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From: dik@zuring.UUCP (Dik T. Winter)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Learn Japanese or bust. (What are we really saying ?)
Message-ID: <266@zuring.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Dec-85 22:37:19 EST
Article-I.D.: zuring.266
Posted: Fri Dec 20 22:37:19 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 22-Dec-85 00:53:02 EST
References: <1791@uwmacc.UUCP> <839@h-sc1.UUCP> <1809@uwmacc.UUCP> <842@h-sc1.UUCP> <1814@uwmacc.UUCP>
Reply-To: dik@zuring.UUCP (Dik T. Winter)
Organization: CWI, Amsterdam
Lines: 18
Apparently-To: rnews@mcvax

In article <1814@uwmacc.UUCP> edwards@uwmacc.UUCP (mark edwards) writes:
>  I had 4 years of Japanese classes for the record and use the language
>  practically everyday. To read a Japanese Newspaper I think I will 
>  always need a dictionary, but given equal experience in French or
>  Spanish I think I could fake it better. (Any one out there have
>  4 years of Spanish ? What do you think ?)
>
No spanish.  But I have had 5 years of English classes and I could read
your article without a dictionary.
To be serious.  I think it helps when the script is familiar.
So for you to learn to read spanish is simpler than to read japanese
(or russian).
Reminds me of the following, once I was in Bulgaria and on a sign
I read "onmuka" (this was script, mind).  It took me the whole of a
day to realise that it read "optika".
-- 
dik t. winter, cwi, amsterdam, nederland
UUCP: {seismo,decvax,philabs,okstate,garfield}!mcvax!dik