This must be a terribly common problem, but while listening I have the hardest time processing 漢語, even if the words are relatively simple. I think it’s a combination of reasons: sounding less unique than 和語, prevalence of homophones, possibly being less common, and of course my overall listening ability needing more practice. For example, I recently watched Evangelion and the control room dialogue was extremely difficult for me.
Is there something else I could be doing to address this issue? Or does this tend to resolve itself with more practice?
To a certain degree it does. But if all you get is audio input and for instance the announcer/anchor throws a string of 漢語 at you, the only way to figure it out is pauses and being familiar with specific phrases which come together often.
I do have the biggest problems with listening, actually.
I had a similar problem when watching Bokurano. Most of the time it was pretty understandable (sometimes using the Japanese subs for assistance), but in scenes where the government officials were talking to each other I often had no clue what was happening. Even using the subs didn’t help much.
In French there is a word for that hermetic lexicon that government officials love to use : “langue de bois” (litt. 木語 ; maybe a reference to the fact it is quite insipid and inert).
Yeah, if you can’t understand the subtitles then the battle is lost. But maybe turning on subtitles would help for words that I know but didn’t recognize by ear. I currently have them off to minimize distractions as I’d much rather read than listen.
