kokujin_2000 wrote:For the past few weeks I have been listening to the podcasts from the beginning. I know I have a long way to go before I can complete a good conversation. But as of late I wanted to understand the kanji and katakana to complement the spoken language. I was overwhelmed by the extensiveness of the written language and I fear I dont know where to begin. Could someone take the time to answer this post because I'm not sure what is a good starting point to learn written Japanese. Kanji or katakana.
Shaun Hurst
p.s. The Japanese Culture Class about superstition; a vehicle that transports the dead is called a HEARSE not a HURST (which happens to be my last name)
I'd say stick with the hiragana and katakana first. At first I thought I had to know the kanji to everything. This hindered me because I didn't know any words.
Now when I study, I drill the words in my head and after I can make a sentence using the new word, I will learn its kanji. Depending on your needs, you may find this helpful also.
As for the podcasts, I never look at the notes that come with the mp3 in iTunes. I make my own notes, and will listen to each podcast at least twice while writing in hiragana. It helps me to write down what I'm hearing, and I'll look in my dictionary for the correct spelling.
Please don't get discouraged if and when you chat with a native speaker. You will find there are good and bad native speakers, and I've had my share of both.
