Comments on: Is Romaji a bad idea?

By: ロバート

ロバート — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:02:58 +0000

Thanks for your comment.
kana can help in disconnecting the familiar fu and r from the sounds they represent in English, but I think it’s overstated. I’d bet for most students the thought process is ふ →fu →/Φɯ/ (the sound). What should be happening in reading and writing is first you know the sound then you know a symbol for it. It doesn’t really matter if that symbol is ふ or fu (or hu if not using Hepburn )
The compelling case for kana and kanji is that is what is used in Japan and therefore if you want to communicate in written Japanese these are what you need to know.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:31:22 +0000

I agree on both sides because if Japanese students learn to read romaji it can help them learn English (or another European language) and it also helped me learn to pronounce the kana and kanji. But romaji can also make students who are leaning Japanese pronounce it incorrectly, like their native language. E.g. fu and the r sound.

By: ロバート

ロバート — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:29:45 +0000

I agree. When I started there was a month or so between enrolling in the class I took and the class starting. One of the things I concentrated on in this period was learning kana. I think it was a good idea too.
However I dislike the romaji is evil meme on Japanese learning websites.
Romaji has it’s uses, and for some people learning Japanese, at a tourist level perhaps, they don’t need the extra burden of learning kana sometimes. Also in a classroom situation you can’t put learning Japanese (speaking) on hold just to learn the kana. In a weekly night class this could take months to cover properly. Far better to use romaji and students to mostly self-learn kana with some class time and teacher correction of handwritten letterforms. Or once students are immersed and committed to Japanese two or three dedicated classes about writing might consolidate kana use.

By: Sam

Sam — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:25:09 +0000

I would say that you should learn hiragana in the beginning. I mean, if you are going to put in the effort, may as well do it right. later on you are going to find words that conjugate and sound exactly the same that are completely different words. Even hiragana can’t help you out in that instance. You are going to need to use Kanji.

By: ロバート

ロバート — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:22:03 +0000

I agree. It’s important to be able to read *actual* Japanese. But I think there’s no need to ignore romaji because it isn’t “authentic” enough.
When studying kana, I suggest giving more time to katakana. It often seems to be such an afterthought but is much harder to read yet for complete words it’s used more often than hiragana.

By: Doug M

Doug M — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:42:47 +0000

Yeah, I have to agree with all your points. I sit on the fence regarding the issue, but I have to admit, the more I studied kana, the more I appreciate the need to study it, and the importance of getting away from romaji only. :)