Japanese is an insanely cool language. It has a whole 3 syllabaries (a set of written characters representing syllables serving the purpose of an alphabet), one of which contains
thousands and thousands of characters. Different grammar rules and it even contains grammar specifically used for respected people those older than the person talking,
out of respect.
To learn Japanese close to fluency (near native accuracy level), it takes around 3 years of study. To reach a beginner’s level, it could take about 150-200 hours. (Stated by
Preply.com). It depends on how long each day you study Japanese but it’s possible to get a basic level of fluency between 6 months and a year.
Their fascinating 3 syllabaries are Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. Kanji is the alphabet with thousands of characters since it originates from Chinese. Each character typically has its own meaning.
Japanese students spend a lot of their own time studying these and most Japanese text has Hiragana written just above Kanji to show how its pronounced, otherwise
not everyone would be able to read the text. New students just learning Japanese from scratch often find these helpful. (This is called Furigana, the aid of helping with Kanji.)
It’s really a lot to get your head around but Japanese is a skilful language. It all seems complicated at first, like learning any language.
Besides, the Japanese language is considered one of the most difficult to learn by English speakers, it has a complicating hierarchy of politeness and is decidedly complex. (Stated by japanlivingguide.com)
Why don’t you learn Japanese? It’s very beneficial in many ways to learn a new language.
By Katie Yr9 and Carmen Yr8
Boston High School Newsroom