Much needed sleep was had.

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I was able to read the preface, which wasn't about how hard the book was to write, or other self-centered notions.  It was completely about pronunciation, exceptions, and other such.  If, too, it was way ahead of... everything.  I thought it odd that they would preface everything with something about something that hadn't even been touched.  It was more than a bit baffling.

Except... it wasn't.  Having been instructed in at least three other languages, if mostly romance, and been a reasonable student of English, much of what I read actually made some sense.  There are... gaps.  Because some of what they wrote, they wrote in Japanese.  Now, while I didn't know the letters, I could pick up the difference between various ways of spelling, or additives for specific rules.  Much like for contractions, the difference between cannot and can't, the double end, or the blunt and slightly malformed "t" sound at the end of can't.

So, yes and... now.  I'll have to cover that section again, begin taking notes.  Still, it was a wall of words to start out what I thought was going to be simple copy practices.  All good.  I finished one of those lessons.  Copying... ten "letters", or sounds really.

In this section, they have five vowels, one consonant which can be sounded alone, and the rest are consonants with vowels to make another forty two sounds.  What did they call these?  Not an alphabet, so much as a phonetic library or... something like that.  I think both of their "alphabets" are like that.  This one I am starting with is based, generally, on Japanese derived words.  The other section is based on, primarily, foreign words.  And kanji is derived from Chinese symbols.

I didn't do the final review.  The first part through me off, and I was growing weary as was.  My next study will be just a second study of the material, as well as the review (which introduces simple words, using two... maybe up to three... of the phonetic symbols studied, put together).  That will be the plan going forward.  Two studies of the actual materials, then on the second study, also doing the review?  Or... maybe the review, too, both times?  I will just have to see how well I can do.

Not sure I remember anything, really.  But... how much should I remember?  Even writing the symbols... say forty times... and pronouncing them as I write them... didn't seem to cause a stick.  If, too, I was extremely confounded by that first, say, ten pages of written materials.  Which, too, I will have to review, and begin to make more sense of as I go through the book.  Then again, as well, I just woke up.

Still, things make much more sense for someone who has learned other languages.  For example, when they say 'x' (not x, just filling in since I can't write Japanese on this keyboard (or currently)) is as "a", in car, but shorter, I know exactly what they mean.  A guttural, fast, "a".  I am sure I will find some which aren't quite so easy.  Every language has words which aren't easily translated, r, f, and l can be three in Japanese I already know will take some tweaking.  For r, sometimes, it is a bit of an r if mostly an l, perhaps spoken as if speaking a t or even d.  And, it might even be pronounced slightly differently depending on placement and meaning?  Yeah.  For an idjit, I... have seen a few things.  Not that it means I could put them together.  We will see.  I like to think I had French down, German definitely.  But... who really knows.  The young always think... what they think.  *wink*

About time to check on the critters.  It is 58 to 60 out there, didn't look all that close, couldn't see well as sleepy as I still am, and memory isn't the best having just awaken.  Waterers are filled, save the single one I changed this afternoon.  I'll hold filling that until whatever else needs filling is brought in.  Should be an easy run, though maybe a few refills needed.  Possibly some food.  Oh, and I need to bring the bottles in.

Later.