Post by キュアドリー on Feb 18, 2015 14:39:53 GMT 9
Yes, we know these forums are a little bit 粗末.
They are really just a rough sketch. If people like them and want to use them we will build something much nicer, probably in a proper place of its own.
So where this all goes is really up to you.
The idea of actually using Japanese as opposed to practicing it seems surprisingly unexplored on the Web. Some of this is because I think a lot of people just feel more comfortable in English, and especially feel strange speaking Japanese with non‐Japanese people.
Now there is a lot we might say about that. That attitude has a lot to do, I believe, with thinking that English is Language while Japanese is just "a language". Thus it feels to them odd and artificial actually using (rather than just practising) "a language" when you could be speaking Language Itself (English).
We believe that in order to really ingest Japanese you need to have places where Japanese is Language Itself.
Another objection. I almost said a more serious objection, but truthfully I think the objection above is a very serious objection, even though it is subtle and unspoken.
A more concrete objection is the idea that by speaking broken Japanese with other foreigners one will learn and cement in bad habits.
Is this a problem? I would say no more than a very marginal one. If you actually learn the right way to say something you will adapt to it very quickly. If you don't, you won't be any worse off for saying it the wrong way. At least you are saying it.
Language is fundamentally communicative. If you aren't communicating in it you aren't making it yours. I would tend to go so far as to say that you aren't learning the language: you are only learning about the language.
And when I say using I do not mean practising. Using language means saying things you want to tell people, learning things you want to know, developing relationships purely through the medium of Japanese rather than as a kind of playpen on the side of an English language relationship.
Acquiring language involves making mistakes. Children learn that way all the time. And in fact correcting a mistake is not a bad way of learning. You will remember more easily "Oh it isn't what I thought it was, it is this" than you will remember an abstract rule with nothing to hook onto. That doesn't mean you should learn mistakes deliberately, of course, but when you do make them, you should regard them as part of the learning process.
"But what if I never learn the correct form?" some will ask. Well yes, what indeed? If you never learn it you will never know it. And do you suppose that by not using the language you will magically learn it? If you aren't going to learn it, you aren't going to learn it either way. Making the mistake at least gives you a much better chance of learning it by having someone tell you.
I hope anyone who can help will correct us here. We should regard those who know more than us as senpai. And those who know less than us are our kohai, and it is our duty to correct them.
We are all here to learn and help each other. And helping each other in Japanese is all part of using it.
So that is how to use the site. Say anything you want (provided it is polite). Discuss your favorite games or anime. Talk about your life. Have discussions. Even if your Japanese is very young you can tell us what you like to eat and where you went on the weekend.
None of us can say as much as we would like. Using language means living with the limitations of ones linguistic "age" ‐ and pushing them. If we are young let's be young together and enjoy it, and help each other to grow.
Be polite, please. You don't necessarily have to use desu/masu all the time, but please do attach さん to people's names and treat everyone with courtesy and respect.
I may pop on under another hat so as not to put myself in the special position of having a partly‐English relationship with you all.
If you want a dedicated board for some subject, let us know and we'll make it for you.
They are really just a rough sketch. If people like them and want to use them we will build something much nicer, probably in a proper place of its own.
So where this all goes is really up to you.
The idea of actually using Japanese as opposed to practicing it seems surprisingly unexplored on the Web. Some of this is because I think a lot of people just feel more comfortable in English, and especially feel strange speaking Japanese with non‐Japanese people.
Now there is a lot we might say about that. That attitude has a lot to do, I believe, with thinking that English is Language while Japanese is just "a language". Thus it feels to them odd and artificial actually using (rather than just practising) "a language" when you could be speaking Language Itself (English).
We believe that in order to really ingest Japanese you need to have places where Japanese is Language Itself.
Another objection. I almost said a more serious objection, but truthfully I think the objection above is a very serious objection, even though it is subtle and unspoken.
A more concrete objection is the idea that by speaking broken Japanese with other foreigners one will learn and cement in bad habits.
Is this a problem? I would say no more than a very marginal one. If you actually learn the right way to say something you will adapt to it very quickly. If you don't, you won't be any worse off for saying it the wrong way. At least you are saying it.
Language is fundamentally communicative. If you aren't communicating in it you aren't making it yours. I would tend to go so far as to say that you aren't learning the language: you are only learning about the language.
And when I say using I do not mean practising. Using language means saying things you want to tell people, learning things you want to know, developing relationships purely through the medium of Japanese rather than as a kind of playpen on the side of an English language relationship.
Acquiring language involves making mistakes. Children learn that way all the time. And in fact correcting a mistake is not a bad way of learning. You will remember more easily "Oh it isn't what I thought it was, it is this" than you will remember an abstract rule with nothing to hook onto. That doesn't mean you should learn mistakes deliberately, of course, but when you do make them, you should regard them as part of the learning process.
"But what if I never learn the correct form?" some will ask. Well yes, what indeed? If you never learn it you will never know it. And do you suppose that by not using the language you will magically learn it? If you aren't going to learn it, you aren't going to learn it either way. Making the mistake at least gives you a much better chance of learning it by having someone tell you.
I hope anyone who can help will correct us here. We should regard those who know more than us as senpai. And those who know less than us are our kohai, and it is our duty to correct them.
We are all here to learn and help each other. And helping each other in Japanese is all part of using it.
So that is how to use the site. Say anything you want (provided it is polite). Discuss your favorite games or anime. Talk about your life. Have discussions. Even if your Japanese is very young you can tell us what you like to eat and where you went on the weekend.
None of us can say as much as we would like. Using language means living with the limitations of ones linguistic "age" ‐ and pushing them. If we are young let's be young together and enjoy it, and help each other to grow.
Be polite, please. You don't necessarily have to use desu/masu all the time, but please do attach さん to people's names and treat everyone with courtesy and respect.
I may pop on under another hat so as not to put myself in the special position of having a partly‐English relationship with you all.
If you want a dedicated board for some subject, let us know and we'll make it for you.
