Should i bother trying to learn Japanese?

[MetalSymphony]

Ill spare you guy the very long version and get right into it.

Now, i'm 24, i love Toku to death but recently i am growing tired of fan-sub's with "Lazy" translations, and wanting to cut up the middle man (so to speak) i thought that i might as well learn the language and become a Raw watcher so i can make my own call on what is being said.

But, at the same time, i have the feeling that i might be too old for it to take. It's has been proven that the younger you are, the easier it is to learn languages, and like i said i'm no 10 year old. Plus the two languages i do know besides my native one (French and German), are nothing like Japanese.

Add to that the fact i might not be in this situation if my stupid high school and taken my suggestion on new language courses.....The short version is that in grade 11, we where asked what 3 foreign language classes should be offered the next year. French is mandatory in Canada, so i suggested Japanese (and Russian). The next year they had French, Spanish 9an odd choice for a school in the middle of Canada) and Tagalog (this town has a sizable Filipino community, so it sort of makes sense). I was pissed.

So, back to the question, should a old brick like me try to take on Japanese so as to vastly increase ht e amount of J-Media available to me if successful?

 

[MetalSymphony]

Ill spare you guy the very long version and get right into it.

Now, i'm 24, i love Toku to death but recently i am growing tired of fan-sub's with "Lazy" translations, and wanting to cut up the middle man (so to speak) i thought that i might as well learn the language and become a Raw watcher so i can make my own call on what is being said.

But, at the same time, i have the feeling that i might be too old for it to take. It's has been proven that the younger you are, the easier it is to learn languages, and like i said i'm no 10 year old. Plus the two languages i do know besides my native one (French and German), are nothing like Japanese.

Add to that the fact i might not be in this situation if my stupid high school and taken my suggestion on new language courses.....The short version is that in grade 11, we where asked what 3 foreign language classes should be offered the next year. French is mandatory in Canada, so i suggested Japanese (and Russian). The next year they had French, Spanish (an odd choice for a school in the middle of Canada) and Tagalog (this town has a sizable Filipino community, so it sort of makes sense). I was pissed.

So, back to the question, should a old brick like me try to take on Japanese so as to vastly increase ht e amount of J-Media available to me if successful?

 

[Bigdog]

Ill spare you guy the very long version and get right into it.

Now, i'm 24, i love Toku to death but recently i am growing tired of fan-sub's with "Lazy" translations, and wanting to cut up the middle man (so to speak) i thought that i might as well learn the language and become a Raw watcher so i can make my own call on what is being said.

But, at the same time, i have the feeling that i might be too old for it to take. It's has been proven that the younger you are, the easier it is to learn languages, and like i said i'm no 10 year old. Plus the two languages i do know besides my native one (French and German), are nothing like Japanese.

Add to that the fact i might not be in this situation if my stupid high school and taken my suggestion on new language courses.....The short version is that in grade 11, we where asked what 3 foreign language classes should be offered the next year. French is mandatory in Canada, so i suggested Japanese (and Russian). The next year they had French, Spanish (an odd choice for a school in the middle of Canada) and Tagalog (this town has a sizable Filipino community, so it sort of makes sense). I was pissed.

So, back to the question, should a old brick like me try to take on Japanese so as to vastly increase ht e amount of J-Media available to me if successful?

Use Rosetta Stone if you have the money. I've heard it's remarkable.

 

[Tom Constantine]

Hey, we're the same age and I have lessons. We're not old bricks

Don't think it'll be quick though, it'll take a year or so to be conversational. It's quite an upward battle for Western native speakers.

 

[Mr. Yellow]

I think you should, if there are available lessons to you and you can afford it. 24 is still pretty young.

I'd do the same thing if I ever found any proper lessons being taught around here, now I'm just stuck teachying myself once in a while.

 

[KouAidou]

The good news: the fact that you have learned other languages will help you in learning Japanese, even if the languages are not actually similar. Knowing French and German means you have a basic understanding of the ways in which languages can be similar and different. You'll have appropriate gratitude for the fact that Japanese only has five irregular verbs, and that words are always pronounced exactly the way they look.

The bad news: even if you start to learn Japanese, getting to a level of fluency that will allow you to watch and fully grok raw episodes on a single watch is going to take a very, very long time. Probably around ten years, more or less, depending on what methods you use, how dedicated you are to studying, and whether or not you have people to speak with.

The okay news: any amount of Japanese that you learn is an invaluable asset for navigating the world of terrible fansubs. You don't have to throw subs out the window entirely, but getting some familiarity with the language will allow you to use them as an aid, rather than being completely at their mercy.

So I say, learn away. Don't expect immediate results, but any education at all will be a big help to you.

 

[Jacky392000]

remember this: you're never too old to learn a new trick.
I've been self-studying Japanese since I was 14, never got into a formal school until last year.
now I'm proud to say I can understand J-dramas and Toku w/o subs, but of course if you're talking about shows with medical terms, police terms etc. I still need some subs.
learning Japanese is actually very fun if you're interested in the language. you might even learn some interesting Japanese culture at the same time. :thumbs:

 

[Miaka975]

Ill spare you guy the very long version and get right into it.

Now, i'm 24, i love Toku to death but recently i am growing tired of fan-sub's with "Lazy" translations, and wanting to cut up the middle man (so to speak) i thought that i might as well learn the language and become a Raw watcher so i can make my own call on what is being said.

But, at the same time, i have the feeling that i might be too old for it to take. It's has been proven that the younger you are, the easier it is to learn languages, and like i said i'm no 10 year old. Plus the two languages i do know besides my native one (French and German), are nothing like Japanese.

Add to that the fact i might not be in this situation if my stupid high school and taken my suggestion on new language courses.....The short version is that in grade 11, we where asked what 3 foreign language classes should be offered the next year. French is mandatory in Canada, so i suggested Japanese (and Russian). The next year they had French, Spanish (an odd choice for a school in the middle of Canada) and Tagalog (this town has a sizable Filipino community, so it sort of makes sense). I was pissed.

So, back to the question, should a old brick like me try to take on Japanese so as to vastly increase ht e amount of J-Media available to me if successful?

my hs offered japanese, spanish, french, and mandarin as languages courses........ everyone took japanese, cuz that's where the money's at where i'm from XD ..... i was frankly surprised we offered french.... or spanish for that matter XD

anyhow i don't think u're too old to learn a new language! heck i'm always trying to teach my mom to read jpn........ but yeah XD... and i'm constantly trying to improve my korean/chinese..... buuuut i have little incentive to learn those languages... and currently all i can do is sound out the korean words i'm reading, and kiiinda sorta read chinese.. but based on their jpn meaning...which i've been told is slightly different......based on the responses my friends give me on what i think i read XDDDD

rosetta stone is pretty good... but i fuddled around on the highest level for jpn at the kiosk.......... it doesn't cover very far to tell u the truth... i'm not even sure if it'll be a high enough level to help you watch tv..... buuut i was impressed by the way they taught it there...... it's exactly how i tell my mom to study all the time! if you force yourself to learn/figure things out, rather than cheat and look at the answers all the itme, you learn much faster!

 

[Tom Constantine]

The good news: the fact that you have learned other languages will help you in learning Japanese, even if the languages are not actually similar. Knowing French and German means you have a basic understanding of the ways in which languages can be similar and different. You'll have appropriate gratitude for the fact that Japanese only has five irregular verbs, and that words are always pronounced exactly the way they look.

The bad news: even if you start to learn Japanese, getting to a level of fluency that will allow you to watch and fully grok raw episodes on a single watch is going to take a very, very long time. Probably around ten years, more or less, depending on what methods you use, how dedicated you are to studying, and whether or not you have people to speak with.

The okay news: any amount of Japanese that you learn is an invaluable asset for navigating the world of terrible fansubs. You don't have to throw subs out the window entirely, but getting some familiarity with the language will allow you to use them as an aid, rather than being completely at their mercy.

So I say, learn away. Don't expect immediate results, but any education at all will be a big help to you.

10 years? We're talking 2 if you study regularly.

 

[KouAidou]

10 years? We're talking 2 if you study regularly.

I can't believe that. I've known plenty of people who thought they could do it after two years, but those are the same people who get hired by **** sub groups and create **** subs.

(Granted, it depends on how you define "grok". I'm talking about understanding every line you come across and sub/interpret yourself on a single watchthrough, not being able to roughly follow the action.)