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From http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/you-dont-have-a-foreign-language-problem-you-have-an-adult-literacy-problem http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com

by nwinter 18y ago

From http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/you-dont-have-a-foreign-language-problem-you-have-an-adult-literacy-problem http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/you-dont-have-a-fo... “Do you know what it means to sinter something? I didn’t; but the kanji are so clear: 焼結 “burn + join”.” I could believe that because specialized vocabulary is transparently made of simple characters put together, there is much less of a jargon/terminology barrier, so those that become literate actually can read specialized language just fine. This is not true of English.

tokenadult 18y ago
Native speakers of English can pick up a lot of Greek and Latin etymology, even if they don't formally study Greek and Latin etymology (which is a pretty good idea, by the way) so that they can find many technical terms to be every bit that transparent. How transparent is the term 車床 ? It doesn't mean "chassis," nor does it mean "flatbed of a pickup truck," nor anything else that a speaker of another language might guess. Some terms in any language are just plain arbitrary, even if they are made up of simpler morphemes.
- xiaoma 18y ago
  I think you need to consider that the character 車 is far, far older than the automobile. If you think of what kind of bed a carriage would be on, it makes a bit more sense. The real problem is that few people even know what a lathe is nowadays.
donw 18y ago
Wait, to sinter is to roast something that's been tied with cooking twine? 焼 is used for roasting and barbecuing, and 結 gives the image of being tied together by a knot or thread, which is why it's part of 結婚 (marriage) I'm being a little obtuse, I know, but while it is often possible to guess a general meaning by looking at the kanji for any given compound, there are just too many different ways for the meanings of each character to be combined. Add to that the sheer pile of words that derive their meaning from literature or poetry, and you're probably better off taking a peek at the dictionary when the meaning isn't obvious from context. English is just as bad for foreign speakers.

by nwinter 18y ago

tokenadult 18y ago

Native speakers of English can pick up a lot of Greek and Latin etymology, even if they don't formally study Greek and Latin etymology (which is a pretty good idea, by the way) so that they can find many technical terms to be every bit that transparent. How transparent is the term 車床 ? It doesn't mean "chassis," nor does it mean "flatbed of a pickup truck," nor anything else that a speaker of another language might guess. Some terms in any language are just plain arbitrary, even if they are made up of simpler morphemes.

xiaoma 18y ago
I think you need to consider that the character 車 is far, far older than the automobile. If you think of what kind of bed a carriage would be on, it makes a bit more sense. The real problem is that few people even know what a lathe is nowadays.

donw 18y ago

Wait, to sinter is to roast something that's been tied with cooking twine? 焼 is used for roasting and barbecuing, and 結 gives the image of being tied together by a knot or thread, which is why it's part of 結婚 (marriage) I'm being a little obtuse, I know, but while it is often possible to guess a general meaning by looking at the kanji for any given compound, there are just too many different ways for the meanings of each character to be combined. Add to that the sheer pile of words that derive their meaning from literature or poetry, and you're probably better off taking a peek at the dictionary when the meaning isn't obvious from context. English is just as bad for foreign speakers.