Studies of romaji use

kashiminoneko · Mar 3, 2005, 14:47

Not sure if this is the right forum- but I'll try here.

I often hear people say that using romaji is detrimental to one's ability to learn Japanese. So I am wondering if anyone knows of any published studies that have looked into this issue. I would be particularly interested in any empirical studies i.e ones that actually compared the language ability (both perceptive and productive and both the verbal and written modalities) of learners who used romaji at the begining of thier studies verusus those who started off learning kana.

Thanks.

PaulTB · Mar 3, 2005, 18:15

Originally Posted by kashiminoneko

Not sure if this is the right forum- but I'll try here.

I'd recommend trying sci.lang.japan

Note that there have been lots of discussions* about this on slj so using Google groups advanced search might help. Jed Rothwell was in favour of romaji use** so looking through his posts should find any such studies if they support romaji.

* read "raging arguments".
** read "pro-romaji nut".

kevinsano · Mar 4, 2005, 08:34

I'm really not sure, but I started off with romaji first, and I don't have the feeling it was "detrimental" in me learning kana. I think the main problem is when you begin learning kana too late, after studying too long in a romaji only environment.

kashiminoneko · Mar 4, 2005, 09:46

Thanks for those suggestions- I'll follow those up.

Cheers!

dc_johnson45 · Mar 23, 2005, 10:51

Originally Posted by kashiminoneko

Not sure if this is the right forum- but I'll try here.

I often hear people say that using romaji is detrimental to one's ability to learn Japanese. So I am wondering if anyone knows of any published studies that have looked into this issue. I would be particularly interested in any empirical studies i.e ones that actually compared the language ability (both perceptive and productive and both the verbal and written modalities) of learners who used romaji at the begining of thier studies verusus those who started off learning kana.

Thanks.

My presumption was always that learning via romanji would lead to poor pronunciation. English readers reading a japanese word in romanji would have a harder time with the native japanese phonetic units. I've studied Japanese with people using a romanji version of a book, while I was using a kana version. I have to admit, that to the newcommer, romanji brings a lot of 'english' into Japanese pronunciation. But thats just my $.02

kashiminoneko · Mar 23, 2005, 11:44

Thanks dc Johnson- I have been looking at some recent empirical studies (haven't found many as yet) and the only one I have seen so far that looked specificaly at pronounciation found that those using romaaji did better than those using kana. Let me stress that I have not yet been able to read the full article - as yet I have only the abstract.

Mar 3, 2005, 14:47	#1
kashiminoneko Junior Member Join Date: Mar 3, 2005 Posts: 4	Studies of romaji use Not sure if this is the right forum- but I'll try here. I often hear people say that using romaji is detrimental to one's ability to learn Japanese. So I am wondering if anyone knows of any published studies that have looked into this issue. I would be particularly interested in any empirical studies i.e ones that actually compared the language ability (both perceptive and productive and both the verbal and written modalities) of learners who used romaji at the begining of thier studies verusus those who started off learning kana. Thanks.

Mar 3, 2005, 18:15	#2
PaulTB Manga Psychic Join Date: Jan 22, 2004 Posts: 2,111	Originally Posted by kashiminoneko Not sure if this is the right forum- but I'll try here. I'd recommend trying sci.lang.japan Note that there have been lots of discussions* about this on slj so using Google groups advanced search might help. Jed Rothwell was in favour of romaji use** so looking through his posts should find any such studies if they support romaji. * read "raging arguments". ** read "pro-romaji nut".

Mar 23, 2005, 10:51	#5
dc_johnson45 Regular Member Join Date: Feb 1, 2005 Posts: 47	Originally Posted by kashiminoneko Not sure if this is the right forum- but I'll try here. I often hear people say that using romaji is detrimental to one's ability to learn Japanese. So I am wondering if anyone knows of any published studies that have looked into this issue. I would be particularly interested in any empirical studies i.e ones that actually compared the language ability (both perceptive and productive and both the verbal and written modalities) of learners who used romaji at the begining of thier studies verusus those who started off learning kana. Thanks. My presumption was always that learning via romanji would lead to poor pronunciation. English readers reading a japanese word in romanji would have a harder time with the native japanese phonetic units. I've studied Japanese with people using a romanji version of a book, while I was using a kana version. I have to admit, that to the newcommer, romanji brings a lot of 'english' into Japanese pronunciation. But thats just my $.02

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Mar 4, 2005, 08:34	#3
kevinsano Regular Member Join Date: Feb 13, 2005 Age: 24 Posts: 91	I'm really not sure, but I started off with romaji first, and I don't have the feeling it was "detrimental" in me learning kana. I think the main problem is when you begin learning kana too late, after studying too long in a romaji only environment.

Mar 4, 2005, 09:46	#4
kashiminoneko Junior Member Join Date: Mar 3, 2005 Posts: 4	Thanks for those suggestions- I'll follow those up. Cheers!

Mar 23, 2005, 11:44	#6
kashiminoneko Junior Member Join Date: Mar 3, 2005 Posts: 4	Thanks dc Johnson- I have been looking at some recent empirical studies (haven't found many as yet) and the only one I have seen so far that looked specificaly at pronounciation found that those using romaaji did better than those using kana. Let me stress that I have not yet been able to read the full article - as yet I have only the abstract.