January 24, 2007...7:59 am

Japanese Potter

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Eun Hye and I have decided to take on Harry Potter in Japanese, starting with the first book, so we ordered two used copies from Amazon Japan.

I was inspired to try this after reading a post over at nihongojouzu.com, which was in turn inspired by an idea by another person, Dougal Phillips, who runs becomingagun.com. I’m at the awkward bridge that almost every language student faces, when you are trapped in the middle of this long bridge between intermediate and advanced levels, and you feel like no progress is being made. Only recently have I been forcing myself ahead through diligent study.

The reading method is simple, but it looks like a great idea. I’ve modified it further based on my own goals, as well as an opinion I once read by a professor who studied Korean.

Some notes on the method:

  • I intend to finish the book within one year by reading a little bit every day. There are 450 pages in the book, which gives me a two-step program. For the first 280 days, I will read just one page a day. For the remaining 85 days, I’ll read 2 pages a day, leaving me with 450 pages finished in 365 days.
  • Instead of writing in the margins, I’ll write all new kanji and vocab on post-it notes to make the book a tabbed resource. This was the recommendation of the professor who had studied Korean - put post-it notes on everything the minute you learn something new. She could have been a salesman for post-it notes.
  • I’ll adhere to only one page a day to keep my study digestible, so I don’t become overwhelmed and lose morale.
  • As Will from nihongojouzu.com mentioned, Harry Potter is a good choice because I already know the story, which enables me to piece together what’s going on in the Japanese version, and also learn the words out of a context in which I’m already familiar with in English.
  • There is also the benefit of a range of levels in words, the differences between Hermione’s, Harry’s, and Dumbledore’s choices’ in words, for example, Dumbledore’s being on the more difficult side of the scale. There are a lot of conversations in the book, so I’d be exposed to colloquial speech. (Except for any nouns having to do with magic or fantasy. I don’t know how often I’ll be discussing the phoenix species or magic potions in public.)
  • I had intended to start a notebook-dictionary of my own new word acquisition, and what a perfect place to start with Harry Potter. I will transcribe all of my post-it notes into the notebook, adding the date and page number it was from for handy reference.

So, that’s it. The books ship from Japan tomorrow, and I don’t know how long it will take for them to get here, but I hope sooner than later. Eun Hye will probably power through and be done with it in a few days, but she hasn’t been keeping up on her Japanese, and she wants to jump back into study mode, so she might take her time with it and make sure she knows all the words instead of just assuming their meaning from context. (Being pregnant and giving birth destroys your concentration, apparently. Not to mention waking up at all hours of the night to tend to a wailing angel.)

6 Comments

Filed under Japanese

6 Comments

  • R:_yo/io/oy
    January 24, 2007 at 11:06 am

    Hi, 新しいレイアウト、かっこいいね（特に日本語フォントがイイ）。ぼくも英語日本語全巻と3,4,5巻を韓国語で持っています。日本語の翻訳はあまりほめられるものではないし（直訳的すぎるのか、雰囲気がつかめない）、子ども向けに作りすぎているけれど。でも、as you already noticed, 日本語はダンブルドアの「～じゃよ」のような「役割語（register variation）」が発達しているから、そういう表現の勉強にはとてもいいと思う。子ども向けということは役割語がはっきりしているということだし。ぼくも時間があれば韓国語でハリー読もうと思っています。
    p.s. I’ll reply to your email before long, sorry.

  • Alex
    January 24, 2007 at 11:58 am

    レイアウトを変わったのは楽しかったけど、これからは変わりたくないね。

    ハリーポッターをアマゾンから注文したけど、中古で１円でした。どうしてそんなに安いかね。大丈夫かなと思っている。新しい本が１，９００円だから、２冊の本と日本から韓国までの宅急便の値段を考えると、本当に高くなって買えなかったけど、安い本を見つけてよかったです。

    RYOは韓国語の３、４、５巻しか持ってなかったら、１、２巻ここから送れますよ。最初からがいいじゃないですか。

  • DM Osbon
    January 25, 2007 at 10:16 pm

    Alex..you are indeed brave to take on Japanese…well done. Talking Harry Potter I had a conversation with my wife about us both reading the books.

    Neither of us have tried as of yet but I believe they are ‘more’ adult than the films?

    David.

  • Alex
    January 26, 2007 at 7:42 am

    Well, even the films get progressively darker and more mature in theme and contents. The books, it’s true, start out a bit childish, but that doesn’t mean they’re not fun to read. The storyline matures as Harry does. I was skeptical at first also, but the books are just plain fun to read.

    I can’t wait for the 7th/final book to come out this summer!

  • DM Osbon
    January 26, 2007 at 7:19 pm

    Sure, saw the last movie just the other week & agree was darker than the previous. I’m glad you said they are a ‘fun’ read as it will keep my wife interested!

    Will let you know are progress.

    David.

  • å­¦
    February 17, 2007 at 12:34 am

    　レイアウト良いと思いますよ！

    　Alexさんの英文訳すと、ためになる事が書いてあるのですね。

    　しかし、自分の英語力の無さに悲しくなってしまいます。

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