Re: [Lingo] words with kanji in common

["Josh Glover" <jmglov@example.com>]

On 14/07/07, steven smith <sjs@example.com> wrote:

> Learning a foreign language is a difficult prospect. Modern
> teaching methods make it easier, of course, using approaches
> such as [...] the Natural Approach (mimicking
> how children acquire language by building listening skills
> and vocabulary before they start to produce speech).

I question the effectiveness of this method, as children's language
acquisition "device" (to quote Chomsky--consider the device as literal
or figurative as you wish) switches off at a certain age (10-ish?
anybody remember?), so I think learning methods that mimic children
will not be effective for adults.

> The way information is organized is important, too.

I could not agree more. Remember, I'm all about neural networks, as
any good Computer Scientist should be. :) I think the more connexions
you have to a word or piece of grammar, the more likely you are to be
able to recall it on demand.

> For example, one
> area of English that's especially challenging for foreigners
> are two-part idiomatic verbs,

Also known as phrasal verbs.

> I knew about 物 (as in 着物, 食べ物, 飲み物).  What other
> groups are there?

Oh, tonnes--or "heaps and heaps", as Jim Breen would (presumably) say. ;)

Many kanji can be used as suffixes. Here are some that leap to mind quickly:

食：朝食、伴食、夕食、学食（学生食堂）、その他
化：悪化、強化、国際化、進化、自由化、電化、その他

> Is it worth writing a filter for edict to
> pull them out or has someone already done this.  I think it
> should be a pretty easy perl script.  If it hasn't been done
> before and anyone else is interested, let me know and I'll
> post the results.

It should be really easy, viz:

http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MKJ%B2%BD

<< Search >> the current dictionary for compounds of the selected
kanji: [Position: ( ) initial (o) any, Common words (EDICT) [x] ]

> This looks like a useful approach to building vocabulary.  I
> imagine this is old stuff for most of you but thought I'd
> share it anyway.

Yes, it does. This is why good kanji flashcards have compounds on them. :)

--
Cheers,
Josh