Learn Japanese Today

Yesterday I posted a review of crunchyroll.com , a site where you can watch hundreds of Japanese TV shows and movies for free. However, to take full advantage of a resource like this, you need to know the best way to glean knowledge from subtitled media. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your viewing experience:

Read & Listen:

Anyone can read subtitles, but you don’t see everyone that’s seen Spirited Away at the UN doing translation. You really need to actively listen to the Japanese as well. When you first read the subtitle, quickly scan it for words that you know how to say in Japanese then listen for them. Try to pick up the rest of the sentence in context. It’s hard to pick up these two streams of information at once, but you’ll get better at it. There’s also no shame in pausing or rewinding.

Pay Attention to Context:

The most important function of subtitled TV/Movies is, in my opinion, to teach you context. When you hear a word or phrase pay attention to who’s saying it, what the situation is, and who they’re saying it to. Is it a man or a woman? Young or old? At work or at home? Are they talking to someone with higher social rank like a boss, lower like an employee, or equal like a friend? Are they a gangster? A sushi-chef? A samurai? All of these are the kind of questions you should ask. Japanese is a very niched language, with many groups having their own special vocabulary that only they can use (women, gangsters…). Additionally, social context pays a very important roll in what you say; you use keigo (honorifics) when talking to people with higher social rank than you, and slang with your friends. Just keep context in mind when you incorporate something from a TV show or a movie into your vocabulary, samurai slang does nothing for you. If your unsure about meaning or when to say something, ask a Japanese friend or teacher. If you don’t have any Japanese friends, that’s a problem. I’ll write an article about making Japanese friends later on.

Watch Out for Small Phrases:

It’s a simple fact that short phrases of about 4 words or fewer are easier to translate than longer sentences. When you see a subtitle that’s under 5 words long, it should be pretty easier to hear the corresponding Japanese, and odds are it will be a pretty direct translation. I’ve subtitled a Japanese film before, and one thing I noticed is that the longer the subtitle it is, the more likely it is to be summary. There is a very limited area of the screen you can use for subtitling, so a direct translation doesn’t always fit. In those cases, you summarize to the best of your ability, sometimes glossing over the nuances of Japanese. Because of this tendency, stuff you learn from shorter subtitles is more likely to be accurate.

Rinse, Wash, and Repeat:

Find a certain episode, movie, or series that you really enjoyed and learned a lot from when you saw it the first time. Then watch it again with subtitles, but try to just listen and only look when you don’t know what’s going on. Then watch it a third time without subtitles, or without looking at them at all. I know this is a lot, so make extra sure you choose something you won’t get bored of.

Let me know how it goes!