Let me start off by conceding that the author is not a language-learning expert or formally trained in the field; and that this article is grounded entirely in opinion and a reflection of personal experience. If you want in-depth studies on the science of linguistics, I’m sure that this can be easily found elsewhere. If […]

Most native English speakers will accept that some languages may be more difficult than others and Japanese certainly ranks among those with the highest perceived (and actual) difficulty.

This article explores some of the reasons for the percieved level of difficulty for Japanese.

Can you survive in Japan without a word of Japanese?

According to wikipedia, just shy of 32 million people visited Japan in 2018 and you can be sure that the vast majority were not fluent speakers of Japanese. So simple survival, at least in terms of meeting one’s basic needs; is seemingly not a prominent issue.