日本語を分かる者へ
 

There are so many posts asking for "translation to romaji" and I am kind of wondering all your feelings on this.

I basically come here to lend a hand to legit people who are trying to learn Japanese, and understand we have all levels of learners, more beginners than advanced, but that is OK.

But I am started to feel aprehensive about translating or helping into romaji. Something about it seems...well, unhelpful. Japanese people don't use romaji to write Japanese (except in commercials, shop signs, etc.) so I am questioning if it is a good idea here...and that's why I am soliciting your opinions.

ローマジで教えてもいいですかね、それか、ちゃんとひ らがな（プラス漢字）でした方が助かるんですかね。

よろしく。

Well sometimes it's ok... but not when someone really want to learn the language. Its more destructive then constructive. But for people who don't real intend to learn the language is not really hurting them.. becasue (as I see it) its something that they can't/won't comprehend.... But I feel that if someone really has there hearts set on Japanese. I use hiragana... though though text thats harder then when you sit down with someone and teach them...

One other advantage to romaji, is when you have a text based format that cant decode Japanese (Yahoo, G-mail, etc.) My friends and myself can't use any kana or kanji when emailing. other wise it ends up all gibberish. So we have use romaji...

well thats my thoughts any how..:D

I hadn't thought about those that don't have Japanese access on thier computer, so in that case, it really makes sense.

I am not worried as much about people not trying to learn the language as people looking for free translation ... because I don't know how it will be used in the future.

Some people actually study Japanese using romaji. Some even excel in it. This is just one of the many ways that people learn Japanese. And if they feel comfortable using them, so why not.

Because it's a crutch. It doesn't take that long to learn Hiragana. Ten days if you're a quick learner, a month if you're not. Japanese is written in JAPANESE. Not romanized letters! Romaji can even be detrimental to learning real Japanese due to particles, silent vowels, long vowels, and so on -- many of which are written improperly in romaji. For example, "Tokyo" actually has two extra letters when it's spelled in Japanese - とうきょう, not ときょ. Anyone who won't/can't learn Kana strikes me as someone who isn't serious at all about learning Japanese.

You know, a lot of Japanese learned English using katakana. And we know where that leads...

I tend to agree with this thinking, though I still haven't decided how to deal with newbie "teach me now" types.

Hiragana is not that hard. A part of me says, if you have dedicated enough time to learn Hiragana, then you are probably a committed student of Japanese. If you can't do that much, then you never will be.

Maybe I have decided.

copied it from a dictionary. I don;t know which is used for what..
残虐 【ざんぎゃく】 (adj-na,n) cruelty, brutality, (P)
残忍 【ざんにん】 (adj-na,n) cruelty, atrocity, brutality, (P)
蛮行 【ばんこう】 (n) act of barbarity, brutality, barbarism, (P)
強暴 【きょうぼう】 (adj-na,n) brutality
惨酷 【ざんこく】 (adj-na,n) atrocity, cruelty, brutality
獣性 【じゅうせい】 (n) brutality, animal nature

I never bother reading past the "in romanji plzzzzz" in 90% of the translate this threads. Asking for it in Romaji says to me that the person asking for the translation isn`t attempting to learn Japanese at all. They just want a quick sentence for a sig or the like. It`s a waste of time to bother with the translation.

If someone learns better in romaji - good for them. But they`re going to HAVE to learn to read *Japanese* eventually, as that`s pretty much the only way they`ll encounter real Japanese. If they can`t be bothered to learn enough to convert a regular sentence into romaji on their own, how serious can they be?

時間の無駄だと思う。真面目にやってると思えない。ど っかの板でかっこよく見せるためだけにやってるのなら 、どうせ見てるやつだって分からないだろう・・・
最近頼んでるやつほとんどDQNだし

Basically, whether it's for their signature, graffiti or simply something for them to spread across their chest, it doesn't bothers me with all these romaji request stuff. As long as they are comfortable using them, it's fine by me.

Although, that doesn't mean I am encouraging them to use romaji at will. I believe that we are in no position to tell them not to. They are free to ask and seek out anything that they want. And like everyone said, many are simply not serious learners of Japanese. They just want the meaning or a quick translation of a word or two.

It is simply, either you want to help them or not. If you don't, then all you simply have to do is to ignore them. Period.

僕はどうでもヘキです。もし皆さんが手伝ってあげれば 、僕もそうします。もしそうじゃなければ、もし皆さん がそう言った求めを無視すると、僕もそうするつもりで す。