マイ First Update

This is my first update after my initial challenge announcement. The reason for this is that I've actually been very ill this week. I started out with a mere cold last Friday which peaked over the weekend and then transitioned into a full-blown migraine headache partially incapacitating me. I am happy to report that I have hit my target of 50 words per day up until this point. Hitting this target while struggling physically with the migraine has given me hope that I will make it through the 120 day challenge!

Now, the update.

Here's a screen capture I took of my Anki stats using the handy Windows 7 snipping tool. It's a nice feature but I'm going to search for an Anki plug-in that does this automatically later.



As you can see I started my 120 challenge with a lot more than 50 words. The reason for this was that I had a long list of Katakana words (usually words borrowed from English) that I wanted to get out of the way. Katakana or typically Waseiego (和製英語) words are learned very easily compared to native Japanese words or borrowed Chinese words. It's similar to learning a noun in a romance language like Spanish or French that shares similar shape and sound to the English equivalent. The "actual" 120 day challenge starts just after this huge spike of activity.

After 7 days most of the words are sticking. I've had a relatively low failure rate for cards. I attribute this to my prior knowledge of Kanji etymology (i.e. the Heisig Kanji method) and readings (i.e. 1,800 prior vocabulary words).

It seems that when I encounter a new Kanji compound the meaning is easily learned when I have at least partial knowledge of a Kanji reading. The words that don't stick easily typically have multiple Kanji where I have little knowledge of the reading. I define partial knowledge of a reading quite simply. When you can read a Kanji compound or word but you can't necessarily recall the readings in isolation. When all readings are known in isolation the meaning is easily acquired. Contrary to how I used to feel about Japanese vocabulary acquisition, it seems that Japanese words might be easier to memorize through rote than non-ideographic languages.

When I first starting learning the Kanji I thought the rote process of memorizing Kanji readings was a waste of time. My opinion has changed. I'm currently working on another deck of Onyomi recognition readings. I'll probably write about this in more detail later.