(no subject)

[semperfiona]

Japanese has been on my mind again of late. Last week, Britton sent me a link to this story (or one like it), about a hamster and snake OOSSLQ. At the end of his email, he commented "Shinji-rare-nai (Believed-to be possible-not)." This tiny snippet had an interesting effect. First, I was slightly affronted that he felt the need to translate it. But then, I quickly realized that if he had not, it would have taken me quite a while, and probably recourse to the dictionary, to figure out the meaning. Then, I was disappointed in my forgetfulness, because it's a quite simple construction and something I learned very early in my Japanese language lessons. Though I remembered the construction; it was the original verb that I didn't recognize.

A couple months ago, Tammie looked up information for me about the Japanese classes available at UMSL. She even found a number for the department advisor so I could talk to her about what course program might best suit my particular needs. I didn't actually call as yet, but I'm feeling like I should.

Then even more recently, she pointed out to me a scheduled trip to Japan through UMSL. $2500 for about three weeks. That's a very reasonable price, but it's still daunting from our position of financial struggle.
I'm dreaming...

Comments

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

It was bothering me that I'd lost much of my fluency in Hebrew, so I've started watching an Israeli TV news broadcast every day. (Streaming video on the internet.) As I watch, I deliberately mentally translate, taking note of words I do not know or had forgotten. My fluency is greatly improved, and so is my vocabulary.

Maybe you could find a Japanese show to watch on a regular basis, as a first step?

[semperfiona]

An excellent idea, thanks.