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Intermediate Japanese

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12 messages over 2 pages: 1
Juаn
Senior Member
Colombia
Joined 5349 days ago

727 posts - 1830 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*

 
 Message 9 of 12
06 September 2014 at 7:03pm | IP Logged 
Everybody has their own style and method of approaching languages, but I would just ask, what will you do when you come across a word which reading you don't remember? It will take you far longer to look up each such word than the effort involved in simply using a strip of paper or bookmarker to cover up the furigana as you read, and lifting it up when necessary. This works great for me, thus I strongly prefer materials that use furigana throughout. As you correctly point out, getting serious about kanji is the only way of making progress with Japanese, and this is the most efficient way to become exposed to large quantities of it.

Edited by Juаn on 06 September 2014 at 8:27pm

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Josquin
Heptaglot
Senior Member
Germany
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2266 posts - 3992 votes 
Speaks: German*, English, French, Latin, Italian, Russian, Swedish
Studies: Japanese, Irish, Portuguese, Persian

 
 Message 10 of 12
06 September 2014 at 8:05pm | IP Logged 
I have a good kanji dictionary, so I should better get used to using it. Of course, furigana are convenient for unknown kanji, but I need an incentive to learn new kanji. After all, most native materials won't have furigana for the Jouyou kanji either.

That's why I think it's slightly irritating that an intermediate textbook like Minna no Nihongo even has furigana on top of words like 日本. I'm already spoilt by Genki, I don't want that to continue.

However, the more important reason is that I don't like the way lessons are structured in Minna no Nihongo, I don't like the way grammar is explained, and I don't like that I have to use several books at the same time.

Maybe, I'm not doing it justice, but I think it doesn't make sense to use a resource I don't like from the beginning.
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aokoye
Diglot
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United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
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235 posts - 453 votes 
Speaks: English*, German
Studies: Dutch, Norwegian, Japanese

 
 Message 11 of 12
07 September 2014 at 3:44am | IP Logged 
I think your logic is pretty sound though I just wanted to point out that Minna no
Nihongo isn't just one book but a series that starts with beginning language books and
continues through upper-intermediate Japanese. I am assuming when people suggested Minna
no Nihongo they meant Minna no Nihongo Chukyu which is the second half of the series.

I like furigana when it is only used the first time you see the kanji and find that when
it is used over the same word repetitively it becomes an idle crutch. That said my study
of Japanese is more limited than yours is and of course what works for one person won't
work for all. I admire your tenacity in terms of becoming better at using your kanji
dictionary though.
1 person has voted this message useful



Josquin
Heptaglot
Senior Member
Germany
Joined 4848 days ago

2266 posts - 3992 votes 
Speaks: German*, English, French, Latin, Italian, Russian, Swedish
Studies: Japanese, Irish, Portuguese, Persian

 
 Message 12 of 12
07 September 2014 at 11:03am | IP Logged 
Yes, when I said "Minna no Nihongo", I meant "Minna no Nihongo Chuukyuu".

I should have been more precise. Someone was bound to nit-pick on that...

I agree with everything you say about furigana though.


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