In boy scouts we always used the metaphor of a trail to __X__. We would say “The trail to Eagle is…” or the “Trail to First Class” or the “trail to Brotherhood” in Order of the Arrow. Now that I’m older I look back on my time as a Boy Scout and perhaps I can create a trail to Japanese Literacy.

I’ve thought a lot on the subject lately. The big thing I was thinking about was ‘what exactly is at the core of something gigantic as a language’. At first I thought it had to be the spoken word. Every language develops at the spoken level first before adopting a writing system- so perhaps the ancient core of a language is that. Then I thought that over time this may not be because languages develop and the spoken word gets revised over time. If one follows only the spoken word then they’re limited to only what people are saying. Using my language (English) as an example– If at the root of English was only the spoken word– over time English would loose a lot of advanced concepts and words simply through not using them. If asked, I would rather point someone to a dictionary then rely upon my own knowledge simply because I’m fallible like anyone else. I need text to remind me or teach me new things.

So then I have been thinking that the root now is within text & literacy. If you head over the CIA’s World Factbook there’s an interesting tid-bit on the matter. According to the CIA World Factbook’s Page on Japan:

Literacy’s definition is age 15 and over who can read and write (pretty basic here)
total population: 99% who can
male: 99% of men
female: 99% (2002) of women

Then a note on when you click on the “Literacy” link:

“…There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition – the ability to read and write at a specified age… Low levels of literacy, and education in general, can impede the economic development of a country in the current rapidly changing, technology-driven world.”

Undoubtedly there is a lot of information on the topic and opinions on which is the core. I think it’s literacy and my plan thus is to focus on expanding my ability to read and write Japanese. The premise I basing this on is just my personal knowledge and experience of living in Japan. Living there- the Japanese language felt like a symbol of great pride amongst it’s people. Covered over the walls and ceilings of nearly every subway were always signs, ads, and things almost all in Japanese text. As a percentage I would wager that I spent more time 70% or so reading and writing and trying to interpret Japanese then I spent trying to communicate in the spoken word. As a general rule– I think having literacy is greater in the long run then even knowing how Japanese pronounced. Thus I generally feel that if I can read and write Japanese like 99% of 15+ year olds then speaking and listening comprehension will follow.

This is because reading text can and will make me aware of proper Japanese I need to know to function. The more I read the more I’ll have questions. At this point I’ll be very happy just clarifying somethings in Japanese using the typical question model (~ka, ~so desu ne?, wakarimasu ka?). Overtime, as I become literate, I’ll experiment with talking about things I learned and go from there.

Overall, I believe literacy and fluency to be something organic that grows to the environment it’s in. It’s a process no doubt… one that should be organized and executed as efficiently as possible– but also left to grow and expand as opportunity allows.

More to come on the trail as I think about it..

~J out

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