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This will seem like an odd analogy, but for those unfamiliar with kanji to see what's happening here, I might suggest grabbing a pen and trying to draw Mickey M
by fenomas 12y ago
This will seem like an odd analogy, but for those unfamiliar with kanji to see what's happening here, I might suggest grabbing a pen and trying to draw Mickey Mouse or Bart Simpson, or some other simple iconic figure that's always drawn a certain way. Even though you could recognize it easily, and can recall the general shape and some of the individual features, unless you've practiced it you're not sure how many lines you need or where they connect. And if you just wing it, you'll probably get enough parts right that others can guess what you were drawing, but the result will look way off, even to you.
For me at least, that's approximately what it feels like to be unable to remember how to write a kanji.
- eloisant 12y agoIt is actually a bad analogy, because when you draw Mickey Mouse you're using your right brain. This is also the case for a beginner in kanji, because he'll be considering it as a drawing. When you really learn the kanji (or Han characters to be more generic, kanji being the Japanese name), you end seeing them with their components, and you'll be using your left brain to write them - just like when writing English.
- tinco 12y agoI don't know what I'm talking about, but isn't that exactly what he describes? That if you forget how to write the character, you depend on your right brain to draw it which feels uncomfortable and likely comes out wrong?
- fenomas 12y agoIt's the best analogy I can think of, perhaps you have a better one. Note that when I say "draw Mickey Mouse" I mean the rote reproduction of the standard iconic character - not the creative act of drawing an original picture. A well-known corporate logo might be a better example but I couldn't think of any complex enough. As for left-brain/right-brain, I doubt that's a useful distinction here (if indeed it's useful anywhere). But that aside, I don't think it's correct to suggest that native speakers process Han characters just like English. See for example: http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/123/5/954.full.pdf http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/123/5/954.full.pdf
- Fuxy 12y agoDon't students have to know how to write anyway when they need to take notes in class? I get the complexity is quite high since every symbol will look different depending on what's after and before it however you would think you get enough practice taking note or is this a formal language used only in certain contexts?