I’ve read around on this site a lot and also read Memory Craft by Lynne Kelly but I still am unsure how to go about this.
I have an interest in learning Japanese, the goal is to be able to read books and be able to converse with people, watch shows and listen to podcasts.
I have no idea how I should go about learning the different characters from Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana. How could I apply mnemonics to learning the characters? Do I classify them by amount of strokes, or try to find aspects of the character that look like something familiar?
Also, would it still be preferable to group the words according to their meaning (like everything related to groceries in the grocerie store etc.) or sort them by the characters?
I guess in general the loci will be filled with information like character + japanese word + meaning. How can you make sure you get the spelling of the words right?
Two side questions I have as well.
My first language is Dutch, but I’m fluent in English as well. Would it be fine to learn Japanese-English as opposed to Japanese-Dutch? I have a more full comprehension of things whenever they’re Dutch as I have an entire life of experience and reference, as opposed to English which I learned later on in life. However, there are more English resources which will make it easier to find information.
Also, in Memory Craft Lynne Kelly explains about memory boards (I think that was the name). I’m puzzled as to how to apply information to real life objects such as a memory board. The concept of a memory palace and loki are familiar but how does that work with a real object? Do you still imagine the object in your mind and attach something to it? How does it work with multiple objects of the same like beads next to each other? Do you mentally shrink things down as well? As a board you can hold is much smaller than for example a house or a block you can walk in/around.
Aaah so many questions but thanks for the awesome environment here!
Cheers!
Opinions might differ, but I keep saying it: language is a skill, and skills need practice more than memorization.
Japanese is a language with many uncommons for western people, so when I set out to learn the language, I started with the systems behind the language. Mainly the grammar and the two syllable-based writing systems. Japanese has an extensive formality system and doesn’t use much intonation and western structures. Understanding how the language works is key to understanding the language.
After understanding that, I moved on to building a basic understanding of conversational japanese. No kanji yet, but I did start to learn some words. Whenever I learned the word, I also learned the kanji. If you want to memorize the words, just turn them into sound-based images. However, I would suggest you use them instead. Same for the kanji, use them rather than memorizing them.
There are around 2.000 commonly used kanji, and even more combinations of them to form words that may not always translate that well. Sure you can memorize them, but you will end up with a mental “dictionary” and whenever you have to know one, you will need to go through it.
Instead, use them. Start with the most common words and whenever you write something to yourself, use them.
As you use them, try not to translate. “Kuruma” is not “car”, it is the motorized vehicle with four wheels that we call a car. Learn like you learned your first language. Early on you will translate a lot, but try to grasp what you are saying, rather than what the meaning is of what you are saying.
