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TAC 2013 Team PAX

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kanewai
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 Message 105 of 204
26 January 2013 at 9:06pm | IP Logged 
I like the concept of the list of challenges, but too much of the Team Mir's list looks
like school homework! (But maybe I'm just lazy, and don't want to write short essays).
For us I'd prefer more fun activities, and ones we all do together each month.
Something along the lines of ...

JAN: Post a link to a song, and write about the lyrics here
FEB:
MAR:
... etc

(of course, we could do both. Have the challenges, but still have a group activity)

I was thinking along the lines of -

- Cook a recipe from your PAX language. Post the results
- Team PAX Happy Hour: find a cocktail recipe in your TL.
- Switch your computer, phone, etc to PAX for a week.
- Send everyone in Team PAX a postcard in your language
- Memorize a short poem. Translate it here
- Flash Mob another site, like BBC Languages, and play the games there

any others?

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songlines
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 Message 106 of 204
27 January 2013 at 4:38am | IP Logged 
kanewai wrote:
I like the concept of the list of challenges, but too much of the Team Mir's list looks
like school homework! (But maybe I'm just lazy, and don't want to write short essays). For us I'd prefer more fun
activities, and ones we all do together each month. ....
I was thinking along the lines of -

- Cook a recipe from your PAX language. Post the results
- Team PAX Happy Hour: find a cocktail recipe in your TL.
- Switch your computer, phone, etc to PAX for a week.
- Send everyone in Team PAX a postcard in your language
- Memorize a short poem. Translate it here
- Flash Mob another site, like BBC Languages, and play the games there



Yes, Kanewai - I'm absolutely in agreement. I like having a shorter list, with an emphasis on fun, and
participants doing them at (approximately) the same time.

The model that Mir/ Viking/ (and some others) have seems to be that of a much longer list, with "points" given
for each activity done. That may work well for some people (and there seems to be some enthusiasm for it here),
but - speaking just for myself - I can all too easily see it becoming a chore/duty.   (But it is a truly
impressive list.)

FYI: Language Sponge's Team Mir Challenges, post 287 .

A couple of notes:

-I love Solfrid Cristin's idea of having a "Discovery of the Day" feature on the team thread.   See MIR
post 224.   To a certain degree, many of us already do this on
our logs (after all, that's what a log is about: recording our discoveries, explorations, and - we hope! -
achievements and milestones in the language), but perhaps it'd be a nice idea to also share some of the
discoveries on the team thread...?

-We can repeat activities too, of course. I myself enjoy cooking, and had been thinking of having something akin
to the French Fridays with Dorie idea. - Well, except once
a month, and not on Fridays, and perhaps using other cookbooks as well. (Okay, so not so much akin to the
FFwD. But I do own
Around
My French Table
anyway.)

So. Possible other activities/ideas:

- Language Discovery of the Day.   As above. Idea snaffled from Solfrid Cristin. We don't have to post a new
language discovery every day, of course; just to mark it with that header when we do.

- Cool [insert language] Word Discovery. Similar to the above, but for vocab..?

- Re. cooking in your target language. Choose a recipe either written in your target language, or from the culture
of your target language, and translate it and/ or prepare it. If you don't actually enjoy cooking, you could just do
the translation. If it's a delicious (and simple) enough recipe, perhaps someone else may be tempted to try
the dish and post the results...!?   

For those people studying French Chocolate and Zucchini is a
bilingual food blog, so the translation's already done for you.

- Watch a film in your target language. (With or without captions or subtitles, as your language level allows.)

- Watch a TV programme in your target language. (Again, with or without captions or subtitles, as your language
level allows.)

- Watch or read a news story in your target language.   If we do this around the same week/day, it'd be an
interesting comparison of what different countries may consider "headline" news at the same time. Or it may
offer differing perspectives on the same news item.

- Collaboratively create a "top ten" (or whatever - twelve? Or..?) list of films made in your target language.   

-Collaboratively create a "top ten" list of books for beginners studying the target language.

-Collaboratively create a "top ten" list of classics you want to (eventually) read in the original. Subsets: Authors,
or titles of specific works.

-Collaboratively create a list of "top ten" people in the performing arts, who work in your target language.   
Maybe have one list of actors/actresses; another for singers...?

The "top ten" lists could be scheduled for later in the year, to allow time for people to listen, watch, read, and
mull on it as they study their target language/s.

-----
That's it off the top of my head.   Will update this post if/as I think of anything else.   

Comments, other ideas...?


Edited by songlines on 27 January 2013 at 4:49am

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songlines
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 Message 107 of 204
27 January 2013 at 5:39am | IP Logged 
In case anyone hasn't seen the thread in the General Discussion section, the
Six Week Challenge is starting in a few days. Registration is now
open, with full details linked in Sprachprofi's first post.
1 person has voted this message useful



Flarioca
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Speaks: Portuguese*, Esperanto, French, EnglishC2, Spanish, German, Italian
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 Message 108 of 204
28 January 2013 at 12:37am | IP Logged 
I was already decided to choose a song from the album Come è Profondo il Mare by Lucio Dalla. This is a somewhat pessimistic/realistic album, whose lyrics may not please people who are in a happy mood.

My preferred songs in this album are "Come è Profondo il Mare" and "Quale Allegria", but I've chosen "Il Cucciolo Alfredo" because I wanted lyrics whith the not so easy ne word.

The Italian "ne", the Catalan "en" and the French "en" have some shared features, but each has also its singular features and uses.

You won't find anything similar in Portuguese and (as far as I can see) in Spanish. Indeed, these three words are not so easy in each of those languages and the Catalan "en" belogs, from my perspective, to the "problematic family in the Catalan grammar".

In the song below, the "ne" seems to play only a reinforcement role.

For me, this song talks about loneliness and meaninglessness, but also to the hope that simple actions and personal attitudes change might give people not only comfort but some real happiness.


Lyrics

Il Cucciolo Alfredo

Tra le case e i palazzi di una strada d'inferno
si vede una stella tanto bella e violenta
che si dovrebbe vergognare.
Televisori e cucine, così uguali,
con i denti di bocca di uno venuto dal centro
in cerca di un dramma da annusare.
Il cucciolo Alfredo, avvilito e appuntito,
con i denti da lupo tradito,
ci pensa un attimo e poi sale,
si tratta di un giovane autobus dall'aspetto sociale
e il biglietto gratuito
regalo di un'amministrazione niente male.
Nemmeno Natale è una sera normale
con gli occhi per terra la gente prepara la guerra.

C'è guerra nei viali del centro,
dove anche il vento è diverso,
son diversi gli odori per uno che viene da fuori
un grande striscione con uno scudo e una croce
e una stella cometa,
la reclame di una dieta,
pistola alla mano la città si prepara
a sommare il danaro,
a una giornata più amara.

Alla quarta fermata, senza nessuna ragione, scendendo deciso
il cucciolo Alfredo s'inventa un sorriso,
sorride a uno scherzo di donna, a un amico che alle sette di sera,
dopo più di tre anni è appena uscito di galera.
Il complesso cileno affisso sul muro
promette spettacolo, un colpo sicuro.
La musica andina, che noia mortale,
sono più di tre anni che si ripete sempre uguale,
mentre il cucciolo Alfredo canta in modo diverso la canzone senza note
di uno che si è perso:
canzone diversa ma canzone d'amore,
cantata tra i denti, da cuore a cuore.

Se la sua è cattiveria io la prendo per mano,
ce ne andremo lontano
Se la sua è cattiveria io la prendo per mano,
ce ne andremo lontano
Se la sua è cattiveria io la prendo per mano,
ce ne andremo lontano.


**************************************************

My translation. Italian speakers help will be welcome.


Among houses and buildings of a road from hell
you see a star so beautiful and violent
one should be ashamed.
the same TVs and kitchens,
with the teeth of the mouth come from the center
looking for a drama to smell.
The puppy Alfredo, humiliated and pointed,
with the teeth of a betrayed wolf,
thinks for a moment and then goes away,
it's a new bus of social looks
and a free ticket
Gift from a not so bad administration.
Not even Christmas, it's a normal evening
with eyes on the ground people prepare for war.

There is war in the streets of the center,
where even the wind is different,
different are the smells for someone who comes from outside
a large banner with a shield and a cross
and a comet,
the advertising of a diet,
gun in hand the city is preparing
to add up the money,
in a more bitter day.

At the fourth stop, for no reason, descending decided
the puppy Alfredo invents a smile,
smiles at a joke of a woman, to a friend who at seven in the evening,
after more than three years it just got out of jail.
The chilean complex posted on the wall
promises a show, a sure hit.
The boring andean music,
repeats itself for more than three years,
while the puppy Alfredo sings in a different way the song without notes
of one who is lost:
different songs, but love songs,
sung between the teeth, from heart to heart.

If its is evil I take it by the hand,
we'll go far
If its is evil I take it by the hand,
we'll go far
If its is evil I take it by the hand,
we'll go far


Edited by Flarioca on 28 January 2013 at 12:42am

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kanewai
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Studies: Italian, Spanish

 
 Message 109 of 204
28 January 2013 at 8:17pm | IP Logged 
My song: Marcia baila by Les Rita Mitsuoko.

I heard it in Les témoins (The Witnesses, André Téchiné, 2007), and thought it was the most perfect 80's dance song ever. The French thought so too; it was a major hit in 1985, though I don't remember it crossing over to the US. And the video is all kinds of awesome - think a French precursor to the Scissors Sisters.

Spoilers ahead ... watch the video before reading!


I didn't learn the story behind the song until recently. It's a tribute to the Argentine dancer Marcia Moretto, who died from cancer at the age of 32. The lead singer and guitarist of Les Rita both studied with her, and she might have danced with the duo (Wikipedia has conflicting information here). The song talks about the joy they got from watching Marcia dance, even while death stalks her.

Marcia elle danse   
Sur du satin de la rayonne
Dur polystirene expanse
A ses pieds
Marcia dance avec des jambes
Aiguisees comme des couperets
Deux fleches qui donnent des idees
Des sensations
Marcia elle est maigre
Belle en scene belle comme a la ville
La voir danser me transforme
En excitee
Moretto comme ta bouche
Est immense quand to souris
Et quand tu ris je ris aussi
Tu aimes tellement la vie
Quel est donc ce froid
Que l'on sent en toi?
Mais c'est la mort
Qui t'a assassinee Marcia
C'est la mort

Tu t'es consumee Marcia
C'est le cancer
Que tu as pris sous ton bras
Maintenant tu es en cendres, cendres
La mort c'est comme une chose impossible
Et meme a toi qui est forte comme une fusee
Et meme a toi qui est la vie meme Marcia
C'est la mort qui t'a emmenee
Marcia danse un peu chinois
La chaleur dans les mouvements d'epaules


And here's my translation of the middle section:

Marcia, she is skinny
Beautiful on the stage and beautiful in the city
Watching her dance transforms me
and excites me
Moretto, your mouth
is so grand when you smile
And when you laugh, I laugh also
You love life so much
But now what is this cold
That one senses in you?
But it is death
That has murdered you, Marcia
It's death




frenchrescue has uploaded 72 French videos with the French lyrics and English translations. I just found it, just now, while looking for links to Marcia Baila. It looks pretty awesome.



And here's an early vote for a cooking activity in February.

Edited by kanewai on 28 January 2013 at 8:18pm

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emk
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 Message 110 of 204
28 January 2013 at 9:44pm | IP Logged 
Ooh, songs, what a fun idea. I've marked some especially nifty vocabulary in boldface. And I apologize for my translation: These are clever lyrics, and I'm going butcher them.

Anything marked with ** is either a bit weird in the original, or beyond my knowledge of French.

MC Solaar, Clic-clic
French lyrics from here

Quote:
C'est un conte philosophique
It's a philosophical tale
Basé sur des faits historiques
Based on historical facts
Depuis le jurassique, jusqu'aux smic et les assedics
From the Jurassic to the SMIC and the ASSEDIC

Pour le pouvoir, le trafic
For power, trafficking
Le sous-sol, les narcotiques
The underground, narcotics
Certaines personnes utilisent le clic clic
Certain people use the click-click
Sur toute la terre en Afrique, comme dans le sud de l'Amérique
On all the earth in Africa, as in south America

On utilise la même logique même si ça n'est pas démocratique
One uses the same logic, even if it isn't democratic
Quand s'emmêlent les politiques
When the politics get mixed up
On met des gamins dans des Jeep
One puts the kids in the Jeeps
Qui sans esprit critique utilisent le clic clic
Who with no critical spirit use the click-click

pour régler leur problème ils utilisent leur flingue
To solve their problems, they use their gun (colloquial)

Par amour d'une métisse
For the love of a métisse
Ou par amour de l'améthyste
Or for the love of amethyst
Parfois où tu habites pour une insulte dit en public
Sometimes where you live for an insult said in public
Dans les ghettos les quartiers chics
In the ghettos, the chic city neighborhoods
Pour une simple histoire de fric
For a simple story of money (colloquial)
Sans aucun scrupule on utilise le clic clic
With no scruples one uses the click-click

En quarante près de Munich
**In 40 close to Munich
Sur les côtes du Mozambique
On the coasts of Mozambique
On a établit les listes, une gestion mathématique
One establishes the lists, a mathemetical management
Le fascisme, l'éslavagisme sont envoyés au casse-pipe
The fascism, the slavery, **are sent to risk their lives
Des humains d'un certain type
The humans of a certain type
En usant du clic clic
By using the click-click
C'est une question de principe
It's a question of principle
C'est même une question d'éthique
It's even a question of ethics
Car cette fois ça n'est pas hit
Because this time it isn't **hit
Les jeux vidéos, les clips
The video games, the music videos
Ce qu'il faut c'est que l’on participe
What's needed is that one participate
En deux mots former une équipe
In two words form a team
Pour ne pas rendre glamour l'utilisation du clic clic
To not glamorize the use of the click-click.

C'est un conte philosophique
It's a philosophical tale
C'est aussi une auto-critique
It's also a self-critique
J'étais fasciné par les guns tout en restant pacifiste
I was fascinated by the guns all while resting pacifist
Voir ce qui se passe dans le monde cela m'a donné le déclic
To see what happened in the world make it click
Ça commence par la haine et ça fini par clic clic
It begins with the hate and it finishes with click-click.


My favorite lyrics here are:

Quote:
Quand s'emmêlent les politiques
On met des gamins dans des Jeep
Qui sans esprit critique utilisent le clic clic


…which was one of the first actual artistic experiences I ever had in French. And I'm also quite impressed by the last verse:

Quote:
C'est un conte philosophique
C'est aussi une auto-critique
J'étais fasciné par les guns tout en restant pacifiste
Voir ce qui se passe dans le monde cela m'a donné le déclic
Ça commence par la haine et ça fini par clic clic


Another great thing about this video: You can see quite clearly how he articulates his lips when he sings.

EDIT: I just watched Marcia Baila. That's just delightfully 80s. :-)

*relurks*

Edited by emk on 28 January 2013 at 9:57pm

2 persons have voted this message useful



Quique
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 Message 111 of 204
28 January 2013 at 11:08pm | IP Logged 
Joan Petit is a popular Occitan song from about the XVth century. It expanded along the Pyrenees, so there are also versions in French (Joan Petit), Aragonese (Chuan Chiquet) and Catalan. In the Basque land the music is known as Ipurdi dantza. You can listen this recording in Occitan.

It's danced using different parts of the body: finger, foot, hand, elbow, knee, etc. This a video of the dance, and some friends of mine playing it. There is even an animated version.

Jean Petit qui danse

Jean Petit qui danse (bis)
De son doigt il danse (bis)
De son doigt, doigt, doigt (bis)
Ainsi danse Jean Petit.

Jean Petit qui danse (bis)
De son pied il danse (bis)
De son doigt, doigt, doigt (bis)
De son pied, pied, pied (bis)
Ainsi danse Jean Petit.

The song goes on with different parts of the body.

Edited by Quique on 28 January 2013 at 11:13pm

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songlines
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 Message 112 of 204
29 January 2013 at 3:20am | IP Logged 
kanewai wrote:

frenchrescue has uploaded 72 French
videos with the French lyrics and English translations. I just found it, just now, while looking for links to Marcia
Baila. It looks pretty awesome.



And here's an early vote for a cooking activity in February.


The French rescue link does look awesome - thanks!   And his website also has songs marked to indicate
difficulty level.

Yay for cooking (and eating)!


1 person has voted this message useful



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