Motivation For Learning Japanese

[dannyboy]

For those of you learning Japanese, what is your motivation for learning it. Do you think learning Japanese will help you appreciate the Japanese culture?

[Czarownica]

I just like knowing things And knowing a language is pretty great. I'm sure that it'll help me appreciate the culture, but it is not my main motivation. I kind of hope that knowing Japanese will help me get a good job (although at the moment I'm on that stage when I just sit around thinking that I have no future whatsoever) and also I enjoy being able to read/watch things in English - it'd be cool if I could read/watch things in Japanese too.

[pdxchristine]

My motivation is a little odd.  I lived there for a few years as a child and started learning the language with the intent of attending the public schools there.  I was never permitted to attend, so my learning sort of stagnated.  I feel like I just want to finish what I started.

[Sarah676]

My primary motivation was simply that I find the language very beautiful, and when I started learning I found that it "clicked" with me more than other languages have. Now that I'm in the process of learning, what motivates me to keep going is the awesome feeling I get when I reach a new level of understanding. Learning anything is fun if you're interested in the subject matter!

[erronousRogue]

Mine is pure fascination, mostly originating from reading mangas and anime back in the day. Eastern cultures and languages are also pretty unique, and I prefer Japanese out of the lot. I know it shares some of its culture and writing system with Chinese, but there's something about the language that makes me more interested than the other ones. I guess Japanese is the most "refined" out of the lot.

[BWL]

It's nice to find something that you can identify with when you learn a particular language and about the culture that speaks it. I find that many people are fascinated by Japanese culture or cuisine or even Japan's modern manga, anime and cosplay pop culture. The more you are fascinated and interested the more your mind becomes receptive to learning the particular language.

[Trellum]

I'm not even trying to learn japanese right now to be quite honest (I've to much in my hands by trying to learn Dutch already), but I do feel a great fascination for anime and japanese culture in general. Thanks to anime I've actually learnt a lot japanese words and expressions, so if I wanted to learn the language... I'd surely do it out of love for their amazing anime that has enriched my life in so many wonderful ways. 

I just love japanese culture in general, I'm a weird girl... and some aspects of the japanese culture are a bit weird as well; I love that.  I love things that aren't conventional at all!  Too bad I have no real purpose to learn japanese, if I was moving there I'd definitely try to learn it, but I'm moving to the Netherlands... so only dutch for this girl only.

[terryse]

I took up and learned the Japanese language because it was a requirement to complete my graduate course in Library and Information Science. Besides, i admire the Japanese people, the place and their culture.

[Alrikidokie]

The first time I took Japanese it was because my best friend was really into the culture and the second time I took Japanese was to fulfill a college credit.

[Jetta]

I like much of Japanese culture, and I was interested in picking up a 4th(ish) language. I wanted to find a home away from home (or a new home) because I like to travel and wanted 2 or 3 places I really felt comfortable in as sort of "home bases". Can't feel comfortable in Japan without learning Japanese. Japan has many things I am interested in and opportunity in the fields I work with so for those and many other reasons learning Japanese was the way to go.

[scribe_of_the_stars]

I work for a nonprofit organization my country which is linked to a Japanese nonprofit organization, so a lot of my coworkers are actually Japanese, I feel like Japanese allows me to communicate better with them and build closer relationships.

I also have to travel to Japan often for work, so it helps me to enjoy each trip to its fullest.

[j_evemstar]

I feel motivated because I treat studying the language as a hobby. I don't feel it's a burden every time I have to face the deck of cards to practice vocabulary. I'm still shy though in speaking straight, a little scared to avoid mistakes.