Have you tried Google Translate? It's not perfect, but is a start: https://translate.google.com/#en/ja/good%20morning%20how%20are%20you There are phonetics beneath the Japanese translation.
Google translate may perhaps be able to give a general idea on what the other person is talking about but as the Japanese language and expressions and the way of describing facts are totally different from German (and English) the meaning will just get lost. Just take a simple English sentence, have it translated to Japanese and then have Google re-translate it into English...
Yes, I'm currently reading 'Gai-jin' which is the third book in the 'Shogun' series by James Clavell. Set in the mid-1800s, it's mostly a stultifyingly boring read but it does give valuable insights into the Japanese language system and how it works compared with other (Western) language systems. Also how their thought processes were, and probably still are to a large extent, completely at odds with those in the Occident...
It is amazing how much thought processes differ between nationalities, I tried to learn Arabic but made the mistake of learning Modern Standard Arabic instead of Egyptian Arabic. I learned a few phrases and, on my next trip to Luxor tried them out.Nobody could (or would!) understand me! Google translate produces horrible sentences in English, while trying to translate Egyptian Arabic, inventing words and Phrases that mean nothing in English. in the opposite direction, it is quite successful.Of course, the Arabic mentality is totally different to the English, their thinking process being totally ruled by their religion! Good luck with the Japanese! Jim
I tried to learn Japanese with the guidance of one of my mother's colleagues who was Japanese, but even with that help I didn't get far. I think it really is one of those languages that can only really be learned by immersing yourself in the culture for a few months. HD
That quickly? I tried Cantonese. All the local guys taught me were the bad words. Fun but dangerous in polite company.
