{"id":1512,"date":"2021-10-16T16:11:02","date_gmt":"2021-10-16T16:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/japanesecomplete.com\/articles\/?p=1512"},"modified":"2021-10-16T16:16:00","modified_gmt":"2021-10-16T16:16:00","slug":"orthographic-gradients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/japanesecomplete.com\/articles\/?p=1512","title":{"rendered":"Orthographic Gradients"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you’re not at all familiar with Japanese, it can be a tough to pick up because the writing system is just so different. A combination of phonetic scripts<\/strong> and kanji ideograms<\/strong> make the written language of Japanese seem almost impregnable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hiragana, the chief phonetic “alphabet” of Japanese represents one mora (roughly equivalent to a syllable) per “letter.”
Aside from the 5 vowels (ah, ee, uu, eh, oh) and the “letter” n (n\/m),
All “letters” are consonant-vowel pairs [so, ko, ni, ha, shi, ru]
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Kanji were imported from mainland Asia over hundreds of years and there are roughly four types<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How to learn the kanji as someone not inundated with them on a daily basis in native surroundings?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter orthographic gradients<\/strong>. Orthography is the “conventional spelling system of a language” and comes from “correct” + “writing” in Greek. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2015 Noah Hermalin wrote a paper called The Processing and Structure of Kanji and their Implications for Kanji Acquisition:a Theoretical Approach to Kanji Literacy<\/em>. He described using a gradient-based approach to teach kanji. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I propose a method called and orthographic gradient (OG). The premise of OG takes advantage of the multiple scripts used in written Japanese to teach kanji in a textual setting by presenting a passage which starts out entirely in kana (and previously learned kanji), and gradually transitions to being entirely in kanji (for words that have kanji spellings)<\/p>Noah hermalin<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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The great Noah Hermalin (image credit UC Berkeley Language & Cognition Lab)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The idea is simple: gradually train the learner’s eye.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We take Noah’s idea in a different direction, plunging Japanese text directly into English waters. \ud83c\udf0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below you can see an example of a lesson page where the learner has already been exposed to the kanjis for \u5343 [thousand] and \u53e3 [mouth].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Using helpful imagery and fun memory devices, learning the kanji gets really fun and easy!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

We’ve invented a couple of new methods to teach Japanese:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The concept of Bunsetsu Jars<\/a> (complete grammar units)<\/li>
  2. The masking principle of Kanji<\/li>
  3. Particles in English Context<\/li>
  4. Kanji in English Context<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Consider particles in English context.<\/em> In Japanese, grammar is accomplished via use of particles<\/em> which are like colored dresses you put on words to indicate if they are the who, what, when, where, or how<\/em> of the sentence<\/a>. Imagine that the subject<\/em> always wears red while the direct object<\/em> always wears blue. In a similar way, in Japanese, the grammatical subject always sports GA \u304c attached to the word, while the direct object always sports OH \u3092 attached to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bob \u304c ball \u3092 kick.
    Bob GA ball OH kick.
    Bob <\/strong>[is the one who] kicks the ball<\/strong> […that is the direct-object of his action].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    A gradient-based approach makes it easy to transition the eye’s knowing power to Japanese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can see more at https:\/\/japanesecomplete.com\/reverse-engineer<\/a> for how the particles create bunsetsu jars<\/strong> or complete grammatical units indicating the who, what, when, where, how, where-to, where-from, etc<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Japanese Complete has one goal: to teach the world Japanese and connect people with the beauty of the language and culture. Our program truly helps people develop intuitive reflexes for thinking in Japanese and we offer a 30-day risk-free period where you can see for yourself how effective our curriculum sequence and learning tools are. Get a subscription<\/a> and help support our work in creating textbooks, online curriculum, and physical learning tools and toys for Japanese; we can’t do it without you, and you’ll accomplish it ten times faster with us. \ud83d\uddfb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    How to learn kanji?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Learn the general meaning words associated with the kanji.<\/li>
    2. Break the kanji into subkanji (components) and create memory devices to remember relevant words in your native tongue.<\/li>
    3. Learn vocabulary that contain the kanji.<\/li>
    4. Study the readings for each kanji using a dictionary (electronic, physical book, or online).<\/li>
    5. Use a kanji course<\/a> developed by professional polylingual and bilingual teachers, translators, and language experts.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      <\/div>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/a>
      Enter through the gate to knowledge of Japanese<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      <\/div>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \ud83c\udf0a<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      If you’re not at all familiar with Japanese, it can be a tough to pick up because the writing system is just so different. A combination of phonetic scripts and kanji ideograms make the written language of Japanese seem almost impregnable. How to learn the kanji as someone not inundated with them on a dailyContinue reading “Orthographic Gradients”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[392,396,101,356,129,361,397,390,391,394,393,395],"yoast_head":"\nOrthographic Gradients to Learn the Kanji<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn the kanji using Orthographic Gradients (OG). 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