What are we getting into?

[Ragevx1]

Yeah that is my question. By starting to learn Japanese here, what exactly are we learning? I got some of them answered, but I still have a few question. I know that we are learning how to read, write and listening (at some degree). But what I'd like to know is, will we be able to understand what we read at some point during the study here? Or we just mainly learning how to read and write without understand what we are reading? I can see results from learning here (at some degree since im only in the first few chapters of beginners)

[hungryhotei]

If you are reading without understanding anything then you aren't really reading at all. Just looking at words.
I don't really understand what you are asking.

[Ragevx1]

Well what I mean is, if we are learning too read here. Will we learn how to understand what we are reading?

[Dustin]

I am also very confused by what you are trying to ask.
If I cannot understand what I am reading, then I can't read it!

Are you talking about being able to understand material that has been covered already? or picking up Japanese reading material and being able to read and understand that?

Or is it pretty much a grammar issue? Seeing a bunch of words and particles and not knowing exactly how they come together, even though you know the vocab?

[Ragevx1]

Yes that's what I mean, is my English that bad? lol.

If I learn to read Japanese or Hiragana here, will we also learn to be able to understand what is written in Hiragana.

or if you didn't understand that either... i'll just quote

picking up Japanese reading material and being able to read and understand that?

[gfunk]

Yes that's what I mean, is my English that bad? lol.

If I learn to read Japanese or Hiragana here, will we also learn to be able to understand what is written in Hiragana.

or if you didn't understand that either... i'll just quote

picking up Japanese reading material and being able to read and understand that?

By here, do you mean this website/forum?

And, well the answer is eventually. Imagine learning hiragana as learning the roman alphabet... if I write something like this to you: "jfiwjagi" do you understand what it means? no. You know the letters, what sound they make... but the meaning itself you will have to learn through vocabulary.

It's the same with Japanese. The first step is to learn the alphabet, then some words sentences, etc. It's all a matter of progress. Reaching the point when you'll pick up your average Japanese newspaper and actually "read" it, not decipher it, is years away.

[Yudan Taiteki]

If by "here" you mean thejapanesepage.com, then no. The material on this site is not extensive enough for you to learn how to read Japanese -- it's more of a little introduction than anything else; you really need a textbook to make substantial progress.

Actually being able to read native Japanese material requires a long period of study; I think if you're a reasonably motivated student with access to good study materials, 3-4 years of study can allow you to start reading native materials with a lot of dictionary use.

[richvh]

If you're just learning hiragana, you're a long way from comprehending anything you read, because you don't yet have the grammar or vocabulary. You'll be able to sound out all-hiragana text, and that's about it, when you're done learning hiragana.

If you stick it out and learn the grammar and some basic vocabulary, you will (with dictionary at your elbow) start to be able to read and understand Japanese text. If you continue to stick it out, you'll be able to dispense with the dictionary and understand most of what you read, but expect that to take years.

[becki_kanou]

If you also work on building your voabulary you should be able to read and write whatever words you know in hiragana/katakana. After that comes kanji!

What is your native language, by the way?

[Ragevx1]

Lol native meaning first... Chinese (Cantonese to be more specific), lol. But I also know English and French, so I (almost) know 3 languages efficiently... except Cantonese, I can only speak and understand... not read or write, hahaha, lol... so now I'm trying to learn Hiragana (read, write, listen and speak). So I guess I'll be starting here and moving on if I'm still interested by the end of learning whatever I can here.

[Mike Cash]

I wish there were some way to automatically hide posts with two or more instances of "lol" in them.

[Yudan Taiteki]

I wish there were some way to automatically hide posts with two or more instances of "lol" in them.

One thing that you can be lucky for is that you do not know people who say "lol" (rhymes with "doll") in real life.

[AJBryant]

One thing that you can be lucky for is that you do not know people who say "lol" (rhymes with "doll") in real life.

You, too, eh?


Tony

[Mike Cash]

I wish there were some way to automatically hide posts with two or more instances of "lol" in them.

One thing that you can be lucky for is that you do not know people who say "lol" (rhymes with "doll") in real life.

There are people who actually do that?

Between that and earlier learning there are people who actually say "woot" I am now thoroughly convinced I could never live in America again; I'd end up killing somebody.

[Ragevx1]

What's wrong with people saying 'lol'... I kind of know I overuse it, but its a habit when i'm typing... cause you know sometime people take it seriously or in the wrong way when your not adding a little sense of humor