For so long I have enjoyed the culture of Japan and many forms of art that stem from said culture. I respect the country quite a lot and appreciate many of the aspects that make the place a unique experience. However, I am not going to argue that there are no negatives, as there are at least some with any and all countries to some degree.
Like many people my age, born in 1991, I bore witness to a certain show that introduced me to, what I would come to understand later, a Japanese product. This show was Dragon Ball Z, on YTV in 1999, and while it did not enthrall me with the country itself, DBZ is the first memory I have of interacting with something that came from Japan.
There is not much of note to explain since 1999, I watched Anime when I could as the art style was distinct enough to know that, even though the characters were speaking English, it was a product of Japan. I grew up in poverty so the internet and a computer did not come in to my household until 2007, this limited my ability to seek out Anime on my own. As you may notice that Anime was the impetus of my prolonged interest into Japan as a whole.
Now this has evolved over time, as an overall respect for the country Is not "just" from Anime. I myself am an Ambivert.... or so the long questionnaires say. Japan itself is a more introverted society, quiet, and respectful which definitely seems like something that I would like to experience at some point. Which brings me to my main point, I intend to learn Japanese, enough, to be able to live there for a period of time (undetermined).
This came to mind more recently, as I have wanted to go there for some time, but coming to a better understanding of myself I have come to realize I am not enthralled by the notion of going to a country for week or two for a vacation. I want to experience so much more than what could be fit into a week or two, strung out over years, and I do not want to be treated as a tourist. I want to experience the day to day and form connections and friendships, attend festivals, visit locations, and volunteer to teach English.
But these more recent desires have brought about frustrations and regrets....
The Japanese language, Nihongo, is difficult, muzukashii.
Why did I have to choose to enjoy the culture of a country with one of the most difficult languages to learn?
Good question and the answer to it is based on my own personal history. While not directly linked (maybe a little for the next portion), when I had to take French in grade and high school, I never liked it. However, I did make sure I pronounced things correctly, as I still held respect for the language and the people that use it as their main means of communication. As an adult, and being aware of more cultures in my own country, I realize that this is important to many English speakers when immigrants struggle with pronouncing English, as a second language that is.
My interest in other "easier" languages was simply not there, and as such there was not motivation to learn other languages.
That being said, understanding and learning about how languages are learned, I regret not learning French as a teenager, at least to a moderate degree.
Why is this? Well, it is because when you learn one language, learning more becomes easier. When considering learning language you have to understand some basic tips to doing so, and if I had learned French, the following key points would have been possible.
With learning French, I would have been able to follow these basic tips to accelerate my learning, improving my ability to learn another language at a different point in my life, AKA now.
A commonly discussed number is 2200 hours, the amount of time it takes to learn Japanese.
I am learning at my own pace, with some writing books and an online platform called Rocket Languages. So far, I would think I have clocked in 300 hours, and I do not feel over 10% of the way to being able to speak the language. I am beginning to feel as though it will take over 4000 hours to be able to hold any type of conversation using my current learning tactics, which I may change. I have done some research on this, and am awaiting the inflection in my learning where the base of understanding I have built will make future progress exponential.
My key regret is not starting my studies sooner, I looked at thew 2200 hour number as a barrier. I did not start doing small 30 minute study sessions learning even one word, particle, kanji, or any other little small thing as I felt as though it wouldn't matter. If I had started that 5 years ago, I would be much farther than I would be right now, closer to the inflection point, and more confident in my goal.
All I can do now is work towards my goal. And I want to live in Japan for some time to enable me to accelerate the language learning process.
This will be brief, as it is just a reiteration of the last section. Some people I know were over for a small dinner party with their daughters, one of which is attending French immersion school. Since I am learning a language later in life, I thought I would ask her how the parents and daughter felt. The parents wanted to have the daughter learn Polish, as it is the mothers first language, but settled on French as it is more relevant to Canada and more accessible. The daughter was more interested in Spanish, without any reason as to why.
I gave a little explanation as to my own experiences, and gave some advice, maybe poor... I am not sure. I told them:
Stick with it, it may not be the ideal language, but it will help you right now and in the future when you decide to learn another language. The skills you build now, will be applicable in the future.
For my future reference to remind myself, these are a few points on how this has impacted my thought process.
