Hi,
“I really want to start reading Japanese, but I know like every twentieth kanji in sentences”. Familiar feeling, right?
So what to do when even the NHK Web News Easy (link) content feels too difficult and daunting a task? Regarding content on a social media platform with a blue bird logo in the past, here are three suggestions I personally have found helpful.
- ちょっと昔の日本の景色 bot (@japan80to00)
Why would a bot posting photos about 1980-2000 Japan be useful for studying Japanese? Here is an example tweet (the photo is below this message):
2001年、東京タワー内
And that’s it. Because there are no complete sentences, grammar knowledge doesn’t matter. Some basic kanji like 年 becomes familiar very soon along with place names (東京) and the occasional katakana words (タワー). One quickly gets the feeling of succeeding in reading actual Japanese, which is very encouraging. And if something is left unclear, the Translate option is always there. As a bonus, one receives an insider look at the recent past of Japan.
- ウェザーニュース(@wni_jp)
As one might suspect, the Weather News tweets mostly about weather, although there are occasional posts on flowering, proper clothing and general tips about living with the day’s weather conditions. Because of the repetitive nature of the content, certain set of vocabulary and basic expressions on a common topic quickly become familiar.
- BBC News Japan (@bbcnewsjapan)
The content BBC posts in Japanese is not especially simple or easy. However the point is that the posts are pretty much direct translations of tweets available in English on the BBC News World (@bbcworld) account. This means there is an English transcript available for all content, and these two can be read in conjunction. Because of this, one is never left with the feeling of not understanding something. As all content is topical, a core pack of vocabulary related to recent world events can be attained in no time.
best,
Jari
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