#langblr positivity

[indigostudies]

feeling enthusiastic tonight so i wanted to talk about my favourite things about the languages i speak/am studying!

mandarin chinese:

singular character words are fairly rare! unlike english, due to the high number of homophones in the spoken language, most words are comprised of two or more characters for clarity's sake. for example, while 孩 does by itself mean child, usually it's combined with another character (ie 孩子，小孩儿，etc.) due to it sounding similar to other words (还，骸).

in spoken language, you often need the entire context to understand the meaning. due to homophones, if you're missing the surrounding context, then it can be easy to misunderstand what someone's saying.

homophones generally! i've been known to love a good tongue-twister, and being a native chinese speaker is definitely part of that—there's just so many good ones! this also crops up in social media/memes, where a homophone is substituted for the original character(s).

the written language! i'm definitely more biased towards simplified chinese, but i can still read traditional chinese, and i think chinese is one of the most beautifully-written languages. it's just so logical! the strokes follow a certain order, and everything is contained in "boxed" that are very pleasing.

german:

poetry! german is known for literature, and i love reading poetry in german, even if not having studied it in a while means i have to look things up pretty frequenty ^^°°

the pronunciation! while i'm definitely at an advantage since i have an ear for languages and can nail german pronunciation at a natural level, i love speaking german—especially the longer words! i love the way the letters sound together (i'm definitely biased towards the eu/äu combination haha).

the ß!

gothic script—this appears a lot in historical german print, and i love it, even if it does make it a bit of a challenge to read anything haha.

kurmanji:

the various possessiveness contructions—there is no verb corresponding to the english to have, so instead you have to use the verb hebûn, to exist, so for example, two brothers of me exist (du birayên min hene, using the izafe construction) or for me two brothers exist (min du bira hene, without izafe, possessor is in the oblique case at the start of the clause) would be used instead of "i have two brothers".

the xw dipthong—i'm probably biased because i love "uncommon" sounds and letter combinations, but not only does the x in kurmanji sound nice (it's sort of like the ch in bach, or the ch in loch), when combined with the w it makes a sort of hissing sound which i'm very partially to.

mongolian:

sounds absolutely gorgeous!! central asian languages generally sound very pleasing to me, but i especially love the guttural sounds in mongolian.

the traditional script is one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen. i have yet to learn how to write in it (at least without a lot of tears on my part), but there's a user on xhs that writes in traditional script, and it's just. stunning. it's fluid, and curling, and just! aaaa!!! i love it. also it's written vertically, which is a fairly uncommon thing as far as languages go.

it's got a ton of different dialects! i'm a known enjoyer of dialects and regional language variations, so of course this is like a goldmine to me.

korean:

i know i said that the mongolian script is gorgeous, but look, i love writing systems in general, and korean is just. so orderly! so perfect for my pattern-obsessed little mind! also, it only takes, like, half an hour to memorise. 12/10 i love it.

a very specific point, but the various ways to say goodbye! you specify whether the person you're speaking to are staying or leaving.

turkish:

probably the most agglutinative language i'm aware of—a lot of words, especially more "modern" (ie new) words are formed by taking a base word and then adding on "meaning" or semantics to it, for example the word for a shoe cabinet is literally "that which stores the covers for the feet".

neutral pronouns! spoken mandarin is also neutral in pronouns, but in turkish both the written and spoken form of the third person pronoun is neutral. while it does make it a little bit frustrating if you're trying to, say, discuss feminist theory, it does mean that no gendered assumptions are made about, for example, a job position.

that's all i can think of right now! if anyone else wants to ramble excitedly about the languages they're studying/speak, please feel free to add on!

[officialromaniantranslatiuni]

[warau-okami]

People enjoyed the charts for English learners in Japan. Here, as promised, is one for Japanese language learners.

右 みぎ : right, right-hand side

左 ひだり : left, left hand side

横 よこ : horizontal (as opposed to vertical), lying down

side-to-side (as opposed to front-to-back), width, breadth

side (of a box, etc.)

beside, aside, next to

unconnected

側 そば : near, close, beside, vicinity, proximity, besides, while

隣 となり : next (to), adjoining, adjacent

後ろ うしろ : back, behind, rear

下 した : below, down, under, younger (e.g. daughter)

bottom

beneath, underneath

近く ちかく : nearly (e.g. "it took nearly one year"), close to

上 うえ : above, over, up

中 なか : inside, interior

among, within

[chu-diaries]

140 days of productivity: day 31/140

No class today! I got a little anxious in the morning because of my suddenly-very-free-Saturday but it got better as I started doing household chores. What is your favorite one? I love to cook and to do laundry. Today I cooked some pasta with homemade tomato sauce, green beans, fries and steaks. It was delicious.

I finished my tasks early since there was lots of dark clouds in the sky and I didn’t want to get caught in the rain. I lay on my bed and read the last chapters of Deathly Hallows. I cried again and again because I just love this book so much. I kept thinking about when I was 12 years old and I bought it at a bookstore that no longer exists. I used to read it at the bathroom floor while pretending to take a shower because my mom wouldn’t allow me to read before bedtime. This book means so much to me. I’m so glad I got to read it again after so many years. Also, now I’m allowed to read whenever I want to and it’s so much more comfortable to read in bed lol.

I had dinner at my parents’ house and my aunt and uncle were there too. We celebrated my mother’s birthday and I got to eat some delicious food that my aunt prepared. She’s very skilled when it comes to cooking.

🥀: day 25/29

💧: 2 L at least

🏋🏻‍♀️: 🚫

🏃🏻‍♀️: 🚫

🕯️: finished some candle tests while cleaning my house

🪘: 🚫

🇰🇷: 🚫

📚: hp and the deathly hallows

🎧: one piece lo-fi

📺: I started watching that video where Kyungsoo visits Youngji but didn’t finish it

🛑: 2 days pick free

💊: 🚫

[mxjackparker]

People always tell you that when you're learning a language that you need to speak to people in it, and that is true; you will improve so much faster when you talk to native speakers. However, it's also important to remember that you can speak it by yourself too. Narrate your daily tasks. Play a videogame in your target language and when you yell at the TV in frustration, do it in that language! Write in your journal in your target language. Mentally plan your day in your target language. Have conversations with yourself, imagining you're being interviewed. Do you mutter to yourself? Well, now you mutter bilingually!

[hi-i-am-a-sock]

it will never stop surprising me how certain parents want tutors to improve their children's grades in one month. ma'am, you son doesn't know how to form the plural form of a regular noun. he won't understand the difference between past simple and past continuous after 10 one-hour long lessons. i doesn't make me a bad tutor. it's how learning works for heaven's sake.

it will also never stop surprising me how certain language learners beat themselves up over not reaching fluency after 6 months of studies. girl, you have a full-time job and a social life. you won't be able to read shakespeare-level literature after 35 hours of studies. it doesn't make you a bad learner. chill out.

[the-falconer]

I remember when I couldn't decipher anything they were saying on the radio and felt like Mandarin was like a secret code language. Like, I couldn't understand the syllables they were making at all. It was just gibberish to me

Now I can perfectly follow along, even with words I don't know, and I'm really happy about how far I've come

[hebrewbyinbal]

Is it exhausting? ✔️

Frustrating? ✔️

Seems futile at times? ✔️

Does it get in the way with your hard work building a

business? ✔️

Do we have the privilege of stopping? ❎️

Thank you for being here and helping make our online community safe to share our common bonds ❤️

[adhd-languages]

Please don’t compare yourself to my blog because I only mostly show the highlights. And just because I reblog something about studying languages doesn’t mean I’ve actually done much that day!

There’s nothing wrong with taking it slow and enjoying the language! We’re all here to learn because we want to. There’s no pressure to learn quickly. Learning a language is a lifelong journey, and there’s no rush to fluency. Whatever amount you’re doing, it’s okay and you’re welcome on this blog :-)

[studykac]

Wednesday, January 3rd, 2024 - 3/100 dop

First day back at work today, and I thought I'd show off some of my journals for this year^^!

Did so much at work, felt very productive - finished books, started new books, organised the classroom and the like!

Didn't exercise today, but I think with all the hugs I gave to 5-year-olds today, I must've done 50+ squats and a couple deadlifts or whatever.

Finished reading Winter by Ali Smith

Read to 25% of Court by Tracy Wolff (I am finishing this silly little paranormal romance series or it will finish me).

Made pasta for dinner (it was 👍)

Did almost 2 hours of writing ^^

Did some recreational journaling~

Flipped through some verb flashcards during my work breaks for a total time of almost 10 minutes :)

📚 Court by Tracy Wolff

🎧 Dive Into You by NCT Dream

[studywithrosie]

Soft suggestion: You don't always have to journal.

If you're feeling down, or you've had a rough day, or you're in a weird state of mind, etc... yes, you want to journal about it to feel better because that's what everyone tells you to do and they promise it's going to help you feel 100 times better. They're saying that from experience and good intentions, and they're right. It does help.

But sometimes the last thing you want to do is to sit with your pen and notebook and dissect these things. Sometimes you don't want to vent, you don't want to open up and pour your thoughts and feelings out onto the pages. You just want to distance yourself from it.

And even on the good days, when journaling seems like a pleasant self-care activity, sometimes it's hard to express yourself, even to yourself. And sometimes you don't know how to respond to journal prompts.

It's okay. You don't always have to journal.

But you still want to feel better. So maybe... maybe you can study instead?

It doesn't have to be a nose-to-the-grindstone sort of studying. It can be a hobbyist style of studying.

Language learning is great. Don't feel pressured to commit yourself 100%. Just pick a foreign language at random. If they have a different alphabet / character system, just start with that. Write it down. Write down basic phrases. Repeat as many times as you like. Find bite-sized pieces of things to learn (Wiki articles, fun facts about the language / country of origin, etc.) And write it all down, like you would if you were journaling.

Not into language learning? S'ok. Pick something else to study. Something fun, something simple, non-stressful and easily digestible. Main events in the history of an ancient civilization of your interest. Basic theory of music. Fundamental physiological processes in animal or plant cells (things like respiration or photosynthesis). Industrial processes (how things are made). Rock formation.

There's really no limit. Something as simple as "How do birds make nests?" to arithmetic math drills.

The point is, tap into your curiosity and channel your focus into learning that new thing. Even for just 20 minutes. And remember to take notes and write it all down. The writing part is important because it's meditative. So if you feel the need to journal but also kinda don't want to, try studying instead.

[elf-luthiel]

ma vhenan & mir vhenan

Ma : you Mir : first person possessive Vhenan : heart

Ma vhenan translates to : my heart

Ma vhenan directly translates to : you heart

Mir vhenan directly translates to : my heart

Ma vhenan translates to “my heart” because it is a beautiful use of elvhen language. The speaker implies by defining their heart that the object of the speaker’s words (whom they love) defines their heart. In other words, it’s a poetic shortening of “you are my heart” to “you, (are my) heart”.

Ar lath ma Solas ma vhenan mir.

I love you Solas you heart of mine.

[dreamer-hangugeo]

날지 못하면 달려라. 달리지 못하면 걸어라. 그리고 걷지 못하면 기어라, 당신이 무엇을 하든 앞으로 가야 한다는 것만 명심해라. – 마틴 루터 킹 주니어 If you cannot fly then run. If you cannot run, then walk. And, if you cannot walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward. – Martin Luther King Jr. ✏️ 𝐕𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲: 날다: fly 달리다: run, dash 걷다: walk 기다: crawl 그리고: and 무엇: anything, something 앞: front 가다: go 명심하다: keep (sth) in mind, bear (sth) in mind, be sure to remember ✏️ 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫: 1. V~지 못하다 = cannot V E.g. 날지 못하다 = cannot fly/ be unable to fly 2.  V~아/어 라 = used when the speaker demands or directs the listener for doing some work. E.g.  날지 못하면 달려라 = If you can't fly, run #KoreanVocabulary #KoreanLanguage #quotesdaily

🌸 🌼 🌻

Support me at: https://koreanlanguageloving.my.canva.site/

[chu-diaries]

140 days of productivity: day 41/140

📸: study session + a song that makes me cry + non-aesthetic work desk

It was such a tiring day that for me it lasted at least a week. I woke up at 5:30 am to study a little, watched Baekhyun's appearance on Jonathan's show and organized my day. In the middle of the morning I decided to take a nap but I regretted it, because I woke up more tired than ever.

I worked all day at a chaotic desk, full of scattered items, but I'm finally happy with the labels on my candles. The 60g and 200g jars I bought two weeks ago finally arrived and suddenly I have a flood of new tasks for tomorrow. I blinked and it's already 10 pm. I cried so much today that my eyes are burning (yes, I'm struggling with my mental health again). I just hope this helps me sleep better.

🌸: day 8/27

💧: 2 L

🏋🏻‍♀️: 🚫

🏃🏻‍♀️: 🚫

🕯️: worked on my new labels + posted content on social media + did the last few adjustments to my product catalog (8 h)

🪘: morning study session on Olorun and the Orixá Funfun (1 h)

🇰🇷: 🚫

🎧: departure to the west - joe hisaishi

📺: baekhyun’s appearance in Jonathan’s show

📚: 🚫

🛑: 1 day pick free

💊: 🚫

[hi-i-am-a-sock]

Reminder: forgetting stuff doesn't make you a bad learner. It's just how the brain works: it gets rid of information one doesn't use.

[comparatist]

31.01.24 [1/29]

i had started learning korean from duolingo a year ago. couldn’t continue it for reasons, lack of time being one. however i started again! and this time i plan to accomplish my goals!

ps. i aced the competitive exam i had prepared for with flying colours!