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Comics and Graphic Novels


jfab

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Do you buy comics or graphic novels to learn a new language? I am quite addicted to Manga and it has been so helpful for me learning Japanese! I am more inspired to be honest.

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Lol, you're not currently studying japanese, you're not fluent nor semi-fluent in it... But you say that you are addicted to manga and it's been helpful for your learning of the language?

I'm smelling weird spam here  :laugh:

Anyway, I do wish I could read manga, but that's a bit too hard for me as of now. My vocabulary is limited, I only know about 20 kanji... And so on. I'm not even on JLPT N5 as of yet, and it will probably take me several months to reach N5 level anyway... But when I get better, i will read japanese manga for sure! After all, one of my goals with japanese is to be able to read manga. (and other books, and visual novels, and understand dramas/anime... all without translations of course). But well, it'll take a few years before I can do all those things, but eventually it will happen!

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I've read my fair share of disney's comics in foreign languages. Even if I might not completely understand everything, the pictures help and I kind of learn new words by accident.  Certainly a helpful tool, but not something I do often.

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I think Japanese is one of the hardest languages to learn. But yes, I do find reading Japanese manga's has helped me understand a few Japanese words. But for the most part, when I was a kid, my aunt who lives in Italy would bring us some Italian Disney workbooks on which she taught us language with. 

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Lol, you're not currently studying japanese, you're not fluent nor semi-fluent in it... But you say that you are addicted to manga and it's been helpful for your learning of the language?

I'm smelling weird spam here  :laugh:

You don't have to be studying a language to be involved with/like their culture.  :bored: I believe the topic starter is saying that manga is making him/her want to learn Japanese even if he/she isn't learning it right now.

To answer the question: I don't buy comic/manga to help study a language because I'm not interested in graphic novels. But I do like novels so I buy novels and use them to practice my reading skills.

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Yes! My husband and I love comics and graphic novels. Some of the Anime is incredible, the artistry of it all. I think that when you immerse yourself in the culture it helps you to understand the language better. You get to see the emotions of the characters there.

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No, I've never used comic and graphic novels to aide in learning a language. However, I think it could really be beneficial. It has been years since I took up those books but if I ever come across them in the language I am learning I would certainly use them to assist in my study.

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I have never bought a book or comic solely to learn a new language. I can't see how I would learn a new language by reading. Maybe if I went online to check what every word in the book meant, but that would be much too time consuming. I would much rather learn from other sources, but that is just my two cents.

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You don't have to be studying a language to be involved with/like their culture.  :bored: I believe the topic starter is saying that manga is making him/her want to learn Japanese even if he/she isn't learning it right now.

You're reading what you want to read if I were to say so myself. Surely he/she can be interested in their culture, but being interested in some countrys culture is not the same as " it has been so helpful for me learning Japanese", and neither could you claim that OP is stating that he/she WANTS to study japanese because of manga. He/she clearly states that manga is helping him/her in learning japanese.

Manga translated into english/other languages doesn't help you with learning japanese...

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Surely he/she can be interested in their culture, but being interested in some countrys culture is not the same as " it has been so helpful for me learning Japanese",

This:

But you say that you are addicted to manga and it's been helpful for your learning of the language?

makes it seems like you have to be studying Japanese in order to say you are addicted to manga, which is what I'm disagreeing with. Someone can be addicted to manga and learn parts of the language unintentionally (random vocab/phrases).

The problem is you immediately concluded that he/she was posting "weird spam" when he/she just asked a question about learning a language via graphic novels/manga. You also do not know if the user is studying Japanese nor do you know what language he/she is reading in.

It doesn't even matter if he/she is studying Japanese or not because you can learn a bits of a language just by being exposed to it.

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How could he possibly learn any japanese whatsoever from manga without studying japanese? You can't go in and read manga with 0 japanese language and say that it's helping you to learn the language. You wouldn't understand anything... You wouldn't even be able to read the individual syllables.

The person in question does not have a status of currently studying japanese. I don't see why anyone would be on a language studying forum, and hide that they were studying a specific language...

If it was that he HAD studied it before, it would be different, but if that is the case OP worded him/her self badly.

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Not really. I am not really good with kanji yet, so it is a bit hard for me. I prefer movies and tv shows, because I can get the idea of what they're talking about if a word is unfamiliar by looking at them and their gestures. It's also nice to hear how it is pronounced.

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@Lasonax - How could you possibly conclude that he had no knowledge of Japanese? Maybe he did have the basic foundation and is saying that manga is helping him expand his knowledge (or even refresh his memory of Japanese if he stopped studying it -- hence the inspired part). 

Plus it is not a rule to update your "currently studying" status so it's not a good way to say who's studying what.

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I want to. It's just that it's hard to find. So I only download ones and read it either through iPad or through my laptop. I really enjoy comics, because one they are conversational. Second, I am able to get into their culture.

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I have never thought about doing this. Right now I am more focused on learning to speak and understand a new language rather than learning how to read and write a new language. In time I will work on reading and writting more and I may look in to this idea.

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The only comic I'm currently reading is the walking dead one. I started reading it because I love the genre and it looked like can interesting read.  I'd never use it as a learning tool.

I truly admire the guy who illustrates Robert Kirman. I really think a lot people fail to realize how hard it is to do that, because the author of the comic must be fully satisfied with how his ideas were translated into images.

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I have never bought a book or comic solely to learn a new language. I can't see how I would learn a new language by reading. Maybe if I went online to check what every word in the book meant, but that would be much too time consuming. I would much rather learn from other sources, but that is just my two cents.

Actually comics can help advanced students to learn new words and phrases. It depends in the comic you pick tho, can't say I have learnt a lot by reading the walking dead comic. Lol, I have learnt Robert loves using the word f*ck a lot onlyb ;) xD Nope, not recommended for English students.

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Nope, I have never done that, and I'm not really a fan of anime and manga to begin with. I'm actually more inclined to watch a movie with subtitles of the language that I'm learning so that I can also hear how it is pronounced. Don't you think that learning a new language with audio is more beneficial than just reading?

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  • 3 weeks later...

I used to read a lot of comics when I was a kid, and it contributed a lot to my vocabulary which gave me a good boost on my English. I didn't really do so for the sake of learning English, though, rather I just read them for amusement because there was no internet back then. I also read a few Chinese comic books, but unfortunately, it didn't have the same effect on me, but I'm sure it also helped somewhat.

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I've occasionally tried my hand at picking up comics and graphic novels in languages I'm trying to learn or perfect. I find them a good halfway point between "technical" books, i.e. non-fiction (which I find have a more direct and understandable approach to language) and most kinds of novels (which are often less direct, more riddled with methaphors, a freer style or cultural references one might not get immediately).

Just recently I picked up cult graphic novel Le Transperceneige to work on my French. Haven't got started, though. 

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I am not that much into comic books to be honest, but I have read a few. The Fables and The Walking Dead are tow of my favorites. I have all the editions of The Walking Dead and I will keep buying more.

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