Japan, a land full of culture, discipline, and politeness. Its language is considered the hardest to learn, but why is that? I’ll tell you why that is, it’s because of its grammar and alphabet!
Alphabet Systems
Japanese has three alphabet systems, it includes Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. These systems contain vowels and letters, with different sounds and meanings. Hiragana is the basic phonetic alphabet, with additional sounds.It consists of 46 core characters. For example, Hiragana has characters like su (す) and shi (し). Katakana has 46 core characters, representing the same sounds as Hiragana but uses different-looking characters. Katana is used for foreign loanwords, names, scientific names, and sound effects. Word examples are コーヒー (coffee), アメリカ (America), and, テレビ (television). Kanji are characters originally adopted from Chinese. Unlike Hiragana and Katakana, each kanji character represents their own meaning, rather than their sound. For example, the sentence 私はコーヒーを飲みます (I drink coffee), has the kanji character of I (私) and drink (飲). Remember, the Kanji characters are different from Chinese characters. They look similar, because Kanji was adopted from Chinese, but are totally different in meaning. All three alphabet systems are a great way to get you started on learning Japanese, and it is very important to learn in order to understand Japanese, as well as speaking and reading it.
Grammar
Its grammar is a complex root system of verbs. When we say I’m or that is, we put desu at the end of the sentence. For example, I’m Chris and in Japanese would be Chris desu. Its verb system can have many meanings for many verbs. Example is wa used for the topic of the sentence, and wo for the object of the sentence. When you start a sentence in Japanese, it will be subject, object, and verb. For example, I eat sushi in Japanese will be Watashi wa sushi o tabemasu, and in order will be I, sushi, eat . The verb almost always comes at the end of the sentence. Japanese does not use articles. For example, neko (cat) can mean a cat, the cat, or cats. The meaning comes from the context. Its grammar is very difficult compared to English grammar. It may seem hard or too much to learn, but with enough practice, you will succeed in Japanese.
Why You Should Learn Japanese
Japanese is the language to learn because you can learn so much about its unique meanings and history behind each Japanese character. It’s also a language to learn because you learn about their culture, folklore, and why they’re so polite and disciplined. Japan has many great things to share with the world. From showing respect, to showing manners with someone. A good tip about Japanese is that it can be really interesting, when learning about the grammar. Another good tip is to travel to Japan. There you can practice communicating with the locals, improving your Japanese speaking. Japan has set an example of how to be kind, polite, and disciplined. If you learn from that, you will improve yourself for the better. Also, you will communicate with other people living in Japan or that speak Japanese! Learning Japanese can be a lot, but take it one step at a time, and you will eventually get there on top of the mountain. Learning languages is a great thing to learn, now that you have the chance to. Never be afraid to try new things, even when it’s a lot.
Aviel Diaz – De La Salle Institute – DMSF Class of 2030
Photo Credit: Travel mania – Adobe Stock