Japanese Language is difficult !

Japanese language has the reputation of being one of the most difficult language to learn. The cumbersome writing system that combines around 2000 Chinese Kanji characterss with native Japanese syllabaries - Hiragana and Katagana, makes the Japanese not so easy to learn for foreigners.

Hiragana and Katakana can be learnt with relatively little effort. Kanji makes the brain twist. Pronunciation is simple and easy to learn. First thing we heard in our Japanese lessons is there is no need to worry about gender and number. That much relaxation Japanese gives !

When comparing with Indo-European language groups, there are number of basic differences. The word order, I mean the placement of verb, subject and object is different in Japanese from European languages. But similar to South Indian language group - Dravidian languages. That may be the secret that my friends from Tamilnadu state in India master Japanese language in a short time and speak like a native people. The style of talking, the expressions, the elongation of certain words and the excitement in discussion (as seen in Television) are almost similar to that of Tamil.