Japan Trip Highlights: Learning the language

Before we went to Japan, I began studying conversational Japanese by listening to audio lessons during my commute, and I bought a workbook to learn katakana, one of three scripts used in Japan. Katakana is used to write foreign words, and is thus easier to translate than hiragana or kanji, the other scripts.

I was pleased that my preparation was not in vain; I was able to have some basic conversations to ask directions and read a few things, like some restaurant menus. My first big "yay!" moment was on our flight to Tokyo, where our menus were written in both English and Japanese, and I could understand a large chunk of the Japanese part. My katakana study also saved us when we tried to find lunch in Akihabara, the electronics district of Tokyo. We had trouble finding a restaurant with an English menu, but we did find a curry place with enough katakana on the menu where I understood what we were ordering. I was also able to ask where the elusive elevator was in Kyoto Station and solicited help from a passerby to find a restaurant near our hotel.

A friend once told me her motto was, "Speak the language of the person you're speaking to." It seemed to be our experience that if you at least made an attempt at speaking Japanese, even if it was just to say "excuse me," or "thank you," people tended to try to help you as best they could. By contrast, the rude Americans in Narita airport, who wouldn't even slow down their speech in English, much less attempt Japanese, dealt with frustrated store clerks.

I really like studying Japanese, though it's a daunting experience, with three different alphabets and different grammar from English. I'm seriously considering pursuing a Master's degree in Japanese so I can incorporate that into my work. I'd love any advice people have on the subject, especially on how web and social media work can combine with translation work.