Why couldn’t I have picked an easier language such as Spanish or French? Nope, it just had to be Japanese, one of the most time-consuming languages to learn for English speakers. Of course, just because a language is easy to learn doesn’t mean you should be studying it.
You have to have the motivation or something that drives you to want to become fluent or knowledgeable in that language. For me, it was Japanese. From a young age, I was playing games that were developed in Japan. As I grew older, I eventually started watching animation and reading comics that happened to also be from Japan. These were the things that motivated me to make the incredible journey.
Enough of my rambling, let’s get down to business. Japanese. What is it, how does it work, and why learn it? Well, if you have any interest in retro games, Japanese comics, or some kind of animation, you probably already have a bit of fuel to encourage you to start learning. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could read original comics in their native language? How about playing Japanese games before they are localized for your country ? (Many games are never even released outside of Japan!)
I know what you’re thinking. You’re imagining scribbled Chinese characters all over the place, going in all directions. How on Earth is one supposed to make sense of it? Don’t worry! That’s just how it looks on the outside. With a little effort and patience, you’ll be able to understand how Japanese works.
Here are posts that can help you get started right away!