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From: breuel@h-sc1.UUCP (thomas breuel)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Learn Japanese or bust. (What are we really saying ?)
Message-ID: <846@h-sc1.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Dec-85 15:17:55 EST
Article-I.D.: h-sc1.846
Posted: Wed Dec 18 15:17:55 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Dec-85 05:34:31 EST
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To: harvard!caip!seismo!uwvax!uwmacc!edwards
In-reply-to: your article <1814@uwmacc.UUCP>

Well, maybe we should continue the discussion by mail. Again,
my basic point is that there is no need or reason to discourage
someone from learning any foreign language, be it Japanese,
French, or German. 

I am sure that whoever requested the references for introductory
Japanese language texts in the first place had a good reason to
do so, and it would probably have been more helpful had you answered
his question rather than trying to scare him away with 'how difficult'
Japanese is.

A few other points. Officially, we learned Katakana, Hiragana, and
roughly 150 Kanji during the first term (3 months). Personally, I
probably know a few hundred Kanji more or less well (meaning that for some I
only know either the Kun or On reading). I don't find learning
Kanji any worse (and in many respects more entertaining) than
learning English, Russian, Latin, or French words. Many characters
have their own history or reveal particular aspects of Japanese
and Chinese culture. Particularly helpful are for example Wieger's
book on the etymology of Chinese characters, and Pye's book on
phonetic relationships. Even if these books are not historically
accurate, they do provide good mnemonic aids.

As you said, you could probably 'fake' reading a French newspaper
more easily after three years of study, but that is not the point, is it?
In order to understand it, you must know the precise meaning of
practically every word or idiomatic expression, and that just
takes much more than three years to learn. 

Altogether, what foreign languages one learns is determined by
one's interests and one's needs, not by how 'difficult' that
language may be. In addition, I believe that the difference
in 'difficulty' between Japanese and your average European
language is probably much less than many people claim.
In learning English, I found that the similarities between it and
my native language became more and more of a burden the further
I advanced, and I am therefore doubtful whether any initial advantage
I had in learning English is paying in the long run.

						Thomas.