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Nu, pogodi! ( Russian study-and-click )

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Teango
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 Message 33 of 96
04 February 2011 at 12:01am | IP Logged 
Nu, pogodi! - Day 11

Study-and-click: 3 hours (46 total)
Current text: Евгений Замятин, "Мы"
New words clicked whilst listening and reading: 253 (2,764 total)
New words clicked whilst listening only: 173 (2,376 total)
Current estimated reading level: B1

I prefer sticking with the story on the Russian side as much as possible now, finding that I need the translation less and less. Often I don't bother translating silently into English at all, and just watch the scenes unfold and play out in my mind's eye. I also enjoy diving into new Russian expressions and getting in touch with the real essence or soul of the story, as the translation often varies from the original meaning considerably and is no substitute for the real thing.

Edited by Teango on 11 March 2011 at 10:18pm

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M. Medialis
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 Message 34 of 96
04 February 2011 at 1:28am | IP Logged 
Teango wrote:
Often I don't bother translating silently into English at all, and just watch the scenes unfold and play out in my mind's eye.


That's wonderful! :D   Your Russian mind is at last breaking free. Keep up the good click!
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Teango
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teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name
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2210 posts - 3734 votes 
Speaks: English*, German, Russian
Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona

 
 Message 35 of 96
06 February 2011 at 10:44pm | IP Logged 
Nu, pogodi! - Day 12

Study-and-click: 5 hours (52 total)
Current text: Евгений Замятин, "Мы"
New words clicked whilst listening and reading: 387 (3,151 total)
New words clicked whilst listening only: 339 (2,715 total)
Current estimated reading level: B1

Out of sheer curiosity, I tried to read some passages from a simplified version of Lermontov's “Тамань” and a copy of the fairytale “Белоснежка” tonight. I know I should waited until my next designated reading test, but I just had to help myself to a sneak peak. As I painfully recall, I could only understand 50-60% of the words in these books last year, and therefore didn't really expect too much. However, much to my surprise, I found I was able to understand around 97% this time round (although I'll admit it was still slow going). That's quite a reassuring leap, even if it's just a couple of easy texts, so I'm really looking forward now to hitting that "4000 words clicked" mark and seeing what score I get on my next reading test with an adult level novel.

@Medialis
I know...it's really encouraging when you can just follow without silently translating! I really hope I can keep pushing forward with this, understanding longer stretches of text each time, and reach something closer to your cool experiences soon. :)

Edited by Teango on 11 March 2011 at 10:18pm

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Teango
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Winner TAC 2010 & 2012
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teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name
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2210 posts - 3734 votes 
Speaks: English*, German, Russian
Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona

 
 Message 36 of 96
07 February 2011 at 9:34pm | IP Logged 
Nu, pogodi! - Day 13

Study-and-click: 2.5 hours (54.5 total)
Current text: Евгений Замятин, "Мы"
New words clicked whilst listening and reading: 163 (3,314 total)
New words clicked whilst listening only: 120 (2,835 total)
Current estimated reading level: B1

As my knowledge of Russian grows and digs in firmer roots, so does my fascination with her blossoming words. It's like exploring and getting to know a new world.

At first I'm snatching at shadows in the early dim glow of one of those energy-saving bulbs, barely warm and visible, just searching for reflecting glints of anything familiar to hold on to in the darkness. Most of the time I simply end up bumping into walls of words and tripping over grammar tables.

But with more and more exposure to the language, this inner light starts to increase its intensity, revealing a whole new brighter landscape of textures and detail I never noticed before. I become better acquainted with how shapes fit together and how sounds just feel right, and I find I'm generally able to get around more comfortably. Yet everything still remains foreign and external to my mind, or to put it another way, I'm aware of becoming less of a stranger each day I remain in this increasingly familiar land.

After a longer stay, I start to feel like I belong to the place, to the language and its culture and people. That we share a common bond and I'm no longer on the outside looking in. Even though I'm still just a newcomer, I'm often tempted to just sit down and marvel at the beauty of basic words and phrases that I mistakenly thought I knew, but as it turns out, I didn't. These words have all sorts of hidden secrets and intertwining stories stored away inside them. And so in the process of getting to know them better and how they're constructed, we become friends and acquaintances, during which I find myself eagerly unwrapping several new layers of meaning as a curious child during pass-the-parcel. And every time we meet again over a proverbial cup of tea for a chat, I plumb new depths in the morphological and semantic richness of the language, and grow to love our meetings more and more.

This is just one of the reasons why I am grateful for the wonderful diversity and fertility of languages and cultures, and why every word I visit and each step I take towards fluency makes me a happier soul by the end of the day.

I hope you don't mind me sharing this thought and joy with you today.

Edited by Teango on 11 March 2011 at 10:19pm

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dragonfly
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 Message 37 of 96
08 February 2011 at 11:45am | IP Logged 
I always read your log like a novel,but this latest passage is a real masterpiece!
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M. Medialis
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 Message 38 of 96
08 February 2011 at 1:09pm | IP Logged 
Yeah, thanks for sharing this. A truly beautiful atmosphere
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Teango
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Winner TAC 2010 & 2012
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teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5396 days ago

2210 posts - 3734 votes 
Speaks: English*, German, Russian
Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona

 
 Message 39 of 96
08 February 2011 at 11:21pm | IP Logged 
Nu, pogodi! - Day 14

Study-and-click: 4.5 hours (59 total)
Current text: Евгений Замятин, "Мы"
New words clicked whilst listening and reading: 315 (3,629 total)
New words clicked whilst listening only: 242 (3,077 total)
Current estimated reading level: B1

When I read this novel in English several years ago, it was a very different experience. The scenes would often lack a certain depth and drama, and I just put this down to the minimalist style of the main character and his world.

This time round, I've ended up much more engrossed and emotionally involved in the original Russian. So much so that I often even find myself wanting to hurl a shoe at the protagonist!

I guess this underlines why it's so marvelous to be able to read a story in its original language, as it was intended to be, and how even the best of translations often fall short in reflecting the ideas and sentiments of another language and culture.

@dragonfly, Medialis
Thanks for your far too kind comments. :)

Edited by Teango on 11 March 2011 at 10:19pm

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dragonfly
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Russian Federation
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204 posts - 233 votes 
Speaks: Russian*, EnglishC2, Spanish
Studies: German, Italian, Mandarin

 
 Message 40 of 96
10 February 2011 at 7:13am | IP Logged 
I've come across a huge source of eng-rus parallel texts, may be it'll be of use to you: http://getparalleltranslations.com/ru-en


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