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6.  About Nihongo: This is part 6 of 9 parts.

(This section includes answers to questions about the Japanese language, learning Japanese, the Japanese Language Proficiency test and the JETRO Business Japanese Proficiency Test, the usage of "keigo", Japanese sign language and braille, Japanese literature, regional dialects, dictionaries & book reviews, kanji - old & modern, Japanese family and given names, proverbs & tongue twisters, pronunication & intonation, newspapers & media, translation & intepreting, modern slang, the particles, "dajare" & wordplay. If you can't find what you need please contact us - we have a large team here in Okazaki waiting to help you - Declan Murphy)

• 6.1 - Who speaks Japanese and where is it spoken?
  
  • 6.1.1 - How close is the relationship between the Japanese and Korean languages?
    
  • 6.1.2 - Does knowledge of Korean grammar assist when learning Japanese?
    
  • 6.1.3 - Does knowledge of the written Chinese language assist when learning Japanese?
    
  • 6.1.4 - Is Japanese related to the Altaic language family?
    
  • 6.1.5 - What is Malayo-Polynesian? Is there a link between Malayo-Polynesian and Japanese?
    
• 6.2 - Questions about writing Japanese:
  
  • 6.2.1 - How long does it take to learn to read and understand Japanese books, newspapers or business documents?
    
  • 6.2.2 - How long does it take to learn to write Japanese?
    • 6.2.3 - What is the Hiragana syllabary? When is hiragana used?
      
      • 6.2.3.1 - How long does it take to learn hiragana?
        
      • 6.2.3.2 - Are there any useful mnemonics for remembering the hiragana order?
        
      • 6.2.3.3 - Which chinese characters are the hiragana derived from?
        
      • 6.2.3.4 - How can I remember the difference between "sa" and "chi"?
        
      • 6.2.3.5 - Are there any useful panagrams to help remember writing the hiragana?
        
        • 6.2.3.5.1 - What is the "i-ro-ha" poem and what is its origin?
          
        • 6.2.3.5.2 - What is the "gojuuon" and what is its origin?
          
      • 6.2.3.6 - Handwriting & Fonts - Why are there several ways of writing some hiragana such as "sa" or "hu"?
        
      • 6.2.3.7 - Are there any kana for "yi" or "ye"? Do these sounds exist in Japanese?
        
      • 6.2.3.8 - Are there any kana for "wi" or "we"? Do these sounds exist in Japanese?

        Type "wi" for ‚î/ƒ� and "we" for ‚ï/ƒ‘.

      • 6.2.3.9 - When the sound "wa" is used as a particle, why is it always written as "ha", but still pronounced as "wa"?
        
      • 6.2.3.10 - When the sound "e" is used as a particle, why is it always written as "he", but still pronounced as "e"?
        
    • 6.2.4 - What is the Katakana syllabary? When is "katakana" used?
      
      • 6.2.4.1 - Which chinese characters are the katakana derived from?
        
      • 6.2.4.2 - Are katakana used for words other than "garaigo"?
        
      • 6.2.4.3 - Are there any advantages in learning the katakana before the hiragana?
        
      • 6.2.4.4 - How can I remember the difference between "tsu" and "so"?
        
    • 6.2.5 - What are Kanji characters? When are they used?
      
      • 6.2.5.1 - How many kanji are used in Japanese?
        
        • 6.2.5.1.1 - Are all of the kanji used in Japanese from China? Which Kanji were "made in Japan"?
          
        • 6.2.5.1.2 - Why are some of the Kanji brought from China written differently to those used in China today?
          
        • 6.2.5.1.3 - What are "tsukuruji", are they common?
          
      • 6.2.5.2 - How many kanji do I need to know to pass the various levels of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test?
        
      • 6.2.5.3 - What are some useful dictionaries or resources for learning kanji?
        
        • 6.2.5.3.1 - Are there any good Kanji dictionaries for complete beginners or elementary level learners?
          
        • 6.2.5.3.2 - Are flashcards a good way of learning Kanji?
          
        • 6.2.5.3.3 - How can I use the OCJS link generator and online dictionary to learn Kanji?
          
      • 6.2.5.4 - How many kanji do I need for reading newspapers, novels or texts intended for native speakers of Japanese?
        
      • 6.2.5.5 - Why are there kanji for some words/terms from western languages such as English or Portuguese?
        
    • 6.2.6 - What is "romaji"?
      
      • 6.2.6.1 - Why are there several different "romaji" systems such as "Hepburn" etc?
        
      • 6.2.6.2 - Is "romaji" used at Yamasa?
        
      • 6.2.6.3 - Is learning grammar using "romaji" a help or hindrance to learning Japanese?
        
      • 6.2.6.4 - Are "romaji" based textbooks and dictionaries useful or counter-productive?
        
    • 6.2.7 - What is "tenji"? How is Japanese Braille written?
      
      • 6.2.7.1 - How do blind Japanese people browse the internet?http://www.osakapref-sb.ed.jp/fumo/syt/tenji.htm
        
    • 6.2.8 - Questions about reading Japanese:
      
      • 6.2.8.1 - Is Japanese always written vertically top to bottom, from right to left?
        
        • 6.2.8.1.1 - For email, wordprocessing and websites, is Japanese usually written horizontally from left to right?
          
        • 6.2.8.1.2 - Can Japanese be written horizontally from right to left?
          
      • 6.2.8.2 - How can I learn the readings of Japanese family and given names?
        
      • 6.2.8.3 - Is learning "shoudo" (calligraphy) useful in learning how to write Japanese?
        
      • 6.2.8.4 - Are there any useful tools to help me read online newspapers & media
        
• 6.3 - Questions about Japanese Grammar
  
  • 6.3.1 - What are the three verb groupings?
    
    • 6.3.1.1 - What are the "Group 1" verbs?
      
    • 6.3.1.2 - What are the "Group 2" verbs?
      
    • 6.3.1.3 - What are the "Group 3" verbs?
      
  • 6.3.2 - What are the various forms?
    
    • 6.3.2.1 - ‰Â”\Œ` - What is the "kanoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.2.2 - ˆÓŒüŒ` - What is the "ikoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.2.3 - ‹ÖŽ~Œ` - What is the "kinshikei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.2.4 - –½—ߌ` - What is the "meirei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.2.5 - �ðŒ�Œ` - What is the "joukenkei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.2.6 - Žó�gŒ` - What is the "ukemi" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
  • 6.3.3 - Transitive & Intransitive verbs
    
    • 6.3.3.1 - ‰Â”\Œ` - What is the "kanoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.3.2 - ˆÓŒüŒ` - What is the "ikoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.3.3 - ‹ÖŽ~Œ` - What is the "kinshikei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.3.4 - –½—ߌ` - What is the "meirei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.3.5 - �ðŒ�Œ` - What is the "joukenkei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.3.6 - Žó�gŒ` - What is the "ukemi" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
  • 6.3.4 - dictionary form
    
    • 6.3.4.1 - ‰Â”\Œ` - What is the "kanoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.4.2 - ˆÓŒüŒ` - What is the "ikoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.4.3 - ‹ÖŽ~Œ` - What is the "kinshikei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.4.4 - –½—ߌ` - What is the "meirei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.4.5 - �ðŒ�Œ` - What is the "joukenkei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.4.6 - Žó�gŒ` - What is the "ukemi" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
  • 6.3.5 - particles
    • 6.3.5.1 - ‰Â”\Œ` - What is the "kanoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.5.2 - ˆÓŒüŒ` - What is the "ikoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.5.3 - ‹ÖŽ~Œ` - What is the "kinshikei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.5.4 - –½—ߌ` - What is the "meirei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.5.5 - �ðŒ�Œ` - What is the "joukenkei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.3.5.6 - Žó�gŒ` - What is the "ukemi" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
• 6.4 - Questions about Conversation & Listening skills:
  
  • 6.4.1 - How long does it take to learn to speak and understand spoken Japanese?
    
    • 6.4.1.1 - Are there many differences between written and spoken Japanese?
      
  • 6.4.2 - pronunication & intonation
    
  • 6.4.3 - How many regional dialects are there and which are the main ones?
    
    • 6.4.3.1 - Why did regional dialects develop and why do they continue to exist?
      
    • 6.4.3.2 - Why does Yamasa advise that "hyoujungo" be learnt before regional dialects?
      
    • 6.4.3.3 - Can I learn dialects such as "kansaiben" or "hiroshimaben" at Yamasa?
      
    • 6.4.3.4 - Are the dialects mutually intelligible? Can a "tsugaruben" speaker understand a "kagoshimaben" speaker?
      
  • 6.4.4 - loanwords
    
  • 6.4.5 - politeness levels
    
    • 6.4.5.1 - keigo usage
      
  • 6.4.6 - modern slang
    
  • 6.4.7 - "dajare" & wordplay
    
  • 6.4.8 - How does "shuwa" (Japanese sign language) differ from other sign languages?
    
    • 6.4.8.1 - How long does it take to learn "shuwa"
      
    • 6.4.8.2 - Are there any dialects in Japanese sign language?
      
• 6.5 - Questions about "Miscellaneous Topics":
  
  • 6.5.1 - What are some common or famous Japanese proverbs
    
  • 6.5.2 - Are there any Japanese "tongue twisters"
    
  • 6.5.3 - Translation & intepreting
• 6.6 - Education & Examinations
  
  • 6.6.1 - What is the Japanese Language Proficiency test
    
  • 6.6.2 - What is the JETRO Business Japanese Proficiency Test
    
  • 6.6.3 - What is the "kanji kentei" examination?
    
    • 6.6.3.1 - What levels are available, how many kanji are required for each level?
      
    • 6.6.3.2 - Do many foreigners take the "kanji kentei" examination?
      
  • 6.6.4 - What are the teacher education requirements for certification within Japan?
    
    • 6.6.4.1 - How do I become a Japanese language teacher?
      
    • 6.6.4.2 - Can a foreigner become a Japanese language instructor at Yamasa?
      

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