When I started studying Japanese, the entire language seemed one big, never-ending list. List of vocabulary for each chapter, list of vocabulary under each reading, lists of vocabulary on the internet, and then - lists of kanji and kanji-related vocabulary. Then dictionaries, by definition - lists of vocabulary. And then the lists of grammar... At some point I didn't see the reading or listening - I saw a potential list of vocabulary. I developed a strong anxiety towards the language and potential readings, as their sole purpose were, in my eyes, to humiliate me and prove my inability to study the language, because 'I should know all that vocabulary by now!'.
The problem with lists is that they are not for everyone. Some people benefit from having vocabulary on one piece of paper, and study best when they see the thematic connection. For me, they were always the source of massive anxiety. They weren't informative and helpful - they were obnoxious accusations of what I don't yet know and haven't mastered. I was copying items from them, memorizing entries completely useless for the beginner, things like fairy, bailiff and platypus, but on the other hand not knowing the words for simple, daily items around me. The worse yet, I had no idea where to even look for them, as I didn't have either a fancy iPhone with dictionary applications nor the science-fiction electronic dictionary everybody seemed to be getting from Japan before starting a university. (Now I do have a very useful (and most importantly, free) Aedict on my Android phone, combined with a little piece of software called Kanji Recognizer, fairly useless, to be honest, as it doesn't show any example words for the kanji, but I use it so as to input the kanji in the system, then after recognition I'm copying and pasting it in Aedict for proper help - my phone doesn't have Asian language support, that's why I need to use some homespun methods fit for the blonde state of mind...)
The further I went with my Japanese, the more I started to notice that the vocabulary started to pile up somewhere in my head (thank God), and that it gets easier and easier to remember new stuff when you've got some 'hook' to attach it to. That's when I re-discovered vocabulary lists as great sources of extra vocab I would have difficulty obtaining anywhere else. I was just wiser in certain aspect - I knew what to ignore. When you're a beginner, hungry for knowledge and restless in your enthusiasm, everything seems equally important. The more proficient you get, the more you realize what you need and don't need from the language you study. I do not need to know economic and political vocabulary by heart - I have dictionaries to check it there. What I need to know is where it's located in general vocabulary area, so I can decide what's worth my attention, and what's not.
But I've discovered something else. If you're not careful and resourceful, and not really know enough Japanese prior to jumping into lists, you might end up not only with lists full of irrelevant entries, but also full of mistakes.
What's the solution then?
1/ I guess the best is being a bit critical, and checking upon the author. If the list is made by a beginner copying a book after barely mastering hiragana, chances are it will have some mistakes. The real horror is that there is a growing trend of romanization and some people can't even be bothered studying the syllabaries first, producing/copying the romanized versions of others they copy online... Well, you can guess the results.
2/ Then before you copy something and in doubt - always check the spelling it in the dictionary, or word processing program at least. Better safe than sorry - thanks to an idiot that 'taught' me some basic Japanese before entering university, I still, after so many years, mix 自転車, jitensha, bicycle with 自動車, jidousha, a car, whenever I hear it. You don't want to have the same problem.
And 3/ Be selective. Choose vocabulary slightly above your level, but keep it real. Do you really need the word (and kanji) for gall bladder before you know the word (and kanji) for yellow? And word for viscera before a kanji for eating?
I do have some lists of vocabulary accumulated over the years. I never really studied items from them, I just kept them as a kind of limited-entry thesaurus when I need to write a composition in Japanese on something I know completely nothing or little about (current political situation in Japan? energy crisis solutions? rare tongue diseases in South-East Asia? there!). I do want to de-clutter my computer and get rid of some of them, but maybe somebody would find them of use in here? I'll need to think about how to prepare them for an on-line debut. Maybe it would be nice to have an on-line reference for the lists from every computer and any place.
What do you think? Would you be interested in some on-line studying materials?
