Travelling to Japan for 3 weeks in Dec 2012.

[mindwanderer]

Skip to underlined paragraph if you don't want to read this all. In December of next year I will be travelling to Japan and staying there for 3 weeks. Dec 14 is our departure, and Jan 4 is return. Me and a few people (very very close friends) have decided to spend Christmas and New Years in Japan! We've decided to 'wing it'. We'll buy our tickets and go there without having an exact itinerary. We know that we'll be landing in Tokyo (well, just outside Tokyo) and spending 3 to 4 days exploring Tokyo. Then we'll head west/southwest and make sure to hit up Osaka, Kyoto, Hirshima and any other places along the way that seem "worth while". We'd also like to, if time and budget permits, see Sapporo. We are planning on splitting our time between "Big" Japan and "Small" Japan. We'll see the big cities, but also see the coast and if possible stay in a coastal fishing village for a few days. We'll see a few shrines and temples as well. We don't want 'tourist' japan. We want to learn the language, the culture, and really take it in. Now to the point of this thread. I'd very much like to spend the next 18 months learning Japanese so that I can fluently (or at least effectively) communicate with the locals. I'm wondering how difficult it is to learn, and how expensive lessons could be (ball park figure). Also, 18 months should be plenty of time to learn right? p.s. To be clear, although I said that we're 'winging it' we will have an address book with hotel info for each city that we could possibly see... we've already figured the budget for food, transportation and everything. When I said 'wing it' I mean as far as what sights to see, what cities to go to on what days etc. p.p.s. As far as my experience with learning languages, I have a few years of learning French from way back in elementary and middle school... but other than numbers and a phrase or two I can't speak a word of it. I took Spanish for 3 years in highschool and picked it up pretty quick. However, it's been quite a while... but I'm sure I could brush up on it pretty quickly.

[tommo]

Too bad we're all gonna be dead by then. jk, um well yeah you could do it. Most people don't know much of the language before they go to the country. But if you know it fairly well, you will pick it up really really easily just by talking to people over there. My cousin went overseas and she knew the language (I can't remember where this was exactly) from school, as much as they teach you there anyway, and after she came back she sometimes started speaking that language without realising lol However 3 weeks may not be enough. But you should learn it fairly well by the end of it if you talk to enough people.

[mindwanderer]

Ok. Well, my plan is to to find a college that gives Japanese Language lessons or find a private teacher so that over the next 18 months I could learn enough to communicate effectively when I do actually get there. But I never considered that spending almost a month in a new country (especially such a dense, heavily populated, and hectic one such as Japan) that even if I go there with moderate knowledge of the language I would start picking it up just from being there. However, I'd rather not leave it up to chance. I'd like a really good foundation, and maybe a few walls and a roof if possible, in the Japanese Language for when I get there in 18 months. Thanks for the help!

[GestaltAlteration]

Now to the point of this thread. I'd very much like to spend the next 18 months learning Japanese so that I can fluently (or at least effectively) communicate with the locals. I'm wondering how difficult it is to learn, and how expensive lessons could be (ball park figure). Also, 18 months should be plenty of time to learn right? I haven't gotten terribly far, but I've been self-studying for about a year now. The first task is learning and pronouncing the syllables of which Hiragana and Katakana consist (Known as Kana) and if you have any desire to read will need to proceed with the daunting task of learning 2,000 plus Kanji with their multiple readings depending on what word they're contained within. Indeed, a single Kanji can be spoken in five different ways, some which make no sense. The grammar is radically different than English/Spanish (albeit easier in some aspects, still must be learned from scratch) and the verbs do all kinds of weird things I don't even want to get into. I would say the reputation of Japanese's difficulty is deserved to those totally foreign to eastern languages, and to speak "fluently" in 18 months is beyond my ability to conceive. Speaking kinda okay-ish, maybe... if you study like a maniac. Though on further reading that seems sufficient for your purposes. If you just want to speak it without any ability to read and write may be okay... but I question the point of leaving out such a fundamental skill as reading, especially if you plan to use any resources since most do use Kana/Kanji (Romaji is not worth learning. Don't do it.). I have no idea about expenses. I use Textfugu.com. The Internet is rich with Japanese resources, many free, since it is seeded deep into our pop-culture. Learning from a tutor is a different matter that I know nothing about. I will be taking a JP college class next semester, though.