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Just to pile on: It's hard to overstate how large the language barrier is in Japan. For all intents and purposes, nobody speaks English and therefore you cannot

Just to pile on: It's hard to overstate how large the language barrier is in Japan. For all intents and purposes, nobody speaks English and therefore you cannot speak, listen, write, or read anything during your interactions with the people around you. I don't want to scare kmf off from coming here; you should, it's a wonderful country. Just need to manage your expectations...

sliverstorm 13y ago
Eh? I found the language barrier to be about as low as can be expected for a place where English is not the mother tongue. You should certainly learn Japanese if you want to live there, but you'd still be way better off than rural Russia.
- ics 13y ago
  Well if you want to compare rural Japan to rural Russia... I see hudibras is getting downvoted but it probably is fair to say that to native English speakers new to the country, people may expect more than they get from ESLs in Japan. I have some pet theories as to why but I don't think it would contribute all that much to the discussion. Unless you're coming to Japan to be a corporate translator (may all the gods have mercy on your soul) it really shouldn't be an issue as long as you're willing to learn a little Japanese along the way.
MichaelGG 13y ago
Is Google Translate totally useless? I've found it does a great job of providing audio in and out, as well as romanization so you can do a hack job from zero. Google Translate even seems to offer a limited IME so you can type roman or kana and it'll guess the kanji. Shopping in Korean, I can just set it to OCR mode and sorta read labels I don't understand. (Of course, Hangul's probably a lot easier to OCR than kana+kanji.) I've also found that while the store people will respond to me in Korean if they don't see me, once they realize it's me they flip into a common third tongue. I've even had "conversations" in other languages just by pressing the flip button and letting the other person talk. They can correct any audio recognition failures or just type. In general, the translations for simple stuff and interactions seem pretty good. Sometimes you need the alternative translations to find one that is accurate. But I wouldn't say you "cannot speak, listen, write, or read anything". OTOH, sometimes it has odd things. Formal-something I (吾輩) like from the "I am a cat" gets translated as "Spence" (I think the pronoun isn't used much). Or maybe one possible pronunciation of them is close enough to Spence it's used as a name in some place that uses those characters? Not to mention, you can pick up the kana in a week, and at least the meanings of the basic kanji in a month or two, claims the guy that made the book that did teach me kana in a week. I'd assume if you're gonna go to Japan and be serious, you'd at least listen to the first 10 Pimsleur sessions for basic "hi I can't speak Japanese", and learn the scripts somewhat.
- jason_tko 13y ago
  No, Google Translate is not totally useless for an amusing conversation about cats at say, a cafe. For a job interview or a more formal business environment though, you're going to start at a considerable disadvantage if you don't speak Japanese in Japan. It's possible (I did it), but it's really, really hard.
  - hudibras 13y ago
    Or even filling out the job application. I always say that the true test of being fluent in Japanese is not being able to read the newspaper or have a conversation. It's being able to read and fill out a government form while people are waiting in line behind you and a bureaucrat is waiting patiently in front of you.
  - MichaelGG 13y ago
    I meant just as a tourist for a few weeks; you could at least figure out basic stuff, right? It's not like you'd be totally stranded and unable to communicate at all.
    - jason_tko 13y ago
      As a tourist for a few weeks - sure, no problem. You'll be fine.

sliverstorm 13y ago

Eh? I found the language barrier to be about as low as can be expected for a place where English is not the mother tongue. You should certainly learn Japanese if you want to live there, but you'd still be way better off than rural Russia.

ics 13y ago
Well if you want to compare rural Japan to rural Russia... I see hudibras is getting downvoted but it probably is fair to say that to native English speakers new to the country, people may expect more than they get from ESLs in Japan. I have some pet theories as to why but I don't think it would contribute all that much to the discussion. Unless you're coming to Japan to be a corporate translator (may all the gods have mercy on your soul) it really shouldn't be an issue as long as you're willing to learn a little Japanese along the way.

MichaelGG 13y ago

Is Google Translate totally useless? I've found it does a great job of providing audio in and out, as well as romanization so you can do a hack job from zero. Google Translate even seems to offer a limited IME so you can type roman or kana and it'll guess the kanji. Shopping in Korean, I can just set it to OCR mode and sorta read labels I don't understand. (Of course, Hangul's probably a lot easier to OCR than kana+kanji.) I've also found that while the store people will respond to me in Korean if they don't see me, once they realize it's me they flip into a common third tongue. I've even had "conversations" in other languages just by pressing the flip button and letting the other person talk. They can correct any audio recognition failures or just type. In general, the translations for simple stuff and interactions seem pretty good. Sometimes you need the alternative translations to find one that is accurate. But I wouldn't say you "cannot speak, listen, write, or read anything". OTOH, sometimes it has odd things. Formal-something I (吾輩) like from the "I am a cat" gets translated as "Spence" (I think the pronoun isn't used much). Or maybe one possible pronunciation of them is close enough to Spence it's used as a name in some place that uses those characters? Not to mention, you can pick up the kana in a week, and at least the meanings of the basic kanji in a month or two, claims the guy that made the book that did teach me kana in a week. I'd assume if you're gonna go to Japan and be serious, you'd at least listen to the first 10 Pimsleur sessions for basic "hi I can't speak Japanese", and learn the scripts somewhat.

jason_tko 13y ago
No, Google Translate is not totally useless for an amusing conversation about cats at say, a cafe. For a job interview or a more formal business environment though, you're going to start at a considerable disadvantage if you don't speak Japanese in Japan. It's possible (I did it), but it's really, really hard.
- hudibras 13y ago
  Or even filling out the job application. I always say that the true test of being fluent in Japanese is not being able to read the newspaper or have a conversation. It's being able to read and fill out a government form while people are waiting in line behind you and a bureaucrat is waiting patiently in front of you.
- MichaelGG 13y ago
  I meant just as a tourist for a few weeks; you could at least figure out basic stuff, right? It's not like you'd be totally stranded and unable to communicate at all.
  - jason_tko 13y ago
    As a tourist for a few weeks - sure, no problem. You'll be fine.