Isotropic is …
... my personal blog.
Unless otherwise indicated, anything I write here is simply my personal, probably ill-formed, opinion and does not represent the views, beliefs, positions, or opinions of any other person or entity.
01 Dec 2009
Learning Japanese: Introduction
In a moment of insanity I decided to learn Japanese. By the way, this series isn’t about teaching you Japanese, but to relate my learning experience and perhaps provide you some help in finding resources if you decide to learn on your own. This introduction will be revised occasionally to keep in sync with the [...]
10 Dec 2009
Learning Japanese: Computer Fonts
Recent versions of operating systems should display Japanese characters without additional configuration. The following sample displays fine on Linux (tested: Firefox, Konqueror) and Windows XP (tested: Firefox, IE): すべての人間は、生まれながらにして自由であり、 かつ、尊厳と権利と について平等である。 人間は、理性と良心とを授けられており、 互いに同胞の精神をもって行動しなければならない。 If you’re using IE8, you may have to click on the “Compatibility Mode” button to display the kanji characters; hiragana and katakana [...]
01 Dec 2009
Learning Japanese: Writing System
The Japanese writing system consists of three main components: hiragana and katakana (collectively known as kana), and kanji. Arabic numerals are often used instead of traditional numerals. Occasionally Latin characters are used for effect. Rōmaji is used to phonetically transcribe Japanese into a Latin-only alphabet. Kana each consist of 46 basic symbols representing syllables, along [...]
10 Dec 2009
Learning Japanese: Computer Input
While you can use the Character Map accessory (Linux, Windows) to occasionally enter a few characters, you will want to install an input method if you intend to input Japanese characters with any frequency. Linux A popular method on Linux is SCIM + anthy. SCIM provides an input method engine that supports multiple languages, while [...]
05 Dec 2009
Learning Japanese: Pronunciation
Whatever course material you use to study will provide detailed guidelines for pronunciation. I’ll also discuss some audio reference material in a later post, once I get past the mechanics of the written language. For a quick introduction you may want to view these articles: “Pronunciation of Japanese” provides a sample reading (from the beginning [...]
