Dark Translations' Feature: Japanese Grammar
Nephrinn :: Wednesday Nov 26, 2008, 12:49
The many forms of か.
The particle か in Japanese is mostly known for performing the function of a question mark, but it actually has many other uses in Japanese grammar that aren't always immediately apparent or explained well enough in grammar books.
I want to quickly outline some of these uses as some of them have been harder for me to grasp than others.
1. Subtle question mark. Sometimes, か is used at the end of a sentence, but only infers a question or raises doubt. In writing, you can tell the difference between a direct question and subtle question from an actual question mark following か. If no question mark is present, then か is probably being used subtlety or raising doubt (guesswork).
2. An embedded question. This is one I've struggled with, but you don't see it used too much. A good example would be "昨日何を食べたか忘れた。", "I forgot what I ate yesterday". Notice the か before the verb "forgot".
3. Choice. Another one you don't see used too much, but it's important to be aware of it. This is one of the easiest ones to detect because it uses multiple か's to distinguish between the choices. "This OR this". At the end of each "this" would be a か to indicate choice between the two.
4. "Whether or not". This one is probably used the most out of all the ways of using か. It's actually easy to detect because it's almost always used at the end of the first comma in a sentence. So, it would be something like, "whether or not he was up to it, he still did it." Be aware that it isn't always the case, and when a comma isn't used, the part AFTER the か should probably be interpreted first. For example, "先生が学校に行ったか教えない?", "Won't you tell me whether or not the teacher went to school." Note that it's rare for this form of か to be used in a question.
5. Forms questions from words. か is also used with words to from the classic questions who, what, when, where, which one: 誰か, 何か, いつか, どこか, どれか.
Dark Translations' Feature: Learning Japanese
Nephrinn :: Wednesday Nov 19, 2008, 12:01
As requested in the forums, I just want to make a quick summary of the best/easiest methods of learning Japanese and what tools I've used to get where I am now.
Books:
Barron's Japanese Grammar
A cheap, miniature sized book that you can carry any where that covers all the basics. It uses romanji, so it may be more helpful for beginners.
Japanese Step by Step
A more comprehensive guide to grammar. Plenty of examples and breakdowns of sentences to help you understand. Uses both romanji and kana/kanji.
Websites:
Tae Kim's Japanese guide to Japanese Grammar
This is the site that I've referred to the most when learning Japanese. It covers just about everything and does it damn well. I also recommend using their forums to ask questions about anything you don't understand. I've done it many times and someone was always there with an answer.
ALC Japanese to English Dictionary
I use this website every time I translate to get a better idea of what certain words or groups of words mean in English. It almost never fails me and even contains pornographic terms. :)
Japanese Pod 101
Hands down one of the best ways to start learning Japanese. Even though the website contains tons of tools to help you learn Japanese, it is the podcasts that really shine. The hosts are actually funny and make it as simple as possible to get a grasp on learning Japanese. I really like how they take the time to speak really slow and break down each and every part of the sentence. They also make up stories for each podcast so it's never boring. And if that isn't enough, they are constantly updating with new podcasts on almost a day-to-day basis.
Nihongo Resources Onomatopoeia
The Japanese are obsessed with using onomatopoeia and mimesis, but unfortunately you'll almost never find them in dictionaries. This website takes care of that problem. :)
Denshi Jisho
Another Japanese dictionary, but this one is much more flexible by allowing you to searching using different methods, like radicals and English words.
Products:
White Rabbit Press Kanji Cards
Learning the Kanji is one of the most difficult aspects of learning Japanese, but these cards pack a ton of information into each card that help you get the most out of your time. There are a total of 3 volumes totaling just under 2000 cards. I recommend getting them off Amazon and saving money on shipping. Well worth the money if you're even slightly serious about learning Japanese.
Rosetta Stone
I really like the new version of Rosetta Stone and I believe it does a great job in teaching the basics of Japanese. Just don't expect too much from it. If anything, it's a good start for beginners.
Declan Japanese
They make some great programs for learning the kana, kanji, and various words. Just a precaution, however, you can sort of "cheat" yourself by using this software because it likes to use a lot of multiple choice crap, which is not a very good way to learn. That said, you can use them strictly as flash cards. I still prefer the physical flash cards over software, but you may want to give these a try.
Let's Learn Japanese Video Series
I loved watching these videos, although I only watched season 1 and a few from season 2, they are really fun to watch. Most of the actors are goofy (especially Yan) and the 80's atmosphere is definitely apparent, but I think it only adds to the experience. I honestly didn't learn a lot from watching these, but it at least gets you use to the language and culture. I don't think you can buy these anywhere (maybe Ebay), so you might have to resort to torrents.
Keyhole TV
Best way of watching Live Japanese TV. Has about 5 channels and the video/audio quality isn't great, but they're almost always on (I've never seen them go down).
I think that's about all of what I've found useful in learning Japanese. Just remember that motivation will always be the single most important factor in learning Japanese. If you can't stay motivated learning one way, try another way. Find something your comfortable with and stick with it.
Dark Translations' Feature: Japanese Grammar
Nephrinn :: Wednesday Nov 19, 2008, 01:20
ったら and たら
I learned about this particle in my grammar books as having a strictly conditional meaning of "if" or "when".
As a conditional, they are typically used like this:
いい本だったら、かいます
In order:
good book were if, buy
Translated:
If it were a good book, I'd buy it.
Note: the sentence takes a past form with だった, which is conjugated to the conditional. You could actually take the conditional off to mean "It was a good book, (and, so) I bought it.". Just be aware that ったら and たら can attach to just about anything.
It wasn't until recently that I found out that ったら and たら can be used to indicate an exasperation. There are a few ways I have learned to tell them apart:
1. Exasperations come after a name. This is where you'll see it used most. Be aware, however, that an exclamation mark isn't always used.
2. Exasperations are used at the end of a sentence.
3. Context. Harder to spot, but if it seems like an exasperation is warranted, it's probably an exasperation.
4. In order for conditionals to work, there has to be an "effect". For example, "when I went to the movies..." or "if I have to go to work...". In Japanese, there should be something following the ったら and たら if they are indeed being used as conditionals. Of course, this may not always be the case, but it's a good guideline to follow.
Here is a sentence in Prison Battleship where I mistakingly used the conditional. Notice how たら isn't used after a name, but rather a verb and no exclamation is used:せっかくのチンポをこんなに汚くしてたら……
This is what I had originally translated it as using the conditional:
くす、恋人だってできないわよ……チュプッLieri
This is the new sentence using the exasperation:
"If you went through all this trouble to let your
cocks get dirty like this...
You wouldn't even be able to with girlfriends...chupuu"Lieri
So, you can see how little mistakes like that can change the sentence and cause you to make even more mistakes.
Going through all this trouble to let your cocks
get dirty like this...even your girlfriends
wouldn't let you do this...chupuu
