Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5446 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian
| Message 49 of 76 26 July 2011 at 6:19pm | IP Logged |
After rescheduling my million cards due in Anki, I'm starting to feel back on track (again). I even woke up early today to review cards in advance. I have also written down some sentences to add as new cards today. I haven't added new cards in quite some time!
Phrase of the day in Persian is خدا بیامرزش (khoda biamorzesh). This phrase is used when someone passes away in the same way we use "RIP/Rest in Peace" in English. Its literal meaning is something like "God forgive him" but it can be translated more lightly to "God bless his soul".
I have made a Twitter account in order to join the upcoming 6 Week Challenge. Please feel free to add me if you are also doing the challenge or are studying Persian. I'm guessing that my tweets will start out 75% English, but I hope to be tweeting 50% English, 50% Persian by the end of the challenge. I'll be tweeting about language learning and Iran in English and about general "stuff" in Persian.
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Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5446 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian
| Message 50 of 76 27 July 2011 at 9:07pm | IP Logged |
My partner changed the title of his log to "Team Ohana" ... What is this mysterious new name? Stay tuned to find out!
Yesterday was a great study day for me. I traded breakfast + lunch in bed for a one-hour Farsi lesson from my husband. We went over some formal phrases that you could use when visiting Iranians for dinner. I'll type them up and write a whole lesson here over the weekend. There are quite a few phrases, but I think they are all very useful.
I also reviewed Pimsleur lesson #10 yesterday and typed up the key phrases. Finally, I did more flashcards than I had due and added new words and phrases from my lesson.
The Persian Phrase of the Day is شوخی کردم ("shookhi kardam"), which is like "Just kidding!" in English. شوخی means "joke".
Finally, I'm going to continue plugging my Twitter in hopes that some Persian learners or 6WC participants will add me. :)
Edit:// I'm on Team Ohana now! Hi to my new teammates!
Edited by Élan on 29 July 2011 at 3:34pm
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Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5446 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian
| Message 51 of 76 01 August 2011 at 1:32am | IP Logged |
This weekend, I translated a very fun bandari song from Persian to English. It's called "Take Off The Chador". Before I get to the lyrics, I should probably give you some background information!
Khastegari
A khastegari is a traditional Persian ceremony that I would call a pre-engagement ceremony. At the khastegari, an interested young man and his close family go to a young woman's house to meet with her family. The man's family brings flowers and sweets, while the young woman prepares the tea. The family members talk with each other to see if a romantic coupling would be suitable. Next, the woman's family will call out to their daughter and ask her serve to the tea (so the man's family can take a look at her). If all goes well, the young man and woman can have some time alone to get to know each other (perhaps 10-30 minutes). During the khastegari, the young man is allowed to see the young woman once without her chador. "Back in the day", or in traditional families, the young man's mother or sister would look at the girl without her chador.
If all goes well at the khastegari, the man's family will call the woman's family and ask to set up another meeting (the engagement). If the woman is interested, her mother will set up the meeting. If not, the mother may something like "She has decided she'd like to continue her studies."
Of course, the khastegari is not so strict anymore since many couples are in a relationship before being introduced in this fashion. For many young people, the khastegari is like the Western tradition of asking a father for his blessing before proposing to his daughter.
So you see, the title "Take Off The Chador" is not as offensive as it sounds. The song is about the khastegari. :)
Song Translation: Deldar (Chadoro Bardar) by Sandy
Listen and read original Farsi lyrics HERE.
See the video HERE.
از همون نگاه اول دیدمت چشم خریدار
az hamoon negahe aval didamet cheshme kharidar
from the first time I saw you, you caught my eye
عزیزم چادرو بردار
azizam chadoro bardar
my dear take off the chador
تو مث یه قرص ماهی زیر اون چادر گلدار
to meseye ghorse mahi zire un chadore goldar
you're like a round moon under that floral chador
عزیزم چادرو بردار
azizam chadoro bardar
my dear take off the chador
هله لی هلی هلی هلی هلی هی
یار دلدار، پیش من چادرو بردار
yare deldar, pishe man chadoro bardar
sweetheart, near me take off the chador
هله هلی هلی هلی هلی هی
گل گلزار، پیش من چادرو بردار
gole golzar, pishe man chadoro bardar
flower of the garden, near me take off the chador
دلم آب شد واسه دیدنت
delam ab shod vase didanete
my heart is melting from seeing you
نکن اینهمه آزار
nakon inhame azar
don't be cruel
یه نظر حلاله دختر
ye nazar halale dokhtar
one look is halal girl
دیگه اون چادرو بردار
dige un chadoro bardar
so take off the chador
اگه تو بشی عروس مادرم
age to beshi aroose madaram
if you become my mother's daughter in law
والله چه خوبه
vallah che khoobe
how good it would be vallahi
اگه هیچی ندارم
age hichi nadaram
if I don't have anything
دلم به گرمای جنوبه
delam beh garmaye jonube
my heart is with the warmth of the South
تو لبات قنده که میخنده
to labat ghande ke mikhande
you're like sugar that's laughing
دیگه تقصیر مو نیس
dige taghsire mo* nis
it's not my fault
دل مو خوشگلپسنده
dele mo khoshgele pasande
my heart has good taste (always goes after "pretties")
منو بیچاره نکن
mano bichare nakon
don't make me desperate
میدونم به زیر اون چادر گلدار
midunam beh zire un chadore goldar
I know under that floral chador
گیسوات مثل کمنده
gisuat mesle komande
you're hair is like a lasso
هله لی هلی هلی هلی هلی هی
یار دلدار، پیش من چادرو بردار
yare deldar, pishe man chadoro bardar
sweetheart, near me take off the chador
هله هلی هلی هلی هلی هی
گل گلزار، پیش من چادرو بردار
gole golzar, pishe man chadoro bardar
flower of the garden, near me take off the chador
کاشکی اون روز برسه
kashki un ruz berese
I hope the day comes
که با تو همخونه بشم
keh ba to hamkhoone besham
that we become housemates
بکشی شونه به موت
bekeshi shoone beh moot
you comb your hair
تا که دیوونه بشم
ta ke divoone besham
so that I go crazy
تو نگاه تو یه دنیاس
to negahe tu ye donyas
you look like a world
دل من غرق تماشاس
dele man gharghe tamashas
my heart is drowning (from watching)
سرمه توی چشمات
sorme** tuye cheshmat
the mascara/liner on your eyes
آخ که هر شب شب یلداس
akh ke har shab shabe yaldas
it's like every night is Yalda night
نکنه یه روز بگی
nakone ye ruz begi
I hope a day doesn't come (when) you say
که قلب تو عاشق مو نیس
keh ghalbe to asheghe mo nis
that your heart is not in love with me
تو دلت هوای مو نیس
to delet havaye mo nis
in your heart there's nothing of me
زبونم لال بشه وای
zaboonam lal beshe vay
my tongue becomes speechless
اگه پیغوم بدی یک روز
age peighum bedi yek ruz
if you give me the word that one day
دیگه اینجا جای مو نیس
dige inja jaye mo nis
I don't have any place here
هله لی هلی هلی هلی هلی هی
یار دلدار، پیش من چادرو بردار
yare deldar, pishe man chadoro bardar
sweetheart, near me take off the chador
هله هلی هلی هلی هلی هی
گل گلزار، پیش من چادرو بردار
gole golzar, pishe man chadoro bardar
flower of the garden, near me take off the chador
* "mo" is slang for "man" in South Iran
** "sorme" is the kohl eyeliner or mascara that women wear
Please correct my mistakes! My translation is not totally literal, but I believe it does the job.
YAY the 6WC begins tomorrow! Good luck everyone!
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Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5336 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian
| Message 52 of 76 01 August 2011 at 7:28am | IP Logged |
Hi Elan! Happy to be on the same team! I was fascinated by your cultural introduction and translation. Your in-laws must be over the moon that you are learning their language.
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Martinovich Triglot Newbie Netherlands admartinovich.wordpr Joined 5046 days ago 27 posts - 32 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Russian Studies: Turkish, Belarusian, Persian
| Message 53 of 76 01 August 2011 at 8:43pm | IP Logged |
Hi Elan! I hope one day I'll be able to know Persian as well as you do. And soon I'll sign up to twitter to follow your progress there.
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Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5446 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian
| Message 54 of 76 02 August 2011 at 3:18am | IP Logged |
Solfrid (or may I call you Cristina?): I am so excited to be on your team, too! I'm glad you liked the cultural explanation. I almost didn't include it but I thought "take off the chador" sounded quite religiously and politically charged without the background info. My in laws are extremely happy as you predicted! My husband initially thought it was a waste of time, but he is thrilled now that I can speak with him in his mother tongue.
Martinovich: Definitely get a Twitter! I've found that 140 characters (or less) is the perfect length to practice my Persian a bit. I don't have the stamina to write whole paragraphs, but I'm enjoying "tweeting" a bit. I can't wait to continue to read your log and, hopefully, your Twitter.
I'm loving the 6WC so far. According to the bot, I studied for 2hours and 45mins today. You can see my stats breakdown here. You can see that I spent the most of my time today on Anki (1 hour). To be honest, I saved up my reviews over the weekend so I'd have a lot to do this morning. I logged my first 6WC hour after having my morning coffee and flashcard session.
Edited to add a "Ramadan Mubarak" for Muslim members/lurkers of the forum.
Edited by Élan on 02 August 2011 at 4:07pm
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Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5446 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian
| Message 55 of 76 05 August 2011 at 4:45pm | IP Logged |
It's a few days further into the challenge and I am still very proud of myself. So far, I've studied Persian for 10 hours and 10 minutes. Wow! My husband has been very encouraging this week. He gave me an hour-long lesson on Wednesday about types of clothing and going shopping. Then, yesterday, I got an even longer lesson about foods and ordering at a restaurant. I excitedly shared the phrases I had learned from Pimsleur about ordering food and got a "Well, it's not wrong but..." I've gotten to the point where I can't imagine learning a language without having a native speaker in the next room.
I love looking at my detailed breakdown of study time. I'm happy that my total time for lessons has surpassed my Anki total! I never realized how much time I spend with Anki until now. And I added more than 100 new flashcards in the past two days--looks like my Anki time will start increasing.
I've started using LiveMocha again for Persian. I am using it like Lang-8 though--I skip through the lesson and go straight to the writing practice. I've gotten some very good feedback there.
Hope everyone is having as much fun 6WCing as I am! I'm giving myself a break today and going to the science museum here.
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Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5446 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian
| Message 56 of 76 17 August 2011 at 6:15pm | IP Logged |
Wow, talk about due for an update! We are 17 days into the 6WChallenge and my time is a dismal 20.33 hours! I had hoped to study at least 10 hours per week, so it looks like I better pick up the pace in the next four days!
I feel like I've been crazy busy since last Thursday, when I found out President Obama was coming to town! On Friday and Saturday, I helped mow and rake the lawn and weed the garden (so that our house would look good for the President and his entourage!). On Sunday, I spent more than 8 hours in line to try to get tickets for his town hall meeting but failed--they only gave out about 250 tickets. I did end up getting a ticket from a family friend and was able to go to the town hall meeting on Monday. It was great! How exciting to hear "Now presenting ... the President of the United States". :D
I haven't been studying very diligently, but I have been running daily, which was one of my others goals for this summer. I've also been speaking to my husband in Farsi every day and I know I've improved a ton since I stopped being shy and started speaking.
Hope everyone is having a good 6WC! I promise I'll update again soon. :)
Edited by Élan on 17 August 2011 at 6:16pm
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