Japanese at a glance
| Native names: | 日本語 (nihongo) [ɲihoŋɡo] |
|---|---|
| Language family: | Japonic |
| Number of speakers: | c. 126.4 million |
| Writing system: | Japanese and Chinese scripts (Kana & Kanji) |
Japanese has been one of the most popular asian languages to learn for decades. It is well documented and there's many resources out there to learn it - but that can also be overwhelming! As a beginner you most likely won't know the best way - or even how to - prioritize what is relevant and works for you.
There’s so many reasons why people want to learn Japanese in the first place:
✦ videogames ✦ culture ✦ travel/tourism ✦
In my personal experience, these amazing interests are the driving force in motivation and perseverance.
They are the fuel for your language learning journey.
Learning Japanese opens so many doors - from understanding Japanese media and not having to wait for translations, to tourism and business in the country. You also get the benefits of learning a language - understanding the world from a new perspective, transferable communication skills as well as health benefits (like delaying the onset of symptoms of dementia) by developing your brain’s neuroplasticity and exercising your cognitive reserve.
My journey with Japanese started after I watched Studio Ghibli films. I was intrigued by the different sounds and writing systems used in comparison to English and Spanish. Later on I developed an interest in Linguistics and my view on languages as a whole expanded - I was able to analyse the parts of language that I hadn’t been able to notice before! Since then I've applied my linguistic knowledge to language learning. My areas of focus are sociolinguistics (how language is used in different societies/cultures), syntax (sentence structure/grammar) and phonetics (sounds).
If you want to inquire about learning Japanese, contact me!
