Spoken Japanese seems so fast!

[Snowfall]

I'm a brand-spanking new beginner. I realize that I'm not going to be able to understand much after just a week or so of studying (:D) but it seems to me as if the language is spoken so fast! Is it just because virtually all the sounds are foreign to me? Will I become more accustomed to the speed as I progress? It seems right now as if a speaker gets to the end of their sentence before I've even figured out the first word or two.

Speaking of which, it sounds to me as if many words are strung together without a break in between. I often can't tell where one word ends and the next word begins until I see it written (and yes, I do have to look at the romaji text to aid in pronunciation, sorry).

Here is an example from one of the Introductory Lessons. The speaker said: "Yoroshiku onegai shimasu." Written this way, it looks like three words. However, when it was spoken, it sounded one really long word to me.

Is it a beginner's issue or is Japanese really spoken at a faster clip than English?

[HelixSundown]

In my opinion it's the same as any language. In English we speak fast sometimes, slow sometimes, but mostly we just roll along at whatever pace we feel like. However to other people who don't speak it, this may seem fast because their brains have not been trained (through constant repetition) to identify and separate the thousands of different sounds and words and grammar structures and what have you. To a native speaker of Japanese who is just starting to learn English, I bet it's the same way for them; we just sound like we're spitting out a big run-on sentence with no spaces. Consider the speed with which you converse with your family or your friends; think about the words and grammar you use. Would it not be comparable?

I am definitely, definitely still a beginner but as I learn more and more, my ability to identify words and grammar structures within a conversation or even a sentence becomes better, and I can listen to native speakers and say, "I caught that word," or "I understand that part of the sentence..." It's challenging but that's why I like it. I have heard "yoroshiku onegai shimasu" so many times by now, I think even if somebody said it as fast as they could I would still understand it, because my brain has learned to put those sounds with a meaning. If you work at it, you'll just learn and learn and learn and be able to decipher the code eventually. That's just how it goes I think. :)

[tiroth2]

Something interesting: if you record English and look at the recording, you'll see that we don't pause between words either. It's just because you understand English that you hear the individual words.

I think you'll find that it gets easier the more you learn, but I think you'll always have more difficulty understanding rapid speech unless you become fluent.

[Javizy]

I wouldn't say it's particularly fast; like others say, people speak a range of different speeds in every language. After you become accustomed to the sounds of the language, you'll be able to pick out words that you know, and when you have a nice grammar base down, you'll be able to pick out conjugated parts of adjectives and verbs, even if you don't know what the stem means. With enough practice, you'll then get to a stage where you can pick out words you don't know well enough to look them up. After that, I don't know because I'm not there yet

[Snowfall]

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping that would be the answer (that as I become more accustomed to hearing Japanese, it won't sound as fast to my ears).

For what it's worth, Spanish sounds fast to me, too. And when I hear native-Spanish speakers speak in English, they *still* sound fast (depending on their level of fluency, of course)!

Maybe I just listen slowly .

[stuu]

Yeah hang in there Snowfall, you'll get it through repetition and it's a real buzz when you start identifying words and phrases. Just keep listening and read the pdfs to give you an idea of the how the sentences are actually broken up. I remember looking up dewa and niwa in the dictionary because that's how they sounded not realising they aren't actually words but two particles de wa and ni wa and aren't even in the dictionary, so the pdfs will help you avoid stuff like that. It's hard work learning Japanese but immensely satisfying too. Ganbatte kudasai!

[maxiewawa]

As you get better at the grammar, you'll get to know when words finish and new ones begin. "ku" at the end of a verb, making it an adverb, certain particles "ni", "o" and "de" all come at the end of words.

Keep at it, and you'll start picking it up.

[Psy]

To illustrate what others have been saying, let me give you an example from my own experience:

I have long had on my computer a series of video clips from a Japanese university that provides a range of listening practice materials for learners of Japanese. A few years ago-- as a total self-study-- despite my diligent efforts I found even the low-level ones to be beyond comprehension and amazingly fast to the ear. Even words I knew clearly got lost in the muck of the strange, unfamiliar, and fast. Frustrated at my progress, the clips would remain sitting, in a dusty old folder, forgotten...

... fast-forward, years later, to being in Japan and in the thick of it. Still struggling to communicate but gradually making progress, I opened up the folder and listened to the very same clip-- not only did I understand all of it, it somehow seemed slow. I hadn't studied the clip, I hadn't focused on any particular sort of vocabulary, I hadn't even used a good number of words from it... so how could this be? How could I understand it so well?

The answers are already written in the posts above. The point of my writing this is to illustrate to you, from personal experience, that through your studies you will progress, even if it seems sometimes you're getting nowhere. Moments where the progress becomes tangible will eventually happen, and when they do, you ought to be proud of yourself for it-- after all, before all you heard was a mis-mash of sounds!

So, at times when progressing seems hopeless (which it will...) think about that!

[mikuji]

Hi Snwball!

The good news is that as you get more familiar with the language it will sound slower. But I know it is frustrating until you get there so I thought I'd suggest some technology solution - particularly to make use of spoken material not presented fully at Japanesepod101.

Unfortunately I have not found any freeware able to slow down speech without changing pitch so far. I have posted something about how to slow down speech and adjust pitch in another post under Resources to show how to do this with the freeware Audacity.

However, if you have deeper pockets you could spalsh out on some software that slows speech down without changing the picth you could try:

MP3 Speed Changer 2.30

for example. I've not tried it myself but I think you can try for free.

Also a search on 'free MP3 slow down software' might help.

Also see my post (under Resources forum) regarding investing in text to speech- can be done free if you are happy to put up with the more robotic sound of voice. It will help you to read thisngs faster and faster...until you get used to the natural speed.

gambatte kudasai ne.

mikuji

[Javizy]

I'm pretty sure Winamp has a plug-in that slows down MP3s without changing the pitch.

[Psy]

Back in my OS9 days (before I knew any Japanese... scary) I used a program called the "Amazing Slow Downer." It had some limitations as a demo but it worked quite well. It seems they have OSX and Windows versions available now also:

http://www.ronimusic.com/

[danieru_s]

I find a lot of it depends on whether I am relaxed when I listen. I've listened to every episode here -- started about 1 1/2 ago. Sometimes I can pick up a good portion of an intermediate lesson -- sometimes I stumble over the newbie lessons.

While I listen to the podcasts on my drive to and from work, I also mix it up with news podcasts from a tv/radio station. They are really difficult, and for the most part, I almost never understand more than a bit of what they are saying. But then, every once in a while, I think when my mood is right, I seem to slip into this zone where I actually feel like I can separate the words and even though I don't know them all, if my vocabulary was stronger, I'd actually understand!

And that is really my biggest problem right now -- vocabulary. I just don't remember enough words.

[kc8ufv]

I'm pretty sure Winamp has a plug-in that slows down MP3s without changing the pitch.

There is plugin for Winamp, but I have found it can become a bit choppy if you try for more than about 25-30% slow down.

IIRC, you can do this in Audacity.