(English) Why I Chose to Study Japanese
Hello all!
In this post, I will explain why I am taking Japanese at Columbia University.
Growing up in Idaho, there is virtually no Japanese influence, outside of a handful of restaurants. Even so, I was always very interested in Japanese culture. I was a Nintendo kid all my life, my first personal console being a Nintendo DS Lite and my first game being Pokรฉmon Pearl, which was my first real intro into one aspect of Japanese culture. From there I was quite hooked but had no real way to express interest in it other than enjoying merchandise and content that came from Japan. I took Spanish language in high school since my school did not offer any languages outside of French and Spanish, and told myself I would learn Japanese in college.
In the interim, I found out through my AP Psychology course about the idea of collectivism. In the psychological study that I was reading about, Japan was known for being the most collective culture. This fascinated me, as I grew up with a disliking for the individualism that was rampant in the community surrounding my home town, and I personally believed that the Japanese approach to culture would be much better for my community. I am very excited to learn about this collectivist culture as I learn Japanese in college, as I will be doing a concentration (a minor) in East Asian Language and Culture.
During the last two years of my high schooling, I invested a lot of time into learning about the more recent Japanese history during and following World War II, and had a further interest in learning about the country's history. The famous Bill Wurtz video on YouTube, "The History of Japan," was a hilarious and informative intro to events older than I had studied, and I am excited to learn more!
Lastly, I am a big fan of a few animes. I was hooked on Cowboy Bebop when my brother first showed it to me, and since I have been thoroughly enjoying JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (my personal favorite), My Hero Academia, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. I also love Miyazaki movies! For my brother and I, anime is a great way for us to share inside jokes and to have a good laugh, and I am thankful for how it has brought us closer together.
For me, Japanese is actually quite fun to learn, and I have not had too much trouble learning in class outside of the speed of the language. It is spoken so fast! My ability to regurgitate what I learn in class is greatly hindered by the speed of my Japanese, and whenever I speak it is just so abhorrently slow. I will get better though! By now I have learned how to read and write all of the characters in Hiragana, and will start on Katakana tomorrow. Shortly thereafter, I will be able to read Japanese in its entirety in only a semester, which is truly incredible. Particles are often challenging too, but they just take a bit of practice, which is why I keep practicing.
Well, I am signing off here, for now, have a good one!
In this post, I will explain why I am taking Japanese at Columbia University.
Growing up in Idaho, there is virtually no Japanese influence, outside of a handful of restaurants. Even so, I was always very interested in Japanese culture. I was a Nintendo kid all my life, my first personal console being a Nintendo DS Lite and my first game being Pokรฉmon Pearl, which was my first real intro into one aspect of Japanese culture. From there I was quite hooked but had no real way to express interest in it other than enjoying merchandise and content that came from Japan. I took Spanish language in high school since my school did not offer any languages outside of French and Spanish, and told myself I would learn Japanese in college.
In the interim, I found out through my AP Psychology course about the idea of collectivism. In the psychological study that I was reading about, Japan was known for being the most collective culture. This fascinated me, as I grew up with a disliking for the individualism that was rampant in the community surrounding my home town, and I personally believed that the Japanese approach to culture would be much better for my community. I am very excited to learn about this collectivist culture as I learn Japanese in college, as I will be doing a concentration (a minor) in East Asian Language and Culture.
During the last two years of my high schooling, I invested a lot of time into learning about the more recent Japanese history during and following World War II, and had a further interest in learning about the country's history. The famous Bill Wurtz video on YouTube, "The History of Japan," was a hilarious and informative intro to events older than I had studied, and I am excited to learn more!
Lastly, I am a big fan of a few animes. I was hooked on Cowboy Bebop when my brother first showed it to me, and since I have been thoroughly enjoying JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (my personal favorite), My Hero Academia, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. I also love Miyazaki movies! For my brother and I, anime is a great way for us to share inside jokes and to have a good laugh, and I am thankful for how it has brought us closer together.
For me, Japanese is actually quite fun to learn, and I have not had too much trouble learning in class outside of the speed of the language. It is spoken so fast! My ability to regurgitate what I learn in class is greatly hindered by the speed of my Japanese, and whenever I speak it is just so abhorrently slow. I will get better though! By now I have learned how to read and write all of the characters in Hiragana, and will start on Katakana tomorrow. Shortly thereafter, I will be able to read Japanese in its entirety in only a semester, which is truly incredible. Particles are often challenging too, but they just take a bit of practice, which is why I keep practicing.
Well, I am signing off here, for now, have a good one!
Hey Issac! I can see that you love Japanese culture just by reading your post and can totally relate to you as a Nintendo kid ๐. I am not that much of a fan of anime, but after reading your post I feel like I wanna see some that influenced you lol. Last time we talked you were worried about speaking Japanese, but as a classmate I really think you are great at Japanese and can feel that you are getting better each time. Hope you make the best out of this class!
ReplyDeleteHey Tom! I love to hear there are so many Nintendo kids in our class! Maybe after the final exam we could place some bets on a Mario Kart race? Who knows? If you are interested in trying out anime, it's a lot like TV, where you can find some show that suits something you are interested in, and it is a lot more fun if you take a moment to appreciate the artwork that goes into each frame. That being said, I haven't had anytime to check out more anime since coming to Columbia, so I can understand not having any time. You are very good at Japanese too! I sure wish I could speak like you can. Thanks for the encouragement! Hope you can make the best out of this class too! See you around.
DeleteHi Issac! wow, that was a super interest read. Ive never watched Cowbox Bebop, but I remember seeing that guy with the super puffy hair lol. Also Id say that my fav Miyazaki movie is spirited away, hands down. The plot is so unique and arts is just so cool. About the part where you think you are slow at speaking, I think it is totally normal and okay. Don’t be too hard on yourself haha. Lets have a great time and learn as much as we can together :)
ReplyDeleteHi Daisy! Haha yes Spike (the guy with the super puffy hair) is rather iconic in the western anime world. I have been dying to see Spirited Away! It is the only Miyazaki movie to have won an Academy Award, and by consequence I think it is the only foreign animated movie to win an Academy Award, which is a testament to how good of a movie it is. I will have to see it! Let me know if you ever re-watch it. I will take your advice and avoid being so hard on myself! I agree, let's have a great time and learn! Thanks for the positive vibes.
DeleteHello, Isaac! First off, I started with Pokemon Platinum on a DS Lite, so I can totally understand what you're saying here. But yeah, Japan's intense collectivism really is kind of neat to look into, especially since it's arguably the antithesis of America's emphasis on individualism. I'm no psychology student though, so I can't really speak at-length about the topic. Also, I can see your JoJo's influence in your blog title. I've never watched it myself though. Oh, and yeah, Japanese is crazy fast. I think that with practice, your speed will improve significantly. On that note, I look forward to practicing speaking with you in class!
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the DS Lite with Pokemon Platinum, the best game (objectively) of the series. Sadly, I lost my copy sometime in my youth and always had to refer to the older titles to enjoy Sinnoh. Those were the days!
DeleteYes! I would love to watch the people in Japan live their lives for a week or so, just to see how different it would be from both my small town upbringing and my new New York life.
It's true, I am a big JoJo fan. My brother showed it to me and would not stop talking about it, so now I have become him! As I tell people now: I only know one truth in this world, you have that one friend who won't stop talking about JoJo, and then you become that friend.
Excited to practice with you as well! Glad to have other first-years to struggle with me!
See you around.
Hey Isaac! I totally understand your struggle of not being able to study Japanese in High school -my school didn't offer it either. It's great that we have the chance to take it now! Pokemon was one of my first games as well but I think I started playing it on the gameboy, that feels like ages go. And I don't think you should worry about being slow at speaking, I mean we have all literally just started learning the language a month ago haha. But yeah, the language is really fast and the particles can get confusing. We will get better!
ReplyDeleteHello Mekal! Glad to have gotten to know you better since you wrote your reply. It is tough without having at least some background in the language, and - oddly enough - I recall my Spanish from high school more when I need to say something in Japanese. Also glad to hear other people are coming to the class from Japanese media from when they were kids, otherwise I would feel pretty out of place and my brother would make fun of me for taking the class. I agree, we will get better! Best of luck to you moving forward, let me know if you ever need help from me and I will do the same with you.
DeleteThe more you recite what you hear, the better your spoken Japanese will become. The language has a steep learning curve, but practice makes perfect.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the advice! I try to incorporate what I learn in class to my daily life, but there is very few Japanese speaking persons within the circles of people I most interact with, so most of the time I just talk to myself and look really goofy. I will keep trying though, thanks for your confidence in me!
DeleteIsaac, it was so cool reading about your relationship to Japanese. I was surprised to read about your fascination with Japanese collectivism, an aspect of Japanese culture, as well as many other East Asian cultures, that is often overlooked or even ignored by Westerners... including myself. I can also relate to the interest in Japanese culture, and I agree that film is a great supplement to learning about a different country's history. I'm excited to spend the rest of the class learning Japanese with you! (btw I feel like you learned things quickly fast so don't worry about being slow!!)
DeleteThanks Justin! I am always game to watch a movie or show, or read a book in Japanese if you have the time, though I know that free time is few and far between here. If you know lot's about East Asian culture, let me know sometime!
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