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> 日本人は英語を学ばず **とも** 暮らせる環境に居ます。
>
> Japanese people are in an environment where they can live without having to
> learn English.

Is the とも in this sentence one word or is it two words: と and も ? I guess it
is one word as I see it in this sentence as well:

> 一方、日本語の文字は、漢字を学ばなく **とも** よいなら世界でもっともやさしいといわれています。 On the other hand,
> written Japanese is one of the easiest in the world if you do not have to
> learn kanji.

Would anyone care to explain the とも and how it is used in these sentences?
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2011-09-21T21:20:20.827
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question
grammar words particles
What is the とも in this sentence? 日本人は英語を学ばずとも暮らせる環境に居ます。
It is
[this](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/160335/m0u/%E3%81%A8%E3%82%82/)
とも, specifically the first definition. Originally two particles, now arguably
one word. "X とも" basically means "Even if X" in cases like this.

  * 日本人は **[英語を学ばずとも暮らせる]** 環境に居ます。  
Japanese people are in an environment where **[they can live even if they
don't learn English]**.

  * 一方、日本語の文字は、 **[漢字を学ばなくともよい]** なら世界でもっともやさしいといわれています。  
On the other hand, Japanese characters are said to be the easiest in the world
if **[you don't have to learn kanji]**.  
On the other hand, Japanese characters are said to be the easiest in the world
if **[it's OK even if you don't learn kanji]**.  

(The second translation in that last one is intentionally overliteral to show
the "even if".)
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2011-09-21T23:50:29.780
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answer
This usage of とも is the one explained in [this Wikipedia article on Japanese
particles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_particles#to_mo):

> To mo (no kanji): "even if, even though; at the ...-est; whether;
> [emphasis]"

In `学ばずとも`, 学ばず is the negative form of 学ぶ using the 〜ず conjugation, which
often used with 〜に to mean "without doing X", e.g. 学ばずに means "without
learning", thus 学ばずとも means "even without learning".

As for `学ばなくとも`, I'm going to use [this dictionary@goo
page](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/je2/55052/m0u/%E3%81%A8%E3%82%82/) as
the basis to say that it is similar to 〜ても, thus "漢字を学ばなくともよいなら" is equivalent
to "漢字を学ばなくてもよいなら".
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2011-09-21T23:54:59.137
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answer