Banianna

Do you know where to get the Japanese version?

I see it here for real cheap http://www.amazon.co.jp/Kitchen-Banana-Yoshimoto/dp/0571171044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394465050&sr=8-1&keywords=banana+yoshimoto+kitchen but if anyone has recommendations for a US-based shipper of this book that would be very helpful! Shipping costs can be too much and sometimes sellers don't ship worldwide.

Thanks for the tip about seeing a preview of the book! It wasn't working on Firefox but I opened the link in Internet Explorer and was able to get it working. Now this book has risen considerably on my to-buy list, sounds very helpful for comparing actual text and translations and including the Japanese text right next to the English text on the translation page seems like it would make things all the easier. Still getting used to the differences in sentence arrangement for English and Japanese, so hopefully this will offer some real practice!

This all really depends on the language in question. Thai might be harder to speak than it is to write for example. Writing in Japanese would almost certainly be more difficult than speaking it for someone who is only fluent in English.

Typically I would think writing is the most difficult. If reading is difficult, actual application by writing would be more difficult--in most situations. Interestingly my mother (whose native tongue is Thai) can write quite capably in English but struggles to read in English, especially contemporary works full of slang terms and references.

I've read some of Banana Yoshimoto's works. Kitchen is my favorite- link here- http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Black-book-Banana-Yoshimoto/dp/0802142443/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394438572&sr=1-1&keywords=banana+yoshimoto Available for quite cheap used. I plan on getting the Japanese version as well. Her prose is very charming and simple but also poetic.

I have purchased  Read Real Japanese Essays: Contemporary Writings by Popular Authors . It's not a novel... it's just a bunch of short writings put together. But it has both English & Japanese translation which is very helpful for intermediate Japanese learners who are just starting to read Japanese text.

I haven't read the whole book yet but from what I've read, it's a good book. I will be purchasing the stories version of this book too.

This is exactly what I'm looking for, thank you!! Definitely putting this on the wish list and ordering soon. 240 pages is kind of short though, does it still contain a lot of content for that length? Maybe the short stories version will be longer. Do these two seem geared toward Japanese learners or are they kind of general compilations that happen to have English and Japanese text?

Thank you for the help!

The problem with the Rosetta Stone method is that it does little to account for the differences between, say, English and Chinese or Japanese. I've heard it works well for those who know English but want to learn Spanish or vice versa, but Pimsleur definitely has better resources for all types of languages. Also really like their video series, entertaining and fun to watch.

Books with the Japanese text on one page and English text on the other. I've seen a copy of The Magi by O. Henry which had this, it's very interesting and could be helpful for those who are out of the introductory period of learning Japanese. I've seen manga also that had Japanese text and an English translation on the same page. Anyone bought any books like this and has it helped with kanji and vocab retention? Thanks in advance! They seem kind of hard to find, even searching on Amazon I'm having difficulty finding some reliable sources.

This is a pretty good site and those with ipods/iphones should be able to easily subscribe. http://www.tbsradio.jp/index.html Anyone have any other recommendations for talk-heavy radio broadcasting? This stuff is good for hearing some relaxed, conversational Japanese.

Check out your cable service provider too, sometimes they have optional international channels and if you're lucky NHK or some other general Japanese broadcasting channel might be available. I have Comcast and some Japanese channels were briefly made available shortly after the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami.

Without romaji I don't know how I would have started making the connection between characters and sound. But I am finding it easier, after making that jump, to think of the characters as distinct from the romaji because it's true -- the way I am tempted to pronounce something ( ん was a good example) based on the romaji is often way off.

But I am learning on my own without the aid of a teacher, so the romaji is/was really valuable intially.

Normally I would say romaji is not good and too much of a crutch but these are some very good points. In the introductory phases, any little bit helps and romaji offers some usefulness. I do think that making the jump to hiragana/katakana should be done as quickly as possible since they're some of the easiest parts of learning Japanese and will constantly be used.

I have dyslexia too, and I get mixed up a lot with the hiragana! I find katakana easier because there aren't so many that look similar with a little bit of difference, and they're more square looking. So I'm basically the opposite of you, and I keep having to check a chart, which is very sad for me :C

that is interesting, maybe the rounded edges of lots of the hiragana are making it easier for me to tell them apart. I've heard of people using kanji posters and posting them in front of their bed to look at every day, that may help somewhat for all the characters.

I know there are many manga that are great for this but I mainly come across the teen-oriented stuff that is more likely to have slang and involved language. Anyone know of any children's classics that they'd recommend for someone who would like to crunch more easy and introductory vocabulary?

Thank you very much in advance!

I was able to get through hiragana quite quickly and easily but I notice I struggled more with katakana and even forget them more easily than many kanji I've been working through.  :amazed: I do have a mild case of dyslexia that makes it easy to mix up words so I'd imagine that has an impact on my katakana learning..

Anyone have a similar experience and tips to share? Thanks!

I think practically everyone uses slang. The older folks who are uptight about kids these days and their new forms of slang are already using highly different language compared to their own grandparents, great grandparents, etc. Slang is one of the toughest things to catch onto when learning a new language but it's important for more casual and warmer dialogue.

I honestly don't know why, but I'd really like to learn Thai. I have no real reasoning behind the desire to learn, but it's a strong desire. A while ago, I decided I would make an endeavor in learning Thai, however, the tonal qualities of the language are very difficult to understand. Rising tone, falling tone, etc. I gave up fairly quickly and am slightly disappointed in myself for doing so.

Aww, don't be disappointed in yourself. My mother is a native speaker of Thai and she too has said that the tones would definitely be very difficult for newcomers to pronounce. If you still think about it and have a strong desire, it might be worthwhile to try again.

Thanks so much for the recommendation! I've never heard of the kanjibox app until now, it looks like a really well thought out and fantastic app. Kanji seems by far the most challenging part of learning and studying Japanese.

Even though I have a lot of passion for learning Japanese, learning Thai is one of my major life goals. Half of my extended family lives in Thailand and it's important that I learn their mother tongue to the best of my ability. It's going to be a lot of work, but an enjoyable undertaking.

Rosetta Stone is a fun starting point for learning basic pronunciation and some spoken vocabulary. Is not going to take you very far and is not even the best method of software. Pimsleur has much better materials, both written and in video and audio forms. It tries to cover most bases of learning. It is very expensive though and Rosetta Stone is sometimes available for free at colleges.

Tae Kim's grammar guide is available for free in the app store. That one is definitely my app of choice because it is sharply rendered and well-written. I'm reluctant to buy apps, but I would guess the best ones require payment. Anyone have experience with Japanese language learning and iPad/iPhone apps that help out a bit?

Anki is the one and only application I have tried that offered real results for retention of words, phrases, and simple questions and answers. Also great is the pre-existing content for Japanese language learning and kanji resources. Making personal decks consumes a lot of time but could be worthwhile in the long run for a more specialized approach.

I use Siri quite often. It is mostly a gimmicky novelty bit of technology that is far from becoming a main source of interaction with my iPad. The technology just isn't quite there yet. I am very thrilled to see what the future will hold though as the idea of Siri is very promising and potentially helpful.