What are we getting into?

[clay]

What's wrong with people saying 'lol'...

Cliches tend to grind on the ears (or in this case eyes) after a while. But never mind Mike. He hates smilies too!

[Mike Cash]

But I can block smilies so I don't have to look at them.

The problem with smilies and stuff like "lol", "woot", "omg", etc. is that they cause me to automatically subtract about 100 points from my assessment of the poster's IQ. I realize that may not be a fair thing to do, but it happens all the same. I block smilies not because the smilies themselves annoy me, but to prevent myself from having a lower opinion of the people who have included them in their posts.

Now if I can just figure out what to do with the "lol" crowd. When I see the first "lol" I think, "Oh, crap....another chatspeak moron infesting the place." And when I see the second "lol" in a post I just stop reading it and move on to the next post. They're like little signposts cautioning, "Warning: Inanities, Typos, Misspellings, and Poor Composition Ahead. Turn Back Now."

[clay]

is that they cause me to automatically subtract about 100 points from my assessment of the poster's IQ.

Mike, I sure hope you have the smilies blocked for my last post. I wouldn't want you to think I'm running in the negatives.

[coco]

They're like little signposts cautioning, "Warning: Inanities, Typos, Misspellings, and Poor Composition Ahead. Turn Back Now."

署名にしようかと思ったけど文字数オーバーで断念。 悶絶しそう？
____________________________________________________________
lolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol
Warning: Inanities, Typos, Misspellings, and Poor Composition Ahead. Turn Back Now
lolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol

[Yudan Taiteki]

Yahoo Answers is a good source of this type of writing, as this flash animation shows:
http://www.somethingawful.com/flash/shmorky/babby.swf

[yukamina]

That's the best thing I've seen all week. Seriously.

[hyperconjugated]

TJP Class of 08

[clay]

I'm not grumpy, but I am getting old

Ragevx1 is right about using lol and smilies:

cause you know sometime people take it seriously or in the wrong way when your not adding a little sense of humor

With typed text you can't know if the person writing is being funny or a little mean.

[Mike Cash]

TJP Class of 08

Want to know how the grumpy old men got grumpy?

Trying to have intelligent interaction with

[clay]

ahem.

Sorry, Ragevx1 for the detour.

Or we just mainly learning how to read and write without understand what we are reading?

I think you mean learning the meaning of words versus learning the sound of the hiragana, right? If you are just starting with hiragana, it is a good idea to practice sight reading the characters until you can sound them out pretty well. Then as you learn vocabulary you'll find you are understanding more and more. A good textbook will help you with both skills.

We are working on a new $5 download (at theJapanShop.com) specifically for helping people who have just learned hiragana. These hiragana readers will have a version with only kana and spaces so you can practice sight reading and a full Japanese version (with furigana) for reading comprehension practice. Both will have a glossary and sound to hear the stories read.

[Ragevx1]

Yeah its what I mean, but it is common sense. You can't really learn meanings until you can pronounce and read. But I thought maybe I'd be getting more then I bargained for on this site. So learning how to pronounce and read Hiragana and Katakana (from here) before buying books would be a good path to go?

[clay]

So learning how to pronounce and read Hiragana and Katakana (from here) before buying books would be a good path to go?

Well, this site (as Yudan Taiteki mentioned earlier) isn't a replacement for your textbook. But using the forums to ask (and answer) questions is a great way to get feedback and advice. We will be adding a lot of beginner level readers and listening practice articles in the near future, though.

[Sairana]

So learning how to pronounce and read Hiragana and Katakana (from here) before buying books would be a good path to go?

I think it's a good idea to start to get acquainted with them before diving into a textbook, particularly if you get a textbook that uses kana from the start.

Just a word of advice: Even after you feel like you "know" the kana, when you try to read a word or a sentence, it may feel agonizing..... like.... you... are... reee.... ding.... ve....ry.... slow...... ly.... that is NORMAL. It doesn't mean you didn't study them enough.

Don't sweat it if some of them just never seem to stick in your head to the point where you can't recall how they sound immediately. It's OK to move on before you consider yourself to know them "100%". The practice you get in your textbook,as slow and hard as it may SEEM at the time, will allow you to read them faster... and you probably won't even realize it at first.

[Ragevx1]

So what you guys are saying is I should just start off with a textbook?

I think just learning how to decipher the Japanese symbols here is a good start, no? Then moving on too textbook... by the way, I checked the Japan Shop, the works books are pretty expensive.... I'm only starting college, so yeah... money money money

[Sairana]

So what you guys are saying is I should just start off with a textbook?

Mostly. But you can learn hiragana and katakana first.

I think just learning how to decipher the Japanese symbols here is a good start, no?

Deciphering symbols sounds so.... complex. It's like you equate them to alien hieroglyphs that are going to take months of study to understand.

Spend a week at most on the kana. Whatever you don't know after a week of serious study (an hour a day, maybe two?), you will pick up after a while of using a textbook.

So.... yes. Go ahead and study hiragana and katakana first. But a textbook should be in your VERY near future. As in.. order it right now, and by the time you get it, you should be well acquainted with the kana.