Languages spoken
The mainly spoken language is Japanese, which is standardised through the school education. The status of the language is not an official one based on the law, but a matter of fact based on custom. There are quite a few dialects in the country, but the differences are more of a phonological system than of a grammatical one. Among them, the one spoken in the West (Osaka, Kyoto, etc.) is well known as Kansai-ben or western dialect, and you will hear it on any TV play almost everyday. For some reason, people from North West want to hide their accents, while those from West and South tend to speak in their own dialects even with people from other regions.
Japanese usually don’t understand their neighbours’ languages such as Korean and Chinese, and neither do they understand Japanese, apart from very old people who had experienced the colonisation by Japan.
English is taught for eight years from Junior High School (13) to the liberal arts course of university (20), but it is often the case that even a university graduate cannot speak good English. Some have argued for the official adoption of a foreign language after the Meiji Resolution (1868; English) and the end of WWⅡ(1945; French), and today’s globalisation seems to bring up the similar debate again. Whatever happens, however, it is unlikely that the day comes when most Japanese can speak decent English in the near future. So, if you are planning to stay long in the country even as an English teacher, learning basic Japanese is highly recommended.
Language written
Before 4th century Japan had no writing system of their own. Chinese characters (kanji) were imported and used to write either words borrowed from Chinese, or Japanese words with the same or similar meanings. This is why a kanji in Modern Japanese is often read in different ways, with some having their origins in Chinese and others in Japanese. For example, the kanji which stands for mountain can be read as ‘san’ in a Chinese way, and ‘yama’ in a Japanese way (you might be familiar with this word from a Lee Morgan’s song titled Yama). Which to use depends on the context!
Chinese characters were then simplified and eventually turned out to be two syllabic scripts: hiragana and katakana. Modern Japanese is written in these two plus one ideographic scripts, kanji. A bold simplification would be to use kanji wherever you can, katakana for foreign words, and hiragana for the rest.
How to learn the Japanese language
Learning Japanese is believed to be difficult for an English speaker, but Japanese is another language and you don’t have to think so pessimistically. Its pronunciations and intonations are less complicated, and hiragana and katakana are far simpler than Chinese. In fact, young British people who participate in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET: 1-2 year working experience as an assistant English teacher in rural areas in Japan) become more or less competent to speak Japanese. The key here may be that you should isolate yourself from other English speakers and socialise yourself in the local communities (in some extreme cases, the assistant teacher might be the only gaijin in the town!).
In addition to the environment, appropriate courses will help you improve the language ability. The first database contains only the schools with the official certificate. There are two types of school, one for foreign students who want to study in Japan’s universities (most typically Asian over sea students), the other for foreigners who want to learn everyday conversations or business Japanese (businessmen and immigrants). Make sure that you choose the one which fits you.
Useful links:
Japanese Language School Database
Hiragana Times: the list of Japanese Language Schools
Reading Tutor: reading material on-line
Sapporo Information page for foreigners
Languages spoken
