User blog comment:Damesukekun/Song Translating and Mistranslating/@comment-82.131.132.186-20141230180138

> Japanese language is one of the most difficult languages for westerners.

That statement is misleading. Japanese is simple as a spoken-listened language, because they use few sounds and their grammar rules are logical. Living onsite and practicing intensively, a moderately talented white person can conduct face-to-face daily life unaided after just 6 months.

The torture part is breaking out of illiteracy, whereas 4 systems need to be learned (hira, kata, kanji, furi, romaji). Even after learning almost 1000 symbols, one is still at the mercy of furigana provision for comprehension, which is not always given. Many whites are inherently unable to remember / recognize the 2750 symbol set associated with secondary school education.