[Lingo] words with kanji in common

[steven smith <sjs@example.com>]

This was snipped from  another mailing list I subscribe to
from jbox.com.
======================
Learning a foreign language is a difficult prospect. Modern
teaching methods make it easier, of course, using approaches
such as the Communicative Method (learning using
communication-centric activities rather than, say, rote
memorization of grammar) or the Natural Approach (mimicking
how children acquire language by building listening skills
and vocabulary before they start to produce speech). The way
information is organized is important, too. For example, one
area of English that's especially challenging for foreigners
are two-part idiomatic verbs, which embed complex meaning in
very simple words, and it makes sense for students of
English to tackle these problems as a group. What's the
difference between sleep over or oversleep? Act up and act
out? Aredrop in and drop out opposites? I had a Japanese
friend who drank too much andproclaimed she was about to
"throw off" -- then she couldn't understand why everyone was
rolling on the floor laughing at her goof.

Grouping linguistic concepts can help for students of
Japanese, too. For example, a lot of words in Japanese
incorporate "no ko" (child of...) and it can help to learn
these together. A mushroom is a "kinoko" (child of a tree),
bamboo sprout is "takenoko" (child of bamboo), caviar/fish
roe is "kazunoko" (child of cod), and the powdered vinegar
you sprinkle over rice when making sushi is known
as...."sushinoko" (child of sushi). Learning them together
like that makes them more likely to "stick" in your brain.
=============

I knew about 物 (as in 着物, 食べ物, 飲み物).  What other
groups are there?  Is it worth writing a filter for edict to
pull them out or has someone already done this.  I think it
should be a pretty easy perl script.  If it hasn't been done
before and anyone else is interested, let me know and I'll
post the results.

This looks like a useful approach to building vocabulary.  I
imagine this is old stuff for most of you but thought I'd
share it anyway.

Steve S.