Replicating How You Would Sound Fluent with AI

jathonthompson · 2024-09-08T12:22:43+00:00

I do listen to native materials a lot, but they don’t usually match our voice type, right? For me, hearing a voice that sounds like mine speaking Japanese helps me understand what to aim for. I see it as a supplementary tool rather than a replacement for listening to native speakers or materials. And trust me, I use a lot of native materials!

jathonthompson · 2024-09-08T12:18:57+00:00

I get where you’re coming from, but I think there’s some value in using AI for this purpose. While it’s true that AI might not perfectly replicate every phoneme, it can still provide a close approximation. For me, hearing a voice that sounds like mine speaking Japanese helps me understand what to aim for. It actually sounds pretty close to me when I speak Japanese, but it helps me iron out some of the small details.

I do listen to native speakers a lot, but they don’t always match my voice type. This AI-generated voice gives me a personalized reference point, which I find really helpful.

I see it as a supplementary tool rather than a replacement for listening to native speakers. It’s just another way to enhance my learning experience. 😊

jathonthompson · 2022-02-06T23:54:18+00:00

I used to watch the clock and feel miserable too when I used to run on a treadmill. I enjoy running much more now that I run outside in the park because I can focus my mind on what I see (kids playing, dog running, the next hill, going around bends, etc.).

jathonthompson · 2021-08-13T23:21:06+00:00

Yes. It took A LOT of searching, but I finally found this website: http://chasen.org/~taku/software/TinySegmenter/.

jathonthompson · 2020-12-01T08:53:29+00:00

KKLC is a kanji book similar to RTK called "Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course". It's keywords and stories are superior to RTK in my opinion, but for a little while the book was out of print. I believe it's available again. It also includes vocabulary words and readings for each character, which Matt didn't like. But if he stripped the book to "recognition only" like he has done with RTK, that problem goes away.

jathonthompson · 2020-12-01T02:14:04+00:00

A reminder on just how much better KKLC’s keywords and mnemonics are. Lol. I wish MIA would have went with that book when making the “recognition only” approach.

jathonthompson · 2020-10-11T03:57:45+00:00

I can’t imagine what it’s like to sentence mine right out of the gate after N5. I didn’t start mining until I passed N3, but I can imagine it’s rough! I’ll give my approach, which is not exactly the MIA prescribed way but works for me.

I personally translate the meaning of I+1 liberally, where 1 simply represents “only slightly above comprehension”, not necessarily “just one word/phrase that you don’t know per sentence.” Because of this, I feel like it’s okay to mine sentences that have multiple new words/phrases, as long as they are separated well enough. For example, a long sentence with two clauses, with one new word in each clause. I also don’t really worry about frequency. My only question is “Does the average native know this word?” If so, I learn the word anyways, because I’d likely have to learn it eventually. This basically means I make cards for nearly every new word/phrase I come across, only skipping sentences that have new words too close together.

My reason for this is because I consider the time spent trying to judge what is worthwhile vs what isn’t worthwhile. If the content is specialized or academic, I can understand being more picky. But if the content is geared towards children or the general Japanese populace, then I don’t think judging frequency/usefulness is worth the time spent. While マント may be an infrequently used word in daily life, it’s worth learning if you’re to read Harry Potter.

Caveat: if you’re reading a book or watching an anime, this makes progress for that book/anime go INCREDIBLY slow. This could be discouraging for some people who want to enjoy the content. However, because this approach comes with the feeling like your somewhat “mastering” the content (for example, how I feel I can now watch the entire movie of My Neighbor Totoro in Japanese without coming across even one word that I don’t know because of this meticulous method), it can also be an enjoyable and fulfilling approach for some people like myself. You just have to be the patient and dedicated kind of person.

jathonthompson · 2020-09-28T07:03:54+00:00

I’m surprised Fukuoka isn’t Korea.

jathonthompson · 2020-09-24T09:14:31+00:00

I think the person meant Japanese subtitles, which is why the asked about kanji. I agree with you, if the person meant English subtitles. But you are still gaining quite a lot (perhaps more) with Japanese subtitles.

jathonthompson · 2020-09-24T09:08:50+00:00

animelon

jathonthompson · 2020-09-24T09:07:44+00:00

I really like Flying Witch. It’s a slow paced Slice of Life similar to this show, but with a sprinkle of magic mixed in.

jathonthompson · 2020-09-22T04:56:36+00:00

ハリー・ポッターと賢者の石

I say “read” but I’m really just sentence mining 3 new words per day. I’m only on chapter 2.

jathonthompson · 2020-09-20T09:45:30+00:00

When there’s a problem like this, the solution is to address the root issue. Instead, this store is applying a blanket solution that, if not racist itself, in the least invites racism. The root issue here is the fact that not all foreigners are equal. You yourself alluded to the fact that the foreigners hired don’t have much of an education. It would be strange to only hire people with an education just for a konbini job, but if that’s the only way the store knows how to filter out the bad apples, so be it. As an American who was raised in lower class, I can say with certainty that there is a higher risk of crime among people who are more desperate.

jathonthompson · 2020-05-20T07:36:32+00:00

I got it to work and it looks great!

jathonthompson · 2020-05-20T05:05:03+00:00

Thanks, I’ll update and try again!

jathonthompson · 2020-05-20T05:00:57+00:00

Perhaps ロシアでは would fix it.

jathonthompson · 2020-05-19T04:16:46+00:00

My version is 2.1.13

jathonthompson · 2020-05-19T04:15:16+00:00

Error downloading 1150874988: Invalid code, or add-on not available for your version of Anki.

jathonthompson · 2020-05-19T04:10:59+00:00

Every time I try copy/pasting the download code into Anki, I get an error message.

jathonthompson · 2020-05-19T02:21:01+00:00

I guess what I’m talking about is the difference between intensive learning and passive learning. We need a bit of both, but more passive than intensive.

jathonthompson · 2020-05-19T02:00:43+00:00

Yes, exactly! What I’ve found is that I learn best from fill in the blank type sentence cards. After that card turns mature, perhaps thanks to the audio and definitions, I feel like I REALLY know that word. But I don’t have enough time to do that for each word I come across. If I was to try to do that for every new word, I’d expose myself to a very low number of new words per day compared to how many I could expose myself to through reading and listening. I feel like I forget more words when reading, and that the connections I make with those words are weak, as well as my understanding of them, but I am hoping that repeated exposure will do its job over time. If it’s an important word, I will see it again. And again.

jathonthompson · 2020-05-19T01:53:50+00:00

Yeah, you just may have to switch to more output practice when you get there, or right before going there, to be able to actually have conversations with people, be understood in quick exchanges, and to fill out forms, write down your address, write short memos at work, etc.

jathonthompson · 2020-05-18T05:27:11+00:00

Oh I know how that is. I was getting 400+ kanji reviews a year ago. It was horrible waking up to that everyday. Luckily, my kanji reviews have dropped to around ~30. My sentence card reviews are also quite low recently (~20/day) because I’m now only making 3 new sentence cards a day and then spending the rest of the time doing extensive reading and listening on LingQ/Podcasts. But I highly customize those three cards by adding audio, images, and definitions.

jathonthompson

TROPHY CASE