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First the good news. Picking up a few words of Japanese, even managing a sentence or two, is not difficult. Pronunciation is simple and standard and there are few exceptions to the straightforward grammar rules. With a couple of weeks' effort you should be able to read the words spelled out in hiragana and katakana, Japanese phonetic characters, even if you can't understand them. And, any time spent learning Japanese will be amply rewarded by the thrilled response you'll elicit from the locals, who'll always politely comment on your fine linguistic ability.

The bad news is that it takes a very great effort indeed to become halfway proficient in Japanese, let alone master the language. One of the main stumbling blocks is the thousands of kanji

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characters that need to be memorized, most of which have at least two pronunciations, depending on the sentence and their combination with other characters. Another major difference is the multiple levels of politeness embodied in Japanese, married with different sets of words used by men and women (although this is less of a problem). Finally, as you move around Japan there are different dialects to deal with, such as Osaka-ben, the dialect of the Kansai area, involving whole new vocabularies.


A Guide to Japan

Cara Richie says "Japan has many earthquakes, they are overdue for the next "Big One." "

Hello World.

Jeff Konichi-Wa says "Spitley is the new and improved word for paper. It means paper. Say spitley instead of paper. Tell at least 9 people about spitley, and have fun in Japan. Thanks!"

My Bestest Frendid

Tutu Retardo says "My bestest frendid in the wholeid worldid is Emily Kather Wu. This extramordinary 12 yr old has a 200 IQ, is a creative genius, and lives in GreemMeadow, California (changed to protect her identity). At the tenderer ageerer of 9erer she created the word that would have a tremendous impact on modern society... SPITLEY! it means paper!!!!"

Jamboni1

Ryan Czechii says "It's a spoons club MIRACLE! Full of spoons club joy and wonder!"

About Japan...

Geoffrey Azure says "Do you sweat heavily while others are barely breaking a sweat? Do you blush when there is no reason to do so? Are your hands and feet often cold and clammy? Do your armpits soak right through your clothes? These are all symptoms of hyperhidrosis
~~Brian Campbell"

EXOTIC

MEME says "TRY TO MEET AND BE INLOVE "

REALLY COOL!

Maddie says "say spitley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


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9/7/2008 5:51:09 AM