Quick poll

[Roarkiller]

Juz wondering, how many of u actually know japanese, and how much, and do u depend on subs a lot?

For me, i started 2 1/2 yrs ago, tho i had some background through by mother who studied under her boss during her working days. My only lacking point is vocab and kanji, otherwise im pretty much okay. I try not to depend on subs as much as i can, trying to hone my hearing skills, hence my picky selection for fansubs since it gets kinda irritating when u KNOW the sub given is way off the mark.

[EVme15]

*sigh* none...

I mean, there's bits and snips I've picked up from random places (mostly fanfiction and songs), I have no idea how the grammar works, I can't even read anything besides Romanji...

Can anyone at least give me a website on any of these fronts? ^^; I've been watching subs as much as possible since summer, but I can't pick up very much with the nothingness experience I have.

[DarkTemplarZ]

Very little actually, I know some vocabulary but when I try to string words together it usually ends up completely wrong. When I'm listening, I can sometimes pick up what's being said due to a few familiar words in the sentence. As for reading, I can't really read it either.

[GoldenDragonite]

I can understand VERY little, and its a variety of words I picked up from watching subs.. little things like "Everyone" and "Stop" and "Please" just random words. But I do know a song in Japanese.. lol. No idea what it means though, my friend taught it to me.

[Powarun]

Um, I know what L looks like in Jappanesse, and can say hello in japanesse and that is all.

[woz]

none, really. i know the odd word, but that is all.

[Little_Pikachu]

I started learning Japanese at university this year. It's something I've wanted to do for ages so when I saw I could take that or a unit about user behaviour, I jumpped at the chance I've had a knack for languages since I started learning French in middle school so it was worth a shot!

As far as reading and writing goes I recognise and can write all the Hiragana, most of the Katakana, numbers, days and basic important stuff in Kanji.
I can introduce myself, say what I do as a job, say what I do in terms of going to university, say what I do in my free time, what food I like, count, say when things happened (time, day, month etc), I can use verbs and all sorts of stuff like that which you'd expect to learn when starting out in any language. I frequently try to learn random phrases from my dictionary just for fun though!
I've only been learning it for 3 months, but I think I'm making good progress. I got 85% on my reading exam and 79% on my writing exam, we get our oral exam later this year!

I do rely on subs since I'm obviously not fluent unless there's an anime all about saying who you are and what you do, but I often manage to pick words and phrases out and that makes me feel good!

Dozo yoroshiku!

[catgal2005]

Hmm...a few words, a few sentences. I've tried to do some lessons online at www.japanese-online.com They have a 16-lesson program, but it is all very simple language, and I'm only on lesson 4 or 5. I also usually don't have enough time to spend much of it on the site, unfortunately.

[Lightning]

I just started learning Japanese (in a real classroom - I taught myself for about a year x_X). My classes are on Saturdays from about 9-12:30pm and things are going pretty well. ^^;

I've got the basics down and as long as I have the furigana for kanji and my trusty dictionary, I can make rough translations of a lot of things. =\ As for speaking... I would be able to make my way through Japan as long as I were asking "how much is this watch?" or introducing myself. XD I am getting 100% on all my tests and quizzes, though. =\ But then again, the quizzes are all vocab and the test wasn't too difficult to begin with. It's the test this Saturday that I'm worried I'll do bad on. ;_;'

Like Suzie, though, I still depend heavily on subtitles. Even if I try to watch anime without the subs, I've basically memorized what they're saying anyway, so it's not much good. ^_^;; Also like Suzie, I get really proud of myself when I pick out words that I would have known otherwise if I weren't reading the subs. XD

[Roarkiller]

So only LP and me, huh? I got 100% for my Beginner1 course But then it was the raw basics, and since i already had it down to pat, no surprises. Actually i wouldve been surprised if i didnt get a perfect score.

Now another question: wouldnt it be possible to start a japanese class here? I mean a lot of anime sites has japanese classes within them, so i thought why not start here?

[Kyl3]

Good idea. But idt any member here can speak Japanese like we do English

[Razola]

I have no desire to learn a language just to watch some cartoons.

Good idea for those interested, but I would have little application for it.

[RedStarWarrior]

I am fascinated with Japanese culture as a whole, not just animé. Sadly, I have yet to learn Japanese aside from some phrases. I definately depend on subs for the time being, but I am looking into taking a class next semester.

[Roarkiller]

Originally posted by Raz
I have no desire to learn a language just to watch some cartoons.

Good idea for those interested, but I would have little application for it.

It would help tho. Sometimes the subs provided r so weird u have no idea whats going on. Thats why i personally try to stay away from AJ. Yes they obviously do a better job than if i were to sub, but their frequency of obvious and sometimes horrible mistranslations, which is sometimes totally off from what is actually spoken, really puts me off, since i watch anime, and everything else for that matter, for the story and plot.

[Razola]

Maybe it's just me though.