Learning Japanese, I think I'm learning Japanese, I really think so

Well, not quite yet. I would like to learn spoken and written Japanese. What is the best way to do so aside from taking classes at a university? My first thought was Rosetta Stone; I've since read some opinions that RS is better for Romance and Germanic languages but not so great for Japanese. Since there is the added dimension of learning kanji and the kana alphabet, would it be better to learn to read and write from books and to speak and listen from software? Any books, online courses, or programs you recommend and have had success with?

I used an earlier version of this book back in the 90s to help with kanji. For speaking you are going to have to talk with people. I would recommend something like a university class. I don't know what language online classes are like these days, but nothing beats learning the language in person.

Also, Japanese tends to be gender influenced. If you learn casual conversation predominantly from women, your speech could exhibit feminine qualities. Something you might want to consider.
Written Japanese is also difficult as kanji, hiragana, katakana, and romaji are frequently used in combination.

After about a year of studying Japanese in a formal class I can read and write Hiragana, Katakana, and some kanji. I can also speak to some extent, enough to get around in Japan, shop, go to the post office, consult a doctor, etc. etc. - but there is still much MUCH to learn. I can say with some confidence: You cannot cut corners. If your going to jump in - do it right. Japanese language holds within it many subtleties not present on other languages and it is essential to realize the social significance of these subtleties or it will not sound right - or even worse, it will come over completely wrong. The payoff on the other hand is, if you keep at it - you will know how to read, write, and speak Japanese.

Along with formal learning, develop a fine appreciation for anime and enjoy the trove of subtitled anime everyday. You'll get a good feel for how the language is used just by listening to it daily. Work your way to the point you can turn of the subtitles and understand what is going on and also detect mistranslations/liberties taken.

Language is interesting as we pick it up through listening and repetition from the people that raise us then get more refined grammar teachings at school. Learning as an adult in my experience seems to skip or shorten the organic learning and jump right into the prescribed method of teaching the masses. Works for some but not all whereas the method your parents used obviously worked for you and you worked with it. I took some mandarin courses at university and got an appreciation for the language but didn't really start to learn it until I was immersed in it. I also recommend listening to Pimsleur audio as much as you can. From there I build the vocabulary and grammar as I go along.

Maybe it's best to spin off spoken and written Japanese into separate projects; sounds like to speak and understand I should take a real class, whereas to read and write I should get some books. Since I first want to be able to read it, are there other books besides the one Castalia suggested that I should get?

I'm using https://www.wanikani.com/ the Genki textbook and workbook and http://www.guidetojapanese.org/

I also meet up with a native speaker I met through an online language exchange thing every week or two.

Listening is definitely the most difficult aspect for me (other than Kanji, of course).

It's mostly just a hobby and brain game for me, but I just got back from a couple weeks in Japan and it was definitely a more fun and fulfilling trip for the small amount of Japanese I was able to speak and understand after half a year or so of self-teaching.

i was using wanikani for a bit too... ran out of free time, but its helpful. My spoken japanese is SIGNIFICANTLY better than my written japanese. Reading fits somewhere in the middle.

Jon you have a advantage with speaking Japanese, bet your kid will speak two languages also.

keithsaltydog said:

Jon you have a advantage with speaking Japanese, bet your kid will speak two languages also.

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currently, he speaks only japanese... we'll work on the english later. Its helped my japanese a lot, since we speak mostly japanese now at home.

Immerse yourself and study... a lot. 2 years of Japanese at my university didn't even prepare me for my first year in Japan. It did give me the building blocks.

Learn new vocabulary everyday and re study them. If you're in an environment you can't use it, I mean talk to people not watch anime, you will forget it.

Eccchef is correct when saying be careful who you learn from. I know too many guys here who only learned from there girlfriends and sound just like them. I too am guilty of that but I learned at standing bars so I sound like a 45 year old osakan osan who's had a few drinks. This doesn't suit well in certain situations and had to re learn some formalities