Why I Chose to Study Japanese...
When I tell people I was born in Japan, a common question that comes up is whether I can speak Japanese. Even though I was only a baby when living in Japan, I always feel weird when I say no, I do not speak Japanese. My hope is that one day I'll be able to answer differently and be able to speak the language of the country in which I was born.
And now that I'm living in Korea, Japan is less than two hours away by plane. My family and friends like to visit Japan often whether it's to go skiing in Sapporo or to eat ramen in Tokyo. Being able to speak Japanese, I think, would make the trips more interesting as I would be able to interact with the locals through their own language rather than awkward gestures and broken English.
It would also be nice to watch Japanese movies without the subtitles. I would feel quite accomplished.
So far, what's made the class a challenge besides having to memorize vocab and learn hiragana is the grammar. Knowing Korean helps because of the similar grammar rules, but all the particles give me a headache. I guess I'm going to have to get used to it though. I'm also scared to start learning kanji.
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Hello ともだち! I am scared to learn Kanji too, don't worry. :) I also like to watch Hayao Miyazake films. My favorites are Spirited Away, Totoro, and Howl's Moving Castle. Jamata ashita!
ReplyDeleteKonnichiwa,
ReplyDeleteI agree that it would be great to be able to watch anime without the subtitles. It takes away from the experience when you’re concentrating and pausing to read the subtitles, especially when the dialogue is fast. I also believe that the Kanji will be difficult. Truthfully, I am hopeful that we will be able to speak Japanese faster than we will be able to read it (since it will take us a couple of year or two to simply read the newspaper). I am sure this is this case. Ja mata.