I think the idea is that the proto-Ural-Altaics would've been squirted out from the Gobi region and "around" China, though there seems to be some dispute (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ural-Altaic_languages) about whether the Uralic and Altaic branches really connect to each other after all.
But yeah, the underlying structures of Chinese and Japanese are pretty different, despite the superficial correspondences of writing systems and some vocabulary words. At least based on what I recall of my early lessons, Mandarin grammar is actually pretty easy for Anglophones-- no verb conjugations, no noun numbers/genders-- but the writing system is scary. The Japanese writing systems are *more* scary-- hiragana, katakana, and at least two different pronunciations for each kanji character-- and the grammar continues to give me fits with the ten zillion mood/tense/politeness combos for every verb and verblike adjective.
I discovered this afternoon while waiting at the car repair shop that I've lost my grip on most of the hiragana again. Argh. Hope I can still excavate the flashcards.
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ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2006-03-14 07:42 am (UTC)But yeah, the underlying structures of Chinese and Japanese are pretty different, despite the superficial correspondences of writing systems and some vocabulary words. At least based on what I recall of my early lessons, Mandarin grammar is actually pretty easy for Anglophones-- no verb conjugations, no noun numbers/genders-- but the writing system is scary. The Japanese writing systems are *more* scary-- hiragana, katakana, and at least two different pronunciations for each kanji character-- and the grammar continues to give me fits with the ten zillion mood/tense/politeness combos for every verb and verblike adjective.
I discovered this afternoon while waiting at the car repair shop that I've lost my grip on most of the hiragana again. Argh. Hope I can still excavate the flashcards.