Quote:
Originally Posted by SHAD0W
lol how come its
something は Something ほど Yada yada
Instead of
Something に Something ほど Yada yada?
Or is there an occasion where に Can be used?
Like... ロックに聞くほど・・・？
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1. In this case (the 日本語、勉強 sentence), it is originally 日本語
を勉強, not に.
2. Regarding を->は It's sort of an emphasis or implication-type thing. It's not like it's
wrong to say を instead, but it very slightly changes the feel of the sentence. I personally can't claim to fully feel the change. I don't know if the change is so extremely slight that you don't feel a change really, or if I just haven't become attuned to it. I do notice the change, but I am only academically aware of: "OK, this implies a slight bit of contrast and/or shift in meaning that を would not, but doesn't change the meaning of the sentence so much that I now no longer understand it."
3. With に, it usually will become には, not just は. を is the one that gets fully replaced. でー＞では、をー＞は、がー＞は、にー＞には、へー＞ へは.
Check these:
バナナが好きです。
バナナは好きです。
Both mean "I like bananas," but the latter has a slight feel of "I like bananas [, as opposed to apples or something like that]."
東京で野球しました。
東京では野球しました。
Both mean "I played baseball in Tokyo," but the latter has a slight feel of "I played baseball in Tokyo, [not in Kyoto/Osaka/Niigata/etc.]."
These explanations are only half-good, though. This is the type of thing that is immensely difficult for me to actually put in words, very much like how I would find it difficult to describe "blue" to a blind person.
Really, I recommend that you start with the understanding that the meaning changes very, very little. So much so that if you treat it as meaning the same thing as having no は, you will still have accurate translations. You might miss a little subtext, but you aren't at the level yet where that matters; this type of thing is good to be aware of, but thinking about it too much might be a distraction. Noticing it in reading, you'll gradually come to have a better feel for its usage and purpose.
At least, that's how this moderately talented Japanese speaker understands it.