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You know you’re a language nerd when... | ||
Tags: Language Geek | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5554 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 729 of 3737 18 June 2010 at 10:34pm | IP Logged | |||||
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When you consider what level of language nerdery you've reached so far on the CEF scale, placing yourself somewhere in the range from A1 (mildly single-minded and talkative about learning languages) to C2 (dangerously obsessed and prone to delirium tremens after 24 hours away from studies or the forum).
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| ellasevia Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2011 Senior Member Germany Joined 6140 days ago 2150 posts - 3229 votes Speaks: English*, German, Croatian, Greek, French, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian Studies: Catalan, Persian, Mandarin, Japanese, Romanian, Ukrainian | Message 730 of 3737 18 June 2010 at 10:36pm | IP Logged | |||||
I'd say I'm probably B2 or C1 on that! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5554 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 731 of 3737 18 June 2010 at 10:40pm | IP Logged | |||||
My girlfriend caught a glimpse of what I was typing just now and told me that I've achieved at least basic fluency on this scale. I took this as a complement. :) Edited by Teango on 18 June 2010 at 10:41pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Levi Pentaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5565 days ago 2268 posts - 3328 votes Speaks: English*, French, Esperanto, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Dutch, Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese, Italian | Message 732 of 3737 18 June 2010 at 11:11pm | IP Logged | |||||
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...when you watch a World Cup game in Portuguese rather than English, even though you barely understand the language, because the Brazilian broadcasters put so much more emotion and enthusiasm into their commentary.
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| MegatronFilm Triglot Senior Member United States peligrosa.tumblr.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5936 days ago 130 posts - 275 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, French Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 733 of 3737 19 June 2010 at 2:22am | IP Logged | |||||
Ah, yes. It is fixed, haha. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| psy88 Senior Member United States Joined 5589 days ago 469 posts - 882 votes Studies: Spanish*, Japanese, Latin, French | Message 734 of 3737 19 June 2010 at 4:22am | IP Logged | |||||
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When three levels of being a language nerd occur to you after having had oral surgery that has gone amiss and you are in excruciating pain and you take your medication before sleeping. (This has happened before, when in pain or sick I seem to have more language dreams than when I am not in pain/sick). Anyway, level "big" nerd:This morning you wake up after dreaming.In your dream you are trying somewhat successfully to communicate to a group of native speakers in your second target language. You keep repeating lines from Assimil French and even though you are understood and you understand them, you can't seem to progress beyond a certain point (as in real life, you realize, as you type this). Then, in the dream you take a chance and ask in your second target language if they speak your first target language. Lo and behold they do. You continue with them in that language and everyone is happy and the dream ends with everyone dancing merrily.
Level "bigger" nerd: you hope you don't forget the dream because you can't wait to post it here. Level "biggest" nerd: So, being in terrible , unrelenting pain, you call your oral surgeon's office.They tell you to come in right away. But, today you have an appointment scheduled with the tutor of your first target language. Do you cancel in order to see the oral surgeon or do you keep the tutoring session? My fellow nerds, you know the answer. I am seeing the oral surgeon tomorrow afternoon. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
 meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5965 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 735 of 3737 19 June 2010 at 4:22am | IP Logged | |||||
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You know you are a Language Nerd when you begin to perceive words in your own language as words in a target language.
Exhibit 1: I see this extremely alarming product in the grocery store: 
Now, you sure don’t need to be studying German to be frightened by this, but if you know that (der) Jammer means misery, shame and lamentation in that language, it’s easy to image a little “des” in front of the word and interpret this as the “Kool-Aid of Sorrow” or the Fruit Juice of Suffering, or something equally scary. Maybe it is. I never liked that freaky grinning pitcher . . . . Exhibit 2: I see a sign in another store and I just don’t understand it: “Take a Vaca!” Vaca is not an English word; it’s a dumb abbreviation of the word “vacation” and I hope this usage never becomes too popular – but, since “vaca” means “cow” in Spanish, for a brief, stupid moment I think, well, how times have changed, people used to say “Don’t Have a Cow!” and now they tell you to “Take a Cow!” Language Nerdery is also obvious when you are so easily deceived by seeing the word “language” on a book cover, you assume that this book is it, it's the one, this is the book for you, it’s the book you were always meant to be with . . . . can it be true? Read on: Exhibit 3: Yes, another store. The bookstore this time. A display of some current bestsellers shows a book with a very interesting title: “The Five Love Languages.” But, no, no, it is not so . . . soon I realize that the book isn’t about people who love languages--at least five languages, too!. No. It’s about people who love people. I am overcome with hate. Edited by meramarina on 19 June 2010 at 4:25am 10 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| johntm93 Senior Member United States Joined 5325 days ago 587 posts - 746 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 736 of 3737 19 June 2010 at 7:01am | IP Logged | |||||
...When you come back to this forum and this is the first thread you visit... Edit: I might have posted this earlier but... when you get a retainer after getting your braces off (FINALLY!!!) and the first thing you worry about is that you won't be able to make the trilled r in Spanish... After a little practice, I could sort of do it with the retainer in :) Edited by johntm93 on 19 June 2010 at 7:21am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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