[samsk]

Reading these scripts is where my efforts to speak Japanese died on Duolingo. I wanted to be able to talk and they force me to learn all the characters. But, nice writeup, I knew the writing systems, but never realized that each has its own function.

Btw. Does anybody knows some alternative to learn to speak/understand Japanese ?

[adilmoujahid]

You can learn basic conversation without reading, but it only gets you so far. Japanese has tons of similar-sounding words, and without kanji, it's hard to build a deep vocabulary or follow meaningful conversations. Reading reinforces understanding—and kanji actually makes it easier to remember words once you get used to it.

[mc3301]

I definitely think you can get pretty far building speaking and listening skills in Japanese without kanji.

However, learning hiragana is, I think, absolutely necessary. Why? They are the building blocks of how Japanese actually sounds.

I have met hundreds of non-Japanese people who have spent time living in Japan and trying to learn the language.

Many can barely read kanji, but are fine with everyday listening/speaking.

But those who refused to learn hiragana? Their pronunciation is terribly difficult to understand, and their listening skills suffer, too.

My takeaway: learn Hiragana first.

[soco]

Stupid question: why is important to read in order to be able to speak? Are there no illiterate people who can speak? Is Japanese something special, like dunno you modulate your lips in the way the character is traced or something? Or you just meant reading language books which are all written in hiragana... I'm just confused, sorry.

[mc3301]

Students with a goal to be able to speak and listen to Japanese should still learn hiragana, even if they have zero goals or need for reading. Understanding the building blocks that map out each "sound" in Japanese is not only beneficial but, in my experience, necessary if one wants their Japanese to "sound" Japanese enough for clear communications with native speakers. Yes, a learner could do without it, but a few weeks of study (ymmv) to grasp Hiragana is totally worth it.

[chrome111]

They're referring to hiragana being highly phonetic, where each letter is a fully formed sound so practicing them can give a solid base for pronunciation.

Personally I think there might be some correlation vs causation on hiragana vs pronunciation, many people with poor pronunciation just have a mostly-English speaking social circle, and as such likely also don't feel a need to study hiragana. I feel just listening to Japanese can help get your brain used to the sounds and on the flip side my first recommendation to Japanese to get better at English conversation is to watch lots of US TV, hearing words over and over from many voices eventually adds up to a nice base for sounds. Still need to study for vocab though.