gwendolynlerman

[gwendolynlerman]

The particle же 😅 This is one of those tiny words you see/hear often. It's a усилительная частица emphatic particle, so it adds emphasis to whatever you're saying. Or expectation. Or surprise. Or contrast. Or sameness. In short, there should be an entire dictionary just dedicated to this single word. I'm still learning the word myself, but I wanted to share these two examples with you.

Я же говорила has a nagging tone to it, like I told you so! or That's what I said! My study buddy associates this phrase with being scolded by a mom, a teacher, a wife, etc. Это же Россия, расслабься is something like well, it's Russia, relax or It's Russia after all, take it easy. Here are two good resources on how to use this particle: https://russianenthusiast.com/how-to-use-zhe-in-russian/ https://www.reddit.com/r/russian/comments/11518hd/comment/j8zqdez/

[gwendolynlerman]

Common Mistakes in Russian

You can give me a tip on Ko-fi if you like this post ☺️ Researching and writing this kind of posts takes time, so any amount of support would be greatly appreciated.

Below are some common mistakes that English speakers make in Russian:

To make a mistake — делать/сделать ошибку -> допустить ошибку: Прошу прощения, если я где-то допустил ошибку или отклонился от темы. (I apologize if I made a mistake somewhere or deviated from the topic.)

To take a train — принимать/принять поезд -> съесть на поезде: Я сяду на поезд в 11 утра. (I will take the train at 11 am.)

To miss the flight — потерить самолёт -> опоздать на самолёт: Я забыла свой паспорт, и мне пришлось вернуться домой, поэтому я опоздала на самолёт. (I forgot my passport and had to go back home, so I missed my flight.)

The last two expressions can also be used for other modes of transportation.

[gwendolynlerman]

I just finished the Mango Mandarin course, having spent almost 210 hours on it compared to nearly 100 hours on the Russian course 😮

I recommend Mango Languages because it teaches vocabulary in context, and it has listening, speaking, and review exercises, as well as cultural and grammar notes. However, it can be repetitive at times.

[gwendolynlerman]

What is the Difference Between «зачем» and «почему»?

You can give me a tip on Ko-fi if you like this post ☺️ Researching and writing this kind of posts takes time, so any amount of support would be greatly appreciated.

Зачем means “for what purpose”, while почему means “for what reason”. The former inquires about the future results and goals of an action, while the latter inquires about the reasons behind a past action or a person's beliefs, opinions, or motives.

The answer to Зачем? is often Для того чтобы… (in order to…) or Чтобы… (so that…), while the answer to Почему? often begins with Потому что… (because...), По причине того что… (due to the fact that…), or Из-за того что… (due to the fact that…).

Почему ты говоришь по-русски? and Зачем ты говоришь по-русски? both translate to “Why are you speaking Russian?”. A valid answer to the former could be “Because I was born into a Russian-speaking family.” and to the latter, “Because the people around me only understand Russian.” The former asks, “How come you are speaking Russian?”, and the latter, “For what purpose are you speaking Russian?”.

[gwendolynlerman]

Resources of the week, about just a few of the many, many ethnicities in Russia: 📺 Traditional foods in Yakutia 4 min 📺 A Sakha woman living in China 7 min 📺 Kazan and the Tatars 17 min 📺 Who are the Tatars? 19 min 📺 What languages are spoken in the Caucasus? 14 min If you have the time and the curiosity, there's also this documentary of interviews with different ethnic groups in the Urals: 📺 Russian version 📺 English version (dubbed) 📷 This week's photo: a bottle of vodka I once bought on account of the beautiful label)) The actual vodka was just so so.

[gwendolynlerman]

A Study Plan for Chinese to HSK 4, then Chinese Content

A study plan to get you to the point you can do something in Chinese, like read novels or watch shows, in 1-2 years.

For Chinese, it is very possible to study HSK 1-3 in a year, then HSK 4 the next year, and then be reading and watching whatever you want by the end of year 2. This could be achieved with a pace of studying around 1 hour a day. As long as you're willing to look up key unknown words to understand the main idea, when reading and watching whatever you want.

In fact, it's possible to study up to HSK 4 in 8 months, this person did it. If you really wanted to study everything up to HSK 4 in that amount of time.

I studied roughly the amount in HSK 4: I read through 800 hanzi entries from an HSK 1-3 Tuttle book (available in many libraries and elibraries for free, alternatively there's a free app Hanly to learn hanzi with mnemonics), all the grammar points on hskcourse.com, cram studied 2000 common chinese words in Ben Whatley memrise decks (anyone looking to do something similar: I suggest doing the first 2000 sentences in Chinese Spoonfed Anki deck, or finding another 2000 common words collection with audio and hanzi), then read a few Mandarin Companion Graded Readers in Pleco app (where I could click unknown words for a translation and pronunciation). I did all of that in roughly 10 months, at ~2 hours of study a day, so not a huge time commitment.

After I could read around ~1000 hanzi, I could move onto reading manhua, whatever webnovels I wanted in Pleco and Readibu apps (I'd recommend Heavenly Path's Comprehensive Reading Guide for more information on how to start reading, and their general site for recommendations at various reading levels), and any cdramas I wanted (using Google Translate and Pleco to look up any unknown words that seemed important to understanding the main idea of a scene, alternatively there's dual subtitle extensions like LanguageReactor that make looking up words easier).

Why aim for HSK 4? HSK 4 has a lot of overlap with the most common words lists, and includes a lot of basic grammar, so either focusing on learning what's in HSK 4 OR a common word list and basic grammar guide, would get you a baseline of knowledge you can then use to start reading/watching whatever you want (if you look up key unknown words).

HSK 4 will get you around A2/B1 level, upper beginner/lower intermediate, and from there you can start just reading and watching things you want. This is the level you want to reach, to be able to start doing things in the language. Once you can do things in the language, it's easier to stay motivated for years, because you can start DOING your goals, and improving at your goals in the language.

You can either look up key unknown words (which unlocks virtually all stuff made in Chinese), or you can continue with Graded Readers (Mandarin Companion, Rainbow Bridge Readers, Sinolingua, Imagin8 Press, etc.), Comprehensible Input Lessons (Lazy Chinese, Blabla Chinese, Xiaogua, list of more), podcasts for learners (Maomi Chinese, Teatime Chinese, Chinese with Shenglan, Chinese with Da Peng, Dashu Mandarin, Mandarin Corner, etc.), and keep using these materials you find understandable until you feel up to reading/watching novels and shows.

If you want to start speaking, HSK 4/2000 common words will give you a good foundation to start chatting with a tutor (iTalki or wherever you can find one), or start doing language exchanges (like on Hellotalk etc.) where you message people and chat with people. You can look up words you don't know, that others say/message to you, and look up words you want to say to others to prepare to talk to/message them, and get lots of practice interacting with people.

Rambling below:

This was my study plan, and it worked great, I could start reading and watching things I wanted by 6 months and then reading/watching some stuff extensively (not needing word lookups all the time) by around 2 years. I've seen many people on reddit r/ChineseLanguage do the Heavenly Path Comprehensive Reading Guide study plan, and successfully start reading webnovels within 3 months to within 2 years. If you're willing to look up unknown words, the timeline for starting novels and shows can be as short as you feel comfortable. My suggestion above to study to HSK 4/2000 common words is just because that foundation will then make reading/watching things significantly easier to start doing, since you'll have some familiarity with a lot of the most common words you'll run into.

After studying to HSK 4/2000 words, expect the first few months of actually 'using' Chinese to feel rough, mentally draining, and you'll be 'reviewing' all the stuff you learned mostly. Especially if you cram studied - the first few months you encounter all those words and grammar you studied in real novels and shows (or in Graded Reading, Comprehensible Input Lesson type materials) you'll just be learning to recognize/understand those words and grammar quicker. So give yourself some slack, do not expect perfection, it will take a while to align 'what you studied' with 'what you can understand and use quickly.' When I started watching cdramas 6 months into studying, it felt immensely mentally draining and I could only handle 5 minutes at a time, it took a few months for me to feel able to watch a full 40 minute episode, and then another year for it to feel easier (and now that I'm focusing on listening instead of Chinese captions, it's again feeling mentally 'draining' to watch with only the audio to rely on). When I started reading Chinese webnovels, it took 2 hours to get through a 4000 character chapter. Then 1 year in, it took 30-50 minutes. Then 2 years in, it finally took 20 minutes to read 4000 characters.

Just because you studied something (or learned it from extensive listening - Comprehensible Input Lessons, or extensive reading - Graded Readers) does not mean it will be easily quickly understandable immediately when you encounter what you studied in other contexts. So give yourself a lot of hours to adjust. Reading itself is a skill, listening itself is a skill, and you'll need a lot of practice to develop those skills and the stamina to do them for long periods of time.

[gwendolynlerman]

Thank you for tagging me, @quatregats! What an interesting tag game :D

Pick four (or three, or five, whatever) songs which are yours. Not your favorite songs, not songs which mean a lot to you, but songs with which you and you alone have a special relationship with, whether it's having listened to them obsessively or put them in every playlist you make or them following you around or some other way that they have a particular meaning for you only. Obviously they can be songs that other people might have a special relationship with, but they should be relatively unique, even if the song in itself is not a unique one. They should be songs that tell a story or something about you. Clear as mud? Let's go.

Where Have You Been by Rihanna: When I was a teenager, I obsessively danced to this song over and over again on Just Dance for Wii to the point that I still know all the moves. My sisters were fed up with me.

Coming Home by Skylar Grey: I sang this song in front of the whole music class with a(n) (ex-)friend of mine. I don't know what I was thinking. I sing terribly badly, and I probably made a fool of myself 🙃

Inmortal by La Oreja de Van Gogh: I heard of this song for the first time in a summer camp when I was about 11 years old and pestered an older girl to sing it to me.

Ai Se Eu Te Pego by Michel Teló: I danced to this song a lot during that summer camp. At first, I didn't know it was in Portuguese and I wondered why the lyrics, which I thought were in Spanish, sounded so weird 😂

I tag @fluencylevelfrench, @marilearnsmandarin, @mediocrelanguagelearner, @pawprintedpages, and anyone else that wants to do it :)

[gwendolynlerman]

Cultural Observations From a Spaniard: Belgium

Find other posts in this series here.

Having lived in Brussels for a year and a half, I can say that some everyday things surprised me when I first moved here. Some still surprise me to this day.

I know that Brussels is different from Flanders and Wallonia, but I believe that most of the items on this list apply to the whole of Belgium.

Belgium is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a complex federal system based on regional and linguistic divisions. The country has three levels of government, each with its own parliament and government. 1. The federal government handles national matters such as defense, justice, public debt, social security, and part of public health. 2. There are three regions, each with its own government: the Flemish Region (Dutch-speaking, north), the Walloon Region (French-speaking, south), and the Brussels-Capital Region (bilingual, center). They manage territory-related issues, such as the economy, the environment, transportation, and urban planning. 3. There are also three communities, based on language and culture: the Flemish Community, the French Community, and the German-speaking Community. They oversee culture, education, and language-related matters. In total, there are seven governments and parliaments in a country that is smaller than Catalonia.

Because of Belgium's political and linguistic complexity, forming a federal government is a long and complex process. The interests of different political parties, regions, and linguistic communities must be considered. To complicate matters further, Flanders is wealthy, residually Catholic, and typically votes center-right, while Wallonia is poorer, more atheist, and traditionally center-left. The longest time that the country was without a government was 652 days between December 2018 and October 2020, a period during which a pandemic was ravaging the world. The Brussels-Capital Region has already been without a government for over a year 🙃

Voting is compulsory for Belgian citizens living in Belgium. All eligible Belgian must participate in the voting, but they are allowed to vote blank.

Even though all children learn either Dutch or French in school, in addition to English and their mother tongue, when two people with different mother tongues speak, they usually speak English 🙃 There's tension between the Flemish and the Walloons, and I've always thought that if the EU institutions weren't located in Brussels, Belgium would have split apart by now.

Unlike in Spain, there are no trash dumpsters for household waste on the streets, so you leave your trash bags out. As a result, when it's trash collection day, you have to dodge trash bags (in addition to loose cobblestones), while walking on the street. Basically, walking on the street is a risky sport with unpleasant smells. Big or modern buildings do have their own trash dumpsters.

Compared to Spain, minimum services during strikes are very low. Recently, there has been a nationwide strike every month, during which all flight departures are canceled. Last time, only one subway line (out of four) was running, and no tram lines in my area were running 🙃

Drivers are awful. They honk all the time, even though it obviously doesn't solve the traffic problem. When one of the cars in a traffic jam starts honking, the rest of drivers behind it start honking as well 🙄 Drivers sometimes don't stop at pedestrian crossings. So, whenever I cross the street, I look right and left because bikes can come from all directions, and I hope not to get run over. I've only driven in this country once, on a day trip from Amsterdam to Brussels, and it was definitely the worst place I've ever driven. To be honest, though, I've only driven in Belgium, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Spain. Not only are the roads full of potholes—you can always tell when you cross the border between the Netherlands and Belgium because of the difference in road quality—but someone overtook me on the right shoulder of the road at 170 km/h, when I was driving exactly at the speed limit 🙃

Healthcare is not free like it is in Spain. Okay, it's not technically free in Spain; we pay for it with our taxes. But you don't pay when you visit a public doctor. In Belgium, like in many other countries, you need insurance from a provider (mutuelle) that covers between 75% and 90% of doctor's visit costs. I currently have Spanish insurance, so I have to pay upfront and then get reimbursed whenever I go to the doctor. I recently had minor surgery to remove a small cyst from my leg (nothing malignant), and it cost me €1,500 😭 Coming from Spain, where you never see a bill unless you go to a private hospital or clinic, I was shocked by the cost of medical procedures.

Ambulance sirens sound like Mario Kart ghosts 😂 At least that's what I thought when I first heard one. Now, I'm used to them.

Bookstores have cafés inside 🤩

Unlike in Spain (or at least in Madrid), the subway runs on the right side of the tracks.

Belgium has the highest number of scouts per capita in the world. Apparently, scouting is so popular because in Belgium it is allowed to drink and party in uniform. Other reasons I found are that it's an inexpensive way to have someone watch your kids outdoors without screen time.

It's not unique to Belgium to have to pay to use public restrooms, but it still makes me mad. Peeing is a human need, and I shouldn't have to pay to use a restroom in public places like train stations 😑

Some old buildings, like my office building, have elevators with lasers instead of sliding doors. If you accidentally touch one of the lasers, the elevator stops, and you may become trapped.

[gwendolynlerman]

My Trip to Japan 🗾

Osaka

Nakanoshima Rose Garden

Tenmangū Shrine

Vegan ramen 🍜

Osaka Castle 🏯

Nanba Yasaka Shrine

[gwendolynlerman]

My Trip to Japan 🗾

Nara

Nara Park

Lots of deer everywhere 🥺

[gwendolynlerman]

Source

Thx @ NS :)

[gwendolynlerman]

My Trip to Japan 🗾

Kyoto

I decided to rent a kimono for the day, but it was over 30° C that day, so I melted under the three layers of fabric 🥵

Heian Shrine ⛩️

Yasaka Shrine

Near Anranku-ji Temple

Tempura

Nishi Hongan-ji

Fushimi Inari-taisha ⛩️

Night walk around the old town 🏮

[gwendolynlerman]

Main Types of Chinese Opera pt.2

I'm back with the 2nd part about the main types of Chinese Opera's, and this post will feature the Cantonese Opera, Sichuan Opera, and the Yu Opera!

Cantonese Opera 粤剧 (Yuèjù)

This is a popular form of opera origination from Guangdong, and especially popular in Hong Kong, Macau and other regions. Cantonese opera shares quite a few similarities with other types of opera, and includes music, aerobatics, acting and other common feautures, with many stories being based on Chinese classics and historical events. The 4 main character roles remain the same (生, 旦, 净,丑), but their cantonese names are slightly different. () There are 2 types of Cantonese Opera plays, martial arts 武 which primarily feature war and conflict, with the main characters being warriors. The 2nd type is "culture" 文, which are calmer and slower plays, with more emotional aspects.

Of course, there are quite a few specifics that set it apart, one of them being the speech element. Cantonese Opera uses Mandarin but also the 中州 (Zhōngzhōu) dialect, which was a cross-regional dialect that was situated between Nanjing, Zhongyuan, Jianghuai, Huguang, and Sichuan in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Currently it's not really in use anymore other than in some Chinese operas as it was abandoned in the 1930s. Cantonese Opera plays can also be classified into theatrical or singing performances, as the theatrical style is either western music or Chinese music, whereas the singing style is always western style.

Quite a lot of Cantonese Opera's were made into tv shows/series, musicals and movies, especially 唐涤生 Tang Ti-sheng, a famous Cantonese opera playwright. Some of his works include:

牡丹亭惊梦/The Peony Pavilion (Mǔdān tíng jīng mèng)

红楼梦/Dream of the Red Chamber(Hónglóumèng)

穿金宝扇/Wearing a Gold Fan (Chuān jīnbǎo shàn)

蝶影红梨记/ The story of the Butterfly and the Red Pear (Dié yǐng hóng lí jì)

Sichuan Opera 川剧 (Chuānjù)

The Sichuan Opera originates from 1700s Sichuan province, with 5 distinct styles. This is the opera famous for the quick mask change/face change, known as Bian Lian 变脸 (Biànliǎn) which you may have seen as there have been quite a few videos of this fascinating technique.

It is said that over 100 plays are performed in the Sichuan opera, with classic stories being particularly popular, some ranging all the way back to the Song dynasty. Currently both ancient and modern stories are performed, but the old stories still remain constant.

The Sichuan Opera has quite a unique music style, strong with a clear rhythm, and with the wind and percussion instruments being the most significant part of the music ensemble. Sichuan Opera is known for being the most similar to an actual play than any other Chinese Opera, being well-known for it's more free form and singing.

However, Sichuan Opera has 5 distinct styles:

1.Gaoqiang 高腔 (Gāoqiāng) This is the oldest form of Sichuan Opera, known for high-pitched singing and very little if no musical accompaniment, with just the drums, gongs and a clapper. The singing style is folk, with the Sichuan dialect and other local colloquial expressions.

2. Huqin 胡琴 (Húqín) This style became known during Qing dynasty, developing from the Hui and Han tunes, but it still has its own distinct features such as being performed using the Sichuan dialect. It's name is particularly interesting as Huqins name comes from the Huqin, a traditional Chinese instrument which also features in Sichuan Opera.

3. Danxi 弹戏 (Dàn xì) Danxi is actually a variation of Qingqiang, which was introduced later on after Qingqiang (More on this later!) first emerged in Sichuan. Danxi's origin story varies, but what is known is that the Shaanxi/Qingqiang opera slowly started to adopt Sichuan Opera's features and later on it combined with other Sichuan Opera styles to form Danxi. Danxi has two types of mysic, one of them being joy and happiness and the other being sadness and despair.

4. Kunqiang 昆腔 (Kūnqiāng) If the name sounds oddly familiar, you may remember the previously mentioned Kunqu opera, which like it's name, developed from the original Kunqu opera and slowly drifted over from Jiangsu to Sichuan during the Ming Dynasty. The musical style underwent some changes, such as adopting the local Sichuan dialect and combined other vocal styles such as Gaoqiang, Huqing into the now known Kunqiang style.

5. Dengdiao 灯调 (Dēngdiào) Dengdiao actually comes from the Lantern Festival, and incorporates the local Sichuan folk singing, dancing and customs. The music has a distinct rhythm and is quite short, with an upbeat vibe. The Huqin instrument is used in addition to string instruments as accompaniment.

Yu Opera 豫剧 (Yùjù)

The Yu Opera is said to have originated in the early Ming Dynasty, and later as it gained popularity it spread across the nation, with a strong presence in other regions such as Shandong, Hubei, Shanxi, Beijing and many other places. Despite the name, it's actually not confirmed as to whether the Yu opera is actually from Henan as there are many different and opposing theories. Nonetheless, it's still quite popular and has been included in China's national intangible cultural heritage.

Like many other opera types, the Yu opera also has the main roles of 生 (shēng), 旦 (dàn), 净 (Jìng), 丑 (chǒu) with their respective sub-types, and a noteable "四功五法" (Sì gōng wǔ fǎ) art form, translated as 4 Skills and 5 Methods. The skills include singing, reciting, acting, and fighting (dancing), with the 5 methods referring to the hand, eye, body, method, and step movements.

There are actually quite a few different Yu Opera genres with the main ones being:

陈派 / Chen School (Chénpài) - known for an elegant and smooth movement style and the 青衣 (Qīngyī) characters (virtuous female)

常派 / Chang School (Chángpài) - focuses on strong emotional performance and heroic characters such as Mulan

崔派 / Cui School (Cuīpài) - has a lighter and flowing tone, with a focus on elegance

马派 / Ma School (Mǎpài) - focuses on a calm and more mature style, with the main characters including 老旦 (Lǎodàn) and other more mature female characters

阎派 / Yan School (Yánpài) - includes dramatic and emotional styles with complicated characters

桑派 / Sang School (Sāngpài) - this is quite an interesting genre as it includes more sad and romantic performances in contrast to others

唐派 / Tang School (Tángpài) - in contrast, this genre has a more male focus, with many characters such as 老生 (Lǎoshēng) and other older male characters.

张派 / Zhang School (Zhāngpài) - known for strong and dynamic vocals and heroic characters

[gwendolynlerman]

My Trip to Japan 🗾

Fujikawaguchiko and Fujiyoshida

Chureito Pagoda

Lake Kawaguchiko 🏞️

Kawaguchi Asama Shrine

[gwendolynlerman]

My Trip to Japan 🗾

Tokyo

Sake barrels gifted to the emperors buried at the Meiji (Shinto) Shrine (Meiji-jingū)

🍜

Views from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. The pointy skyscraper and the park reminded me of the Empire State Building and Central Park; in general, Tokyo reminded me a bit of New York City.

The Zōjō-ji (Buddhist) temple and the Tokyo Tower 🗼

Hie Shrine

Edo Castle 🏯

Asakusa Shrine, where I got a really favorable o-mikuji (random fortunes written on strips of paper).

Blue koi fish 🎏

[gwendolynlerman]

Cultural Observations From a Spaniard: Japan

Find other posts in this series here.

Japan is much more orderly than any other country I have ever visited, especially compared to China. There are even men holding end-of-the-line signs! However, people push without consideration to get on or off the trains.

The airport staff speaks English and is friendlier and more respectful than the staff in China. The woman at customs even said “thank you” to me in Spanish 🥺

Japan relies more on the honesty of travelers. At customs, I only had to fill out a form. In China, they scan your luggage to check for forbidden goods.

There are lots of instructions about how to behave in public places, such as in public restrooms and the subway.

There are emergency shelters in case of natural disasters.

Toilets wipe and dry your rear, which explains why toilet paper is so thin. The seat is usually warm.

Vehicles drive on the left side of the road, and pedestrians walk on the left side as well. On escalators, people stand on the left if they are not in a hurry.

Some crosswalks are diagonal. The traffic lights make different sounds when crossing from east to west or west to east, and from north to south or south to north. Some sound like “piu-piu” and the others sounds like “cucu”.

Kei cars are very common.

Ambulances drive very slowly, even when they have the emergency lights.

Small streets have no sidewalks, so pedestrians walk on the shoulder.

Smoking is prohibited on many public places, including on some streets. However, very few people smoke.

On the bus, you pay when you exit.

There are no escalators going down on the subway, only going up.

Subway stations have platform screen doors.

There are women-only subway cars.

In general, people talk very quietly, especially on public transportation.

People sleep or at least close their eyes on the subway.

Restaurants always provide a towel (oshibori) for washing your hands and a glass of cold water before eating. They also give you a bib when you order noodles. It's very useful, because I always make a mess when I eat them.

People slurp when eating noodles.

Hostels provide cotton swabs, slippers, and a toothbrush.

Conductors, guards, and other customer-facing staff wear white gloves.

People dress up more for work than they do in Europe, especially women.

Men carry what in the West would be considered women handbags.

People also wear face masks.

Five-year-old children go alone on the street and subway.

Japanese people always carry cloth handkerchiefs to wipe their hands or faces.

There are hardly any homeless people; I only saw three in Osaka.

There are no trash cans on the streets, especially in Tokyo, except for those next to vending machines for bottles and cans. Only the latter are recycled separately; paper and cardboard are not.

Since the sun rises at 4:00 a.m. and sets at 7:00 p.m., I wondered if Japan is in the correct time zone. However, I found another explanation.