dabookerman Posted August 19, 2006 Posted August 19, 2006 Yup, im starting Japanese from october, so its all good.
gaggle64 Posted August 19, 2006 Posted August 19, 2006 Certainly teaching mysalf a language could be darn useful. I'm thinking Spanish or Chinese.
dabookerman Posted August 19, 2006 Posted August 19, 2006 Which Chinese Language was the more widespread? Mandarin or Cantonese?
Supergrunch Posted August 19, 2006 Posted August 19, 2006 Which Chinese Language was the more widespread? Mandarin or Cantonese? Mandarin. And we should make another Japanese thread.
Ashley Posted August 19, 2006 Posted August 19, 2006 I was hoping to take a Japanese module at Uni but couldn't timetable it. Ah well.
Supergrunch Posted August 19, 2006 Posted August 19, 2006 I was hoping to take a Japanese module at Uni but couldn't timetable it. Ah well. Buy a book, use http://www.thejapanesepage.com and learn it yourself. (starting with hiragana and katakana)
KingOfHyrule Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 From September I'll be studying Irish and French as a joint degree in Queen's University - languages are most definitely my strong point. I also wanted to do separate classes in Japanese but I'll see how that goes - two languages at degree level might be enough! Like Conzer, I speak Irish and some people don't seem to realise it's a real language (quite a difficult one for some people) in it's own right - not just a dialectic bastardisation of English. However, there is of course Ulster Scots. I doubt many of you will not be able to read this, it's like drunken English in an Irish twang. "Tha Boord wull hae its heich offis in Bilfawst, an an unnèr-offis in Dunnygal." "The Board will have its head office in Belfast, and another office in Donegal." What the fuck. And followers of this ridiculous Ulster Scots phenomenon (sorry if I offend anyone, but really, can't you see it's a joke of a language??) in this country actually pass it off as a real language... I despair for the north of Ireland.
knightendo Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 lol, don't despair. when i worked on the railway there were plenty of people who'd have that twang, but no one ever took it seriously. when news got around that societies had started up declaring it should be a real language everyone just took the piss outta it, even those from down round the Larne direction, where they actually have that half-scottish accent too. it's just a joke, and yeh i hope i don't offend anyone either lol! i love the irish accent from down south (particularly on women ) and you're right, it is an incredibly hard language to learn. i'm sure japanese ain't easy either but i still think it'd be easier to tackle it than irish lol!
KingOfHyrule Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 On top of that, do you know that when they were conducting the NI census (it may have been another survey, can't remember though...I'm nearly sure it was the NI census) and people were asked about languages spoken, they couldn't find one single native Ulster Scots speaker . Not surprised! Spoken Japanese will be much easier than spoken Irish I think - takes a while for people to get used to the pronunciation of Irish words. Japanese will be easier because it's basically written out in phonetics in romanji I think But when the writing and reading comes in...good luck with kanji!!
mcj metroid Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 i think the irish language is a joke.There are many versions of the language.Munster irish,ulster irish pathetic. foeigners like polish arriving in ireland it won't last another 10 years Language is not my strong point
KingOfHyrule Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 i think the irish language is a joke.There are many versions of the language.Munster irish,ulster irish pathetic. foeigners like polish arriving in ireland it won't last another 10 years Language is not my strong point It's that attitude that will kill a language. Maybe you're not a fan of the language of the country but most Irish speakers hold proud to it, it's the oldest recorded language in Europe and has survived some serious hardships over the years from oppressors. Munster and Ulster are just different dialects, it's like a Belfast dialect to a Glasgow dialect of English; I don't think they could be classified as different versions of English, just variations, as both parties can understand each other and recognise it as English - just as Munster and Ulster speakers of Irish can.
knightendo Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 On top of that, do you know that when they were conducting the NI census (it may have been another survey, can't remember though...I'm nearly sure it was the NI census) and people were asked about languages spoken, they couldn't find one single native Ulster Scots speaker . Not surprised! Spoken Japanese will be much easier than spoken Irish I think - takes a while for people to get used to the pronunciation of Irish words. Japanese will be easier because it's basically written out in phonetics in romanji I think But when the writing and reading comes in...good luck with kanji!! sadly enough, it's gaming with nintendo that has gotten me interested. i'd love to visit the place, but ideally spend maybe six months to a year out there in a few years time, so i'd have to learn to read it as well. it's only right to be able to, even a little, instead of going over there and shouting slowly like a lot of tourists from britain do :S and metroid, where do you get off attacking the language of someone's home country? yes hyrule and i both live in belfast in northern ireland, and i for one may be northern irish but for all you know hyrule could have come from eire! i really can't believe you came out with what you did! the irish language is indeed old, but it is a beautiful language too, and many people still speak it today as their first or second language. to come out with something like that on a forum where that could apply to who knows how many others on here is ridiculous!
Dieter Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 Both English and German are very difficult languages to learn (English is my first language though, Dutch is my mother tongue), English due to the sometimes illogical grammatical structure and vast vocabulary, German due to archaic grammar laws that are just plain horrid. Spanish/Portuguese would be much much easier. Logical grammar, easy to pick up, very very beautiful languages (much prettier than say French, which I never seem to be able to grasp). That's why in essence Esperanto was a good idea (relies quite a bit on the Spanish language actually). But the language is what the business asks it to be.
KingOfHyrule Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 yes hyrule and i both live in belfast in northern ireland, and i for one may be northern irish but for all you know hyrule could have come from eire! Heh, let's not get political but I was born and live in Belfast - but I'm still Irish and consider Irish my native language and Ireland to be my home country. To me the Irish language is open for claiming by anyone from anywhere on the island, regardless of what side of the border they come from, not just folks from the Republic. In fact, I read recently that Belfast is becoming one of the fastest growing Irish speaking areas in all of Ireland. The north is a strange little place with people from all walks of life. I respect anyone's choice of nationality, be it Irish or British or the more neutral Northern Irish, but I hold my own view that Ireland is an island to be shared by all of us. Mcj Metroid also appears to be Irish (or living in Ireland at least) but he's entitled to think little of the language, just as I think little of Ulster Scots - I only wanted to point out that the Irish language is all one thing with different dialects, not different versions.
Supergrunch Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 Japanese will be easier because it's basically written out in phonetics in romanji I think Mainly, but sounds are produced futher back, and "r" is completley different... have fun trying to correctly pronounce "ryu". Actually, most of Japanese pronunciation is similar to Spanish.
KingOfHyrule Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 Mainly, but sounds are produced futher back, and "r" is completley different... have fun trying to correctly pronounce "ryu". Actually, most of Japanese pronunciation is similar to Spanish. Yeah r is like a mix between l and r isn't it? Zeruda and Rinku!
Mike Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 My degree was in French and German, and even though I got a First, and it was only last year, I don't really feel that I could get along that well in a conversation in German - it's such a complicated language, even when you've been learning it for ten years. My French and Linguistics modules were definitely what got me my First. To those of you who think learning things like 'my pencil case is under the table' is a stupid way to start learning a language at primary school, what exactly do you think children should start learning? Languages are taught the way they are so you can get the ground rules of the grammar at an early stage. There's no point teaching business language or or launching straight into 'general conversation' if children don't have any idea about the basics.
Shino Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 Actually, most of Japanese pronunciation is similar to Spanish. The romaji system was based on the orthography of Portuguese. That's why "I" it's pronounced "E" and not "AI".
knightendo Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 Heh, let's not get political but I was born and live in Belfast - but I'm still Irish and consider Irish my native language and Ireland to be my home country. To me the Irish language is open for claiming by anyone from anywhere on the island, regardless of what side of the border they come from, not just folks from the Republic. In fact, I read recently that Belfast is becoming one of the fastest growing Irish speaking areas in all of Ireland. The north is a strange little place with people from all walks of life. I respect anyone's choice of nationality, be it Irish or British or the more neutral Northern Irish, but I hold my own view that Ireland is an island to be shared by all of us. Mcj Metroid also appears to be Irish (or living in Ireland at least) but he's entitled to think little of the language, just as I think little of Ulster Scots - I only wanted to point out that the Irish language is all one thing with different dialects, not different versions. oh i agree, i love down south, the people are fantastic, and it is only a small handful of eejits that continue to argue about the north and south. but yeh let's not get political lol. nice to see more people from here and the south on the forums tho right now, i am going to hand out an apology to metroid, as i was unaware (even tho it is there in the margin) that you are from limerick! i knew this already but forgot, so fair enough you are entitled as hyrule said... but maybe it coulda been worded better...? myself, i made a bad call there, i for some reason assumed you were from another country and were saying these things against another country's language, and i thus reacted to your post badly. once again, apologies to you and everyone reading it.
Blue_Ninja0 Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 The romaji system was based on the orthography of Portuguese. That's why "I" it's pronounced "E" and not "AI". True. Also, a lot of portuguese words are very similar to they'r japanese synonyms. Like: arigatou and obrigado. They have similar pronunciations, in they'r native accents, and have the same meaning (thank you). I have to disagree with anyone that says that English is a difficult language. With just a few years of videogaming and internet browsing i came to learn english pretty easily (school didn't help that much). Obviously i don't know it 100%, but it's enough. Around here, when we listen something in english, be it movies or anything else, it's always american english, so now when i listen to UK english i find the accent very funny.
Ashley Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 Buy a book, use http://www.thejapanesepage.com and learn it yourself. (starting with hiragana and katakana) Yeah I'll do that right after I finish with the script I've been meaning to write for three or four years If I don't have structure, I don't do anything.
Shino Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 Around here, when we listen something in english, be it movies or anything else, it's always american english, so now when i listen to UK english i find the accent very funny. I prefer the English accent, there's a special ring to it.
Sparko Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 I speak fluent English, obviously, and fluent Irish as well. I went to an all Irish primary and secondary school, so I spoke it for 14 years of my life, so it comes quite naturally to me. I'm very proud of the fact that I can speak Irish, because it's our national language. And now that it has official status as a European language, I can get a practical use out of it if I decide to apply for a job with the EU. I learnt German as well for 6 years, but I never really put that much effort into it. I have a basic grasp of the grammar, damn there is a lot of it, and I have a decent enough vocabulary but I wouldn't be anywhere near fluent.
Supergrunch Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 Yeah r is like a mix between l and r isn't it? Zeruda and Rinku! A bit of d thrown in there as well... The romaji system was based on the orthography of Portuguese. That's why "I" it's pronounced "E" and not "AI". I assume you mean modified Hepburn romanization. (what everyone uses)
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