Part two of an ongoing series.

The same Translator Cafe thread that inspired part one of this series has a bunch of good tidbits in it.  Here’s one from a Terry Waltz:

Understanding everything is great — but you do realize that working in Asian languages you will have to go both ways, and that means producing, well, everything, on command, instantaneously. Knowing, for example, all the astrological signs, chemical elements, parts of a pig, names of common construction fasteners, and I don’t know what all.

Watching Japanese quiz shows helps me draw up a long list of things I don’t know–proverbs, the order of the Chinese zodiac, children’s songs, J-League teams, enka singers, historical figures, comedy duos… it’s too much to tackle in one go.  I started thinking–what is the biggest, ugliest, most embarrassing hole in my Japanese knowledge that comes with a built in, finite list?

Geography.  Not just any geography, but Japanese prefectures and their capitals.  It’s perfect–there’s a definite list (47 prefectures), it’s useful information, and it’s something every sixth grader should know.  Saying you’re striving for an elementary school level feels kinda weird, but there you go.

So far I can read all of the prefectures and write the kanji for about half of them.  I’m itching to get the capitals in my flashcard program but with the JLPT looming it may just have to wait.

A not-so-gentle reminder, courtesy of the CountdownClock add-on for Firefox.