#The only reason I haven't started learning Japanese is that I study Chinese and I want to focus on it for the time being /

[kyouka-supremacy]

I've finished editing the guidebook profiles, I'll be posting them tomorrow. Untill then, is there by chance anyone who speaks Japanese who can proofread them, or even just check the parts I'm most confused about?

[rigelmejo]

Part of the reason I am planning to finish the Glossika Japanese app course is because I can find NO reviews of anyone who's finished it and what their language skills and ability was like upon completion.

I can only find beginner reviews of the Japanese course, and I found one language learner share their results after finishing the OLD Finnish course (3800 sentences not the new 6400 amount) and they already had a large vocabulary from LingQ so Glossika was for grammar exposure and improving in speaking with the sentence rep drills. Which did work great for them! But does not tell me how much of an increase in vocabulary a person would see, and how much that would make more understandable etc. And the new app courses have 5000+ words so that would also make a difference. I found one person who completed the Russian app course, they saw an improvement to speak about daily life things in all areas and talk to people (which is great!). I do not know how that will compare to the Japanese course experience.

If anyone has seen someone share their results and language ability after completing Glossika Japanese, or Mandarin, please let me know! Please send me a link, I'd really like to read what people have said once they FINISHED glossika.

As for my own experience so far: I did not start Japanese Glossika as an absolute beginner, but instead an upper beginner. I knew 1500-2500 words already, and only encountered around 500 new words in the A1 section. They were useful new words, but the majority of A1 was review for me or studying of unfamiliar grammar. The A2 section is still mostly words I know, I am 1/4 through the A2 section. I am finally beginning to encounter an unknown word maybe every 20 sentences. I've gone through ~3800 sentences now and am concerned a majority of the 6400 sentences in the course will be in the A1 and A2 sections.

I am hopeful that since it teaches 5000+ words, I will eventually encounter around 2000 new words to learn. I am only working on listening skills, increasing vocabulary, and increasing grammar understanding. The app is working okay for these so far. I think working on reading skill would be possible with the app, and I do read sometimes on it, but I know hanzi from Chinese so I am not having difficulty remembering new kanji in words, and I think an absolute beginner would have a much harder time remembering new kanji and probably would want to spend some review time actually looking at the app screen and re-reading sentences with kanji a lot.

The beginning 1000 sentences will be very rough on an absolute beginner, because the majority of sentences I noticed were translated in indirect wording (which made it hard to figure out what each individual word in a sentence Actually means) were in the beginning of the app course. Around 1 every 6 sentences in the beginning of the course seemed to use an indirect translation, making the guessing of new words quite hard unless you look up the actual japanese sentence provided in another app like Google Translate or look up the individual japanese words. After the first ~1000 sentences this issue happens less, and now I rarely notice it. Perhaps those first sentences in the course are newer, and so have more errors or weirder translations? There's a LOT of repeated words in the sentences, so if you just find you can't figure out a sentence's word meaning? Just move on. Another sentence will contain those words, and have a better translation, and you'll be able to figure out the word's meaning easier in that other sentence.

The beginning sentences are also a bit rough because there's grammar in some sentences that is not taught in typical beginner classes, so if you're also taking a class or doing a textbook, some of the initial sentences will have grammar you haven't seen (this also happens with Clozemaster - and many sentence collection study options). Just try your best to grasp the gist, and move on. You will keep seeing all the grammar structures, again and again in new sentences, and eventually it will make more sense. (And even if it doesn't make more sense, you can learn more words from those sentences at least).

You should be aware when going into the glossika japanese course of some basic things: what is romaji (english letters representing japanese), kana (hiragana and katakana for japanese words and word-endings and katakana for foreign words or emphasis), kanji (characters representing idea, can replace part of or all hiragana in spelling of some words, have multiple pronunciations depending on the word they are in), particles (single hiragana, specific ones, which serve a function in a sentence such as labelling the object some verb happens to, the place something is going to 'to', 'and', 's/of, the time something happens). You can learn particles over time based on the examples, if you wish, but knowing they EXIST and are single hiragana at the end of a word or clause is useful for starting to identify them. Also, japanese has conjugations for verbs and adjectives. Important, if you weren't aware to look for multiple spellings of those things based on other information being conveyed (by the conjugation).

[malaidarling]

chinese - danmei ngl. i dabbled in it previously but once i got into mxtx it was inevitable. it's one of the only languages i've stuck with, mostly because it's so different from other languages i've learned in a way that's so novel and fun. even when i've been burnt out with it, not once in the past 3 years have i thought about stopping <3 it means so much to me now

spanish - i was taking (and failing) french in middle school so out of spite for my teacher, i started studying spanish in her class. the next year i switched to spanish classes and even skipped a year of it because of how quickly i picked it up.

japanese - lowk anime. but also japanese literature is my fav genre so i would love to be able to get to a point of reading the original works.

italian - ok so i literally haven't studied since the day i decided to learn it but trust me it's still on my mind. i'm taking a class on translation and we talk about dante so much that i got a little obsessed with him. signed up for an entire class next quarter about his works by the same prof. i also adore italian architecture and would love to visit italy again to explore all the cool sights.

i swear there's more. hindi & punjabi bc of cultural reasons, thai bc i love thai food and the bls are top tier and every thai person i have ever met has been the best and the music slays and also the language is so fun to learn, irish bc i went to ireland for a tragically short period and it sparked this insatiable hunger, arabic because oh my god it is so beautiful the poetry is to die for the sound of it is just so pretty

Langblr! Why did you start learning your target language(s)?

[majachee]

Top five mythology/religion to learn about

OOH OKAY - this is an interesting one!

I haven't studied all of them (I want to, I oh so desperately want to) but i'm slowly getting there! So, i'm just going to rank the ones I've studied from EASIEST to learn about to HARDEST, and explanations why! (Be warned, I do touch onto sensitive topics such as indoctrination, racism, etc. I brought these things up to educate others on what to avoid when doing research!)

1.) Abrahamic religion and mythology

Abrahamic is an umbrella term used to denote any and all religions that that revere the prophet Abraham; Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and their branches, and many more! The reason why they're so easy to study is not only because their monotheistic religions with similar mythos (with variations, of course!), their origins are relative, but ALSO!!! Because they're still widely practiced today! If you want to study *any* of these faiths, you can easily visit a local house of worship and ask around. There's also a TON of resources online and in book stores, you can get the Holy Texts in all sorts of languages and translations! There's THOUSANDS of years worth of history in all these religions, layers upon layers of culture and lessons to be told!

It's a direct insight to human morality over the years, in regards to spirituality. It's also very easy to backtrack and find information on the ancient, dead religions that preceded our modern faiths.

My one warning! Be on the lookout for manipulation and propaganda. It's easy to spot for the most part, but be wary - some are more subtle. Raise a brow if you see someone use the name "Jehovah"

El, Elohim, and Yahweh/YHWH are mostly fine from my research, but when a source uses the name of God in an un-academic way I find myself raising a few brows. Especially if the name is Jehovah due to Jehovah's Witnesses. I'm not saying to avoid these terms entirely, but simply be aware that there's a difference between a religious individual or a scholar talking about faith in a respectful manner, and someone trying to indoctrinate you. Don't fall for their misinfo and mind games.

2.) Greco-Roman mythology!

The Greeks and Romans had similar religious beliefs when it came to their Gods, but not without a handful of variations and cultural differences! Most of these stories were passed down orally, and changed over time and from city to city - it is thanks to poets and playwrights that we have as much information as we do today! Along with the art that's been preserved over the centuries!

While they're polytheistic religions that vary between eras and regions, it's very easy to gather information on them due to how popular they are in pop culture! Percy Jackson, Hadestown, Disney's Hercules, God of War, Titan Guest, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Hades, Lore Olympus, Blood of Zeus(?), all sorts of modern stories based on Greco-Roman myths! Hell, you can even find Greco-Roman influence elsewhere like in Transformers or Genshin Impact!

My main advice? Don't use wikipedia for greek mythology. Instead, look up plays and poems written during their eras and translated for modern readers; look up essays and books written by scholars! Anything but wikipedia. Wikipedia is full of false information and conflicting stories: they don't really organize the different eras of Greco-Roman religion all that well. The Roman's religious beliefs were quite different towards the end of the Roman Empire than, well, decades before the birth of Julius Caesar, for example.

Just go into it with the knowledge that these beliefs evolved over time and were exchanged orally, and that wikipedia is shit, and you'll be good to go.

Also: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades all suck. "But Hades didn't cheat on his wife" well, he kidnapped her and then tricked her into staying with him. Shut up. Stop whitewashing Hades.

3.) Chinese and Japanese Mythology as a whole ngl

I've only just started studying Chinese mythology but... yeah... this is easy so far! These beliefs are still acknowledged and respected by their cultures, and show up in pop media as well! There's tons of well sourced books you can buy and read!

I don't... have many warnings at the moment, as I've only just started studying and haven't come across anything to raise a brow or two. Sorry for the lack of info, I'm still a newbie. ^^'

4.) Norse mythology and old germanic religion.

This is, personally, one of my favorite religions to study!! It's also the main inspo behind my favorite music taste EVER!!!!! NEW FOLK!!!!!!

If you haven't listened to SKÀLD, Heilung, Wardruna, Danheim, Gealdyr, or anything then DO SO. The music slaps and the extra knowledge of the mythology and folklore adds a whole new layer of understanding and immersion!

Norse mythology has been showing up more and more lately in pop culture, with God of War 2018 and its upcoming sequel God of War: Ragnarok, we also have the Hellblade series coming out with its first sequel soon, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (i have problems with that game but alas, alas), shows like the Vikings and its sequels/prequels (contain your critical rage, Maja.... contain...), and all sorts of new shows and movies! And games...

While its influence isn't wide spread, there's... a lot of problems when learning about Norse mythology.

We don't have a lot of first hand, primary resources. We have the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, abd we have substantial knowledge on the Vikings and their ancestors, but that's not where my main concern lies.

During the National Socialist party takeover of Germany in the 1930s-1940s (and before that, even), in order to spread propaganda surrounding the false idea of a perfect "Aryan race" these scumbags took Norse and Germanic mythology and rewrote it. They rewrote parts of it and tried to create their own neopagan religion that advocates for human sacrifice and white supremacy. Not saying that ancient religion is free from any and all racism, no no, but they made up their own myths and practices to align with their agenda.

In early 1900s, iirc, they even invented their own runic alphabet, stealing letters from the elder and younger futhark languages and twisting them in order to create a new runic language. They also created their own spells and symbols. These are called Armanen runes or pseudo-runes. Avoid them.

And I hate to say it, but many people accidentally confuse these Nazi inventions for the original mythos - and this wasn't the only time the Nazi's stole religious symbols that wasn't theirs to take and desecrate! Look into the history of the symbol behind the swastika.

When studying Norse and Germanic mythology, look how for Nazi dogwhistles and always do extra resource into your sources! The original mythos and faith practices are so fascinating and beautiful, but it is easy to get lost and end up somewhere unfortunate.

These are what the false Runic alphabets look like:

DO NOT USE THESE.

These are Armanen runes, a set of fake runes that the Nazi's used!

And here are the elder futhark runes:

And here are the younger futhark runes, the ones the Vikings used:

There's similarities, but also clear differences

Here's a video of me pronouncing them, so you can tell the difference if someone is attempting to speak or say the runes (sorry if my pronounciation is off! But I should be close enough!)

Younger futhark is a reduced version of elder futhark, and only has 16 letters, let's ignore the other variants of runes for a sec but frankly, once you're aware of the differences in the alphabets and yoi're able to recognize dogwhistles, you're free to go.

When drawing runes, be careful as well... the Nazis have also appropriated some of the original runes (othala, mađr and yr in particular). Be mindful of the context in which you're using them.

Quite frankly, as someone with scandinavian and german ancestry, this makes me sick.

That's enough depressing talk for today tho!

5.) Egyptian mythology.

It's really cool, I know a bit, but I am struggling SO BADLY trying to find a good source to learn more about the myths, culture, and hieroglyphics!

I know a little bit about the ancient egyptian culture and their religion, enough to carry a conversation with someone not as educated, but if I were to go head to head with a scholar I'd be TOAST because I, comparatively, know practically nothing!

The conspiracy theories about the aliens also don't help. Stop underestimating the skills of ancient civilizations, the Greeks had ANCIENT ROBOTS FOR GOD'S SAKE-

DO YOU KNOW HOW ADVANCED ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY TRULY WAS? JUST TAKE A LOOK! AUGH

But yeah, if you have any good resources for Egyptian mythology or Chinese and Japanese mythology, feel free to comment below or send me a link :) I prefer peer-reviewed texts and PDFs/books! Egyptian mythology is last solely cuz I dont know enough about it 🧍‍♂️

That's my list! I hope you learned something!!

[japanesepenguin]

Day 69 in Japan

+ (Nice)

+ So the picture today is of an envelope I got in the mail; it's from the national health insurance system and contains a ticket to go get a health check-up; I won't be making any comparisons to the American healthcare system (yet) because I don't know enough about the Japanese system, but I understand this is a topic some of you may be interested in so I'll take notes

+ The reason I took the picture is because, rather than any one significant factor, it's the accumulation of tiny and small factors that make me like things here and this is a good example; American envelopes force you into uncultured swine territory by necessitating ripping things open with your dirty barbarian hands (or otherwise cut open with a designated tool, risking damage to the contents and necessitating yet another thing to buy); but here someone was unsatisfied with those two options (for reasons that are, at least, obvious to me) and implemented a solution: perforated envelopes with a flap; it was actually pretty satisfying to just... easily open an envelope

+ The construction workers have not been mentioned in awhile, so lemme just say they are apparently using dental drills to drill holes into every single brick in the building next door; I haven't actually seen them doing this, but that's what it sounds like; that was all last week; two days ago they started power washing the side of the building with the loudest compressor I've ever heard

+ I bought a type of shelf to fit into the bathroom, but unhappy with the results of careful planning and research I decided to recover some of the money spent by returning it; now, in Japan, as you may imagine, the postal services are numerous and effecient and, in this case, very convenient: Amazon purchases can be returned at your own door by someone who comes and picks it up

+ So I tried this for the first time, but must have misunderstood something because the pick up guy was expecting a single package and I had three (because they originally came in three boxes); it may have been because I was hyped up on caffeine (I was working on writing a paper) but I was able to navigate the conversation fairly well, at least enough to make the source of confusion clear, ask for advice on how to proceed, and agree to his suggested solution (he'd take all three, assume they're supposed to be together, and we'd both hope for the best)

+ At some point he used a word, 返品, which I have not learned yet; I asked him what it meant (because it seemed important) and he gave, in hindsight, a fairly competent explanation of what this word meant using simple language and some hand gestures; he seemed rather amused at the opportunity to explain basic vocabulary to someone, as I'm sure that's well outside of his job description and something he probably hasn't had to do since grade school

+ Anyways, my point here is that since I've only been studying the reading of kanji (the complicated-looking characters in Japanese that come from Chinese and supposedly the most difficult part of learning Japanese), my listening and speaking comprehension have remained flat (re: poor) but I'm at a point now where if he were to have written it down I would have been able to understand; that word is composed of 返 which means something like "return" and 品 which means something like "goods" or "products", so the word means "returned goods" (obviously important vocabulary for this situation)

+ Now, the thing with Japanese is that it's a fairly logically constructed language; I haven't actually learned the word 返品 yet; but I know what each individual character (symbol) means since they appear in other words that I do know; so it'd be easy enough to accurately guess the meaning; but, in an aspect that is slightly less logical, I wouldn't know how to read (pronounce) that word; in Roman letters, 返品 is henpin; but I'd probably guess henhin since the second character is normally pronounced hin (and for those of you who know Japanese, yes I know the h goes to a p but I haven't fully internalized that yet)

+ So by "learning kanji" you're actually trying to learn (what some of you probably call "memorize") a few different things: what each character means (to be helpful outside of this particular word), what those characters together (as a word) mean, how that word is normally used (grammatically), and how that word is pronounced

+ Anyways, Akina comes home a day early tonight!

[lurkingteapot]

I've joked about this before but every language other than my L1 that I learned to any level of proficiency, I obtained that level of proficiency in order to access more queer content. Sure, I grew up speaking my L1 and English, but my English was at kindergartener level until I gained access to the internet and the world of slash fanfiction. I originally started to learn Japanese because I'd read summaries of BL manga (we didn't call them that back then, but ykwim) and doujinshi that sounded amazing but I was sure at the time would never get translated – several of my favourites still haven't been, other than by scanlation groups. I studied Chinese on and off for years and got to a decent conversational level, but only really took off and started to reach a good understanding of more natural speech and varied topics when I started to get into danmei and dangai. And now I'm sort of starting to get somewhere with Thai for similar reasons, and not allowing myself to watch Pinoy BL because I have a feeling that Tagalog will be next, and I'm not ready for that yet, my Thai isn't where I want it!

So. Yes. Information (know that the thing exists) and access (be able to obtain a copy, ideally with a translation in a language you understand).

You wanna know what I love most about bl/gl dramas?

It’s that they’ve given me something I never thought I would have: more queer content than I know what to do with. Every year we’re getting dozens of shows and movies where queer romance is first and it’s so much that I can’t watch all of it. It’s so much that I can choose the ones that really interest me and not have to watch things that bore me for scraps of representation. It’s so much that I don’t feel like I’m always needing more. After a lifetime I finally feel sated.