• _NetNomad@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    15
    ·
    8 hours ago

    were electronic dictionaries a bigger deal in japan than elsewhere? as far as i know, in america they were never anything more than novelties even before everyone had a computer in their pocket. i did a little googling and it seems like they were/are more common in japan but couldn’t find any reference as to why. my only guess is that it has something to do with keeping track of kanji but in the 80s they probably weren’t even capable of displaying kanji so /shrug

    • exchange12rocks@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      2 hours ago

      Yes! Another big deal in Japan is (yes, still is) translation devices. While some people there move over to Google Translate, many old-fashioned ones still rock those gadgets that look like voice recorders but with a screen, and translate your dialogue. Japan, as a country in general, is known for not so good English skills among the population: as I understand many people don’t really see a need to learn that language. Especially given that those devices to deal with foreigners are available.

      There are many gadgets (including specialized ones) in Japan that have been produced for the domestic market only.

    • Something Burger 🍔@jlai.lu
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      3 hours ago

      The Japanese writing system is idiotic, and it’s impossible to guess what a word means or how to pronounce it just by looking at it.

    • PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      6 hours ago

      These dictionaries are a godsend for figuring out what a given kanji means, and how to pronounce it.

      There are around 40 000 kanji characters. Most have various meanings depending on context. And depending on the context, a character is spoken in entirety different ways.

      • MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        2 hours ago

        Honestly, english is not much better there; i’m good at reading and writing it but have trouble with pronounciation. And lot’s of words with double or tripple meaning. At least in german-ish you know how to say it by reading it. Chuchichäschtli is a Chuchichäschtli and not a Küchenkasten.

        • Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          51 minutes ago

          As a non native English speaker, the pronunciation is hell. I love me some Scottish/English accents but they are so different to the American accents, which are also very diverse (not to mention the small differences in vocabulary and spelling). Since I consume all sorts of different English contents, with my french accent on top, my pronunciation is all over the place.

    • weirdboy@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      5 hours ago

      I still own an electronic Japanese dictionary but haven’t used it in about 10 years. I have a dictionary app on my phone that I use nearly every day.

      About the only thing the electronic version still does better than any of the apps I’ve tried, surprisingly, is handwritten kanji recognition, I think perhaps because it comes with a little stylus that makes it more precise.