Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn and at the same time one of the most interesting. Many people find motivation to learn Japanese in Japanese culture, art, cinema and literature. Japan is known for its rich history, traditions and unique lifestyle. Learning the language allows you to gain a deeper understanding of Japan and its culture.
The origins of the Japanese language remain a big mystery. Scientists fail to agree on when exactly it originated and what languages influenced its development. The Japanese language contains two lexical layers which correlate with the Altaic and Austronesian languages, and most historians still incline to believe that, most likely, Japanese language has ist roots in the Altaic languages, which highly influenced its development.
The Japanese language has unique features that cause certain difficulties for students learning it.
One of the most difficult aspects of learning Japanese is its writing. Japanese uses a combination of characters called kanji, as well as two phonetic scripts, hiragana and katakana. Kanji consists of more than 2,000 complex characters, each of which has its own meaning and pronunciation. Hiragana and katakana are used for grammatical forms and foreign words, respectively. Learning to write is a long and difficult process, but it is extremely rewarding once you begin to understand and read a Japanese text.
The grammar of Japanese differs from most Western languages. It does not have the same strict word order like, for example, in English or French. Instead, Japanese often uses particles to indicate the role of a word in a sentence. This can be challenging for foreign students, but it also allows more freedom in expression. Additionally, Japanese does not have a plural in the sense that many other languages do. There is a general form of the word, and the number of objects is indicated by either context or suffixes.. There is no separate future tense in the language. Instead, context and temporal adverbs are used to place an event in the future . Japanese is rich in words that sound the same but have different meanings depending on the context. This is called homonymy. Also, many words can have several meanings, which is called polysemy.
The Japanese language is also known for its complex system of levels of respect and politeness, which varies depending on the situation and social status of the communicants. As an important aspect of Japanese culture it is essential for a successful communication in Japanese.
Learning Japanese as a foreign language can be a fun experience. This provides an opportunity to immerse yourself in the rich Japanese culture and expand your horizons. Despite some difficulties, many people find exceptional beauty and depth in this language. If you want to start learning Japanese, register for a trial lesson at our school.