And I am totally not ready yet.
Grammar and kanji are not up to snuff, though I’ve definitely made progress. I still have a month to go, but Japanese of this level is not something you can cram for in such a short amount of time.
All that’s left is to bank on that 50% pass mark, or to truly believe that courage will turn 50% into 100%.
There are a number of aspects of the Japanese language that you can use to supplement your Japanese studies, but one of the most difficult areas in my opinion is that of politeness. More often than not, anime characters care little for using the appropriate verb forms in specific situations. Probably the most you’ll ever see in terms of levels of politeness and familiarity is characters who originally called each other by their last names transitioning to a first-name-basis kind of relationship. And the most formal vocabulary is known as “keigo.”
Keigo is the kind of vocabulary you use when you want to be ultra formal, ultra polite, and probably talking to your boss. I can’t give any specific lessons as my keigo is shaky at this point in time, but to give you an idea of keigo and some of the difficulty that learning it entails, I’ll provide a few examples. The verb “suru,” to do, in keigo is “nasaru.” That “itadakimasu” you hear so often before meals is actually a keigo form of “moraimasu,” or to receive.
Again, this is not something you can develop or improve significantly while watching anime or reading manga, so in this case it is best to go through more orthodox channels.
I’ve registered for the JLPT2, which happens December 7th, 2008. As a reminder, registration ends around September 20th, so get a move on it if you plan on seeing just how much Japanese you know while under the pressure of a test environment with a test purposely designed to fool you.
After Otakon, my studying had dropped significantly, and I found myself forgetting kanji i thought I knew. Alarmed, I became determined to study more with the help of a friend. I answered some sample questions from the JLPT2 and got most of them right. However, being correct doesn’t matter if you don’t actually answer all of the questions, and this is where I learned the harsh reality of the JLPT2: It is a LOT of questions in very little time. One section wants you to answer 100 questions in 40 minutes, leaving you actually less than 30 seconds per question. Granted, you only need to get 60% of the test correct in order to pass, but the pressure of that time limit is so harsh it’ll cause me to lose 2 PP every time I attack.
I also have been trying to improve my listening comprehension, and decided to be all hardcore about it and listen to the Nikkei News Podcast. What I learned is that I can understand Japanese commercials (or rather the between-news-segments promos) a hell of a lot better than I can understand news about business and economics. Maybe if I listen to it 10 more times I could actually understand 50% of it.
it’s only a few months away so I need to buck up and study more. You may or may not see a decrease in post that are actually about anime.
The Japanese Language Proficiency Test, or JLPT, or 「日本語能力試験」 (I’m writing this down so I finally remember what the damn test is called in Japanese), is a test given once a year so that those who study Japanese may get proper certification to show that, yes, they know *this* much Japanese. 4 is the easiest, requiring only basic Japanese education, while level 1 is super crazy difficult and you really shouldn’t try it.
I have been aiming for the JLPT2, which is the “business” level, and described on the official site as…
Level 2: The examinee has mastered grammar to a relatively high level, knows around 1,000 kanji and 6,000 words, and has the ability to converse, read, and write about matters of a general nature. This level is normally reached after studying Japanese for around 600 hours, which is equivalent to completing an intermediate course.
Passing Score: 240/400
Writing-vocabulary: 35 min
Listening: 40min
Reading-grammar: 70min
Total: 145min
And looking at the material required, I can’t tell if I’m in over my head or not. I’m pretty confident I could pass the level 3 without too much trouble, but I might be in a situation where the level 3 is too simple and the level 2 is too difficult. Also, because I haven’t been regularly exposed to normal Japanese since leaving Japan three years ago, I fear my listening skills have deteriorated significantly.
That said, the weirdest thing is that upon checking out some sample tests, I found the reading comprehension to be easier than the isolated vocabulary section. This goes against everything I’ve ever experienced with foreign language exams.
In the meantime, I’ve been trying to master all ~1000 kanji required for the test, and the result is I’ve been making weirder and weirder tricks for remembering certain words.
極, or pole, I remember because it sort of looks like Souther, the Pole Star.
憎, or hatred, I remember because the right side looks kind of like Optimus Prime, and the left side looks sort of like a cannon (yes, I know it’s a version of the heart radical), so “Megatron hates Optimus Prime.”
Every time I do something like this, a baby probably dies.
I’ve realized recently that whether consciously or unconsciously I will think back to anime and manga titles to discern whether or not I’m using a specific particle correctly in Japanese. It’s a semi-handy reference that can put into context just how these mysterious 1-2 syllable creatures affect the meaning of a sentence, as well as a reminder that English and Japanese don’tquite match up.
As for some examples…
トップをねらえ！！
Top o Nerae!!
Aim for the Top!!
Initial instinct might be to go for “ni” but here’s something to make sure you don’t do that.
マリア様が見てる
Maria-sama ga Miteru
Maria Watches Over Us
The ever-tricky “ga” particle, this at the very least tells you that when the sentence is this short, ga is correct over wa (は）.
魔法使いに大切なこと
Mahoutsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto
Things That Are Precious to a Mage
Two particles in this one. Ni meaning “to” doesn’t just apply to going places as you probably learned in beginner’s Japanese, but has a similar effect overall. Here is also a demonstration of how to use a “na” adjective such as Taisetsu, and the reason it’s called a “na” adjective by some teachers in the first place.
So there it is. Keep in mind that I’m advocating this method 100% or calling it truly useful for learning from scratch. However, I assume a lot of people reading this are already anime fans, and it can be useful to have that context without being corrupted by just hearing the stereotypical anime words like “baka” and “sugoi.”
Also keep in mind that English translations of titles often have to sound good as well, so they won’t be super exact.
I’ve previously discussed using anime to support one’s Japanese studies, where I pointed out that it is very possible to do so.
Recently, this topic of discussion came up with a friend who also studies Japanese, and we determined that context can be very useful for learning any language, and in the case of Japanese that context may very well be the anime you watch. Just remembering a scene where a word is used can be enough to recall the meaning of something.
It might be looked down upon, but hey, whatever works, right?
Actually, more than anime and remembering vocabulary, I feel that making mental connections can be very useful in learning kanji. As an example, while studying with the help of flash cards I came across the word 油断 or “to be off-guard” and I immediately recognized it for one reason and one reason only.
Of course, don’t rely totally on anime, and don’t let it be the sole focus of your studies.
I’ve studied Japanese for a few years. I studied in Japan for half a year. It’s been two years since I stopped studying Japanese in school, though I still try to keep up with things. My Japanese has more than a few holes in it, and I don’t get enough practice speaking these days.
And all this time, I have been an otaku.
The otaku in the Japanese classroom is considered by some to be one of the most unpleasant aspects of taking Japanese classes. I don’t really believe this to be true, because the real culprit isn’t being an otaku, it’s having no actual desire to learn the language. Even if it’s not something you plan to pursue well into fluency, throwing around baka and sugoi doesn’t benefit anyone.
That said, I believe anime CAN help you learn and improve your Japanese. Being an otaku does not put you at a disadvantage. It does not impede your education as long as you know what to watch out for.
Do not take the words spoken in anime as any indication of what is formal or even informal or friendly speech. A lot of anime does not try to accurately portray Japanese society, but rather tries to reflect upon it. There’s really no steadfast rule here. You basically have to learn how to filter out anything that is too unusual, or to learn it but to keep in mind that it’s unusual.
Learning vocabulary also falls into this category. You have to take what you learn and refine it. For example, memorizing special attacks and technique names alone won’t help you in any normal or academic situation, but I think they can give the aspiring Japanese-learning otaku and introduction to the difference between on and kun readings, as well as kanji compound formation.
The best way to put it perhaps, is to say that if you have the drive to learn the language, any usage of it no matter how odd can benefit you as long as you let it and know how to let it.
Oh, and I don’t think anything needs to be said about reading raw manga and learning from there.
OGIUE MANIAX 