#learning languages

[bookwyrminspiration]

constantly torn between "i wish I could magically learn this language immediately and speak it perfectly" and "part of language acquisition is the process, and learning it immediately wouldn't have as much meaning or significance to me"

[linghxr]

Advice I would give my past self about studying Chinese

Recently I've been reflecting on my Chinese learning journey and how far I've come. If I could go back in time, these are 10 things I would tell my past self. A few are specific to Chinese, but most can apply to any language

It will get so much easier to learn new characters. I remember feeling overwhelmed because learning new characters was a painful process. Now when I encounter a new character, I can remember it with relative ease—it’s just a new combination of familiar components.

Don't feel bad about having uneven development in different skills. My listening and reading are significantly stronger than my speaking and writing. It’s super common and nothing to be ashamed of.

The best way to get over being too embarrassed to speak is to experience some embarrassment and realize it’s not a big deal. I used to be so afraid of making mistakes that I would avoid speaking in class. It was only by being forced to speak that I got over it. I'm much better for it!

It’s impossible to learn everything, and time is limited. You have to prioritize. You probably don’t need to know how to say “pawnshop” in Chinese, and trying to jam your head full of 100 words you saw once won’t work. They won’t stick.

It will actually be harder to read pinyin than to read characters at some point. When I helped a friend with a script for her Chinese class, I really struggled because she had written it entirely in pinyin. I had to write out the characters to read without stumbling! I know characters are daunting for beginners, but trust me, you will get used to them.

If you haven’t practiced or learned something, of course you won’t be good at it. I remember feeling so frustrated trying to navigate Chinese websites for the first time. In retrospect, obviously, I was going to struggle with something completely new to me!

If something isn’t sticking, move on. Why waste time on a word that’s not clicking when you could be learning five new ones? It will only result in unnecessary frustration. So unless you need to know it for your class or a proficiency test, drop it and move on.

Don’t beat yourself up when you have trouble understanding music, literature, different accents, etc. These can be challenging even in your native language. Of course you’re going to struggle more in a new language.

It's worth it to pay attention to things like stroke order and tones from the start so you don't form bad habits. Don’t stress about get it perfect, but it’s easier to do it right the first time than to have to correct your bad habits in the future.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed by all that you don’t know, learn how to express yourself with what you do know. It’s truly its own skill that requires practice. After all, in life you can’t always stop and pull out a dictionary.

I started learning Chinese a really long time ago, but I became more serious about it in 2018, so 5 1/2 years ago. I'm very proud of how far I've come, but I still have a long way to go! I look forward to revisiting this post in another couple of years 😊

[ceilidhtransing]

Gàidhlig vs Gaeilge

The languages Scots Gaelic* (Gàidhlig) and Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge, also known in English as simply “Irish”) are two separate languages, yet in English they are often both called Gaelic.

However, they are pronounced completely differently.

Gaelic (Scottish) rhymes with Alec

Gaelic (Irish) sounds like Gay-lick

As a fun fact, it's easy to tell apart Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic visually because in Gàidhlig 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 all the accents are grave - “welcome to Scotland”, which you'll see driving over the border, is “fàilte gu Alba” - while in Gaeilge 🇮🇪 all the accents are acute - “welcome to Ireland” is “fáilte go hÉirinn”.

This has been a very friendly PSA from a Scot who has heard Scots Gaelic mispronounced as “Gaylick” too many times - and now you can go on your merry linguistic way confident in your pronunciation of these two words which look identical but sound totally different and mean refer to two separate things.

*not to be at all confused with the Scots language, which is its own separate thing and very much not included under “Gaelic”

[todayontumblr]

Wednesday, September 27.

Langblr.

If ever you're in France, accompanied by your kitty cat, and you find yourself unintentionally (and quite unexpectedly) projecting intestinal gas produced within the body by bacteria that has broken down food, and said kitty cat looks a little alarmed, and you don't know what to say, well. Fortune smiles upon you this day. Consider #langblr your knight in shining linguistic armor. Chat, j'ai pété.

It really can happen to anyone. But langblr is here for all your polyglot needs: learning how to say chai tea in Czech, the frankly adorable etymology of peninsula, Greek paleographic fonts, for words of support for those underway with their language-learning adventures, or if you're in need of some support yourself. It is a particularly wholesome corner of Tumblr, for those with an interest in the slow-burn magic of learning another language. 

[ev-n-learning]

Tip for people using duolingo:

There is a website called duome.eu! On it you can see fun stats about your profile and progress, or even other people's profile and progress! But that is not the point of this post.

On duome, you can see the tips and notes for all courses.

Yes, you heard me right! All tips and notes, all courses! Here's a screenshot with the english and spanish lists, for example:

Why does this matter? Aren't tips and notes useless for most languages???

A: no they are not!

Hypothetical question above is probably from someone who never knew these existed before. See, before duolingo's most recent redesign, you could see (at least on desktop/web) tips and notes on the skill you were working on! These are those!!!! Here's an example with verb aspects from the ukrainian course (with a picture of my cat to squish it down):

So that's it! That's my knowledge imparted on you all!

Remember: the website is duome.eu! Look at it for tips & notes!!!

[my-skull-is-full-of-sunken-ships]

Počasi in Slovenian means "slow" but in Czech počasí means "weather" and in Slovenian "weather" is vreme but in Russian "время" (vremya) means "time" and this is exactly why I shouldn't have studied two Slavic languages at the same time but here I am

[dsm-wannabe-linguist]

Really enjoying Duolingo’s gradual progression from “the blue duck wears a big hat” to “if Matthew doesn’t make good on his alimony payments then I’m calling a hitman”

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Anyone know how Duolingo chooses what constructed languages to teach and how we can petition them to teach Grishaverse languages?

Asking for a friend

[zzzzzestforlife]

increasingly "useless" reasons why i like learning languages

@studentbyday said i should re-define "useless" in my mind. instructions unclear. made a shitpost instead 💩

💌: inside-my-phone format is back!🍃 do you agree/disagree with my MTL rankings? what motivates you? 👀

i can be a more empathetic, understanding, and supportive person who makes sure to only cuss people out in languages they don't understand so that their feelings aren't hurt ❤️

i can talk to more people who will probably think i'm an idiot because of how badly i speak their language 👄

i can nurture my self-confidence/-esteem as long as i don't think too hard about how much i don't know 🥰

i can read more books, articles, people arguing on the internet, etc. 📚

i can travel to foreign countries more easily until someone asks me to translate something important and i mess up and land us both in prison or something ✈️

i can unlock new work opportunities until someone asks me to translate something important and i mess up and land us both in prison or something 💼

i can multitask better even though i shouldn't even be doing it in the first place 🤹‍♀️

i can watch my favorite shows/listen to my favorite songs without subtitles/translations so that my brain rot can continue in peace 📺

i can, on the other hand, stop losing brain cells?? 🧠

i can eavesdrop on more people, probably at the grocery store 🙉

i can show off at work and other places where it is appropriate to show off irrelevant skills ✨

sex appeal?? 🥵

[munchkins-blog]

Working on traditional chinese again today,,,copying down the last couple translations then learning the necessary vocabulary. I got about a week left until the exams and my anxiety levels are skyrocketing.

Also all the snow just vanished overnight, which kinda bummed me out...🥲

[linghxr]

All the shishi words I know

Last year I learned the word 时事, and it struck me how many shishi words there are. For fun, I listed out all the ones I'm familiar with. You can see more at MDBG (but a Chinese-Chinese dictionary would probably have many more).

世世 shìshì - from age to age

世事 shìshì - affairs of life / things of the world

事事 shìshì - everything

事实 | 事實 shìshí - fact

失事 shīshì - (of a plane, ship etc) to have an accident (plane crash, shipwreck, vehicle collision etc) / to mess things up

实事 | 實事 shíshì - fact / actual thing / practical matter

实施 | 實施 shíshī - to implement / to carry out

实时 | 實時 shíshí - (in) real time / instantaneous

时事 | 時事 shíshì - current trends / the present situation / how things are going

时时 | 時時 shíshí - often / constantly

试试 | 試試 shìshi - to have a try

逝世 shìshì - to pass away / to die

I ran some stats based on my Anki deck, and there also a lot of qishi words: 其实、气势、骑士、启示、歧视、启事. But not as many as shishi. Maybe we need a poem of shishis to go alongside the 施氏食狮史 poem?

[languageboutique]

[agapi-kalyptei]

Reblogs appreciated.

[zhuzhudushu]

今天的成语 An Idiom I Learned Today

recently learned about a new idiom and thought i would share! not sure if it counts as a 成语 per se, since it is 8 characters instead of 4. nonetheless here it is.

三天打鱼，两天晒网 sān tiān dǎ yú, liǎng tiān shài wǎng

literally: fish for 3 days, sun-dry the net for 2 days figuratively: to lack perseverance; to not earnestly work toward something

example: 你要是三天打鱼两天晒网，那你永远不会进步。 If you "fish for 3 days but sun-dry the next for 2," then you won't ever improve.

it's the idea that if you work towards something for 3 days but then rest for 2, you're basically wasting your time and not putting in as much effort as you could—since you could be putting that effort in all 5 days.

it's definitely a very chinese concept 😅 i'm pro resting myself LOL

[learnukrainian]

Free online courses about Ukraine

Basics of the Ukrainian Language and Culture - https://www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/introduction-ukrainian-language-and-culture/

Ukraine: History, Culture, and Identities; this course is available in English, French, Italian, and Norwegian on Coursera: https://ui.org.ua/en/sectors-en/the-first-online-course-about-ukraine-in-english/

The Making of Modern Ukraine with Timothy Snyder: https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-making-of-modern-ukraine

Crimea: History and People on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/crimea-history-and-people/