Is it difficult to learn Japanese Language?
Well, before I answer that question let us first know its origin.
Japanese is most widely believed to be connected to the Urai-Altaic family, which includes Turkish, Mongolian, Manchu, and Korean within its domain.
Korean is most frequently compared to Japanese, as both languages share significant key features such as general structure, vowel harmony, lack of conjunctions, and the extensive use of honorific speech, in which the social rank of the listener heavily affects the dialogue. However, pronunciation of Japanese is significantly different from Korean, and the languages are mutually unintelligible.
Japanese Syllables
The basic units of the Japanese writing system are syllables which is an extremely complicated writing system, consisting of two sets of phonetic syllabaries (with approximately 50 syllables in each) and thousands of Chinese characters called “kanji”, approximately 2,000 of which the Ministry of Education has designated as required learning before high school graduation.
Today, Japanese is written with a mixture of the three: “kanji”, “hiragana”, and “katakana”.
- Hiragana:This is the most original writing. It is made up of 46 cursive characters used to write Japanese syllables. It is also used for verb and adjective inflections and simple words.
- Katakana:For foreign words, names, and loanwords changed to suit the Japanese tongue, e.g., ‘teburu’ (table, ‘aisu’ (ice), and ‘takushi (taxi).
- Kanji:They are Chinese letters absorbed into the Japanese lingua. It is made up of over 6000 characters, though the average Japanese may just need 2136 for daily life in Japan.
Despite popular belief, Japanese has no genetic relation to Chinese. Kanji is adopted from Chinese characters and used as a Japanese writing system and Japanese “borrows” quite a few phrases and words from Chinese. However, the Japanese language as a whole isn’t derived from the same language family as Chinese.
Gairaigo
Japanese also use thousands of English loan words, “gairaigo,” which has been adapted to Japanese pronunciation. Once you master these you will have immediately have access to a huge vocabulary.
Challenge
The challenge when learning Japanese is the grammar, and grammatical system to express politeness and formality. Broadly speaking, there are three main politeness levels in spoken Japanese: the plain form (“kudaketa”), the simple polite form (“teinei”) and the advanced polite form (“keigo”).
Since most relationships are not equal in Japanese society, one person typically has a higher position. This position is determined by a variety of factors including job, age, experience, or even psychological state.
The person in the lower position is expected to use a polite form of speech, whereas the other might use a more plain form. Strangers will also speak to each other politely. Japanese children rarely use polite speech until their teens, at which point they are expected to begin speaking in a more adult manner.
Those two writing languages can be mastered but Kanji is much more challenging.
At Japanese language schools you can study Japanese from beginner level to advanced level. However many schools ask that beginners have at least a passive knowledge of Hiragana and Katakana when you start a long term course in Japan.
So the answer is that it is both difficult and easy. Depends on how keen and dedicated you are.