Talk:Beginner Japanese/Introduction to the Japanese Language

Quiz problems
The quiz answers need to be clarified.

''English is an SVO (Subject Verb Object) language. What kind of language is Japanese. (three letters)?'' - This will only accept SOV (not sov) and should also accept "Subject Object Verb" or "Subject-Object-Verb" or any case variations.

What is the japanese term for "vertical" writing? - Should accept a capitalized "Tategaki" unless specified lowercase only.

What is the name of the group of general-use characters set forth by the Ministry of Education should one know in order to be literate in Japanese? - This one provides problems... the answer is "jouyou kanji" but it can be written as "jōyō kanji" (which it is referred to as on this site). Clarification needs to be made on whether or not 'ō' or 'ou' should be used, or if both are acceptable. On pages that use one spelling over another, clarification should be added.

What are the names of the syllabaries that make up the writing form Kana? - This needs to support the answers "katakana, hiragana", "katakana hiragana", "hiragana katakana" or any case variation of those. What 10:38, 19 August 2008 (UTC)
 * ありがとうございました for your help. There was made this edit (basically adding info with the | symbol). Could you have a look, if all is ok now ? (didn't try) In case you want to create new quizes you can read more about how to create/edit quizes: Help:Quiz, Erkan Yilmaz uses the Chat (try) 17:02, 19 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for making those changes. I'm not very familiar with wikis. :) what 01:16, 20 August 2008 (UTC)
 * I added some answer rules to the questions in the form of "(lowercase)" and what not to specify how it should be answered and added a few variations of answers (capitalizing a character, etc.) what 01:22, 20 August 2008 (UTC)
 * ありがとうございました, Erkan Yilmaz uses the Chat (try) 06:34, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

How would you write, "Cats eat mice" in japanese (use Rōmaji )? - This question needs a bit of work. First, saying 'use Rōmaji' isnt as specific as one might think, given that there are multiple forms of Japanese romanization. While it is true that the Hepburn romanization system is the most common form, it should be taken in to account that other forms exist. Either the question needs to have all common forms of romanization added as possible answers, or the specific form of romanization needs to be specified. (I highly suggest the second option, possibly with a link to the Wikipedia article.) Second, the verb for 'to eat' currently used in the answer (食う or sometimes 喰う) is rendered in hiragana as 'くう'. Any way you look at it, that is a long vowel (in this case a 'u'), and this needs to be in the answer. (It currently has it romanized as 'ku'.) Lastly, why is this particular verb being used? Admittedly, I only just finished a Japanese II course at my local community college, but even I am aware that this word can be a bit rude. (Jim Breen's WWWJDIC entry for this word has it tagged both as being primarily used by men and as vulgar.) At most, '食べる' should replace '食う'; at least, '食べる' should be added as one of the possible answers for the verb. Zarakinthish 10:34, 27 May 2009 (UTC) - Changed answer for number of Kanji from 1945 to the more recent new list number of 2136, this has already been changed in the textbook by someone else.DMcPhed 00:46, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

Trivia Questions
Should the quiz contain trivia questions? To me, learning the language consists of more than just memorizing hiragana, katakana or kanji and grammar. I mean questions more along the lines of the third question in the quiz. what 01:26, 20 August 2008 (UTC)
 * How about generating quizes for different levels ? Some for more advanced Japanese learners and so on. Or for different ages ? Then everyone can start where she thinks is best. For me for example, I believe - since I don't know so much about Japanese - I even would have problems with trivia questions and would have to search in the internet for help or peak into the quiz answers :-)
 * I'd say do it as you feel is best. Your time is important and we are thankful for anything you contribute to here. You don't need to do all above said: just what you like and someone else will do other things. Have fun in what you do. If you need help in any way, drop a msg, Erkan Yilmaz uses the Chat (try) 06:34, 20 August 2008 (UTC)