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> given the difficulty of learning English and relative ease of learning Japanese by Koreans This surprises me a bit (I believe you; I am just surprised.) Why

> given the difficulty of learning English and relative ease of learning Japanese by Koreans This surprises me a bit (I believe you; I am just surprised.) Why do Koreans think learning Japanese is easier than learning English?

entelechy0 7y ago
You're not considering the Korean perspective. If Korean is your native language, Japanese is significantly easier to pick up than English due to similarities in the grammatical structure and syntax of both languages. Your surprise is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding and stereotype about English because English is, I'm guessing, your native language. It is mine as well, but I considered the questions you're asking when I was teaching myself Japanese around age 9. I'm 33 now. The barrier of difficulty is all in your mind. You're the only limiting factor. You decide for yourself how difficult something is to do.
asutekku 7y ago
Some of the characters are similar as well as grammar. English follows a completely new set of rules.
Zarath 7y ago
Their syntax and grammar is very similar. Korean and Japanese are both among the most difficult languages for an English speaker to learn, so I would imagine the reverse is true for Japanese and Korean speakers as well. Consider the difference between English and Spanish vs. English and Japanese. If you look at a Spanish sentence, you can more or less translate it word for word to and from English so long as you know the vocabulary and verb conjugations. Japanese on the other hand has an entirely different grammar, uses the case (particle) system, has honorifics and levels of politeness, has entirely different parts of speech from english, is far less ego-oriented (I don't mean this in a judgemental way, just that objects are much more often the subjects of sentences)
deleted 7y ago
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mikkyang 7y ago
The grammar is very similar (use of particles, word order) and a large amount of vocabulary, especially technical vocabulary, is derived from shared Chinese words.
nemonemo 7y ago
Syntax-wise, Koreans and Japanese are very close. The sound systems are also close (e.g. no p/f v/b distinction). Kanji and Hanja are just Japanese/Korean versions of Chinese. Some words are shared and some nursery rhymes have the same melody. They even memorize the multiplication table with the same melody. In many ways, their languages and cultures have evolved with proximity for a long time, like thousands of years. English and Korean are just two languages that would have almost no way of influencing each other directly for a long long time. They evolved independently, and once one is familiar with one language system, learning the other is just... painfully difficult in my experience. If you see grammar errors in my comment, a Japanese person would very likely show similar mistakes in their English writings.
- kaesar14 7y ago
  Interestingly enough, I feel that your grammar is pretty much spot on perfect, at least from this excerpt. It's the cadence and rhythm of the way you write and format your sentences that subtly suggest you're not a native English speaker. Maybe the thing that most sticks out to me is saying "English writings." I don't think a native speaker would say writings, just "in their English", or perhaps "In their written English." Your English is fantastic, this is me simply musing on what you're suggesting.
  - nemonemo 7y ago
    Thank you, you made my day. I spent way too much time reading commets in HN, and that effort paid off. :)
    - kaesar14 7y ago
      Of course! Coming from someone who's tried (and failed) to learn a bit of Mandarin, even the spoken language was quite tough. Chinese/Japanese/Korean -> English/Romance languages is quite a tough lingual gap to bridge, and you should be proud of yourself for achieving fluency!

entelechy0 7y ago

You're not considering the Korean perspective. If Korean is your native language, Japanese is significantly easier to pick up than English due to similarities in the grammatical structure and syntax of both languages. Your surprise is rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding and stereotype about English because English is, I'm guessing, your native language. It is mine as well, but I considered the questions you're asking when I was teaching myself Japanese around age 9. I'm 33 now. The barrier of difficulty is all in your mind. You're the only limiting factor. You decide for yourself how difficult something is to do.

asutekku 7y ago

Some of the characters are similar as well as grammar. English follows a completely new set of rules.

Zarath 7y ago

Their syntax and grammar is very similar. Korean and Japanese are both among the most difficult languages for an English speaker to learn, so I would imagine the reverse is true for Japanese and Korean speakers as well. Consider the difference between English and Spanish vs. English and Japanese. If you look at a Spanish sentence, you can more or less translate it word for word to and from English so long as you know the vocabulary and verb conjugations. Japanese on the other hand has an entirely different grammar, uses the case (particle) system, has honorifics and levels of politeness, has entirely different parts of speech from english, is far less ego-oriented (I don't mean this in a judgemental way, just that objects are much more often the subjects of sentences)

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

mikkyang 7y ago

The grammar is very similar (use of particles, word order) and a large amount of vocabulary, especially technical vocabulary, is derived from shared Chinese words.

nemonemo 7y ago

Syntax-wise, Koreans and Japanese are very close. The sound systems are also close (e.g. no p/f v/b distinction). Kanji and Hanja are just Japanese/Korean versions of Chinese. Some words are shared and some nursery rhymes have the same melody. They even memorize the multiplication table with the same melody. In many ways, their languages and cultures have evolved with proximity for a long time, like thousands of years. English and Korean are just two languages that would have almost no way of influencing each other directly for a long long time. They evolved independently, and once one is familiar with one language system, learning the other is just... painfully difficult in my experience. If you see grammar errors in my comment, a Japanese person would very likely show similar mistakes in their English writings.

kaesar14 7y ago
Interestingly enough, I feel that your grammar is pretty much spot on perfect, at least from this excerpt. It's the cadence and rhythm of the way you write and format your sentences that subtly suggest you're not a native English speaker. Maybe the thing that most sticks out to me is saying "English writings." I don't think a native speaker would say writings, just "in their English", or perhaps "In their written English." Your English is fantastic, this is me simply musing on what you're suggesting.
- nemonemo 7y ago
  Thank you, you made my day. I spent way too much time reading commets in HN, and that effort paid off. :)
  - kaesar14 7y ago
    Of course! Coming from someone who's tried (and failed) to learn a bit of Mandarin, even the spoken language was quite tough. Chinese/Japanese/Korean -> English/Romance languages is quite a tough lingual gap to bridge, and you should be proud of yourself for achieving fluency!