Just this morning, a recurring obsession is going yet again into full force!
This morning I made the re-dedication to become semi-fluent in Japanese, Russian, Ukrainian, French, and German by some point in my life. I am already learning Japanese and French through going to school for it, have studied independently on Russian, Ukrainian, and German, but not enough that I remember anything more than a basic greeting - though the Cyrillic alphabet stuck with me, as well as some of the differences between Ukrainina alphabet and Russian. I remember some of the grammar, like the four cases used in German and the six in Russian and I believe seven in Ukrainian.
I have many books and flashcards to assist me, but does anyone have recoomendations of what are good aids to teach me these? Particularly online recources, or a book/program which has helped you, or discussion of history and culture.
I love to learn about the histories and cultures, Germany I know probably the least of which. Also, if there is a language you have a particular love and/or knack for, then it would be interesting to discuss, to expose me to perhaps another language I would like to learn at the very least some of.
I never did like dhte idea of being one of those Americans who only cares to learn one language and to not bother with other cultures. It is too interesting. If able, then why not?> It is no easy task for me, as I have no special language gift and have been raised only with English and some peripheral Spanish, as most of my friends knew Spanish when I was in kindergarten.
@Earthmonkey... Though speaking 4 languages (3 of them you want to learn, the 4th is English) I doubt I can help. I changed 3 contries in my life, so I just learned new languages the way kids learned their native....
Sign language! That's the one I meant to remember! Ever since I was before going to school, I wanted to learn sign language (American, as that's where I am). It always felt so much more natural for me to communicate with my hands.
In fact, despite my having forgotten everything I taught myself when I was four, I still find myself very frequently replacing words with hand motions/gestures (the very same that the special ed. staff at my school were trying to eliminate - I think they've given up by now). I should re-learn at least some, and teach these to my family/friends, so that maybe understanding will be clearer, next time I am not in speaking-mode and don't happen to have my AlphaSmart with me.
I just bought a bunch of books on Japanese and Russian through Amazon.com. I spent a quarter of the money I made over the summer working at my mom's work to do this. I think it worthwhile.
I've learned French, German, Italian and Swedish but haven't used them much.
There are several countries that uses two writing-systems/ languages...like my country...it depends on where you live.
Like in my country we have one for those located in the west and one for those on the east-side.
What is your country?
Let me guess - Norway?
OK, fellow linguists, here's a teaser for you...
The well-known English sentence 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' uses all the letters in the alphabet. It is used by people learning to touch-type and also (so I have been told) by engineers testing keyboards to make sure no key is stuck.
My mother is a subscriber to a translators' internet forum and one subscriber contributed the following equivalent in French:
'Portez ce vieux whisky au juge blond qui fume.'
(Take this old whisky to the blond judge who is smoking.)
And another produced the following in Spanish:
'Es extrao mojar queso en la cerveza o probar whisky de garrafa.'
(It is odd to dip one's cheese in beer or to taste cheap whisky)
So we were wondering whether there is an equivalent sentence in German (or Italian or Swedish for that matter). Does anyone know?
I found a good one. Not quite the same idea
Not the same thing at all. What was your point?
As far as stress, Japanese is supposed to be pretty even, with notable changes being in pitch - either higher or lower.
There are even a number of more ways to say the numbers: If referring to books/bound volumes, the suffix -satsu is applied, if referring to larger objects such as TV's, then -dan would be the suffix.
I want to write a science fiction story in Japanese. This motivates me to study more vocabulary, which is my weaker area (and quite a vital one).
I should also look into Esperanto, as well as a couple of computer languages. I am very interested in designing my own language, and this I think shall make a cameo in the novel I'm working on.
So we were wondering whether there is an equivalent sentence in German (or Italian or Swedish for that matter). Does anyone know?
Italian; "Ma la volpe, col suo balzo, ha raggiunto il quieto Fido," which translates to "But the fox, with its jump, reached the calm dog."
Swedish (excluding Q + Z. With obsolete spelling and grammar); "Flygande bckasiner ska strax hwila p mjuka tuvor," which translates to "Flying snipes soon look to rest on soft grass beds."
Should the Italian not have a K, X and Y? And why doesn't the Swedish have Q and Z - weren't they in use at the time the spelling and grammar was current?
Are there K, X and Y in Italian at all?
The Oxford Italian Minidictionary ("100 000 entries and translations") has 5 entries for K, 4 for X and 5 for Y.
kajal
karaoke
karate
kg
km
raggi X
il giorno X
xenofobia
xilofono
yacht
yen
yoga
yogurt
yogurtiera
I'm in Spain and learning Spanish. I can understand the TV now, and when I concentrate I can get out what I want to say - but I get a little stressed when someone just rabbits off at me in rapid spanish and my memory packs in. Hell - sometimes I drop common words in english when I'm stressed.
Mind you - I saw Lord of the Rings 2 and 3, and Harry Potter 1 and 2 this year in Spanish, and it was like watching entirely new movies again! Also - I found myself paying attention to the way the films were shot a lot more.
少し日本語が話します。秋に大学へ行っています。物理学 勉強します。自閉症の活動家です。趣味は読書です。
Keep languages courses optional, urges head of national centre
By Richard Garner, Education Editor
Friday, 26 September 2008
Compulsory language lessons for teenagers are counterproductive and should not be brought back, the new head of Britain's national languages centre says today.
In an interview with The Independent, her first since taking office, Kate Broad said 14- to 16-year-olds should only learn languages if they are interested in the subject. "I don't think we can go back," said Ms Broad, chief executive of Cilt – the body tasked with promoting foreign languages in Britain. "At the end of the day, when it was compulsory, were they learning or were they just sitting in the classroom? If you stick everybody in the classroom, are they really learning French or are they just sitting in there, getting bored and disruptive?"
The Government's decision to end compulsory language lessons for 14- to 16-year-olds, taken five years ago, caused outrage at the time and is widely blamed for a dramatic slump in the take-up of languages at GCSE in recent years. In particular, Sir Trevor McDonald, the ITN newscaster, called for languages to be a compulsory element up to degree level in a report for the Nuffield Foundation.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear...