Question:
I've been reading that "How difficult is it to learn Japanese?" thread,
and as a result I think I might try to learn the language (strictly a
casual study though). Anyway, I saw that many of you recommended
learning the kana first. Is that the same thing as the katakana (excuse
my ignorance)? Also can anyone recommend any good books on learning the
language? Unfortunately I don't have the time to take a separate class.
Answer:
Japanese for a person who hasn't been around it is a little tough. You
need to learn Katakana and Hiragana which are the two basic forms of the
"alphabet" in Japan. KAtakana is used in mainly foreign words and
Hiragana is used in original words.
FOr example: hikari=light (origin=Japanese=hiragana)
pasocon=pah-so-na-ru.ko-n-pi-yuu-ta=personal computer
(origin=english=katakana)
The pronounciation isn't totally right i think but it covers the gist of
it.
Anyways, my friend had a book called Japanese in 10 min a day or
something like that and it covered all types of speech and pronounciation.
For something that teaches you hiragana or katakana, you could try looking
in the Kinokuniya bookstore chain in America. They must have something on
it. I got all of my dictionaries from that store
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