To a certain extent, yes, I do believe so. I also think it depends on the individual and what kind of manga he/she reads.

For example, some people may be lazy and they'd skim over unfamiliar words, and/or maybe they just don't absorb new words that readily. For them, reading manga won't help them at all. On the other hand, for others who like to know exactly what they're reading, there would be a positive effect.

On learning other languages, sometimes, I wish that people would focus on their native language first before attempting to learn a new one. It makes me cringe when people get the most basic grammar or spelling wrong in their mother tongue (assuming it is the same as the native language). Although I suppose the novelty of another language/culture is far more appealing than trying to master one's native language.

Anyway, there were some really good points raised in this thread. I'm really enjoying it so far.

Its = possessive form. It's = It is.
[img]http://preview.ibb.co/jRFyY6/Icon_gif_c200.gif[/img]

I do think manga published in English has increased U.S. literacy, yes. (Was that the question?? 🤣 )

There are probably quite a few kids who aren't ready to tackle a whole chapter book, but are too old to be interested in most of the kids' picture books (okay, I still enjoy reading them, but....you know what I mean, right??). For them, a book with mostly pictures but still an exciting/funny story to read can get them reading, and also thinking of reading as a fun/good thing instead of a painful chore that parents & school force them to do. The more they read anything, the easier it will get, and eventually they'll be fine with chapter books, magazine articles, newspapers, etc.

I can remember looking through books & magazines as a kid, and only reading the captions for the pictures because the whole pages of text were just too much - and I wasn't a late or reluctant reader at all. My kids were motivated to read on their own, and get from sounding out every word to really reading, by Calvin & Hobbes and Ranma 1/2.

Now that I'm reading so much manga, I do read fewer novels etc. than I used to - but that's partly due to having read so many books over the past ~30 years that it's good to find something new & different to read. Also add me to the list of "now wanting/trying to learn Japanese", though I haven't gotten as far as I'd like since Real Life tends to make focusing on Japanese rather difficult - and if I don't REALLY focus on it, it doesn't stick in my brain very well. 🤢

"[English] not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
-James Nicoll, can.general, March 21, 1992

I think so, I mean, I wouldn't know what condescending meant if I hadn't read Gravitation 😀 🤣
There are some more words I've learned from reading manga, I just can't think of them right now 🤣
My mom doesn't think manga increases literacy, but how would she know, she's never read any >.>...
I don't know what she thinks is missing from manga, I mean, it's still got morals and stuff at the end : /

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Manga shows you the guys riding mecha spiders,
a woman with boobs that could be used to rescue
the drowning and the man with the face of a woman
with tons of make up. 🙂

I was bad with english before. Now when i been into manga/anime for 5years or so i can talk and write english pretty well (atleast for finnish person)
I need to talk english in my work at times so atleast some help from reading manga for me 🙂

To answer a previous question, you don't need to learn Hanja (Chinese characters) to read Korean graphic novels, which are mostly in Hangul (Korean alphabet). However, some titles may have a Hanja or two (most are translated into Hangul).

I remember learning one of my first words in Korean when I came to Seoul: 변태 (Byunteh = Pervert). Odd, eh? Got it from the first manhwa I ever read.

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Quote from Emeraldice

I was bad with english before. Now when i been into manga/anime for 5years or so i can talk and write english pretty well (atleast for finnish person)
I need to talk english in my work at times so atleast some help from reading manga for me 🙂

I wonder why Finnish people suck so bad at English. :\
I've always been the best of my class and about 50%
sucked so hard that ears bled when I was listening their speak.

Quote from Mamsmilk

Quote from Emeraldice

I was bad with english before. Now when i been into manga/anime for 5years or so i can talk and write english pretty well (atleast for finnish person)
I need to talk english in my work at times so atleast some help from reading manga for me 🙂

I wonder why Finnish people suck so bad at English. :\
I've always been the best of my class and about 50%
sucked so hard that ears bled when I was listening their speak.

Hm you're also Finnish, so if you are good then i guess i don't see what matters.

😃 I agree that manga helps your english.. I mean after reading manga i started noticing some mistakes etc. And that's why proofreader carries one of the most important tasks.

R-18 below
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32718267/aot.jpg[/img]
Detective Horror Series

Tracker BakaBT

appreciation for art and storytelling? yes
literacy? no

taught me how to bake bread and cook curry? yes

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