Anime Analysis
This is not some fanatics guide to learning Japanese through only relentlessly watching thai anime subtitles, and not doing any work at all, a feat that I have seen attempted, as well as in all cases miserable failure was the result. No, they are some pointers as to how you can better take advantage of watching Japanese popular media, adding to your other studying efforts.
You will find mainly two things which watching anime, movies, TV shows or perhaps theater will let you with, should you have little to no previous knowledge. You guessed it, listening right? Well that is one. And the other is vocabulary. You can learn to pick up grammar as well, but which will have to be after you recognize some core sentence structures.
Take notes of all the recurring words that you don't know. If you see the phrase used repeatedly over 20 minutes, and it's not something limited by the confines of science fiction or fantasy, jot it down and memorize it. The thing about a language that makes it challenging to learn from just textbooks and old audio CDs, is the fact that languages don't stay the same. They change with time, and sometimes keeping up to date with popular media, will be the only way to have an up-to-date vocabulary, short of actually living and breathing the language.
One thing about anime, or movies, or TV shows, is the fact that there can sometimes be a good amount of different dialects in play. If you already have experience from living in Tokyo, or someplace with a relatively neutral accent, you should be fine. But otherwise, paying attention and not mixing up accents is an excellent idea. Identify where the different characters are from, in anime this really is often not possible, but usually if you steer clear of the characters using a lot of unique expressions and sentence endings, you should be fine. Checking out some countrywide news may very well be a good idea, as they tend to be more prone to speak within the standardized accent. In case you are not enthusiastic about hyojungoć¨?ćş?čŞ?, the standardized accent, but say Kansaiben,é?˘čĽżĺź you can do some study by watching comedians from Kansai, although you might want to refrain from using all the expressions you hear.
Speech in anime, or movies for that matter, is usually very casual, and omits elements one might have to use in normal or formal speech. On the opposite side of the spectrum, in samurai themed animes or movies, the grammar is riddled with old conjugations, and also the vocabulary is archaic. If you try to be polite by following suit, you could actually end up not being understood, or just make an incredibly weird first impression.
Should you have already established some base understanding of Japanese grammar, you may learn some basic casual speech by studying the form. Or you can identify when particles are now being omitted, then concentrate on another parts of the sentence. While you proceed, you realize some parts of Japanese grammar may be learned almost as vocabulary, you learn the specific context through which to use it, and after that you simply expand while you see it used in other situations.
One thing to note is the fact that the subject is often omitted from Japanese, even in semi-formal writing. But on the flip side, if you omit it too frequently, people will get confused as to what or who you are speaking about, and also you have to go back and explain. There is a balance to be found on the contrary, and media can actually be a step forward in the right direction.
In regards to learning value, some genres are superior to others. I could have to claim that for the most part, slice of life may be the most appropriate. You will discover two reasons for that. To begin with, there is simply simply more conversation involved, even when battle heavy fantasy or sci-fi is usually riddled with crazy monologues, there is actual dialogue. Dialogue made to portray actual conversations between people, from our world.
Then perhaps more importantly, because the challenges they face are not murderous robots, or vampires, they may be everyday problems. As well as in the process of working with them, you learn plenty of more relevant vocabulary and conjugations than you do through most other genres.
Sometimes you may discover that you are able to pick material that's perfectly suited for you. If you are going to work, or already work, in a big Japanese company, stories revolving around salarymen or the corporate world will help you remember some of the lingo.
Attempt to only absorb things relevant to your age group. While understanding the terms secondary school students use might seem a way to remain hip, it's going to only work against you within the long term. If you start slipping in incredibly informal words or conjugations into conversation in an official context, you are bound to give a bad impression.
If you discover yourself in a position where you have to learn a great deal of Japanese in a short time-frame, you can substitute all of your normal media consumption with the Japanese equivalent. Locate a band you like, pick out some movies to watch, as opposed to TV watch series relevant to what you may need the Japanese for. This is especially effective in between study sessions, as it provides a necessary break, while not completely losing focus of the task at hand.
While you will discover definitely things you may do to benefit more from simply consuming popular media, don't treat it as a complete substitute to actual studying. If you find yourself lacking motivation, don't let yourself fall into the pattern of only watching, and not doing any real work. The most effective effects will be accomplished with a combination of the two, and if you have the opportunity, interaction with others in Japanese also.
