Why should I learn Japanese?

[cac8206]

I've decided I want to learn a foreign language. I'd be taking classes. Convince me to choose Japanese ^.^ Do you consider it harder/easier to learn than other languages? hard/easy in general, If so why? What is the hardest part for you? Is it difficult to memorize the characters? are there any similarities to English as far as grammar?
Thanks for any input

[anvil_chorus]

learn a foreign language because you want to and it interests you, not because someone convinced you to. since all people are different, their experience with a language are different too. you can't rely on others to decide for you.

[Yudan Taiteki]

I agree with anvil_chorus. If you can't think of any reasons to learn Japanese, then you may want to learn another language. Japanese is much harder than European languages for Americans, so I don't recommend it unless you have an active interest in it.

[SirFirestorm]

Any particular reason why you feel like up and learning a foreign language? I remember wanting to be a power ranger after seeing it on tv, the farthest I got was 3 years of taekwondo classes and a bad knee.

Any language will have its difficulties, if you really want to do it.

[chikara]

cac8206 wrote:
I've decided I want to learn a foreign language. I'd be taking classes. Convince me to choose Japanese ....

Japanese is by far the coolest language in the knowｎ universe. If you know Japanese not only can you sound way cool and be able to impress all of your friends but you will get more enjoyment out of reading manga and watching anime. Life in Japan is exactly as it is portrayed in manga and anime so it is way cool too.

Seriously though, I'd suggest you take Yudan Taiteki-san's advice.

[cac8206]

Well, I'm studying linguistics but it's mainly focused on English, types of foreign language and history. I am really interested in languages in general but I want to learn the particulars of one. I'll have a spot in my schedule next year to sign up for a language class(college), I just haven't decided which one yet and I wanted to get an idea of what I'd be getting myself into. Really, I could choose any language and whatever I choose I would really focus on it.

[Infidel]

It seems to be becoming common for people to come in and ask this question, as if we were "Japanese" salesmen, and we got a commission off every person that started taking Japanese lessons.

This, "Why should I buy your product?" attitude peeves me off when I'm not cold-calling people. The answer I always give, "If you have to ask, then you probably shouldn't."

[cac8206]

come on doesn't anyone have a serious answer? I chose to go on the internet and ask for advice instead of flipping a coin.

[Ninjuninju]

tsk
Asking for a whim as to if you should learn a language or not is the same as flipping a coin.
The truth is learning a new language is always difficult, whether it be english or japanese.

How about asking yourself!!!! : can I devote time to learning japanese and stick to it unlike some crappy videogame I'm sick of playing?

There's your answer....

[Kim Sara]

Learning Japanese or any other languages is not easy. If you want to learn a foreign language, you should have passions first.
When you "fall in love" with Japanese, you can learn from any sources like: Manga, short advertisements, stories, songs...
Japanese is hard ! The most difficult thing is remember Kanji (in my opinion).
Even if you choose any foreign language to study, I wish you good luck ! B)

[Goatinaboat]

i think it just depends on how your brain works. japanese to me is a giant puzzle, and i find the grammatical (and other) structures VERY logical.
because I'm just completely interested in it, i've found my japanese classes to be much easier to stay ahead in than when i took german and spanish in the past. little to no interest in those languages, i just took them because i felt i should.
so hopefully you will feel pulled to one or another.

[Goatinaboat]

cac8206 wrote:
come on doesn't anyone have a serious answer? I chose to go on the internet and ask for advice instead of flipping a coin.

fine! yes! do it! japanese is awesome!
just don't quit.

[Ezrach]

Read this website and make the decision for yourself. Mostly, read the sections on each language, the difficult areas within each one, the chic factor, the usability, and the estimated time until you reach near-fluency.

[Mike Cash]

cac8206 wrote:
come on doesn't anyone have a serious answer? I chose to go on the internet and ask for advice instead of flipping a coin.

You've gotten serious and wise answers. That you fail to recognize them as such is not our problem.

If you lack a need for Japanese in particular, an interest in Japanese in particular, and a motivation for Japanese in particular, then why the hell should we or anyone else try to convince you to invest your time and energy in learning it over any other language?

If just any language will do, then it seems to me the wise thing to do would be to dedicate your efforts toward acquiring one which will be of some possible future actual use and benefit to you. Spanish springs to mind. Don't lose sight of the very important fact that Japanese is spoken in precisely ONE country on earth.

[SirFirestorm]

Why do you want to learn Japanese if you dont want to learn Japanese?

If you cant answer that yourself, just flip your coin.