Japanese Lessons
Speaking some of the language—however little—adds a whole new dimension to the travel experience, and if you’re planning to set off to rural pastures on your own, it could be essential.
It helps that Japanese isn’t particularly tonal and the words tend to be short. Even a complete beginner can pick up a few vital expressions relatively easily.
I’ve just downloaded the JASFIC Japanese Phrase Book (requires Japanese fonts for Acrobat Reader)—a big thanks to the JASFIC volunteers 🙂
However, I would be lost without some auditory feedback. In Malaysia and Indonesia, I could half-way read the subtitles to movies, and yet not speak a word much beyond ‘Salaama’, let alone negotiate prices or ask directions. I’ve learned from that experience: Listen to the locals. Reading a phrasebook is no substitute (especially when travelling to countries where you can forget about reading anything!)
There are several sites which provide free Japanese lessons—well worth investing a little time in.
My favourites (at the moment) are Japanese online, which offers free registration for people who want to take advanced lessons, although there’s a waiting list (beginners’ lessons are free-for-all) and Chiron’s Survival Japanese Course, which is a little harder to follow for slow learners like myself, but has very useful auxiliary notes on grammar and word structure.
Tags: events, Japan without a Clue, Language, NIPPON2007, scifi, Travel, Worldcon, Tag Index
Denni