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Hello everyone!

In this article, we would like to share with you the characteristics of the Japanese language as seen from a foreign learner's point of view.

It is sometimes said that “Japanese is one of the most difficult languages in the world,” but what kind of impression do foreigners have of the Japanese language?

It is surprisingly difficult to notice what characteristics Japanese has compared to other foreign languages when we use it unconsciously in our daily lives.

In this issue, we will introduce some of the unique characteristics of the Japanese language, focusing in particular on areas that foreigners find strange or difficult to learn, including the impressions we have actually heard from foreign learners of Japanese.

6. Japanese language has many abbreviations
Abbreviations in Japanese

Japanese is a language of many abbreviations.

For example, “remote control” and “smart phone” are abbreviations that everyone knows.

In addition to katakana words, there are various abbreviations such as “moped (motorized bicycle),” “student discount (student discount),” “Kansai International Airport (Kansai),” “vending machine (vending machine),” etc., which are integrated into our daily lives.

Even in conversation, abbreviations are created in various ways, such as “torima (for now, well),” “ryo (for now),” and “tapiru (to drink tapioca drink).

These do not usually appear in Japanese textbooks, etc., so it is not uncommon for foreign learners to become confused.

There are also regional differences, such as “McDonald's” and “Mac”, and some use the alphabet, such as “KY” and “JK”.

So when abbreviations appear when foreigners are conversing with Japanese people, reading manga, or watching TV, it often happens that they know the unabbreviated form, but cannot understand the meaning because of the abbreviation.

7. Japanese is spoken in mora, not syllables
Japanese Mora

Native speakers of languages such as English and Chinese perceive the pronunciation of words in terms of “syllables.

Simply put, a vowel sound has consonants attached to it, and the grouping of these consonants is considered to be a “syllable.

For example, the English word “strike” has only one vowel sound, so it is considered to have one “syllable.

But in Japanese, it is read as “strike” and considered to have five beats (this is called a “mora”).

This style of sound perception is very different from that of syllabic languages, and foreigners may have difficulty with it.

Thus, for example, the four-beat “Koen-Park” is often thought of by foreigners as “ko/en” with two syllables, and when writing it, they tend to think of it as “koe.

They may also mishear “Obasan” and “Obaasan” or fail to distinguish the pronunciation properly.

8. Japanese has many homonyms.
Image showing that there are various words with the same sound.

The Japanese language has many homonyms that “sound the same but have different meanings.

For example, “institution,” “period,” “organ,” “trachea,” and “return” are all read as “kan.

Also, “your company,” “reporter,” “train,” and “return” are all read as “kisha.

If the meanings are completely different, you can judge from the context, but it is very difficult for a foreigner to judge instantly while conversing in Japanese.

According to one dictionary, the word with the most homonyms is the word read as “kosho,” with as many as 48 words in total.

On the contrary, there are also many kanji with crazy many readings, such as “生,” so it is quite challenging for foreigners to successfully learn the readings and meanings of kanji.

9. Japanese language is full of onomatopoeia
Headache

The Japanese language has many words called “onomatopoeia,” such as “onomatopoeia” to describe sounds and “mimetic words” to describe the appearance and feelings of things and people.

According to one theory, there are as many as 4,000 to 5,000 onomatopoeia in the Japanese language.

As an example, let's look at onomatopoeia that describes the state of “pain.

Hangover、 for example... Gan gan

Migraine headache... throbbing

Burns... Tingling

Neuralgia... Tingling

Injury... Zinging

Stomachache... Stinging

Stomachache, etc... ache

The Japanese use so many different onomatopoeias just to describe “pain” (and there are more).

Even if you try to translate these into foreign languages, the differences in nuance cannot be translated, so you will often find textbooks in which the same translation is assigned to similar onomatopoeia.

Therefore, it is quite a hurdle for foreign learners to master these words and understand the differences in nuance when they hear them.

Is it difficult for foreigners to learn Japanese?

Continuing from Part 1, we have introduced nine characteristics of the Japanese language.

Looking this far, some may think that it is impossible for foreigners to learn Japanese.

However, there are many foreigners who have overcome many hurdles and are acquiring Japanese language skills well.

As far as those I have been involved with as a Japanese language teacher are concerned, those who were able to acquire a level of Japanese language proficiency that would allow them to go to top private or public universities or use it for business purposes had the following characteristics.

✔️ Chinese and Korean learners learn Japanese faster than others

✔️ who have been exposed to a large amount of anime, manga, dramas, etc. already have high operational ability from the time they arrived in Japan

✔️ Those who actively interact with Japanese people through part-time jobs, outside events, etc. are more likely to have high proficiency.

✔ ️ who can get the hang of studying can learn kanji and grammar quickly.

✔️There are many learners from non-Kanji speaking countries, such as Europe, the U.S. and Southeast Asia, who can learn Kanji well.

In other words, the influence of native language and environment on the degree of learning is not small, but it is possible for people from any country or region to learn and use Japanese well, depending on how they learn and how motivated they are.


How was it?

In Part 1 and Part 2, we introduced some of the difficulties of the Japanese language as seen from a foreigner's point of view.

Understanding these characteristics of the Japanese language will bring about the following benefits.

○Communication can be made smoother by avoiding the use of difficult words.

♦ Knowing the parts of Japanese that are easily misunderstood will help you to guess what they mean.

○ Knowing the parts of Japanese that are difficult to understand will help you understand the parts of Japanese you need to spend more time on when teaching Japanese.

Foreigners studying Japanese may feel many times more difficulty and stress than we do when studying English or other languages.

You can help them learn Japanese well by knowing the difficult parts of the language and telling them how to learn it efficiently.

For tips on how to speak in a way that foreigners can easily understand, please refer to this article.


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