Comments on: How Romaji Can Ruin Your Day

By: Saikou

Saikou — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 01:02:00 +0000

The main problem with romaji is that it adds an extra step to the learning process, and therefor extends the time taken to become familiar with the written language. First learn how to pronounce romaji, then learn kana, then learn kanji.
But if pronunciation and kana are learnt in tandem, there is a synergy at play in which the sound and symbol become inseparable, much how we view the letters of English, thus getting closer to seeing the language the same way the native speaker does, which is, after all, the ultimate goal of language study.

I believe that kanji should be embraced as early as possible when learning the language, not only so as to quicken the process of becoming familiar, but because kanji can serve as a way to help with vocabulary memorisation by providing a visual mnemonic.

For these reasons, I see romaji as unnecessary and unimportant in the learning process. That as the learner becomes more proficient, romaji becomes an extra obstacle to circumnavigate, undoing any use it may have had in the early days

By: alex

alex — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 20:57:00 +0000

All your arguements are weak.
Since everybody understands spoken japanese (homonyms and all) and even Japanese people use romaji with IME or something to type, kanji are not needed. Pure japanese Kana are exactly the same deal with romaji since every kana has one (99% of the time) romaji interpretation.

Should kanji become obsolete? Of course NOT. Kanji are a very important element of the japanese tradition and history. It is a great way to make the written language richer and more interesting. But anyone who whines about romaji being evil and wrong is just looking down on people who don’t read kanji yet.

Should people learn kanji? Yes they should.Why? Because you should embrace and respect the language you want to learn and because if you don’t you’re gonna have a hard time.

This article is just an irritating, half-arsed anti-romaji rant, man.

By: Ryuud

Ryuud — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 23:32:00 +0000

ローマジイズホーラブルインザオピセトウェー。

By: Joon Sunn

Joon Sunn — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 09:11:00 +0000

Oh that is an interesting factoid. Thanks! I’ve always felt a bit guilty for not learning the hiragana layout because there isn’t such a thing as romaji input in Korean (i learnt a bit of korean as well) AFAIK. Awesome news that the Japanese input in romaji as well ^.^

By: Saikou

Saikou — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 08:50:00 +0000

Hey, no it’s never too late. And for future correctness, it’s “romaji”, there is no “n”. I would say it is better to type in romaji input on keyboards as it means you don’t have to learn a whole different keyboard map just to type in japanese. If it makes you feel better, very few Japanese people use the hiragana input, favouring romaji input.

By: Joon Sunn

Joon Sunn — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 05:04:00 +0000

Hi. I hope I’m not posting this comment too late after the original post to get a reply, but I’ll try asking a question anyway.

I am staying very hard away from reading romanji. But when I want to type, there’re two methods the MS IME offers: hiragana and romanji inputs.

Is it advisable to input in romanji? I’ve been typing in romanji all the while, but am unsure if it will become a bad habit/bite me in the butt down the road.