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Studying Japanese Language/Literature/History

Kawaikochan
We're obviously addicted to dramas, hehe, but is anyone here studying Japanese language, literature, or history?

I've studied both language and literature, but very little history. Basically, I learned enough history to understand the context for the literature. I studied literature formally in school, but am teaching myself the language. I want to study traditional Japanese monsters/ghosts/lore/mythology next (please post if you have any book suggestions).

What about you? Do you study anything related to Japan, formally or informally? Do you have any favorite Japanese authors? Is there something you want to study?

Edited to add:

Even though we have a Japanese Language Resources thread, many times links for resources end up on this thread via the course of convo but don't make it to the official resources thread. While I encourage everyone to check out the resources and make reviews on the resource thread, I decided to add a list of the links provided in this thread to this OP. It is in no way organized and does not have any descriptions, but I figured it would be better than having to go through each page yourself :)

And the links are:
https://www.readthekanji.com/
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar
http://www.linguanaut.com/japanese_keyboard.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiragana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katakana
http://www.animecrazy.net/forums/blogs/liisun/18569-formal-japanese-video-lessons-here-lessons-1-15-please-subscribe.html
http://www.jlist.com/product/RESERVE81
http://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/
http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/about
http://www.lexiophiles.com/language-lovers-toplist/time-to-vote-for-your-favorite-language-facebook-page-2011
http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/kanji-files
http://ta133.wordpress.com/
http://readmod.wordpress.com/
http://www.textfugu.com/season-1/reading-writing-memorizing-hiragana/#top
http://indexjevideos.freehostia.com/
http://dbskarchives.blogspot.com/2007/08/media-downloads.html
http://www.tofugu.com/2011/06/10/studying-with-japanese-drama-how-to/
http://www.youtube.com/user/Entropy102
http://www.youtube.com/user/bobbyjudo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdePvwESDX8&feature=feedlik
http://www.youtube.com/user/Eyobe1?feature=watch
http://ww8.tiki.ne.jp/~tmath/language/jpverbs/index.htm
http://www.japanesepod101.com/
http://www.j-os.com/courseprice.html
http://kids.goo.ne.jp/shirabemono/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmXh7sCsZk0&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGrBHiuPlT0&lr=1
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/foreign-languages-and-literatures/21f-501-japanese-i-fall-2009/index.htm
http://www.freshverse.com/
http://www.japonin.com/refer_for_free_japanese_lessons.html
http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa072701b.htm
http://www.aeriagloris.com/LearnJapanese/index.html
http://www.skritter.com/
http://www.renshuu.org/
http://kanjidamage.com/japanese_symbols
http://www.conversationexchange.com/
https://www.livemocha.com/
http://www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com/tableofcontents.htm
http://www.mediafire.com/?gimhksks200b6
http://japaneselevelup.com/
http://japaneselevelup.com/2012/02/05/japanese-quest-walkthrough/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1Wrsi2dGok&feature=player_embedded
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ladyfaile
i'm trying to learn the language. My brother in law lives in Tokyo at the moment and i'm hoping to go visit him and do some touristy stuff shopping etc while i'm there. he'll still have to go to work so rather than sit in his apartment and do nothing i plan to take full advantage and go exploring. knowing some of the language and how to read signs etc would make life easier.
plus it'd be great to be able to watch raws, not to mention understand song lyrics since most of what i listen to is Japanese.
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JCKdorama
I was an exchange student in Mie, Japan. I loved it so much! Because of the earthquake I was sent home against my will, but I am planning on coming back during college. I will be studying International Studies and one of my focuses will be Japan. I love learning the language, but it is tricky and requires a lot of practice.
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Kawaikochan
Yay there are others out there! The language is tough and sometimes it feels like all the studying isn't helping, but then there's a breakthrough and it's like "Yay me!" hehe

How are you guys learning? Why did you decide to go to Japan?
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ladyfaile
i use rosetta stone and live mocha (user name sandra03 if anyone else uses it and wants to add me as a friend, just let me know you're from here cause if i don't recognize the name i usually decline friend requests lol) a bit here and there, and i'm going through these cheesy but effective videos someone posted at ac/dc, and http://www.readthekanji.com/ for practicing writing. i'm still just on hiragana though

it IS hard because it's soooo different from english, not like learning a germanic or latin language, the sentence structure is way different. but at the same time it's simpler than it seems

i'm really still just a beginner though, i don't devote a ton of time to it. more the last couple weeks cause i'm not working but i have to find a new job asap and then i'll have less time for it again. i'm getting to the point where i can pick out a couple words here and there while watching dramas or anime

why go to Japan? cause i'm in love with the culture and just everything to do with Japan really. plus right now my brother in law is living and working in Tokyo so it gives me a great excuse to go, i can visit him and his girlfriend (who is Japanese), have a free place to crash, see his show, and go exploring and shopping etc on my own while they're at work. my husband would be coming with me of course, he's not as much into asian stuff or anime etc as i am, but he does like to travel and of course wants to visit his brother.

problem is my BIL's contract might end before i can actually afford to go, and at that time he'll be trying to transfer to another location closer to home, probably in the US. but if he moves out of Japan his girlfriend will go with him and they'll need to go visit her family now and then so he said he'd still go there with us on a trip and show us around even if he's not living there anymore. it'd just be more expensive because we'd need to stay at a hotel.
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boutux
i'm teaching myself using online resources for now. i purchased some text books and a dictionary online but waiting for them to arrive. japanese is the 1st language that i have wanted to learn, i really want to go to japan and i want to enjoy dramas, anime and variety shows without needing subs.
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boutux
i would say i'm a beginner too. i can read and write hiragana and katakana but my vocabulary is lacking alot(i really need that dictionary lol). i especially want to learn and understand the grammar and formulate sentences as well which i think will be the hardest part outside of reading kanji which i won't even bother trying. if u're teaching urself/ can't afford or get classes i would recommend what i 've been doing which is based on advice a japanese co worker gave to me (and it's working)= learn hiragana and katakana 1st(reading and writing), start building up ur vocab and find native speakers to practice with. and where would i be without dramas and variety shows, they've helped me a ton!

oh and i'm also using the video on ac/dc forums. yes they are cheesy but they are simple and easy to follow. also i use http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar. it's a really comprehensive tool and it also comes as an ipod/iphone app. it's really good and it also provides with lots of other free online japanese language education resources.
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ladyfaile
oh cool i'll check that link out, thanks.

i like the way rosetta and livemocha work, since it's hard to translate directly from Japanese to English or vise-versa, but at the same time there are some times in the lessons where i really wish for a translation because the photos don't always give you the best idea of what the words mean or the context you'd use them in. that's why i like using the irasshai videos too, it is still beginner basics but from a different perspective and teaching style. combining different methods seems to work the best for me, i'm retaining a lot more this way than with rosetta alone.
live mocha is much the same concept as rosetta (but free!)except that users can post comments to the lessons, which are sometimes really helpful, and you can submit written or spoken submissions and other users who are fluent in that language can review it and show you any mistakes you made etc so it's a lot more interactive than rosetta. i don't have a mic so i can only do the written submissions and usually i don't bother cause i'm anxious to get to the next lesson haha. but it constantly reviews stuff you learned previously which is nice otherwise i'd forget everything.

i do also have a Japanese-English dictionary which is handy, and i found a handy virtual Japanese keyboard online so if you want to type something in Hiragana or Katakana but don't remember the characters you can look at the romaji http://www.linguanaut.com/japanese_keyboard.htm
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boutux
i didn't know about live mocha. i will definitely check that out. i tried rosetta stone and hated it from the onset. the picture association thing just didn't do it for me so that is when my co worker suggested learning the writing systems 1st. once i saw that i was retaining stuff better using her suggestions i gave up on rosetta stone. i never got past lesson 1. maybe i should give it another shot since i've learnt alot more now.

as for the keyboard issue, the link i provided gave easy instructions on how to set up the language bar and japanese keyboard in windows 7 os. u can select the writing system u want to use and type using romaji. i just toggle between english and japanese keyboards when i need to. ありがとございます for the links. lol.
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ladyfaile
どういたしまして。

i don't have windows 7 but i'll look into it. i like using the virtual one though because i can try to find the hiragana character first and if i can't remember it or find it then i can look for the romaji. i don't want to be too dependent on using romaji cause it'll be harder for me to remember the hiragana
also for writing something like above, if i don't know how to say it i could use an online translator and copy and paste it, but i prefer to look it up in the dictionary and then try to figure out how to write it myself. i'm the type that learns by doing. some people are visual learners or learn by memorizing, and some learn better through application and i'm one of those ^^ i can't memorize but if i do something enough times it'll stick. which is why that readthekanji.com site is helpful. i think if i did the hiragana quiz every day i'd learn all the characters much faster than trying to learn them through the video lessons (though i'm doing that also because it teaches me the proper way to write them not just how to read them)
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Kawaikochan
I haven't seen the videos at ac/dc so I'll definitely check them out. I use live mocha too. I really think that doing the reading and speaking exercises have helped me a ton. It's important to practice and it's helped me meet native speakers for language exchange.

I started learning kanji almost immediately because it really helps with reading comprehension. A string of hiragana is hard to understand if you have limited vocabulary and it's more difficult for a native speaker to understand because there are so many kanji with the exact same reading and there aren't any spaces so it's work work for them to distinguish where a word starts and stops. I've tried Skritter.com and find it fun and helpful. I don't think I would pay for a subscription though. It's just not worth it to me.

Variety shows are soo helpful because of the more natural language and pace of the conversation. I also signed up for Japanesepod101.com. The lessons are good, but I definitely don't think it could be used to learn japanese all on its own. My favorite books at the moment are Exploring Japanese Literature and Breaking into Japanese Literature because the have parallel text in Japanese and English with definitions for the words used in that specific context. Thejapanesepage.com has some cute children's stories that you can also use for reading comprehension. It cuts down on the time spent looking in the kanji dictionary. Jisho.org is a good online dictionary as well, btw.

If we get enough people involved we could set up a text book exchange or something where those who are more advanced can sell/give their books to those at lower levels at an very low price.
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boutux
Grenreddeva wrote: どういたしまして。

i don't have windows 7 but i'll look into it. i like using the virtual one though because i can try to find the hiragana character first and if i can't remember it or find it then i can look for the romaji. i don't want to be too dependent on using romaji cause it'll be harder for me to remember the hiragana
also for writing something like above, if i don't know how to say it i could use an online translator and copy and paste it, but i prefer to look it up in the dictionary and then try to figure out how to write it myself. i'm the type that learns by doing. some people are visual learners or learn by memorizing, and some learn better through application and i'm one of those ^^ i can't memorize but if i do something enough times it'll stick. which is why that readthekanji.com site is helpful. i think if i did the hiragana quiz every day i'd learn all the characters much faster than trying to learn them through the video lessons (though i'm doing that also because it teaches me the proper way to write them not just how to read them)


do you have an ipod or iphone there are some cool kana memory apps. the one i use is KanaTap. it's a memory practice game that gives you the hiragana/ katakana and romaji and tests you. eg it would give you the romaji Ka and 4 options to pick from hiragana(ま； か； ね； が）and if you're wrong it let's you pick until you get it right.

i actually learned to write using http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiragana and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katakana it has a chart of the stroke order and directions.
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claudya87
I actually took lessons of Japanese for two years in faculty but still if I didn't practice my knowledge of the language now remained at beginner's level. I would like to start learning it again but it seems I don't have much time these days. :(
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Kawaikochan
I've found a good way to practice is by doing little things each day like listening to japanese podcasts while on the way to work, carrying a few flashcards to do while you wait for an appointment, or carrying a small book with you to read whenever you have a little down time. It's amazing how much you can squeeze it in when you pick things that really interest you. That's why I'm a fan of books with parallel text. It's much more interesting than reading a dry text book.
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ladyfaile
lots of good tips here so far :)
here's the link for the Irasshai lessons. they were linked in someone's blog but when the site was down i googled it and found it linked on other sites too. they're megavideo uploads though so you can only do a couple lessons a day if you don't have a paid membership. you can also buy the series on DVD i think it was through Georgia Public Broadcasting or something like that
http://www.animecrazy.net/forums/blogs/liisun/18569-formal-japanese-video-lessons-here-lessons-1-15-please-subscribe.html

i was snooping around on jlist.com the other day and you can subscribe to a magazine that is printed in Japanese and English. i'd like to give this a shot when i can afford it http://www.jlist.com/product/RESERVE81
if you snoop through their study materials you can get all kinds of stuff
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