Questions About う And Other Things.

[Christian_]

I have a few questions I was wondering about if anyone could answer them for me. First off, In words that have う it is not to be pronounced but extend the sound be fore it right? Like in the Katakana word コーラ and the Word ありがとう.
Second off I was wondering about taking japanese as a foriegn language sorta. My school doesnt offer japanese as a course and I was wondering if I pass the JLPT 4 will I might not have to take a foreign language, and when I go to college would that work to my advantage and help me in anyway?

My third and last question is if anyone thinks the way i am studying 日本語 is ok, I dont have a text book but I am considering buying Genki, I use Read Japanese Today a Book called Japanese Grammer by baron books A guide to reading and writing Japanese and this website for study. Does anyone think there is anything wrong with that, comments are appreciated.

well those are all the questions i have ill edit again if i forgot any, and sorry if I posted this in the wrong section, It would be nice if there was just a question section in the forurms, ありがとう:)

[raevin]

I have a few questions I was wondering about if anyone could answer them for me. First off, In words that have う it is not to be pronounced but extend the sound be fore it right? Like in the Katakana word コーラ and the Word ありがとう.

Yes...usually. Depends on the word.

My third and last question is if anyone thinks the way i am studying 日本語 is ok, I dont have a text book but I am considering buying Genki, I use Read Japanese Today a Book called Japanese Grammer by baron books A guide to reading and writing Japanese and this website for study. Does anyone think there is anything wrong with that, comments are appreciated.

Everyone learns differently. As longa s you aren't a beginner, and jumping right into kanji...I think you'll do fine.

[Christian_]

ありがとうございますraevinさん

[Harisenbon]

う only extends the pronunciation of the character before it it is a う or お character. (く、す、む、ETC). WHen it is by itself, if is pronounced as usual.

Also, it should be noted that ー is not the same as う, as it's usage is different. It can be used with any character to extend the pronunciation, but is usually limited to katakana words.

[Christian_]

alright thanks so う just elongates the vowel before it. so in the word ( i dont know how its spelled) daijoubu ( the word for "ok") the u is not pronounced? Alright thanks everyone for the advice. ありがとうございますハリセンボンさｎとravenさん

[Kates]

KuRiSuChAn wrote:
Second off I was wondering about taking japanese as a foriegn language sorta. My school doesnt offer japanese as a course and I was wondering if I pass the JLPT 4 will I might not have to take a foreign language, and when I go to college would that work to my advantage and help me in anyway?

I'll play with Q2 since the others were answered pretty well. (: I'd say you're going to have to contact your intended college for an answer to this. I took Spanish in high school for four years, so I was able to mark that off as 'foreign language requirement met' in my college because of their policy. I'm certain it varies by school.

[Christian_]

Alright thanks Kates, I dont know what college im going to thats way off but maybe possibly having jplt certification might work to my advantage. PS: como estas?