しあわせ

Mixi now requires a Japanese mobile phone email in order to register a new account. I became aware of this reading Tofugu.
It may just be an anti-spam or age checking measure but it effectively shuts out anyone not in Japan; including Japanese ex-pats who don’t keep a Japanese mobile phone account.
So just like the the 1600’s no (new) foreigners are allowed and those Japanese leaving the country aren’t very welcome either.
Read the rest of this entry »

LingQ is another site that is based around learning through flashcards. It takes a slightly different approach to WordChamp however. The underlying philospophy here is the natural acquisition of language through reading and listening.
The idea is that you become receptive to a language before you can become active in it. You learn from examples rather than studying the specifics of grammar. Vocabulary is seen as the most important tool for communication and understanding. Oh, and having fun.
Read the rest of this entry »

An Internet flashcard web2.0 application.

Flashcards are a good way to learn new vocabulary. However there is always the task of making the cards and deciding what cards to make. Computers make the process easier, and I’m a great fan of iFlash, but it would be nice to be able to find sets of ready to use flashcards.

Enter WordChamp as a solution.
Read the rest of this entry »

Just a headsup for anyone in the UK that on Radio 4 tonight there is a programme about Anime, Karaoke (badly mispronounced as karyoki as usual.), Sushi and all things Japanese. Children’s Magazine Show Go 4 It is broadcasting a Japanese special at 7.15.
UK listeners can also listen at the CBBC Radio Player. Although I think both these links will probably expire within a week. People outside the UK may have to find a way to present a UK IP address in order to listen to the show.

This is amazing. Paste or type some Japanese text into the box above. It will take you to Smartlink, a company that makes translation software, and will speak your text in a very natural voice.

Amazing.

Here is a pre-loaded text if you can’t think of anything to write.
But notice that it can’t read 二羽［にわ］in this tongue twister. It reads it as にはね instead.

I think this might even be good enough for listening practice, and shadowing.

Compare the voice to these older voices using MacInTalk.

I’m guessing that this voice is Miyu - 16khz Japanese Female from NeoSpeech. Unfortunately not available on the Macintosh but it will work on Windows.