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8.  Travel: This is part 8 of 9 parts.

(This section is maintained to compliment our Japan Student Travel Guide and answer questions about travelling to/from and around Japan. The section includes

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)

• 8.1 - Who speaks Japanese and where is it spoken?
  
  • 8.1.1 - How close is the relationship between the Japanese and Korean languages?
    
  • 8.1.2 - Does knowledge of Korean grammar assist when learning Japanese?
    
  • 8.1.3 - Does knowledge of the written Chinese language assist when learning Japanese?
    
  • 8.1.4 - Is Japanese related to the Altaic language family?
    
  • 8.1.5 - What is Malayo-Polynesian? Is there a link between Malayo-Polynesian and Japanese?
    
• 8.2 - Questions about writing Japanese:
  
  • 8.2.1 - How long does it take to learn to read and understand Japanese books, newspapers or business documents?
    
  • 8.2.2 - How long does it take to learn to write Japanese?
    • 8.2.3 - What is the Hiragana syllabary? When is hiragana used?
      
      • 8.2.3.1 - How long does it take to learn hiragana?
        
      • 8.2.3.2 - Are there any useful mnemonics for remembering the hiragana order?
        
      • 8.2.3.3 - Which chinese characters are the hiragana derived from?
        
      • 8.2.3.4 - How can I remember the difference between "sa" and "chi"?
        
      • 8.2.3.5 - Are there any useful panagrams to help remember writing the hiragana?
        
        • 8.2.3.5.1 - What is the "i-ro-ha" poem and what is its origin?
          
        • 8.2.3.5.2 - What is the "gojuuon" and what is its origin?
          
      • 8.2.3.6 - Handwriting & Fonts - Why are there several ways of writing some hiragana such as "sa" or "hu"?
        
      • 8.2.3.7 - Are there any kana for "yi" or "ye"? Do these sounds exist in Japanese?
        
      • 8.2.3.8 - Are there any kana for "wi" or "we"? Do these sounds exist in Japanese?

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

      • 8.2.3.9 - When the sound "wa" is used as a particle, why is it always written as "ha", but still pronounced as "wa"?
        
      • 8.2.3.10 - When the sound "e" is used as a particle, why is it always written as "he", but still pronounced as "e"?
        
    • 8.2.4 - What is the Katakana syllabary? When is "katakana" used?
      
      • 8.2.4.1 - Which chinese characters are the katakana derived from?
        
      • 8.2.4.2 - Are katakana used for words other than "garaigo"?
        
      • 8.2.4.3 - Are there any advantages in learning the katakana before the hiragana?
        
      • 8.2.4.4 - How can I remember the difference between "tsu" and "so"?
        
    • 8.2.5 - What are Kanji characters? When are they used?
      
      • 8.2.5.1 - How many kanji are used in Japanese?
        
        • 8.2.5.1.1 - Are all of the kanji used in Japanese from China? Which Kanji were "made in Japan"?
          
        • 8.2.5.1.2 - Why are some of the Kanji brought from China written differently to those used in China today?
          
        • 8.2.5.1.3 - What are "tsukuruji", are they common?
          
      • 8.2.5.2 - How many kanji do I need to know to pass the various levels of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test?
        
      • 8.2.5.3 - What are some useful dictionaries or resources for learning kanji?
        
        • 8.2.5.3.1 - Are there any good Kanji dictionaries for complete beginners or elementary level learners?
          
        • 8.2.5.3.2 - Are flashcards a good way of learning Kanji?
          
        • 8.2.5.3.3 - How can I use the OCJS link generator and online dictionary to learn Kanji?
          
      • 8.2.5.4 - How many kanji do I need for reading newspapers, novels or texts intended for native speakers of Japanese?
        
      • 8.2.5.5 - Why are there kanji for some words/terms from western languages such as English or Portuguese?
        
    • 8.2.6 - What is "romaji"?
      
      • 8.2.6.1 - Why are there several different "romaji" systems such as "Hepburn" etc?
        
      • 8.2.6.2 - Is "romaji" used at Yamasa?
        
      • 8.2.6.3 - Is learning grammar using "romaji" a help or hindrance to learning Japanese?
        
      • 8.2.6.4 - Are "romaji" based textbooks and dictionaries useful or counter-productive?
        
    • 8.2.7 - What is "tenji"? How is Japanese Braille written?
      
      • 8.2.7.1 - How do blind Japanese people browse the internet?http://www.osakapref-sb.ed.jp/fumo/syt/tenji.htm
        
    • 8.2.8 - Questions about reading Japanese:
      
      • 8.2.8.1 - Is Japanese always written vertically top to bottom, from right to left?
        
        • 8.2.8.1.1 - For email, wordprocessing and websites, is Japanese usually written horizontally from left to right?
          
        • 8.2.8.1.2 - Can Japanese be written horizontally from right to left?
          
      • 8.2.8.2 - How can I learn the readings of Japanese family and given names?
        
      • 8.2.8.3 - Is learning "shoudo" (calligraphy) useful in learning how to write Japanese?
        
      • 8.2.8.4 - Are there any useful tools to help me read online newspapers & media
        
• 8.3 - Questions about Japanese Grammar
  
  • 8.3.1 - What are the three verb groupings?
    
    • 8.3.1.1 - What are the "Group 1" verbs?
      
    • 8.3.1.2 - What are the "Group 2" verbs?
      
    • 8.3.1.3 - What are the "Group 3" verbs?
      
  • 8.3.2 - What are the various forms?
    
    • 8.3.2.1 - ‰Â”\Œ` - What is the "kanoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.2.2 - ˆÓŒüŒ` - What is the "ikoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.2.3 - ‹ÖŽ~Œ` - What is the "kinshikei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.2.4 - –½—ߌ` - What is the "meirei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.2.5 - �ðŒ�Œ` - What is the "joukenkei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.2.6 - Žó�gŒ` - What is the "ukemi" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
  • 8.3.3 - Transitive & Intransitive verbs
    
    • 8.3.3.1 - ‰Â”\Œ` - What is the "kanoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.3.2 - ˆÓŒüŒ` - What is the "ikoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.3.3 - ‹ÖŽ~Œ` - What is the "kinshikei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.3.4 - –½—ߌ` - What is the "meirei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.3.5 - �ðŒ�Œ` - What is the "joukenkei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.3.6 - Žó�gŒ` - What is the "ukemi" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
  • 8.3.4 - dictionary form
    
    • 8.3.4.1 - ‰Â”\Œ` - What is the "kanoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.4.2 - ˆÓŒüŒ` - What is the "ikoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.4.3 - ‹ÖŽ~Œ` - What is the "kinshikei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.4.4 - –½—ߌ` - What is the "meirei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.4.5 - �ðŒ�Œ` - What is the "joukenkei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.4.6 - Žó�gŒ` - What is the "ukemi" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
  • 8.3.5 - particles
    • 8.3.5.1 - ‰Â”\Œ` - What is the "kanoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.5.2 - ˆÓŒüŒ` - What is the "ikoukei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.5.3 - ‹ÖŽ~Œ` - What is the "kinshikei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.5.4 - –½—ߌ` - What is the "meirei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.5.5 - �ðŒ�Œ` - What is the "joukenkei" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.3.5.6 - Žó�gŒ` - What is the "ukemi" verb form, when is it introduced at Yamasa?
      
• 8.4 - Questions about Conversation & Listening skills:
  
  • 8.4.1 - How long does it take to learn to speak and understand spoken Japanese?
    
    • 8.4.1.1 - Are there many differences between written and spoken Japanese?
      
  • 8.4.2 - pronunication & intonation
    
  • 8.4.3 - How many regional dialects are there and which are the main ones?
    
    • 8.4.3.1 - Why did regional dialects develop and why do they continue to exist?
      
    • 8.4.3.2 - Why does Yamasa advise that "hyoujungo" be learnt before regional dialects?
      
    • 8.4.3.3 - Can I learn dialects such as "kansaiben" or "hiroshimaben" at Yamasa?
      
    • 8.4.3.4 - Are the dialects mutually intelligible? Can a "tsugaruben" speaker understand a "kagoshimaben" speaker?
      
  • 8.4.4 - loanwords
    
  • 8.4.5 - politeness levels
    
    • 8.4.5.1 - keigo usage
      
  • 8.4.6 - modern slang
    
  • 8.4.7 - "dajare" & wordplay
    
  • 8.4.8 - How does "shuwa" (Japanese sign language) differ from other sign languages?
    
    • 8.4.8.1 - How long does it take to learn "shuwa"
      
    • 8.4.8.2 - Are there any dialects in Japanese sign language?
      
• 8.5 - Questions about "Miscellaneous Topics":
  
  • 8.5.1 - What are some common or famous Japanese proverbs
    
  • 8.5.2 - Are there any Japanese "tongue twisters"
    
  • 8.5.3 - Translation & intepreting
• 8.6 - Education & Examinations
  
  • 8.6.1 - What is the Japanese Language Proficiency test
    
  • 8.6.2 - What is the JETRO Business Japanese Proficiency Test
    
  • 8.6.3 - What is the "kanji kentei" examination?
    
    • 8.6.3.1 - What levels are available, how many kanji are required for each level?
      
    • 8.6.3.2 - Do many foreigners take the "kanji kentei" examination?
      
  • 8.6.4 - What are the teacher education requirements for certification within Japan?
    
    • 8.6.4.1 - How do I become a Japanese language teacher?
      
    • 8.6.4.2 - Can a foreigner become a Japanese language instructor at Yamasa?
      

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