) to form my base in the language.