> Agreed, manga definitely exagerates the gender and colloqialism of the
> language.  If you want to learn to truly sound native, read them... but
> watch for the cursing/swearing.  Might want to learn what some of that stuff
> means from a real close friend that won't mind you asking instead of
> blurting something out in public and finding out you've just offended
> everyone.  Especially if you are using the adult manga.

I know those pitfalls. Generally I stick to younger Manga at this time,
though I do enjoy some more mature manga. Dragon Ball is excellent for
learning to read.

I do know to watch out for the gender differences; learning from manga
can lead to speaking as the wrong gender. On the other hand, Japanese
people seem so amazed that *any* American can speak Japanese at all that
it isn't so bad (though what would be said behind my back, I don't know).

Luckily I don't have to learn it for business use, because that is an
entirely different can of worms. Though I think that a few top execs
from any business doing business with Japan should learn the language.
It might help them succeed there, as the business culture is extremely
strange to an American.
--
D. Jay Newman           !
jay@sprucegrove.com     ! Xander: Giles, don't make cave-slayer unhappy.
http://enerd.ws/robots/ !

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