I think picking up Japanese would be really fun (much better than French >=P), but I don't know how to go about learning.

I've looked it up now and then, but free websites that teach Japanese just don't work for me (a. because my computer doesn't recognize Japanese characters and replaces them with question marks, b. they don't teach a lot of the language (they'll have a few scattered words and characters) and c. I can't learn without a good teacher). I've also looked up teachers, but the closest private teacher I could find was in Michigan (I'm Nova Scotian). There are Japanese courses in university, but I'm 14 and I'd like to start sooner rather than later.

Any tips are greatly appreciated :)

hey! check the bookshops! it would be the first thing that I would do if I were you!

1) look at this page: http://newton.uor.edu/Departments&Programs/AsianStudiesDept/Language/asianlanguageinstallation_XP.html

2) a good approach is : rosetta-stone Japanese courses

;-)

You've got a tough road ahead of you. There are more than 4,000 Japanese characters in the alphabet. Start at your local library. There should be a book that could teach you to phonetically speak the language. Talk to a travel agent. There are English to Japanese translation guides available to tourists. Franklin also makes a PDA style translator, and might have a Japanese to English version available. You could also write to a Japanese Embassy, and they would be happy to assist you.

try this link maybe it will help you - http://japanese.about.com/

it has several links to online japanese learning courses

http://www.word2word.com/coursead.html

Ooh, that's tough. It is very rare to have a Japanese language class in high school, which you must be approaching. If that's in option to you, I highly recommend it. Otherwise, it is good to get started on learning Japanese before you get to the university level. I'm glad that you have an interest there.

Check out a bookstore. You won't know what works best for you until you read something. What I recommend may not be your style of learning, but major bookstores (like Borders) carry a wide selection of books to choose from. I studied in class every day at high school, but I know someone who uses a book to learn Japanese. I think he is learning faster than I am when I started, so determination is also very good to have.

Unfortunately, I haven't seem him in a while, and can't remember exactly what book he used. But once again, I don't think it matters what book he used, because it may not work for you. So just try some out and see what works. Good luck!

And don't let orf scare you. There's only 46 letters in their alphabet that you'll use until you are ready to learn the Chinese characters. Even these aren't too hard if you work little by little. Yes there's tens of thousands of these, but guess what. The Japanese government designated only 1,945 of these characters as Jyoyou characters, meaning actually part of the Japanese language. You may only use half of them in everyday use, anyway. And 46 characters is what even Japanese kids learn until they get higher into the educational system. So your learning Japanese will go gradually, like any new language.

Japanese are humans, too. Their brains would fry as much as you or me if they were expected to know 4000 letters. Trust me, Japanese isn't very hard.

i'd look for a good didactic book. i have one called 'genki' that i bought from a community college nearby, and it's really helpful. it's not that expensive, considering the prices of other textbooks only around $40. it may be more with the tapes.

make sure you surround yourself with japanese. what i mean is that you should constantly be in contact with japanese letters, because it's not easy to keep something intact in your memory unless you continually see it or perceive it. go to a market or japantown, and practice reading kanji, katakana or hiragana on products or whatnot. you'll be surprised how much you progress after that.

and watch dramas and anime, or listen to japanese music. ^^ it can help with your conversational skills and listening comprehension.

HI! I'm glad that someone from different country has interest in my country!! Thank u. I'm livin US and I know it tough to lean another language. If u are very beginer, I think its good way to start to buy some vocabulary books and memorize/use those vocabs. If u know the words, u understand sentences almost... Then u can start to read whole books etc.. (If u don't know much vocabs, U can't read or speak..u know?) Some peolple care too much about grammer(I know thats very important) but when u start speaking/reading Japanese, U will get naturally.. Anyway, Good luck! PS: Almost all Japanese in US are glad to teach U some jap, So talk to Japanese when u find!!

Personally, what I did was get a tutor. It helps sooo much! I highly advise it if you have the means! I have to drive to meet her, but its $10/hour, once a week. I contacted my local university, and asked the head of the language department if she knew anyone who would be willing to tutor me. She gave my address to my tutor, and my tutor and I worked something out. It's fun :) I can't wait to start back next semester, when I get back from summer vacation and she gets back from her vacations in Japan!

The Japanese language has only 5 vowels: A, I, U, E, O. They are terse vowels, pronounced clearly and sharply. If one pronounces the vowels in the following sentence one will have their approximate sounds. Please note: the "U" is pronounced with no forward movement of the lips.

Ah (a), we (i) soon (u) get (e) old (o).

Here are some haracteristics of Japanese grammar.

1.Japanese nouns have no gender and number.
2. Verb conjugation is not affected by the gender or number.
3.Japanese verbs have only two tenses: the present and the past.

Some Example:

a ru ku (to walk)
au (to meet)
a so bu (to play)
ha i ru (to enter)
ka ku (to write)
ka e ru (to return)
ka ka ru (to take)
i ku (to go)
ha ji ma ru (to begin)
ki ku (to listen)
ka u (to buy)
ma tsu (to wait)
mo tsu (to have)
no mu (to drink)
na ra u (to learn)
o ku ru (to send)
o mo u (to think)
shi ru (to know)
o yo gu (to swim)
su wa ru (to sit)
ta tsu (to stand)
tsu ku (to arrive)
to ma ru (to stop)
u ru (to sell)
u ta u (to sing)
wa ra u (to laugh)
wa ka ru (to understand)
yo mu (to read)
ka n ga e ru (to think)
ne ru (to sleep)
mi ru (to see, to look)
o shi e ru (to teach)
ta be ru (to eat)
ku ru (to come)
su ru (to do)