Heh. I set up one of our computers at school (we have six in our grad offices) with the ability to type in Japanese, but someone removed it earlier this year. I was sending that email in Japanese, and had to go back in and set it up all over again. T_T

that sucks. I have it set up on my laptop so I don't have to worry about that one, fortunately :)

Ah, well currently I'm self-teaching until I can purchase Rosetta-stone... or find a class around my area, though that's unlikely.

Lol what have you learned so far?

oh my dad got Rosetta stone for Japanese but I zoomed past tons of things that were too easy for me until I got bored xDD Maybe I will try a more challenging level later. I think that program is pretty good except that sometimes it leave a bit of grey area as to the EXACT definition of a word. Which is pretty good for being the only con I can think of, but I am just saying that as something to be aware of.

I tried Rosetta Stone once for French, but as I'd already learned so much in high school, it was hard to follow along from the beginning. I think it's better for languages you don't already know some of.

there's a website you can go to to talk to other people from all over the globe and learn foreign languages, and it's free. i'm not sure how good it is, but in case anyone's interested, it's Language Learning with Livemocha | Learn a Language Online - Free!

oh, huh. Another option is to look at Japanesepod101, however talking here is always encouraged as well! ^_^

Minnsan wa genki desu ka?

私の一ばん好きなウェブサイトは「JCJP』と言うサイトだね。www.japaneseclass.jp　だよ。とても使いやすいと思う。漢字を練習できるし、言葉も習えるし。

元気だ！スタランギダリームズは？

なにそれ、「スタランギ」って？ああ、わかった、「ストレーンジ」の意味でしょう？

えぇ？　私のニックネームはストレーンジですよね。

Hmm I hope you don't mind
and if you do I'll delete my post
but this thread caught my eye when browsing through each catagory :)
It really makes me smile to see an actualy thread like this cause I actually want to learn japanese :/ just really need to get my ass into gear and get started I hope to have a convo here soon(maybe in the future) when i get my studies in order :) be very helpful.

Oh, gosh! of course I don't mind. I appreciate you saying so :D
good luck on your studies!!
Ganbatte! :D (Hang in there/try your best)
And for the reference, any level of Japanese conversational skill is accepted here ^^

Well i was learning it slowly as i went through college but i got lazy and got caught up in life and my college studies xD;
I got a little workbook to learn my hiraganas but I ain't looked at it propperly

ok well first....
あ "ah" A
い "ee" I
う "ooh"U
え "eh" E
お "oh" O

So as for conversation in romaji, would you say you understand ok? Or did you really not pay attention? xD (dw, there was one class I really didn't pay attention in because I was more interested in manga than in hearing people crack immature jokes about each other's bodies)

Oh I ain't actually been to lessons <_< I've been "attempting" to teach myself :/ Not many places do japanese courses(lessons) in england so its kinda awkward/anoying.

Trust me, when you get lessons formally it can go a lot faster than when you are teaching yourself. But I understand what you are going through. Well, not 100% but for the most part. See I am part Japanese but my dad moved away from Japan when he was 3 years old, so he only really knows baby talk. I wanted to get down to the meat of it all, and really learn about it. But it always seemed to go so slow when I didn't have any direction. Now I am a lot better at Japanese for a number of reasons.

Inspiration: I have watched anime, listened to songs in Japanese, watched Japanese dramas and comedies, but not in English. I just think it sounds so much cooler in Japanese. Possibly because I grew up with a lot more English around me than Japanese. Or maybe because I love my grandma, and wanted to take a piece of her with me. Whatever it is, you need to recognize why you want to learn and grow with it. Want to go to Japan? Learn things that will be most useful to you in going to Japan. That is for business, personal travel, or living there. Whatever it is, you need to learn based off of that, and once you get more reasons to learn, you will grow in directions that support those reasons. Because you want to, that is.

Guidance: I don't believe I could have made it this far on my own. Going to Japan a few years ago was a real push. You really get yourself immersed in it. Other than that, look up guides, talk to people who actually know this stuff, ask tons of questions, even if you are scared of looking like a fool, you are not because you are supporting knowledge. When you have guidance you have encouragement. You have direction. And I won't be able to give you everything you need, but there are plenty people here who have spent a lot of time studying, or spent a lot of time wishing they could grow with this, so feel free to call this a home to yourself :D I will try to help with what I can, but realize also that you are not limited to only talking to me, but that there are many other people here and many opportunities!!

Enjoy and be sure to ask questions or comment as you need ^_^

I attempted to learn Japanese over the summer but had some complications IRL that I had to discontinue learning the language.

It's really nice though, I really should get back into learning it. D:

I did have a friend helping me but they've been awfully busy and ain't heard from them in ages
I do plan on traveling the world and going to japan :/ but other stuff keep coming up so i started to slack :(
that why i think this thread will be rather helpful and interesting for me as it'll help me and it'll give me the chance to meet people.
just thinking of languages though i don't have a clue on where to start i should really look at this work book i got.
Say learn hiraganas in 3hrs :)

Both y'all remember to subscribe, ok? ;D

Ayx- Yeah you feel free too :D
Hajimemashite. STRANGE desu. Douzo yoroshiku ^_^

Catera- ... lol. You know how my hiragana learning went?
1. Try to learn online. Kinda sorta get it.
2. Pick up a book at the library. Copy everything down. xD Extend the turn-in date. Try to study more.
Yay, got it down! Mostly. I still needed practice sometimes of course :P
3. See a lot in Japan, and try to translate everything. (practice made me learn all of them well :D)
4. Japanese class, relearn hiragana and get super neat handwriting by seeing them proper so much and trying to copy XD
5. Teach others :P Thus always remember XD

If you are able to learn even some of it from that workbook then I say definitely go for it! : D that would be great.
Ingurando (England) wa dou desu ka? - How is England?

Dou is a question word meaning "how"
:)

Use it like this:
Doyoubi (Saturday) wa dou desu ka? - How is Saturday?/How about Saturday?
Eiga wa dou desu ka? - How is the movie?/How about a movie?
Pan (bread) wa dou desu ka? - How is the bread?/How about bread?

Well i used to be able to greet myself and say my name etc and who my brother was xD but i got lazy and so i forgot how to do it :( i'll get there again
i just need excuses to use it in places and talk to people alot easier to learn and remember it that wa.

ああ、すみません！私はカタカナがちょっときらいだよ！
(Jk, my spelling is just bad ;) ))

Catera- mm i see... I wonder if these phrases will ring a bell. (:

Hajimemashite- it is the first time/(it is my first time meeting you, commonly translated as "How do you do?")
(Watashi no) namae wa (your name) desu. - (My) name is (your name). - "my" can be implied.
Watashi no - My
Namae - name
wa- subject particle (comes after the subject), "Watashi wa" means "I" is the subject.
desu- it is/they are/i am, ect

11sai desu. - I am/they are 11 years old
17sai desu - I am/they are 17 years old
Watashi wa 22sai desu. - I am 22 years old.

Chichi- my dad
Haha- my mom
Ani- my older brother
Ane- my older sister
Otouto- younger brother
Imouto- younger sister

Use this info now to say it about yourself :D

Sorry guys gtg for now

Haha I would but I'm tired xD i ended up just grinding some gold to get something on my avatar I'll look at it when i get up in the afternoon (today)
as it's 5am <_<; nice talking though (: I'll sure to reinstall my langauge packs and get my ass into gear..