#Polyglot Programming

[spontaneousglitterbees]

I've been meaning to ask, is Kokichi's black ring meant to be an ace ring? I only ask because it's black and on the finger one would typically wear an ace ring.

This is probably funnier if Kaito doesn't know about Alter Ego yet

TL;DR: yes!! Very happy you noticed~

[projectbatman193]

This is the very first program I've coded, and it's basically a D20 😊

[g1sellerising]

Hi there!

I’m Giselle, the owner of this account. I’m a teenage girl who uses all pronouns and lives in the midwest. I’m putting together a political video essay channel called gisellerising and a social experiment that I’ll probably key you in on at some point anyway.

The purpose of this blog is basically to be my shitposting diary. All I rlly talk about is bands I like and politics so like… im not that interesting 😭

————————

About Me:

I love all things music and I belong to the goth subculture, so I typically listen to things in that genre! I also love björk, portishead, the internet, tyler the creator, frank ocean, frank sinatra, and ANY form of blues, jazz, or classical. I have a small record collection that I add to whenever I have extra money… so like, if you wanna help fund that… haha… (I also love lana del rey and billie eilish like insane amounts)

I figure skate competitively and love analyzing the aerodynamics of the sport and ones like it, so if you see a random “comprehensive analysis of aerodynamics in figure skating” post one day, thats why 😭

I love books more than my life and have a collection that is STEADILY out growing my space. Feel free to contribute to that too if you want and SEND ME RECS IN ASKS

As for politics, heavily left wing. I feel that’s really all I need to say. I’m open for debate in asks but don’t be ride or you’ll be blocked

I really enjoy the topic of both neuroscience and AI a lot, so feel free to ask me about it, I’d love to share my knowledge with you all! I also program here and there and know how to do basic to intermediate level stuff in about 4 coding languages. Definitely still working on my skills but I’m having fun! Speaking of languages, English is my native language, but I’m learning Spanish, Russian, and French right now. I’d love to chat with ppl who speak those languages fluently so I could get better at them!

My tags:

#gisellesreposts (my reposts lol so creative)

#gisellerising (ALL posts, with the exception of reposts; general)

#evilgiselle (crashing out or ranting) + #giselleforpresident (political posts)

(this will be added to!)

Anyway, I know that was long but TLDR im pretty cool and u should totally follow my blog and send me money bc im poor…

Giselle out 🙂‍↕️

[clever-ludicrous]

How to Actually Learn a Language (Without Wasting Time)

Polyglots will do anything to sell you something, so here’s the fastest and most basic technique based on my research.

—

Step 1 – Getting the Absolute Basics In

This is where most people already get lost. If you search social media for how to start, the advice isn’t necessarily bad, but it often makes you dependent on a single resource, usually an app that will eventually try to charge you. Duolingo, for example, has turned into a mega-corporation that perfected gamification to keep you on the app.

Remember: free apps make money by keeping you on their platform, not by helping you become fluent.

At this stage, the goal is not to gain conversational skills but to avoid overwhelming yourself and get a feel for what you’re actually getting into. All my recommended resources are free because I believe learning a language should be a basic right. I wouldn’t advise spending any money until you’re sure you’ll stick with it. Otherwise, it can turn into a toxic “but I paid for this, so I have to keep going” mindset that drains all the fun out of learning.

• Language Transfer – Highly recommended for Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, German, Greek, Italian, Swahili, and French.

• Textbooks – Simply search for [language] textbook PDF, or check LibGen and the Internet Archive. Don’t overthink which book to choose—it doesn’t matter much.

• Podcasts – Coffee Break is a solid choice for many languages.

• YouTube Channels – Join r/Learn[language] on Reddit and find recommendations.

—

Step 2 – The 20/80 Principle

The idea is that 20% of words make up 80% of everyday speech.

What you’re going to do:

Search “Most common words [language] PDF”.

This list is now your best friend

For flashcards, I highly recommend AnkiPro. It lets you import pre-made lists for Anki/Quizlet and has an archive where you’ll definitely find the most common words. But it lacks audio. The real Anki program has it, but only on PC (unless you’re willing to pay $30 for the mobile app). Use AnkiPro for now—we’ll come back to repeating phrases later. In the meantime, find a YouTube video with the most common words pronounced, or use Google Translate for audio.

(Knowt is a free alternative for Quizlet if you prefer that)

These lists will spare you from learning unnecessary vocabulary at this stage. Spaced repetition (which Anki uses) can take longer, but it’s worth it because you want these words to stick. Anki will only introduce a small number of new words per day. Once you start new words, write phrases using them. Doesn’t matter if they’re random just try to use them.

—

Step 3 – The First Breakup With the Language

This isn’t really a step, but I have to mention it. For me (and for other language learners I’ve talked to) this is where motivation crashes.

The dopamine rush is over. Your ego boost is gone. You’re stuck understanding just enough to notice how much you don’t understand, and topics are getting more complex. Everything feels overwhelming, and motivation drops.

This is normal. You have to push through it.

I’ll write a separate post on how I manage this phase, but for now:

• Take a step back and make sure you understand the basics.

• Find something that keeps you motivated.

• Consistency is key. Even if it’s just five minutes a day, do it. (Edit: You can search online for inspiration on scheduled plans. I found one that organizes language exercises into different categories based on how much time you have each day, which seems helpful. https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/s/sSGUtORurM

Personally, I used AI to create a weekly plan kind of as a last resort before giving up on the language, but try looking for pre-made ones first.)

I personally enjoyed story learning during this phase. And don’t forget the frequency lists are still your best friend. For story learning check out Olly Richards books!

—

Step 4 – Immersion

Your brain needs active and passive immersion. The earlier steps were mostly active, and now you’ll start the fun part.

How to Immerse Yourself:

1. Join some kind of community.

• I enjoy Reddit/ r/lean[Language]. Do this in your target language, but also in the language you already speak. Post that you’re looking for a chat partner in your target language. The most people are nice, and the mean ones will just ghost you anyway.

2. Watch shows.

• Subtitles only in your target language or drop English subtitles ASAP.

3. Listen to podcasts.

4. Read

I personally dislike media made for kids (except on low-energy days). For real immersion, pick something for adults.

5. Translate, write, and speak.

Before this, you wrote simple sentences using vocabulary. Now, put them to work:

• Translate texts.

• Keep a diary.

• Write short stories.

• Complain about the language in the language.

It doesn’t matter, just use it.

—

Step 5 – Speaking

Start speaking earlier than you think you’re ready. Trust me. This is probably where most people disagree with me. I do think you should start by focusing on input, but the importance of output isn’t talked about enough.

Now, the real Anki (or any program with phrases + audio) comes into play. At lower levels, it doesn’t make sense to just start talking, since you wouldn’t even be able to recognize your mistakes. Here’s what you’ll do:

1. Repeat phrases out loud.

2. Record yourself speaking.

3. Compare your recording to the original audio and adjust your pronunciation.

If it’s a tonal language (or if you struggle with accents), start this even earlier.

Other Speaking Strategies:

• Shadowing – Repeat after native speakers.

• Reading aloud – Your own texts, books, anything.

• Talking to yourself.

• Talking to natives (if you’re brave).

I’m not here to fix social anxiety, but I am here to help with language learning, so just speak.

—

Final Thoughts

• These steps overlap, and that’s fine.

• This is supposed to be fun. Learning just because you’re “too deep in” or because of school won’t cut it.

• If you’re lost, take a step back.

• I’m not a professional. I just think a straight answer is way too hard to find.

—

If you have anything to add, feel free to share.

[itsrlymine]

HIIII CHICA ITS 💘

THIS IS TO PEOPLE WHO ALWAYS ASK “HOW” especially when it comes to skills and languages!!!!!

I was on social media and my friend wrote something entirely in Spanish and mind you, I’ve dabbled here and there but not fluent or majoring in the language and I read the entire thing to myself and TRANSLATED IT TO HIM AND replied saying it was spot on and I was completely right!!!!!! So I’m calling myself fluent because why tf not at this point? It’s my reality and I say so, so I’m basically a polyglot at this point (going to write down other languages I want fluency in now hehehe) 🙄

Your brain will only believe shit in the 3D because it’s programmed to! The sooner you realize this, the easier it’ll be to assume and focus on it being done because you won’t try to force yourself to believe it. DON’T! It’s not required. You’ll believe it when you see it just like everything else ffs.

ITS DONE. Stop asking how!!!!!! You are fluent, too!

!!!!!!! you are fluent bc you say so so ofc you'll be able to translate whatever you want like huh??? i love this so much for you seriously. this is what i decided to do with different languages as well bc they are so much fun to me omg! you don't even have to believe, just decide!!! it's done. stop asking how!!! yes babes yes!!!!

[caineinthecorner]

Language (The Demon Brothers)

★ Based on my language general hcs. Part 2 is here.

Hi. Today we have the demon brothers language hcs, brought to you by a single dumbass bilingual. :D

I include mentions of bilingual/multilingual MC, but I use the term MC and you interchangeably in the bullet points. It's the same thing who cares (you can also add whatever languages you think fit I am just going off vibes tbh)

★ Lucifer.

Since he was the strongest and highest ranked out of the brothers, his innate abilities were muddled the least.

This is to say that he remembers a lot from his innate knowledge as an angel, and can actually fare incredibly well on his own if you leave him in the human realm.

(the language he preferred back in his angel days was Archaic Latin, which is also Simeon's preferred language)

When Diavolo brought up the idea of the human exchange program he was like "(: ok" and binged human language for like two months straight like a total psychopath

He's like one of those fancy 10+ languages fluent polyglots (how)

Despite his fluency, it is rare to ever see him speak them. He has better things to do and prefers demon tongue.

Or if he does, the Loquar Ad Vos that was applied to you once you arrived in Devildom doesn't allow you to hear it.

You try to swear in your native language around him and oh boy it backfires

That is how you learn he's fluent in everything under the sun (exaggeration)

Frustrated, you grumble that you will learn demon tongue just to one up him

He takes it like a challenge. Enjoy reading a million books on the demonic language and having double the homework for your little joke.

(he gives you hard material to learn on purpose to see you fail. Enjoy hell buckoo. Double hell? Hell²)

You kept misspelling good morning in demon tongue as a demonic death threat and that somehow turned into an inside joke between the two of you.

He has to keep himself from chuckling whenever MC screws up words

Your accent is lovely though. Keep it up

★ Mammon.

Spanish and English.

Ok I actually can't justify myself further than "Mams would absolutely fucking go to Vegas" and the fact that USA has a large Latino population but hear me out

You cannot tell me that he would not watch telenovelas. Like. C'mon.

he has the vibes of a Spanish speaker is what I am saying

he was SO frustrated about having to learn human languages you have no idea

In fact he probably still struggles a bit and that makes him really mad

Why is it so complicated all of the sudden?! It wasn't complicated Before!

He unconsciously associates human languages with the trauma of the fall, and the stress and hurt and turbulent emotions it conveys

So learning new languages besides the two he knows is a touchy subject for him

(but like, he will learn MC's native language despite this. Whining to hell about it, but he will. Everything for MC)

You are actually very lucky that you have Loquar Ad Vos with you, bcs he actually switches from demon tongue to either English or Spanish mid sentence sometimes.

Not that you notice with your crusty translator (Loquar also works for human languages it supports), of course.

"Ayo can you [Spanish phrase], oh and give me a [English word], for a [spanglish nonsense]" <- Mammon's dumbass not functioning in trilingual

Also he has an accent but he's trying

The others are used to it so they don't question it anymore, but they deadass could not understand Mammon at some point because trilingual was not computing

It was frustrating to say the least

You two play charades with each other when the other forgets a word in your respective languages

"MC WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE ANIMAL FUCK THAT CHANGES HOME" "... Hermit crab?" "THATS THE BITCH"

★ Leviathan.

Japanese (very decent) and English (bad) are musts.

You cannot tell me for a second this fuck watches anime subbed OR dubbed. He's too weeb for that. He will watch the original dub version for the full emotional impact

He wanted to know what happens in the weeb world of the west (and internet discourse), so he learned English through shitty 2000s anime forums and Duolingo

Probably plays Duolingo competitively and/or cries if he loses his streak

His hearing and speaking English is okay, his writing is literally so so shit

Tried to learn a romantic language to be corny but failed miserably.

(He steered clear of languages his brothers know so he isn't self conscious)

It was probably Portuguese or something since Mammon kept talking about being good at figuring it out as a Spanish speaker (due to it being a romantic language)

The diacritical marks killed him on the spot

Meu português não é bom... (crying)

Victim of the you're* corrections

Runs his several-paragraphs-long rants about weeb stuff through Satan so the grammar is legit

Actually thinking about it would be absolutely fucking hilarious if he knew russian just for funsies. Yeah add Russian to the list

He sends you crusty Russian memes at unholy hours in the morning. Calls that bonding

Would absolutely swear in loud ass Russian while playing Valorant or smt

"ПИЗДЕЦ" "LEVI IT'S 2AM SHUT THE FUCK UP"

Ah + he knows Morse code (obviously). He was really excited when he discovered it and proceeded to obsess over it for like three weeks straight.

Although by the time he learned about it humans had already moved on from its wide-spead use at sea (post-1999), the Devildom Navy adapted Morse code for their own use as per Levi's command.

He teaches MC how to use Morse code (bashfully) and they send lil' messages to each other for fun

★ Satan.

He inherited a good chunk of Lucifer’s angel-knows-all-languages innate talents.

He doesn't have the angel knowledge of every language, of course, but he definitely has a really high count since birth; Unlike his brothers who had to relearn their languages of interest.

However, he can tell™ that the topic of languages is kinda taboo-y, as it signifies the traumatic fall he himself was not there to witness, and kept quiet about it.

The others (mostly) think he just learned languages in his free time.

He is the designated google translate person. When the other brothers need translations, they ask him.

He gets very frustrated when he has to translate something on the spot

Absolutely knows Chinese and Latin just to read fancy old human books and be a menace about it

He has a copy of the Art Of War in Chinese I will fight you on that

Actually he probably owns every important human book in its native language

Culprit of the you're* corrections

If he has to read another thesis-length essay abt weeb shit by leviathan he will actually lose his shit

You know the Voynich manuscript? He's probably trying to decode it for funsies.

If you and him (unfortunately) share a language, he will absolutely correct the living shit out of you when you speak it

Look me in the eyes and tell me he wouldn't "erm ACtuAllY" MC. You can't.

His ass does not understand slang. At all. You tell him See You Later Alligator and he'll be like "tf you smoking ಠಿ⁠_⁠ಠ?"

★ Asmodeus.

French. And Korean. Maybe very mid English.

Ok so french is the language of lOVe and whatever + Korea is known for their heavy beauty-focused culture

I can see Asmo definitely picking up Korean just for makeup and self care brands purposes.

Like it is easier to browse for products he wants if he can actually browse the original places/websites himself

It's just more convenient and he's actually very good at language learning

+ Korean it is a "cutesy" language so it fits his vibe.

Like he absolutely would go "안녕 teehee (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)" to look disarming is what I am saying

He flirts to hell with Solomon in French. It is a language they both know and isn't supported by Loquar for translation so nobody can snoop their conversations

If you have the misfortune of knowing French I am so sorry for you bcs they are NASTY

Solomon is teaching him English. Asmo fakes being bad at it on purpose

★ Beelzebub.

He knows a decent amount of English.

What does he use it for? Order food. Obviously.

In fact everyone kinda assumes he just knows a few food orders and that's it but no he's actually very decent at English (borderline fluent)

He learned through clunky conversation with small restaurant owners

Beel actually makes a great effort to enunciate every word clearly, so he doesn't like speaking long sentences

"Would you like Salsa with that, sweetheart?" "... Yes," <- Beel has no fucking clue wtf salsa is but it tastes good so who is he to defy food gods (a nice Mexican grandma with a killer Pozole) whom have blessed him

I also think he would probably know some kind of sign language

Fingerspelling maybe, solely because it allows him to talk while having his mouth full or bcs his games are loud and he can't hear words very well

That and, like, the Devildom equivalent of sign language. DSL or something.

Look at him. Absolute sweetheart. He would absolutely want to include deaf or hard of hearing ppl.

★ Belphegor.

Ok so

I am going to be very fr with you

I believe Belphie would be the only monolingual (demon tongue "native") of the brothers

at most he would remember a few phrases of a few languages from back when he was an angel, but not any specifics

Like this dude has ZERO interest in human culture I cannot think he would sit down to (re)learn anything

he would fall asleep trying to learn human verbs actually

He only knows how to tell you to fuck off on 4 languages (/hj)

None which you speak. So that's kinda awkward

He doesn't know how to cast Loquar (nor has any interest in learning how)

Beel casts it for him if he needs it

He can and will deadass just remove the translator spell from you if you try to annoy/interact with him (except if Beel is who casts it on you).

(so Beel now also casts Loquar for you)

Begone >:(

[generic-sonic-fan]

Sonic + Friends Language Headcanon Post!

(Written from the perspective of an American English speaker! If you have a different native language, substitute "English" and "ASL" with your native ones.)

Sonic is, of course, the polyglot of the group. He's always had an interest in connecting with people across language barriers. He used to do it nonverbally, but now that words are easier for him he likes to learn enough to say hello! He knows how to order food, read signs, and generally ask if a person is doing okay. I headcanon that he's damn near fluent in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and ASL; conversable at Japanese; and serviceable at about a dozen other languages, including Chinese, Arabic, Swahili, Hindi, Finnish, etc. His secret is regular practice with native speakers as he globetrots and a willingness to make mistakes. He's kinda got the Youtuber Polyglot thing going on, except he's not doing it for clout.

Tails knows six programming languages! Does that count? Other verbal languages besides his native English don't really stick with him. He knows a handful of phrases in various languages due to sheer proximity with Sonic. He also understands a lot of ASL, but can't sign himself all that well.

Amy also struggles to remember new languages, but she does put a lot of effort into learning them! She's a pro at learning the basics and important phrases of languages associated with the places she travels. Basically, she's your second pick (next to Sonic) if you're going on vacation and need someone to help translate basic stuff! She's a huge fan of duolingo, lol.

Knuckles knows Echidnean and English! Learning English kinda sucked, but he powered through. He reads, and especially writes, much easier in his native Echidnean. That doesn't stop him from making meticulous notes in English about his home culture so that it gets preserved. He has mixed feelings about wanting to teach anyone else how to speak Echidnean- even though Sonic has already volunteered to learn.

Rouge is native in English, conversational in Spanish from her mom's side, and knows a smattering of French because she took it in middle school when she thought she was going to be a high fashion model when she grew up. She'll learn other bits and pieces of languages as the mission requires. She's a fairly fast learner- a shame she doesn't have a lot of interest in it.

Shadow doesn't know any languages other than English. He knows that Gerald sometimes swore in some sort of Slavic language, but he can't remember which one it was, and frankly he's not interested in learning. Meanwhile, Rouge is currently trying to teach him bits of Spanish but it's not going super well. Amy tried to introduce him to duolingo but that also isn't going well given his struggles with modern technology.

Omega has 20 of the world's most common languages built into his translation software, and speaks them with all the grace and dignity of google translate. He either sounds insanely highbrow or like he's speaking complete gibberish. He can't be bothered to really "learn" any of them. It drives Sonic insane.

Vector is a native English speaker, but he did grow up adjacent to a lot of Louisiana Creole. He took a few years of French in high school and more of it stuck than he thought it would.

Espio is native in Japanese and almost fluent in English. He's also a fan of Conlangs- I think he'd like Toki Pona.

Charmy knows English and that's it. He is six years old, please give him a break.

Cream knows English. She is also six years old. However, she has expressed interest in picking up some words from Sonic in whatever language he feels like at the time- right now she's working on the ASL alphabet.

Vanilla knows English and a smattering of Czech from her mother's side. She finds it difficult to want to teach Cream any though. However, she's delighted by Sonic wanting to teach Cream ASL, and is currently working on the ASL alphabet with her.

Blaze is also a polyglot! She speaks five languages fluently- four from her home dimension, and English. She's conversational in a lot of other languages from her own dimension, and right now she's currently bugging anyone that will spend the time to teach her some Spanish. Sonic might know more languages total, but she prefers depth instead of breadth.

Silver knows English and smatterings of a dead language- Italian!

Robotnik is native in English, fluent in Polish from his grandfather's side, and two of his (how many?) doctorates are in Spanish and Japanese respectively. However, he's also prone to learning whatever new language Sonic uses to insult him. He can't stand not knowing what sort of shit Sonic is talking about him.

[laughtalelogs]

modern aus - strawhats✧₊⁺

I have a lot of little ideas that are too small of details to write an entire fic about, so here are some of my ideas! I'll keep updating this list over time with more strawhats!

Luffy

okay, I agree slightly with Oda

Luffy being a firefighter would make absolute sense

I don't think much about his family and home life would change

but, I think it would change after suddenly going viral, from a video Usopp took of him and posted online.

He'd become an internet sensation overnight

He'd be like Snoop Dogg, Markiplier, or Steve Irwin

just always everywhere that you least expect him and always incredibly wholesome

headlines constantly are like, is Luffy crashing the met gala? Luffy finds woman missing for 17 years! Luffy opens an animal sanctuary in Madagscar. Luffy cancellation ongoing after saying "For sure, I'd hit a woman," sources say. Luffy found in Antarctica, "It really is cold here!" Details inside.

Sometimes people will ask does he actually ever firefight or-? 

loves streaming horror games with Usopp, Chopper, Zoro, Sanji, Law, and Ace. sometimes the others join, but it's mainly them.

is a food reviewer on the side, but he'll always give it a good rating like Guy Fieri

either you love him, or you hate him, he's still a household name and there's no escaping his influence.

but he doesn't really care about all that stuff, anyway. 

Nami 

Main professions: travel influencer, and amateur meteorologist.

Side professions: Luffy’s financial advisor and lesbian icon

probably has one of those million follower Instagram pages where she posts mainly candid shots of her and Vivi and their travels shot with a digital camera

specifically, those aesthetic pics where her hair is covering her face, with a healthy amount of tasteful side boob

Sells Luffy's merch, takes 50% of the profit. 

Definitely sells those thousand dollar workshops on how to be a better a girl-boss and how to awaken your divine femininity

 but makes up for the scam since she donates it to children education programs.

During any severe weather storm, she can be found alerting people before any weather channel through social media and donates funds to relief programs

is working on an international weather alert system with Vivi.

has an account on the RealReal

Robin

I don't think she'd be an archeologist 

she'd be a doctor in anthropologist with a focus in revolution and social change that she completed as a child

went back to school for linguistics in her teens, and gained her first masters at 18.

polyglot

Teaches anthropology courses at her alma mater

Adopted Chopper and takes him with her to uni every day for his research study

has a lengthy criminal record

Met Luffy at a protest he thought was a parade and decided to join, have been friends ever since

Met Franky during her undergrad for linguistics while he was studying engineering.

they bonded over both being youngest in their departments, just two delinquents that were too smart for their own good

I just know she loves her a good purple velvet couch, a nice dark red, TJ Maxx, and classic horror

Her Goodreads and Letterbox’d is god tier too

Is the one who coordinates hang out times in the group chat

Pulitzer prize winner

collects sonny angels

[majesty-z]

Modern au(?) except Luffy speaks every language. And Robin is close behind him. Or canon, except canon with different languages.

You know that song where he says "Hello" in every language? And you know how every single time he has to introduce himself, “I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'll be King of the Pirates?”

Look me in the eyes and tell me he wouldn't know how to say those exact words in every language. Even if those are the only words he knows. He only knows how to introduce himself and tell you that he'll be king. And that's it. But he knows those words. Maybe he never even learned them. Maybe it's the Voice of All Things.

And you know how he sometimes trips up over words or misunderstands some stuff? Polyglot Luffy. Who messes up sometimes but it's fine because he can literally insult you in 15 different languages and you'll have no idea what it means but you'll still be very hurt and offended.

Listen. East Blue is East Blue. Not many people will go there. Except! It's also where the Pirate King died. And Makino needs customers. So, therefore Shanks can't be the only pirate or sailor to have stopped at Windmill Village.

Why was Luffy only ever enamored with him and only him you ask? Idk maybe the others were assholes who didn't like kids or something. Or maybe they were nice to him a little but they'd leave like. Immediately after. Shanks stayed for a whole ass year. So, obviously Luffy would like him more.

Anyway. Lots of sailors from all across the seas. Most likely really confident assholes too. Since they probably want to sail the Grand Line? And stopped by East Blue to see where the PK died or something like that. So, they'd talk. A lot. And gloat. And obviously they wouldn't know whatever language is spoken in East Blue. So they'd talk in their language!

And Luffy stayed in Makino's bar for seven years. You're telling me the guy who invented Gear Second after seeing Bluno do something like it once, wouldn't pick languages up like pretty beetles? Especially as a child? Like, the one time where you pick things up so damn fast because that's what you're literally programmed to do??

Yeah, no.

Anyway, Luffy can speak more languages than Robin because I think it's funny.

[milanvenuss]

B E L L

wonder who they were before they were Bell. Technically whoever we want, but also not really- so I made a Bell. My beloved ship of Theseus. (But is it really Bell if I assign them a face? A name?)

Камандзір Горгафон / Commander Gorgophone

Kseniya Aleksandravna Amanzholov(a)

Birthday: 21/01/1941 Age: 40*

Birthplace: (Віцебск) Vitebsk, Belarus

Blood Type: AB+ MBTI: INTJ Height: 1.83

Creature like. Knows their way around forests like no one else. Enjoys collecting roadkill and bones.

Grey down turned eyes with thick eyebrows. Heavy marked purple eye bags. Tall, broad shoulders, dry hands filled with scars.

Scar over the lips, and one over their left eyebrow mostly covered by hair.

Messy hair. Never really cares about their appearance but forces themselves to look presentable. Hair grew long and it became a bother during the programming procedures, so Helen cut it.

Fucked up voice from smoking. Canonically smokes Cosmos cigs.

Thinks alcohol mixed with garlic and honey will cure any illness away

Stubborn as hell but charismatic in their own way- managing to climb up in Perseus's inner circle for a reason.

Lover of weird, gross and morbid things

Drags their words when tired, elongating consonants (“Yesss...”), and tends to pause before revealing something important. Their voice is a bit flat, but they're an amazing listener

Prefers icy, desolate landscapes; feels more at home in snow-covered forests- would NOT survive the summer at Vietnam tbh.

Chronically tired and jaded. Sarcastic, uses it as a emotional shield

People pleaser, but self aware of that and weaponizes their own servitude.

Polyglot. Speaks Belarusian, Russian, English, French, Polish, German. Slavic languages are easier for them to learn due to similar roots to their mother language anyways

Would have loved to learn Kazakh- like her mother, and Chinese

Awarded a PhD in Cryptography from the Technical Faculty of the KGB Higher School.

Has always been a math nerd. Likes picking weapons apart and studying them, similarly like they do with bones

Deserted to follow Perseus's ideals, initially having their own agenda and plans, yet Perseus started to become a bit too important soon after and it became a big part of their identity

After becoming “Bell”, most of their original personality was watered down to a nosy, dizzy and obedient mutt that constantly suffered from brain fog and migraines. Barely slept, constantly scribbling stuff into the walls that they don't remember at all

On the “Duga” ending, after the death of Mason and Woods and the detonations of the nukes a nuclear winter would have followed. Gorgophone would have taken in David Mason- still a young boy, and (attempted) to raise him. That AU is a whole another can of worms I may expand on another day

^years make them more and more jaded. Whatever passion for revolution may have had dulls to depression. If they live, they live out of spite.

*age varies depending on the ending. Sometimes I imagine them dying, sometimes surviving but not for long

[green5quirrel]

I hadn't even considered web hosting costs. That is a valid thing to keep in mind. Perhaps instead of just needing one person to accomplish this we could coordinate a team.

Coder Web designer A bored polyglot/language major graduate A person who specializes in learning language A person who can handle the business aspect (i.e. web host fees, advertising, etc...)

Obviously I lack the language of all the titles and education expertise of all the people we would need, but certainly there would be interested allies and members of the community that would be willing to at least discuss the possibility. Perhaps even some of more than one discipline.

I only completed community college and that took me four years, but certainly there are those who went to college specifically for coding, design, web based business, language studies, education studies and such that would at least be piqued by the idea? I'll add some tags.

Pronoun Practice Website Idea

TL;DR: Anyone want to make a website like Duo Lingo for learning and becoming proficient at someone else's pronouns?

Dear Trans Programming Community (of which I know is vast) or Allies,

I had this idea the other day of a website where you can plug in someone's pronouns and their name and practice using their name and pronouns in various sentences sort of like Duo Lingo but to learn and become more comfortable with someone's pronouns. (I am not a program savvy person, though I know I could learn. This website idea is quite complex though so I thought if I could outsource it someone might feel inspired.)

Practicing things by saying them out loud has always been helpful in creating new patterns in the brain. And especially pronouns like "they/them" (which are mine) or neo pronouns (which I can definitely use some practice with) it can take a while for the brain to go through the process of replacing the assumed/past pronoun with the correct pronoun every time before it's able to bypass that pattern and be able to connect the person directly with the correct pronoun. (Same way you learn someone's new name.)

I feel like this would be helpful because allies/accomplices and friends often go through that awkward stage of stuttering/guilt (their own) when learning to adjust their language. This website might be able to mitigate that uneasy phase of learning so that the person whose pronoun is being corrected might not have to go through as much public discomfort. (I recently had a coworker who I adore get very angry at being reminded of my pronoun because it triggered the negative way her language was corrected as child by her parents. She wanted to learn my pronouns without being prompted. This website would be an option.)

I suppose one way it could work is to have a page that is basic grammar having to do with the specific pronoun, then a quiz on the grammar. Then have sentences to practice verbally using pronouns and then, last, have fill in the blank sentences where you're expected to choose/fill in the appropriate pronoun and form of that pronoun included with the person's name. (Things could get tricky with people who don't have pronouns and go by their name alone. But I think there could be an option for that as well with some adjustments.)

I feel like the sooner we can teach those willing to learn how to be more comfortable learning pronouns without having to be put on the spot and feeling shame (that is then projected to us, who are the pronoun havers) the sooner it can become a more intrinsic part of our culture and society. And it takes us out of the equation for being in the firing range of those emotions. And it gives power to allies and accomplices to practice that allyship on their own time. So I hope there's an accomplice or trans person who feels led to take this project on. And I'd eventually like to see it in other languages as well!

Thank you for your time!

[avelera]

So I’ve gone back and I’ve been reading some Old Guard fic (as I try to get motivated to write the last damn chapter of my one damn TOG WIP finished so I can finally moved on), and I must admit, one silly and very minor pet peeve I have in some Nicky/Joe fics for the Old Guard that explore their Crusader days is the trope of having them go a really long time without being able to understand each other. Because based on Nicky’s path as a Crusader even getting to the Holy Land, and the various hints we have that Joe has a pretty worldly background, I would suggest they should have had a baseline to communicate already when they met and that bridging the gap would have gone very quickly for one or both of them once they committed to learning.

There’s a few reasons I find them going a really long time without speaking each other’s language (most likely Nicky picking up Arabic) somewhat implausible:

- First, just based on my own personal experience: I went through a full language immersion experience myself and yes it was painful and yes, having textbooks and classes certainly helped, but all told it was 3-4 months from almost zero before I could start doing normal things for my age group like read simple books and do homework. However, the most effective language learning program in the country, Middlebury, does a full immersion program that gets people to baseline functionality in 6 weeks. Yes, learning a language is hard and I will be the first to say that mastery takes years and mastery without immersion is nearly impossible, but if you’re completely immersed there, without options, it goes much faster. You won’t be fluent of course but you will be conversational. Also, by all accounts, being illiterate or otherwise not bothering to learn how to read and write at the same time and ONLY going for verbal communication actually makes things go even faster.

- People who pick up by speaking (rather than reading and writing) and people who speak multiple languages already tend to pick up other languages even more quickly. Once you learn one or two, a lot of polyglots don’t stop there. There is that old joke: the word for speaking three languages is trilingual, two languages is bilingual, and speaking only one language is American. Which is to say I think native English speaking writers might be the ones underestimating how quickly a language can be learned (at least to a conversational level).

- Now throw in the fact that both Nicky and Joe have been recently in multilingual societies or organizations as a requirement of their meeting during the First Crusade, no matter how you slice it. Either as both coming from a merchant trading backgrounds traveling across international (so to speak) lands, or Nicky being part of the pan-European Christian army where multiple languages would be spoken across the camp, to him possibly having a priest background which would mean Latin as well. Not to mention Greek if Nicky picked up anything while in Constantinople (if he came over land). Nicky also would have been on the road to the Holy Land, if he went overland, for as long as 3 years and in Antioch before Jerusalem.

- Now, as an admitted caveat to all of this, I’ve lived overseas and it is absolutely common for expats to live in a country for years without bothering to pick up the local language at all. There were cultural and societal reasons that European Crusaders and the Egyptian Fatimids who lost Jerusalem wouldn’t bother to learn each other’s languages or any of the common merchants tongue or other common languages like Greek to bother to talk to each other. That’s absolutely fair to invoke for why they wouldn’t have a single word of any language in common.

- However, I will say, once both or either of them decided to try, I think some writers don’t give enough credit for how quickly one or the other would pick a language up, especially if it’s the language of the country they’re in (basically, I think once he tried, Nicky would pick up Arabic very quickly if he’s still in the Holy Land by the time he and Joe start trying to communicate). Effort plus full immersion is probably the single fastest way to learn a language, you’d be able to have rudimentary conversations within a few months at most. Really from there it’s just a question of whose country are they in once they start talking and stop trying to kill each other.

TL;DR I will be the first to say an author should go with what makes their story work best BUT there’s plenty of historically backed reasons why Nicky and Joe should have been able to carry on a basic conversation with each other from when they first met, and not be completely stymied in communicating with each other because of a language barrier.

[jadeclaimedflowers]

about me ⋆｡°✩

hi! i'm yuki, a 19-year-old humanities major currently taking different university entrance exams (this is a cry for help). i made a studyblr to keep myself accountable and also be motivated by others!

pronouns: she/her languages: japanese, eng, hindi

interests ˖ ִ𐙚

subjects: law (what i'm trying to major in), maths, programming, psychology. also interested non-academically in mythology, literature, fine arts, and classical music

hobbies: reading, gaming, writing, baking (trying to add 1000 more)

others: genshin + hsr, animanga

academic goals °❀⋆

short term: getting through with my uni exams + getting a uni i like (please please please) + developing good study habits long term: finish hs level math + beyond, learning programming, becoming a polyglot, trying to beat dr. ratio academically + becoming an academic weapon

personal goals

having a healthy diet + establishing proper structure and routine in my life + learning and resarching about better behaviour + overall becoming a put-together, balanced person + becoming a meta genshin player

i'll be putting daily updates under #yukistudies. that's all for now! I'll update with more

[bookwyrminspiration]

I FINALLY finished A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson!! here are my thoughts. (light spoilers)

so this story follows 17yo Vivien Featherswallow, polyglot prodigy, as her world is ripped from under her feet when her parents are arrested as rebels--a hobby she was entirely unaware of and doesn't understand. in a moment of desperation to try and clear their names, she accidentally violates the peace agreements between Britannia and dragons.

now she's a criminal, too, and to save her and her family's skin, she's entered into a program of genius delinquent children. there, they work to aid the government in the conflict Vivien sparked for the chance to clear their names--only the best will be pardoned, the rest go back to being criminals. Vivien, as a previously established language prodigy, is tasked with decoding a secret dragon language--one imperceptible to human ears that doesn't behave like any language she's ever encountered. but if she can't crack it, everyone she loves is dead.

there's more going on, like Viv being haunted by guilt and struggling to disillusion herself with the empire, but that's the main premise.

As both the language and the dragon guy, i wanted to like this. i really did. and it's not bad, but I don't think I was the right audience. The primary language featured leans very heavily into fantasy--it can heal wounds, for example. I found the discussion on language and its analysis underdeveloped on a technical level, which was only as irritating as it was because this book is literally all about language.

I brought this example up in another post, but one of the key hurdles in their decoding efforts is why dragons say the same thing in more than one way. This leads to a series of discoveries that show how unbelievably different from human languages this draconic code really is. But variation is a very common thing. Dialects, synonyms, allomorphs, accents, speed of speech, personal preference, etc. Their analysis is flawed. Vivien's supposed to be a language genius yet doesn't understanding this?

Anyway. I do recognize this is because I study linguistics and have more knowledge/interest on this specific topic than the average reader (though i'm not an expert). Like I said, it's not a bad book, just don't go into it expecting detailed realism on the language. (they don't even look at morphemes all their analysis seems to be word level)

I will say I did thoroughly enjoy the moral discussions in the book. Particularly Viv's selfishness, her belief in obeying in advance, can people be inherently bad, and how this grates against everyone around her. I teased her for having 100% propaganda thoughts, but her fear of punishment and the government's power and how she doesn't think they can fight it and so they have to cooperate to survive? Very interesting mental journey to follow. And (minor spoilers) her revelation that she's done good, meaning she's not inherently bad, and is therefore consciously responsible for every hurtful choice she's made? CHEF'S KISS maybe my favorite scene in the whole book. the romance was a little quick for me, but did have some sweet moments and banter

there's more i could say about different details, but this is the crux of it. it's not a bad book! it's fine. maybe a 3-3.5. but for me personally i just. i'm too particular about my dragons and my languages unfortunately!! it’s not what I wanted from it going in. so i'm bouncing between a 2-2.5. which is annoying because again. i wanted to like it more than i did. i will probably read the next one to see if it improves because it feels like we're about to uncover another layer to how the language works, and depending on how that's done that could make or break it?

anyway. those are some of my thoughts. ty for your time <3

[mademoiselle-red]

Some polyglot thoughts over coffee this morning:

I think people often underestimate how much time and effort it takes to learn a language, any language, including your native language. Think about all those years of listening and talking to adults around you before you started attending school. Think about the mandatory language and literature classes you had in primary and secondary school. Think about all the other subjects (like math, science, history) that you studied in that language.

Learning a second language essentially forces you to learn in a few years what you took at least 12 years to master. It took me 7 years of formally learning German, 4 of which were spent in Germany, attending a university + masters program, to become fluent in (age-appropriate) German. It took me a decade of self studying Chinese (with a semester of formal study) to acquire high school level reading comprehension, despite speaking the language at home. Oh, and as for English, because I spoke Chinese at home, I was initially put into an English-as-a-Second-Language class in 1st grade. I was declared fit to join the normal English classes after a semester of that, but would not start consistently getting As in those classes (the highest mark in the US school system) until I was in 6th grade. So even though Chinese and English are technically both my native languages, I consider myself a second language learner to different extents for all the languages I speak fluently today. Because language learning never felt “natural” to me. I remember struggling with all 3 languages I speak today, and feel strongly that my fluency in each was earned with hard work, persistent study, and broad exposure to media in those languages

[h0neytalk]

Mango v. LingQ v. Anki

I’ve been using the above apps for a while now and I couldn’t find a ton of somewhat easy to understand comparisons/explanations of how to use these various cult favorites. I figured I would make one if anyone is wondering where to start or making a departure from Duolingo.

Standard langblr disclaimer: I am ultimately just a person on the internet, I’m not an expert in language learning or a world renowned polyglot. I’m not even an expert in any of these apps/programs. These are all just thoughts and opinions I have about the value of each app to myself as an average consumer trying to learn a language and intended to help other people decide where to spend their time.

Anki

Anki is an open source spaced repetition flashcard program. It has an incredibly loyal fan base of med students and people who just want to learn things. This is also the one I have the least experience with so I recommend diving into forums and other blogs who go in depth on all the ways you can use this program. The web version is completely free and there is an official paid mobile app. There are also unofficial paid apps, this is the source of great drama and discourse and I’m not touching that here. Spaced repetition essentially means that the program will present you with cards at intervals designed to maximize your retention. When you flip over a card, you have four options that boil down to: fail, hard, good, easy. This is how the program determines what to show you and when.

Key Features:

The main draw is obviously the spaced repetition system. It’s much easier and more effective than sorting manually.

Because it’s open source, there is a way to customize the settings and cards to do basically whatever you want. There are also tons of premade decks to import and either use as-is or use as a base.

The online web version is completely free.

You can add really any media type to the cards. You can add sound clips of pronunciations, images, even drawings and diagrams.

Having the four options is particularly useful for the nuances of learning a language. For example, for general vocabulary decks I’ll assign one “point” to general meaning, tense/part of speech, and pronunciation. Getting the general meaning but not the other two means I select “hard” when I flip the card.

Best uses:

Vocab or learning a new alphabet. Specifically for drilling any of those “slippery” words. I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but there are some vocab words that just refuse to stick with me. I’ve found the Anki SRS does help pin them down.

Potential downsides:

While there are decks to import, there could always be errors that you won’t catch just seeing single vocab words with no context.

The available customization is labor intensive.

The UI for the official app and web version isn’t super slick and intuitive.

Even the best flashcards are ultimately just flashcards and have limits to their usefulness.

Mango

Mango is similar to Babbel or other programs that focus on speaking (and doing so quickly). I much prefer Mango to Babbel or any other similar app and find that it does what it says it will. Languages are split into units. Each unit has chapters and each chapter has lessons. A lesson will start with an optional pre quiz and a brief recording of a conversation that you will be able to follow by the end of the lesson. Each lesson concludes with a listening and reading quiz. It also utilizes spaced repetition and gives you daily flashcards to review.

You learn based on phrases rather than individual words. A long sentence will be presented in its entirety. The lesson will then go through each word individually before combining them into phrases and, finally, the full sentence from the start. Then you will learn vocabulary needed for variations. The activities are fairly standard for a language app: speaking, listening, multiple choice. You can also turn off the interactive feature and have the lesson run as a “speak and repeat” style podcast. It tracks the hours you’ve spent learning a language and there is an activity log, but no in depth stats.

Key features:

It is focused on speaking immediately.

Has a ton of languages and several dialects for those languages.

Focuses on phrases and patterns that are most useful if traveling or having brief, friendly interactions.

Presents information in a digestible way and isn’t overwhelming.

Includes culture and grammar notes.

$12.99 a month but most public libraries and schools give you free access. You can also set up a household account for multiple people and split the cost with friends/family.

The first lesson of any language is free, and some rare and indigenous languages are completely free to access.

Audio is native speakers. When you record yourself, your vocal wave pattern appears that you can compare with the native speaker.

Best uses:

If you are traveling soon and want to navigate basic, friendly interactions, this will get you there quick. Within 1-3 months easily, depending on the language and how often you practice.

I also recommend this as a starting place when you are totally new to a language or to learning a language in general. The structure is excellent for getting a feel for things.

This is also great if you studied a language previously and need to refresh your memory or get back into it.

Potential downsides:

The “record yourself” feature is fairly buggy and often freezes up. It can also be annoying to try and match the timing of the native speaker, but you don’t have to record audio to progress past those lesson points so it isn’t too much of an inconvenience.

It isn’t meant for total fluency. As stated, the lessons (at least that I have done) are focused on speaking while traveling and making small talk. Some of the early lessons teach you to say “sorry, I don’t speak [x]”. Which is very useful if going abroad soon, but less so if you would rather just be able to speak that language.

The regimented nature can make it feel slow/too easy if you are also using other methods.

The review flashcards only have a binary “yes/no” option which feels annoying for longer phrases or after using Anki-style cards.

With any course like this, you aren’t going to have much choice in the vocab you learn or prioritizing topics.

LingQ

I am honestly surprised I don’t see more about this. I think they have been making a bunch of updates recently so maybe the version I’m using is miles above previous ones, but it is shockingly powerful. It’s also the hardest to explain (which may be why I don’t see much written about it and why this is going to be a long section.) LingQ (pronounced “link”) operates on a hybrid comprehensible/massive input model. While Anki prioritizes memorization and Mango priorities speaking, LingQ focuses on comprehension and listening. LingQ is comprised of courses which are made up of lessons. There are pre-built courses made by LingQ but the real goal is to make your own (more on that later).

Each lesson within a course has an audio recording and a written transcript. Words you haven’t seen before are highlighted blue (when you start, that’s every word). You click the word to see the definition and assign it one of 5 statuses: ignore, new, recognized, familiar, learned, or known. “Ignore” is used for things like names or borrowed words, they won’t be counted in your stats. “Known” is for words you knew before seeing them. You likely won’t have any of these if you’re starting a new language with no prior experience. Levels 1-3 highlight the word yellow and it becomes a LingQ. You can create a LingQq using as many words as you want. You can manually change the status of a word when you see it. You can also do various review activities similar to Mango, and if you get a word right twice in a row it will automatically bump up a level. You can always adjust it back down if needed. LingQ is very focused on the value of listening to a language. You can add lessons to playlists and listen to them like a podcast.

My personal favorite part of LingQ is the ability to import lessons. Especially YouTube videos. The site has a browser extension that will import any content in your target language into a lesson as an embedded item. You can then read/listen to/watch that content right in the app and get “credit” for it. LingQ’s statistics are some of the coolest/most motivating I’ve seen. You get coins for completing tasks but those are really just to see a number get bigger. It also tracks the words you’ve read, how many words you know, the hours listened, and speaking/writing if you utilize their tutor marketplace or writing forum.

The free trial is very limited but it’s enough to poke around and get a feel for things before signing up, not necessarily to learn anything substantial. The monthly membership is $12.95 and there’s a $199 lifetime option as well. I definitely recommend spending some time playing around at the free level and then upping to monthly if you like it.

Key features:

The ability to import lessons. It will also create a simplified version of shorter content. This is an AI generated summary of whatever you’ve imported. I use this for videos where natural speaking cadence can make it hard to parse things sometimes. It’s easier/more productive if I know generally what’s going on.

The creation of LingQs. I just think it’s a really cool and useful way to approach comprehensible input. You can visually see the yellow fading as you understand more and more of a lesson.

You can export LingQs to Anki (theoretically). I’ve never done this myself and I’ve seen some forum posts saying it doesn’t work super well all the time but it is a built in feature.

In-depth stats tracking and the ability to consume all the content easily in app. The stats would be annoying if it wasn’t literally easier to watch a video via LingQ than on YouTube.

Community features. There are community challenges (like Duolingo) but also a forum to submit writing that will be corrected by native speakers and a marketplace of tutors to easily sign up for speaking lessons. The forum is free and volunteer based, but scrolling through I didn’t see anyone who didn’t have at least one reply. The tutors are paid at an hourly rate and you can also pay by the word to have them correct written work.

Super flexible. There really isn’t any one right way to use this app so you can structure it however you like and set your own goals/metrics.

Playlists and focus on listening. It really does help to constantly be immersed in what a language sounds like, and being able to read and listen to the same thing has been so nice.

Actually decently helpful emails and not just spam.

Best for:

Hardcore language learners. The app/site provides some guidance on how to get started and the basic idea, but you’ll need to play around with it and spend some time reading forum posts or the emails they send to find what works for you.

Getting to higher levels of fluency after maxing out other apps/self study methods.

People looking to spend a lot of time on language learning because they enjoy it. This isn’t snarky, but there’s a difference between wanting or needing to learn Spanish to communicate at work or on vacation and just really enjoying learning languages. This is an app for language nerds.

Potential downsides:

Very overwhelming. They technically say you can jump right in with 0 knowledge of a language and be good to go, but I think it would be hard to make a lot of progress unless you’ve learned other languages before. If you’re looking to learn a new language for the first time, I recommend starting with Mango to get your bearings.

Doesn’t teach new alphabets. This isn’t a huge issue for Mango since it’s speaking focused, but I wouldn’t jump into Arabic or Russian on LingQ without spending some time learning the alphabet with other methods.

User generated definitions. This is a double edged sword. The definitions being linked to sites like Globse can lead to wrong definitions, but because you’re seeing things in context it’s easier to catch. And looking into what a phrase means is a great way to learn if you are really into languages.

The import feature isn’t 100% perfect when it comes to videos. It will only create a transcript when the video has captions enabled or a transcript provided, otherwise it just shows up as an audio file. It will also sometimes randomly just not be able to import a video which can be annoying, but in the grand scheme of things these are very minor annoyances.

Time commitment. The method doesn’t require a ton of actively sitting down and reviewing vocab or reading new words, but it does assume that you’ll swap out listening to music or podcasts while going about your day with listening to content in your target language. This is all well and good unless you really enjoy listening to specific content while doing tasks or need help not getting distracted. It’s going to be a lot of incomprehensible noise for a while before you can parse it. This might not be a downside as much as something to keep in mind when considering how effective it’s going to be for you.

Not as active of a community. Maybe it’s just for my particular languages, but there definitely aren’t a ton of people actively doing things like challenges. This really doesn’t matter much to me but it could be a bummer if you’re looking for that.

tl;dr just tell me how to learn things

If you need to learn a new alphabet, start with that. Otherwise, Mango to get your bearings, Anki to add to your vocab as you get bored with Mango, and LingQ to realistically get “fluent”. Then start writing and speaking either using tutors or people you know or local language groups.