Japanese or Chinese

[Susanne]

I'm undecided on whether to study Chinese or Japanese.

As a girl living in the western world and having no connections with Orientals nor planning to go to Asia anytime soon, I have no incentive to pick one over the other.

I recently started learning Japanese and now have a fairly good grasp of it. My reasons for wanting to learn it are that I love the Japanese culture, history, language (both spoken and written), and their stereotypical drive for technology (I'm a computer scientist). Additionally, I'm a manga junkie. I've already memorized both the hiragana and katakana syllabaries as well as a few dozen kanji. It seems as though I'm currently on the right track to learn the language.

On the other hand, Chinese seems like a generally easier language to learn, compared to Japanese, given that I have a good ear for tones. However, I don't know half as much Chinese as I do Japanese. I've also been told several times that "Chinese would be more beneficial to know, in the long run, given that many people already speak it and China isn't obviously a small, isolated island floating somewhere in the pacific."

I can't make the choice and I need to pick one soon due to graduate school classes being just around the corner. I'm aware I can learn both, but I know myself too well to tell right away that that won't be a possibility, at least for the time being. I surely like Japanese better than I do Chinese, but I still think that Chinese would be the most useful in the long run.

[tipsygypsy]

well... if you want to have more business opportunities, I recommend you to learn Chinese. China is becoming more important nation day by day. On the other hand, Japan's heading for the end slowly. But if you simply love japanese culture, learn japanese.

[MMM]

Rugs are "Oriental". People are Asian.

[ryuhebi13]

Originally Posted by MMM

Rugs are "Oriental". People are Asian.

I'm gonna remember that one

[ryuhebi13]

Pick a language that furthers your ends, and the other simply because you love the culture.

So both.

But if you think Chinese would be more applicable to your life situation, go for that and learn Japanese at your leisure. If ever I have to make a 50/50 decision I'll weigh up the options or try to accomodate both in my pursuits.

[onetwo3ree]

If I were you I would pick the language that I am more interested in. One will not master a language well if you are not interested in it.

[PockyMePink]

I say learn both - Chinese first because it will probably be easier in the long run, and Japanese second after you have a good grasp of Chinese.

If you learn Chinese, you will probably find just as much enjoyment out of the culture and whatnot as you do with Japanese, so I doubt it will be a painful process.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by PockyMePink

I say learn both - Chinese first because it will probably be easier in the long run, and Japanese second after you have a good grasp of Chinese.

If you learn Chinese, you will probably find just as much enjoyment out of the culture and whatnot as you do with Japanese, so I doubt it will be a painful process.

LMAO

As if you knew something about either language.....

[StonerPenguin]

Originally Posted by masaegu

LMAO

As if you knew something about either language.....

Haha, seriously. Disregarding all the kanji/hanzi and a lack of a basic syllabary, Chinese pronunciation is soo much more difficult than that of Japanese. Tones and stress and everything... It's pretty intimidating.

By the way, masaegu. A while ago I read in a beginner's Japanese book something I hadn't read before, and if it's true I will be somewhat confused. (Sorry for straying off topic, but since I mentioned Chinese pronunciation and stress...) The book says;

Pitch is important in Japanese pronunciation, as certain syllables in a word must be pronounced with a high or low pitch. The meaning of a word may differ depending on the pitch.

Then the book goes on to list various Japanese homophones. Is that true? Could you tell the difference between 箸 and 橋 if you just heard はし by the pitch? I mean, I can't hear the difference between 'stake' and 'steak' or 'see' and 'sea' but it's the context that let's me know the meaning. I just assumed it was the same way for Japanese. If it's true I'm gonna feel freakin' retarded for getting to a semi-intermediate stage without knowing about this!

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by StonerPenguin

By the way, masaegu. A while ago I read in a beginner's Japanese book something I hadn't read before, and if it's true I will be somewhat confused. (Sorry for straying off topic, but since I mentioned Chinese pronunciation and stress...) The book says;

Then the book goes on to list various Japanese homophones. Is that true? Could you tell the difference between 箸 and 橋 if you just heard はし by the pitch? I mean, I can't hear the difference between 'stake' and 'steak' or 'see' and 'sea' but it's the context that let's me know the meaning. I just assumed it was the same way for Japanese. If it's true I'm gonna feel freakin' retarded for getting to a semi-intermediate stage without knowing about this!

You will be feeling freakin' retarted if you don't check your own pitch accents on many pairs of words NOW before you go onto studying at higher levels.

That the Japanese pronounciation is easy because it only has five vowels is only a myth. No one who would tell you that would be a fluent speaker because s/he is ignoring the pitch accents completely.

In English, "steak" and "stake" are pronounced the same regardless of the context, but not 箸 and 橋 or 型 and 肩 or 勝った and 買った, etc. in Japanese. To illustrate the point, I am using musical notes below.

箸 （はし） = mi do = chopsticks
橋 （はし） = do mi = a bridge

型 （かた） = do mi = a form, shape
肩 （かた） = mi do = a shoulder

勝った （かった） = mi do = won
買った （かった） = do mi = bought

If you need further assistance, please ask in the Japanese Help section.