Not Japanese, but Awesome nonetheless
Yo, Brent here.
Just found (did) something awesome!
You can now dual-boot Android on your iPhone, and it’s almost as easy as geohot’s Jailbreaks. lol
That’s where I found out about it, and after installing it, I gotta say, it’s pretty cool.
There are some problems (My wi-fi being iffy is one of them, maybe due to the fact I’m using a 1g instead of a 2 or 3g…) and you have not access to the market, but you can find ways to get apps on your phone.
Maybe I should have tweeted this instead, seeing as it’s not really long, but I thought I should share.
Deuces!
The Lazy Way Out, Khatz may be on to something…
Yo. Brent here.
(I’m not even sure why I start these things off like that anymore >>;; Just habit, I suppose.)
Anyway, on to the main topic.
Now that I have power back, I was checking out AJATT, and I saw an older post I thought was interesting here.
It’s changed the way I’m thinking about going about this, and has a lot to do with how Japanese input would effect your work. (I think.)
It seems now he’s wanting to make sure you stay above the critical frequency. So…I don’t think breaks are good (like I said, I’ve been binging and purging…almost like a yo-yo diet, but for Japanese…>>;;)
Now. I’m gonna continue working on Japanese, but I’m not gonna stop. I need to keep going. But I also need to be lazy about it. My main problem is, I haven’t been changing my environment. I’ve changed my computer, sure. And some of the sites I’m on.
But if it gets too hard, I revert back to English. English is a huge crutch for me right now.
And I even feel bad sometimes, because I’ll get on here, and tell everyone (the 5 of you that visit now…) that I’m going to do it. I’m gonna take the plunge.
But then I don’t.
Then all the willpower in the world won’t help me, y’know? So…I think I’ve got it.
I’m gonna start. But, instead of treating it like one big, All Japanese All the Time movement, I’m just gonna start in Japanese. I’m already listening to Japanese. 1 point.
My computer’s in Japanese, 1 point.
It’s like, everytime I’m exposed to Japanese, I’m gaining EXP. Everything I do is like a monter, and the more I defeat (times I’m exposed to Japanese) the higher my level (ability) becomes.
Now, I’m posting on Lang-8.com. It’s a great site, with a wonderful community.
And, despite my short posts, I’ve noticed improvements. And I take the native corrections, and I SRS them. Because it’s something that I would say in real life.
I’ve also started to post videos of me speaking my Lang-8 posts. So, my Japanese is hideously incorrect, but it lets people correct my speech as well. However, I still listen to tons of audio (music mostly, because I’ve been really busy…-_-) and it seems to be helping my pronunciation.
Whenever I get Skype for Ubuntu downloaded, I’ll be using that…but that’s besides the point.
The main point here is the same point I keep trying to make (to you and myself): Be Lazy.
However, there’s a point that needs to be made in addition to that: You have to be lazy in Japanese.
That’s the hardest part for me…So, I’m gonna be finally changing my environment. I’m actually going to document it, and I will give myself a week. (I always seem to be doing it within a day, and I think that’s part of the problem. I’m not giving myself the time to adjust.)
Anyway, to sum it up today, be lazy in Japanese. Forget what your parents told you about being lazy. It’s good for you in this case.
Jaa, mata na!
Why do you learn?
Yo, Brent here.
I’m just listening to Strength by Abingdon Boys School, (Awesome music if you like Ajikan.) downloading some Kreva and Kick the Can Crew, when I realized something.
I still don’t have a goal yet.
I don’t exactly know why I’m doing this. I’ve seen people compare language aquisition to a trip in the car. You don’t (Usually! ww) get in a car without knowing where you’re going. You may not have the entire trip planned out, but you do have a destination, and you also have a reason.
Like…I’m hungry. So I get in my car and I know that I want to go to a store, so that I can buy me something to eat. (I just ran out of food. I’m a poor shopper…ww) So, I don’t know the exact roads I want to take (‘Cause there’s different ways to get there. I live in the city) And then I head to the store.
See? Reason: Buy food beacause I’m hungry.
Destination: Store
What’s your reason for learning your L2?
As of right now, I only have a destination. “Learning Japanese”. I don’t have a reason.
Yeah, I like manga, and I like Anime, and I even like games. (The Otaku trifecta) But why do I want to learn the language? I mean, most anime and manga get at least a fansub now, and there are a lot of games that get ported to the US (There’s also a lot that don’t, but…y’know?)
So. Why?
I think I’ve found a good reason for myself. I like to talk about and analyze things. (Languages, fighting games, card games, etc.) And, in all of those things, Japanese people and American people always play differently. They just do. For some reason, Japanese people tend to be much more defensive, and Americans tend to be much more Aggressive. So, in fighters, characters can be played very differently, just because of our cultures. In card games, it’s usually the American group that breaks things.
(And as a disclaimer, of course I’m grouping people right now. I know not everyone’s like that. If I hear that in the comments I’ll know you didn’t read this! ww)
But, I digress.
I want to see things like the Japanese. I want to learn from them, so that I can get more experience with that type of play. I want to be able to discuss games, about what they like and don’t, for when I finish my card game. I want to see things in a new light.
And that’s why I want to learn.
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is a very interesting read. At least to me. (I did a report on it in the 10th grade. I was real bad at keeping a coherent train of thought because I was so excited. ww)
It talks about how our thoughts are influenced by our language. Mostly like…We can’t really think of something if we don’t have a word for it. There have been tests where they take bilinguals, and have them fill out a personality test, and depending on which language the test was in, they answer differently.
So, that’s why I want to learn now. I want to see things like Japanese People. And not just Japanese people. Really…most people. I like Swedish too. Probably learn that next.
Anyway, don’t want to bore you with a wall of text, so I’ll wrap it up now.
Why do you learn? Answer in the comment box below. I can’t wait to hear your responses.
Grammar's Dead. Yay?
Yo. Brent here.
I’d like to think I don’t usually jump on the bandwagon with my posts, but I really want to chime in here.
Grammar’s Dead.
Yup. No bringing it back either. (Look how Latin’s doing, lol) Now, I understand. I hear you, grammar supporters. “But it’s easier when we have guidelines.”
It’s not. (Man, I love bold. Makes things pop.) It really isn’t. Like Khatz and Ramsies have said, it’s a really bad guideline. Yeah, I know. I used to be on the “Grammar’s not all that bad” group, and to an extent, I still am. I just don’t think you can learn a language by grammar. You have to have a lot of immersion. Tons. Years and Years. (Luckily, we’re adults. We learn faster.)
Besides, the “Critical Period” hypothesis was made in the 1960s. You know what else was in the 60′s? Hippies. Yeah, suck it 1960′s. We don’t have no stinking hippies, this is the 2010′s now. lol
Grammar is never (Aside from conlangs) the first created part of a language. Evar. So why should you learn it first? You learned English, right? (And if you haven’t…Keep reading. Maybe I’ll help you learn English. ^^) How did you do that? Did your parents read a grammar book to you while you went to sleep? Probably not. (My mummy read me Harry Potter. I was a good boy.)
You just learned it. By….showing up, perhaps? Hmmm? Is that the case? I know I read. A lot. I didn’t really have much else to do. Probably read my library out of books. I also listened to people and watched T.V.
In fact, I think the only reason children are “better” at learning languages is because they don’t really care. Yeah. Take that in.
They don’t care about the unnecessary things. They only want to talk and play and have fun. They want to exist in that language that everyone else is talking in. We as adults are firmly stuck in our L1, this I will agree on. Our brains are almost our enemies in this one. They have us thinking one way, and because we’ve been told all our life that it’s damn hard to learn a language, we assume it’s true, and we then become convinced of it, even if only subconsciously. Then, we try to learn a language by grammar, and we go somewhere to talk, and we realize we can’t say shit. We failed, and languages are impossible to learn.
I can’t believe how many friends I’ve got (and had) who just for the life of them swore they couldn’t learn a language. They’ve got themselves held back, and with that mindset, of course they can’t learn a language. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. There was always something that amused me though.
They were complaining and complimenting me in English. Last time I checked, English was a language.
They’ve fallen for that cruel joke that the linguists played on all of us. That joke that the only way to learn language is through grammar. Well, I’m tired of it. I don’t care anymore. I just want to read my manga, listen to AK-69, and enjoy my damn anime. I want to talk to Japanese people to see what it’s like on the other side of the world.
I’m tired of everyone treating language like it’s a damn chore. Enjoy yourself! You don’t have to know the language to enjoy yourself. Ask some kids. I know this for a fact. I’ve seen it. And trust me, different backgrounds, different cultures, you’ll still learn the language if you’re surrounded by it. You really have no choice. The thing here is making sure you’re constantly surrounded by it.
Anyway, I have a habit of ranting about things I have absolutely no qualification talking about, but I just think we should enjoy ourselves more. Don’t kill your L2 with grammar. Please? What did it do to you?
Think of the kittens.
Manga Review: Bakuman
Alright! Here’s the first in my manga review series, and one of my new favorite manga series: Bakuman.
I really have fallen in love with this manga, and it’s really fun to read (despite the basis…)
The manga is about 2 aspiring mangaka, Mashiro and Takagi, and their journey of being published in Jump Weekly. They first meet at school, when Takagi, a straight-A student finds Mashiro’s sketch notebook, and tells him to get it at the end of school that day. They then (After a little effort) decide to team up and try to get into Weekly Jump.
There’s an anime scheduled for release this Fall, and I will be watching it with Keyhole TV. (Unless it’s already out…But I’m pretty sure it isn’t >_>)
Anywho, I know this is short, but I’m not really sure how to review something like this without spoiling it, so if you could leave me comments about how you would like these sections to work, I’ll be glad to update!
See ya later!
AJATT is not a method!
Yeah. I’ll say it again for those of you not listening.
AJATT is NOT a method.
Period. End of story. In fact, the only reason AJATT exists is because Khatz decided he wanted to share his story. Of what worked for him. I’m tired of people bashing him, even though I do sometimes agree with those learning grammar (I just like grammar…>_> I make my own languages just ’cause sometimes. None of them have been too fleshed out, but y’know…)
Anyway. Back to what I was saying…It’s not. Antimoon isn’t either. So this whole “OMG, I have to get 10,000 sentences so that I can become fluent in Japanese!!” needs to stop. In fact, by his own admission (Hehe…Court shows…) he’d only done closer to 7,000. 18 months, and he had 7,000 sentences. That, in my opinion (I don’t know about Khatz. I have always been curious how he felt about this.), shows that he was much more focused on actually being in Japanese. Not about the sentences.
In fact, his success came from just being in Japanese. Over and over. Until it became a habit. Now, I think that’s the most difficult thing. I know I was trying to grab sentences from everywhere before. I’ve tried this several times. I don’t do well with it.
However, I know plenty of people who learned English by simply being there. Showing up. Maybe you’ve heard that before. They played games, watched movies, and copied everyone. And you know what happened? They spoke English.
The same thing goes for one of my friends. He learned Spanish by just listening to Spanish music, and talking with the cooks at Denny’s (Who are Spanish.) I actually almost wish I wanted to learn Spanish. Would be tons easier just because of our community. I might still do it at some point…
But I digress. I don’t know what it is that makes everybody upset about Khatz. He’s not lying. He really has no reason to. He’s not smarter than any of us. (Well, not all of us anyway…:P) But he immersed himself in Japanese, until all he could think was Japanese. He used it. (He had Japanese friends.) And, he improved. I don’t think it’s crazy that he learned Japanese in 18 months. I think the biggest problem we all face with this is that he claimed “fluency”.
No one (save a few brave souls…) used to claim fluency in a foriegn language. Because we never really described what it was. I don’t think there is a true answer. I know that personally, I think fluency is being able to do the things I do in my L1 (English, of course) in my L2. So am I fluent in Japanese? Absolutely not. I can talk a little bit, and I feel I’ve improved a lot simply by being immersed in Japanese. I can’t really imagine it any other way now.
I’ll be able to really kick it off once I get all of my English Books and Movies gone, and have all of my Japanese stuff set up, but I’m excited. I’m actually excited, even though I know I won’t understand everything. Just playing the games is fun. Just reading is fun. Just listening to Japanese Rap is fun. I’m doing my damnedest to try and learn this language. But the hardest thing for me has been to have fun.
I want to watch a movie and enjoy it. That’s what I’ve been doing. Yeah, there were subs. But I think subs are definitely a great learning tool (But that’s for another post.)
Anyway, all of this was trying to get you guys to see it isn’t a method. It’s more…It’s more than that. It’s a way of thinking, and a way of living. You have to put all of yourself in this. Forget the sentences. They’re a way of tracking your success. You’ll learn it whether you have your SRS reps or not. And sometimes, they even hurt you. They’ll hurt your enthusiasm for this game that you’re playing. For the book you’re reading. For the song your listening to. But if you really want to know what something means, put it in the SRS. Learn it, and enjoy it, however, don’t let the tool control you.
Well, this went on longer than I thought it was gonna. I guess that’s what I get for writing from the top of my head. I just really wanted to put this out.
Anyway, thanks for reading!
My top 5 favorite sites for Japanese information
I’ve never done a list before, so it’s probably not gonna be all that good, but let’s jump into it. I’ve been to a lot of sites about Japan and Japanese, and these are 5 of my favorites, in no particular order.
5. Lang-8
Lang-8 is an amazing site. You post a blog there, and natives of whatever language you’re learning correct your work. The people there are really nice, and you’ll get more out of it if you correct entries too. (There are a lot of people that need English help.) I haven’t been on there a lot recently, mostly because I’ve been trying the improve this blog. However, once I get this blog up and running, I’ll probably be there almost (If not every) day.
Ah, yes. The infamous AJATT. This is another great site for learning. However, he gives an entirely new way to learn. (Sort of. It’s actually really common, but for those of us used to the “Burn it into your skull with worksheets and tests” methods we used in school, it’s a breath of fresh air for most. Playing video games and watching anime is considered studying? Woot!) Also, he’s known for being quite inspirational. So, I tend to check his blog to see if he updated, just to get some motivation sometimes. (Because RTK can be quite maddening…)
Speaking of RTK, it’s online, fan-created SRS is on my list as well. While I may not visit as much for kanji, the forums are a very good place to get information on different styles of learning and tips about learning Japanese when you’re just tired of hearing about AJATT and you wanna try something else. Although, there are posts about it too.
And…Some of the people see AJATT as a cult. And I can’t really disagree with them somtimes. The fans of that method can be over the top sometimes. But I digress. Onto number 7!
2. J-Pop Asia
Yeah. I don’t visit here on a regular basis anymore, but it’s the best place I’ve ever seen to get music. They have top 20 charts from Japan, people’s favorite artists, and their database is top-notch. Every artist has at least one video, and it’s fun to mess around on it. You can buy houses on your favorite songs and I always seems to pick artists no one else buys houses on… >_> (Teriyaki Boyz are awesome!)
1. Epochrypha
Holy…crap? He revamped his site like crazy! He said he started this year, so at least I know I’m not crazy.
Anyway, with the new revamped site, you can see a lot of good information to help you on your journey to learn Japanese. He has a summary of all of the verb conjugations (and I really like that) and other things like keigo (Polite and honorifics) and Masculine and Feminine speech differences. (Not a whole lot on that.) Anyway, check that site out ASAP!
