Four Must Have Resources For Anime
This isn't some fanatics guide to learning Japanese through only relentlessly watching anime, 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.
There are actually mainly two things which watching anime, movies, TV shows or even theater may help you with, if you have little to no previous knowledge. You guessed it, listening right? Well that is one. And also the other is vocabulary. You may learn to pick up grammar as well, but that can have to be after you recognize some core sentence structures.
Take notes of all of the recurring words that you don't know. If you see the phrase used repeatedly over 20 minutes, and it is not something limited by the confines of science fiction or fantasy, jot it down and memorize it. The thing about a language that can make it difficult 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 an abundance of different dialects in play. If you already have experience from living in Tokyo, or somewhere with a relatively neutral accent, you should be fine. But otherwise, paying attention and not mixing up accents is a great idea. Identify where the different characters are from, in anime this is often not possible, but usually if you steer clear of the characters using a whole lot of unique expressions and sentence endings, you should be fine. Checking out some countrywide news could possibly be an excellent idea, as they are more likely to speak in the standardized accent. If you're not excited about hyojungoć¨?ćş?čŞ?, the standardized accent, but say Kansaiben,é?˘čĽżĺź you may do some research by watching comedians from Kansai, although you might want to refrain from using all of the expressions you hear.
Speech in anime, or movies for that matter, is often very casual, and omits elements one would 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, as well as the vocabulary is archaic. If you attempt to be polite by following suit, you could actually end up not being understood, or simply make an incredibly weird first impression.
If you have already established some base comprehension of Japanese grammar, you may learn some basic casual speech by studying the form. Or you can identify when particles will be omitted, then focus on the additional parts of the sentence. When you proceed, you realize some parts of Japanese grammar may be learned almost as vocabulary, you learn the specific context in which to use it, and after that you simply expand when you see it employed in other situations.
One thing to note is the fact that the subject is usually omitted from Japanese, even in semi-formal writing. But in contrast, 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 however, and media really can be a step forward in the right direction.
When it comes to learning value, some genres are superior to others. I might have to claim that for the most part, slice of life can be the very best. You'll find two reasons for that. First of all, there is simply simply more conversation involved, even when battle heavy fantasy or sci-fi is often 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 are everyday problems. As well as in the process of coping with them, you learn plenty of more relevant vocabulary and conjugations than you need to do through most other genres.
Sometimes you may find that you're able to pick material that is perfectly suited for you. If you're going to work, or already work, in a big Japanese company, stories revolving around salarymen or perhaps the corporate world may help you remember some of the lingo.
Attempt to only absorb things relevant to how old you are group. While understanding the terms high school students use might seem a way to remain hip, it shall only work against you in the long run. If you start slipping in incredibly informal words or conjugations into conversation in a proper 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 your normal media consumption with the Japanese equivalent. Find a band you like, pick out some movies to watch, rather than TV watch series relevant to what you 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 there are actually definitely things you may do to benefit more from simply consuming popular media, do not 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 best effects will be achieved with a mix of the 2, and should you have the opportunity, interaction with other people in Japanese also.
