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Whats the best way to start? -
05-02-2008, 12:27 PM
Hi everyone,
Im new to this forum, and want to learn Japanese to help open up employment prospects. I hold an MSc in Information Security (IS), and am also currently studying for the CCNA. A friend of mine is out in Tokyo at the moment working for a financial company as an information security manager, he says that it might be a good idea for me to learn japanese as the IS market out there is booming at the moment. His suggestion to me was that I got a Japanese girlfriend to help me learn, but seeing as I have trouble getting a regular GF, I have to look for other options... LOL. Heres what I know so far: Konichiwa - Hello Watashi Wa Jonathan Des Dozu Yoroshiku - I am called Jonathan pleased to make ur aquaintance. Kore Wa - This is... Sore Wa - That is... Nande - What Na-niiii - What? (I assume the addition of the ni turns the nande into a question) Matte - Wait I Kuze - Let's go dakara - Does this mean because? Sayonara - Goodbye I managed to download some videos from the Japan Foundation, but Im looking for a more structured way to learn which I would get if i could network with someone whos either Japanese, or knows the language inside out. Whats the best way to carry on from here? Im looking to learn both how to speak the language, and how to write it. In return I can offer in return help with the following: English Spoken/Written, Mathematics tutoring, Information Security Knowledge. Thanks in advance, I look forward to hearing from a few of you. Regards Jon 
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05-04-2008, 09:28 AM
Hi John!
Thank a lot for having interests to learn Japanese ! I don't know what the best way to start learning Japanese because I'm native Japanese so I'm afraid I can't suggest how to learn it. But if you have any questions I can help you so please send me a private massage ! -Greetings- Good morning=Ohayoh/Ohayo gozaimasu[ if you speak to seniors or if you speak in public you should add gozaimasu Otsukare sama desu[ it is a very useful words! You cand use this word when people finishes his work or the end of the work I'm sure people glad to hear! Nande is a flank way to say "why" so you should say "Naze.....desu ka?" What=Nani Why=Naze You can say Matte to your friends so when you speak to your seniors, you should add "Kudasai" Also to seniors, you should say "Ikimashou" instead of Ikouze and I suppose Ikuze means"I'm going to go!".... Dakara is flank way to say because, Umm.... in the same situation, you should say Nazenara,or add "nanode" at last. Sorry my poor English and if you feel bad because of my bad explainations  I hope you enjoy learning Japanese! Ask me any time!
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05-04-2008, 04:16 PM
Quote:
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05-04-2008, 07:07 PM
Learn Japanese
Learn Japanese - Nihongo.3Yen.com - Japanese Language And look on amazon or another online book source for either the Genki (げんき） or the Minna No Nihongo (みんなの日本語） series. The MNN can be a bit daunting if you don't already know hiragana/katakana though. I found a mix of both to be useful. Personally, I think learning the basic scripts above is the first step. The best material doesn't use roman characters very much. There's also a useful game for practicing what you've learned: Kanji Page As said above, anime isn't a good place to learn from, but it can be used to supplement your listening skills. As a last note: Stay away from any of those "LEARN JAPANESE IN 10 DAYS" style books. They are utterly worthless =p
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05-05-2008, 09:53 AM
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for your overwhelmingly positive responses. Nathan, Im gonna set some time aside to start going through those links. I'll also contact a few of you aswell to start practicing at some point. Its good to have friends elsewhere in the world after all. TTYL Thx Jon
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05-05-2008, 01:27 PM
Hi John,
This is how I sarted. But do keep in mind that, I am of Chinese origin, so I had some advantage when it comes to the Kanji I first took a basic Japanese course to learn the writing system - Hiragana, in most cases the first course will cover the fundamental of the language, some vocabulary, and grammar. Once you learn Hiragana, Katakana will come as long as you are willing to read and practice Get a really good Japanese to English (and vice versa) dictionary The next step is to use my limited knowledge to start reading Japanese articles and try to translate them. What I did was I bough magazine/comics to do this. I also use asahi.com to help. I would photocopy or print what I have. Then I would start writing in the Romaji version of it, and eventually a translated text. Since, just like in MOST language, we could have same or similar prononuciation for several things, you will probably have to do this a couple of times to get the best/closest translation Again, I gain some advantage because of the Kanji vs Chinese similarities, but I think this can be a good way for you to start as well
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05-05-2008, 03:44 PM
My honest suggestion would be to get a PROPER (ie qualified) language tutor for some business Japanese lessons as I think they will be most useful to you
You will pick up casual/conversational Japanese when you are living here but I recommend you learn the polite/business language using a tutor as you run a serious risk of accidentally offending someone if you don't
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