Perhaps the most unique aspect of Japanese is the use of different words and sentence structures for different social situations. No language I have learned has such a difference of vocabulary and structure depending on whether you are talking casually to a friend, to a subordinate or very formally to a "senior" person. Just the word "I" has at least three commonly used forms, watakushi, boku and ore, and the same is true for "you" and the other pronouns. To master these distinctions you must be involved often in social situations that require you to use them correctly. Just explaining the logic behind language patterns will not enable you to master them. You have to become a little bit Japanese in your mentality before you can switch on polite or casual language depending on the social setting. This requires considerable exposure either in real life situations or through listening to appropriate material in recorded form. It also requires you to accept the culture.
Until I mastered the different levels of politeness, I simply spoke neutral Japanese. In fact, to a large extent I still do. I think it is important not to try to be either too colloquial or too formal when speaking a foreign language. It is normally not expected of a foreigner. Nor is total mastery of the politeness levels necessary for communication. Fully understanding the nuances of polite words and phrases requires a very advanced level of cultural sensitivity that cannot be forced, but will develop naturally over time.
Apparently the sentence structure of Japanese is of North Asian origin and therefore similar to Korean. Much of the original vocabulary is, according to some experts, vaguely related to Polynesian languages and comes from the Jomon people who settled in Japan starting 20,000 years ago. The Jomon were hunter-gatherers who lived in Japan before different waves of North Asian immigrants, called Yayoi people, brought rice culture and the influence of their language to Japan starting around 300 BC. Incidentally, the Jomon people may have been the first in the world to develop pottery- over 10,000 years ago.
The Chinese writing system was introduced to Japan just over 1,500 years ago along with many Chinese words, Chinese technology and the Buddhist religion. The magnificent wooden structures found in Nara and Kyoto include the oldest and largest wooden buildings in the world. The techniques used in construction are the best preserved and most outstanding examples of Chinese wood building technology, which dates back to the original Yellow River civilization.
In recent times, the Japanese language has accepted many foreign borrowed words, especially from English. J is a rich amalgam of many influences. Knowledge of the Chinese characters is an advantage to a foreigner learning Japanese, and the grammatical structure of Japanese is similar to Korean. So neighboring Asian people have an advantage in learning Japanese. However, the attitude of the learner is a more important factor than geographic or genetic proximity. I have met many foreigners from other parts of the world who have a positive attitude and excel at spoken Japanese.
At a time when I was already fluent in Japanese, my wife who looks Asian, still could not speak Japanese very well. Often we had triangular conversations with Japanese people in public places. I spoke Japanese, and the Japanese person replied to my wife. The Japanese person could not accept the fact that the Western face, not the Asian face, was the one actually speaking Japanese.
In a similar vein, years later in Canada, an older Japanese lady made the following observation about a young child of mixed Japanese-Caucasian parents who was late in starting to talk. "Of course he is slow, since Japanese people have trouble speaking English!" I hear Caucasians marvel that a Caucasian can learn an Asian language even though we are familiar with second generation Canadians of Asian origin who are native speakers of English. How many times have I heard Chinese people say that English is impossible to learn because Chinese culture is so different from English? This kind of cultural preconception is just another obstacle to proper language learning and needs to be discarded. I am convinced that anyone, of whatever culture or background, and of whatever age, can learn any language if they commit to doing so.
A Westerner visiting or living in Japan who will only eat "meat and potatoes" and does not enjoy sushi will usually not be successful in learning Japanese. Similarly, Japanese people who will only travel abroad in groups and will only eat familiar food are unlikely to be successful in learning other foreign languages, no matter how much time they spend trying. Learning a language is like traveling. Both activities are an adventure. There is no point in traveling abroad and acting like you stayed at home.
