Learning Japanese in Cambodia
Heat Vanna 14/08/2020 1:29 PM

Undoubtedly, most students will choose to study English and Chinese. But Muon Chanthy, a student from Battambang Province, has decided to focus on Japanese. She is currently a third-year student at the Department of Japanese at the Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL) ​​at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). Chanthy shared with journalist Heat Vanna what prompted her to study Japanese and a few tips on how to quickly learn the language.


Heat Vanna: You may know that Japanese language is not as popular as English or Chinese among Cambodian students. What made you think differently and choose Japanese?


Muon Chanthy: The reason that I decided to learn Japanese is that I like the language. Also, I love Japanese people’s attitude. Most Japanese people respect and value time, abide by their own decisions, take their work and responsibilities seriously, and adhere to strict discipline. Moreover, Japan is a beautiful country, I am interested in Japanese culture, and especially Japanese food. And I like watching Japanese animated movies. I was influenced by no one: I just decided by myself to learn this language with no objection from my family.


Heat Vanna: Since Japanese was an entirely new language for you, would you share with us the difficulties you have encountered while learning it?


Muon Chanthy: A difficult part of learning Japanese is that this language is completely different from Khmer language. Its grammar and letters are also very difficult to master. Japanese has three types of letters: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Hiragana, it is Japanese letters and mostly used for general writing. Katakana, on the other hand, contains characters, which are used for foreign words. For example, the word “simple” in English can be written in Katakana alphabet. As for Kanji, it is the most difficult typeface, as it is kind of Chinese characters that Japan adopted a long time ago. Kanji is used to reduce the use of letters in an article while retaining the same meaning—if we use too much Hiragana in our writing, too many words as well as space will be required.
https://cambodianess.com/article/learni ... n-cambodia

Missus’ roommate went through the Japanese language program. Then interned in Kyoto. Now she’s studying to specialize in Japanese law. And teaching basic Japanese on the side.

Kudos to that lady from Battambang.

Do they still count as weebs if they’re Asian? Or is there another word for it?

nerdlinger wrote:Do they still count as weebs if they’re Asian? Or is there another word for it?

A weeb ? As in an otaku? Lots of Japanese NGOs working in the Kingdom of Wonder, doing stuff like - restoring temples at Angkor Wat park, providing medical care at Sunrise, providing a drainage system in Phnom Penh, and Aeon. So lots of potential interactions with Japanese and Japanese culture.

She isn’t working at a low end job, she’s studying at RUPP and preparing for a bright future.

Watching anime is mainstream worldwide, especially among the younger generation. It was a popular activity in college when I was in college (sometime when the asteroid ended the dinosaurs).

Nerdlinger - are you secretly anti-Japanese? Did your family die in Nanking, and are still smoldering for revenge?

newkidontheblock wrote: ↑Thu Aug 20, 2020 5:39 am Nerdlinger - are you secretly anti-Japanese? Did your family die in Nanking, and are still smoldering for revenge?

haha no, only weebs call other weebs weebs. She's one of my people. I wasn't attacking her at all.