#Language study

[thedeadpoets-blog]

oh september, how you have my heart.

[studydaydreamer]

[helenstudies]

Look, I knew five languages by age 19 and now I am learning like 3 more. I work as a language instructor and a consultant. If I can give language learners only one advice, this is it.

STOP LEARNING WORDS ON THEIR OWN.

You're doing yourself a disservice by learning lists of "30 words you must know!" "100 most common words!" like it literally means nothing if you cannot use those words in an appropriate context with proper grammar. So what you actually need to do is learn those words via example sentences.

Of course, sentences have more words so you may think you're learning less but you're actually learning the way to use it in context. That's what's important.

Language is about communication, which also means if you want to learn languages, you have to observe how people communicate with each other universally. Native speakers never have a list of words they know and they don't count every single new word they've learned. So why are you doing it to yourself? What native speakers do is listen to the new word, remember the context they're spoken in, and keep using that word in that context. And that's why people go "wait, you can use that word LIKE THAT?" all the time. So you, a language learner, are also allowed to do that. I'm not even saying those word lists are useless but they're the most useful AFTER you've known most of them and are trying to go over them for practice etc. Native speakers do click on those word lists to check out how many words they don't know or to remind themselves of those words or to learn some facts about each word. That should be your goal as well.

Learn sentences. Learn them in context. Do not fall into the "I must know xx amount of words or I'm a failure at language learning" trap perpetuated by bloggers or youtubers or whatever. Have fun with it!

[nenelonomh]

languages study schedule

daily

write 1 or 2 sentences to sum up my day

learn 5 new words

listen to a song, watch a short video, conjugate a verb, read and attempt to say out loud a tongue twister, count from 1-100, sing the alphabet, read a page in a book, talk to my reflection, vocabulary flashcards (pick one)

weekly

watch a movie, episode, documentary or follow a cooking tutorial in the target language

grammar exercises

translate a short text

monthly

write an essay or report, on a chosen topic

[learnelle]

(11/30) Recently I explained the concept of dépaysé(e), which literally translates to “de-countried”. Before I learned this word I could never eloquently describe why it always felt so off to be back in Ireland, and how I tend to feel a bit lost and foreign there despite being Irish. It can also be used in a positive context though! You could describe a holiday being great bcs everything felt so different, j’ai été dépaysé(e) ☕️

[amanufacturedheaven]

Rare Language Learning: Polari

If you have ever used the words:

- Naff

- Butch

- Camp

You have unknowingly been speaking the sociolect known as Polari, the language of queer people primarily used in the 30s to the 70s. Polari is now an endangered language, as labelled by the University of Cambridge

Something of note: Many resources out there imply (or state) that Polari was a language invented and used solely by white cis gay men, which is decidedly untrue. Many words of Polari come from drag culture, lesbians, and the Romani people and their language. The use of ‘the language of British gay men’ may be a more palatable title to the general public, but it is not to me. I did my best to curate a variety of resources, but unfortunately much of queer history has been lost many more decades than I’ve been alive, if you have any other resources for studying Polari I would love to read them, message me or leave a link in the replies.

Articles

Learn Polari, the Secret Language of the Gays ⚢ Out Magazine

Polari: The code language gay men used to survive ⚢ BBC

Polari and the Hidden History of Gay Seafarers ⚢ National Museums Liverpool

The Story of Polari, Britain’s Secret Gay Language ⚢ Fabulosa!

Polari People ⚢ Fabulosa!

Polari: a language born from prejudice ⚢ Englishpanish

The secretive gay language that gave LGBTQ people a voice ⚢ GAYTIMES

A brief history of Polari: the curious after-life of the dead language for gay men ⚢ The Conversation

Study Material

The Polari Bible ⚢ Internet Archive

Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang ⚢ Internet Archive

Sociolinguistics / Polari ⚢ StudySmarter

FlashCards ⚢ Quizlet

New Polari Translator ⚢ LingoJam

Polari: A sociohistorical study of the life and decline of a secret language. ⚢ Dissertation, University of Manchester

Polari: a language born from prejudice ⚢ Englishpanish

Simon Bowkett: a short blog in Polari for LGBT+ History Month ⚢ Civil Service LGBT+ Network

[belovedapollo]

I might not have been able to fill up these notebooks till the end but I’m thankful for every early morning and late night we’ve spent together, hoping for a good 2024 📝 reblog is ok, don’t repost

[beluosus]

[linghxr]

50+ fundamental crime, suspense, & mystery Cdrama vocab words

I'm currently watching 《模仿犯》, so I was inspired to put together this list of essential vocab for 犯罪剧/悬疑剧/推理剧. I tend to gravitate towards dramas that fall into these genres.

I've sorted the words into categories. These were determined by vibes only. Definitions are adapted from MDBG, my loyal companion for nearly 10 years.

The Case

案子 ànzi - case / law case / legal case / judicial case

案件 ànjiàn - case / instance

办案 bàn'àn - to handle a case

破案 pò'àn - to solve a case

报案 bào'àn - to report a case to the authorities

命案 mìng'àn - homicide case / murder case

作案 zuò'àn - to commit a crime

现场 xiànchǎng - the scene (of a crime, accident etc) / (on) the spot / (at) the site

证据 zhèngjù - evidence / proof / testimony

真相 zhēnxiàng - the truth about sth / the actual facts

The Investigation

厘清 líqīng - to clarify (the facts) / clarification

线索 xiànsuǒ - trail / clues / thread (of a story)

细节 xìjié - details / particulars

痕迹 hénjì - vestige / mark / trace

追踪 zhuīzōng - to follow a trail / to trace / to pursue

追问 zhuīwèn - to question closely / to investigate in detail / to examine minutely / to get to the heart of the matter

排除 páichú - to eliminate / to remove / to exclude / to rule out

嫌疑 xiányí - suspicion / to have suspicions

怀疑 huáiyí - to doubt (sth) / to be skeptical of / to have one's doubts / to harbor suspicions / to suspect that

跟踪 gēnzōng - to follow sb's tracks / to tail / to shadow / tracking

不对劲 búduìjìn - fishy / wrong / not right

隐瞒 yǐnmán - to conceal / to hide (a taboo subject) / to cover up the truth

The Victim

被害者 bèihàizhě - victim (of a wounding or murder)

受害者 shòuhàizhě - casualty / victim / those injured and wounded

幸存者 xìngcúnzhě - survivor

失踪 shīzōng - to be missing / to disappear / unaccounted for

消失 xiāoshī - to disappear / to fade away

绑架 bǎngjià - to kidnap / to abduct / to hijack / a kidnapping abduction / staking

遗体 yítǐ - remains (of a dead person)

尸体 shītǐ - dead body / corpse / carcass

拯救 zhěngjiù - to save / to rescue

寻人启事 xúnrénqǐshì - missing persons notice

The Perpetrator

嫌疑犯 xiányífàn - a suspect

嫌疑人 xiányírén - a suspect

歹徒 dǎitú - evildoer / malefactor / gangster / hoodlum

凶手 xiōngshǒu - murderer / assassin

一伙儿的 yìhuǒrde - in on it together

开枪 kāiqiāng - to open fire / to shoot a gun

鬼鬼祟祟 guǐguǐsuìsuì - sneaky / secretive / furtive

可疑 kěyí - suspicious / dubious

认罪 rènzuì - to admit guilt / to plead guilty

自首 zìshǒu - to give oneself up / to surrender (to the authorities)

下落 xiàluò - whereabouts / to drop / to fall

动机 dòngjī - motive / motivation

犯罪 fànzuì - to commit a crime / crime / offense

The Police

报警 bàojǐng - to sound an alarm / to report sth to the police

警察 jǐngchá - police / police officer

警方 jǐngfāng - police

警官 jǐngguān - constable / police officer

刑警 xíngjǐng - criminal police (abbr. for 刑事警察)

被捕 bèibǔ - to be arrested / under arrest

包围 bāowéi - to surround / to encircle / to hem in

监控 jiānkòng - to monitor

检查 jiǎnchá - inspection / to examine / to inspect

调查 diàochá - investigation / inquiry / to investigate

排查 páichá - to inspect / to investigate one by one

质问 zhìwèn - to question / to ask questions / to inquire / to bring to account / to interrogate

前科 qiánkē - criminal record / previous convictions

Bonus: Here's a list of dramas I have seen/am watching in these categories:

《想见你》 Someday or One Day

《开端》 Reset

《消失的孩子》 The Disappearing Child

《她和她的她》 Shards of Her

《镇魂》 Guardian

《模仿犯》 Copycat Killer

《不良执念清除师》 Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

Now go forth and enjoy some more dramas! I'm a slow watcher, so I add new shows to my watch list faster than I can finish them.

[ros3ybabe]

Daily Check-in: April 4, 2024 🎀

What a good day! I swear I hadn't had a day so good in so long, but this day was absolutely amazing!

🩷 What I Accomplished Today:

reviewed chapters 8 and 9 of Spanish on Busuu

Studied my Spanish flashcards 1x all the way through

listened to three podcast episodes in spanish

read a chapter of Deep Work, the last chapter of Atomic Habits, and a section from 101 Essays to Change The Way You Think

discovered and listened to "A Better You" podcast by Fernanada Raamirez

Went to my make up chemistry lab

took a make up psyc quiz

met with my psych doctor

had a therapy session

had a meeting with the director of the Dietetic program for my university

filled out an application to become an SI instructor (just not to turn it in to the head SI guy now)

Caught up on my chemistry notes

opened a savings account for my university

searched for nearby places to rent/live (I'm moving out soon, sometime this year)

🩷 What Went Good Today:

Got encouraged to add a 2nd major in Finance

Created a list/schedule of classes for next semester that I'm really excited about

learned about other on-campus job opportunities in case SI doesn't work out

felt confident about my psyc quiz after I took it

the director of the Dietetic program was the absolute sweetest and most helpful, and I am so glad I met with her because she answered all of my questions and gave me some great encouragement

finished my chem lab very quickly

didn't need extra money to open a savings account so a savings account got opened

🩷 What Could Have Gone Better:

I felt like I bugged my dad a lot, but I was just so excited to tell him how good everything was going

Need to re evaluate how much I can realistically save per paycheck at the moment for my housing situation AND the college savings account

got a bit emotional with my boyfriend over some past stuff

did not eat the best or the healthiest

psych doc ordered an EKG because she is concerned that I may have an arrhythmia (had an EKG done in the past for the same reason, but was told it was because of my exercise habits at the time ~4 years ago) and having an arrhythmia will limit the mental health medication I am able to take

Overall, not a bad day whatsoever! I was in a really good mood all day because of how awesome everything was and I'm super grateful that I was able to have such a good day!

til next time lovelies 🩷

[asyastudieskorean]

안녕하세요 여러분~ 나는 캐나다에서 돌아갔어요!

Literally a couple hours ago, I decided I will actually be taking my second year of 한국어 starting in fall 2024!

Like I mentioned in another post, I found out my current uni (which I love so much) will not offer second-year courses until fall 2025. The reason I take college-level courses rather than something more casual or self-study is because I really need that familiar structure and the assignment deadlines to improve. I also want my language courses to be on my transcripts for future work. So anyway, I was super worried about the year off and how I would find time and motivation to self-study and maintain what I already know (I have a full-time job, a new hobby I'm starting, a family to care for, etc.).

Ironically, I never really considered finding a different college to study at as even an option, but today, I found a similar program at a different school and am already talking with the Korean professor about getting into the second-year courses. It looks like they require a placement test, but I emailed the Korean professor, and they only asked to see my transcripts, so we’ll see! If it all works out and I can afford it, I’ll be joining all you uni students and Korean learners to start a new year when September comes around! 여러분 화이팅!

[heavenlyraindrops]

japanese is such a kind language. like you forget a character it will hold ur hand and tell u that everything will be ok and you can just write it in hirigana and everyone will understand :)

and then chinese is like oh im sorry you forgot a character? youre illiterate. you mispronounce a word? your mother is now a horse

[bloggingboutburgers]

How/when did you learn English?

At school and online. Pretty much by necessity. Here, and I trust in most non-English-speaking countries, it's a must business-wise to be considered for most jobs, and it's a must socially online to be able to keep up with most things.

Also back then dubbing and subtitling in my language took weeks, if not months, if not years to get released, IF it got released at all, so I started consuming most things in English whenever I could to actually keep up with things.

Also (but very much background considering what I shared above) I'm a translator/localizer/French and English copywriter by trade, so I've been interested in languages for quite a while anyway.

[kanelinsuomi]

Idea julmasti pöllitty tästä julkaisusta.

[helenstudies]

If you study ANY foreign languages and post about your study logs/journey frequently, please interact with this post because I'd love to follow more langblrs!

[princesssascha]

I wanna learn Arabic so bad 🥹🥹 does anyone have good resources?