liammcg Senior Member Ireland Joined 4602 days ago 269 posts - 397 votes Speaks: English*
| Message 65 of 89 18 July 2013 at 8:21pm | IP Logged |
Joke :) Seemed unfair to leave English out of the update!
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liammcg Senior Member Ireland Joined 4602 days ago 269 posts - 397 votes Speaks: English*
| Message 66 of 89 07 October 2013 at 3:42pm | IP Logged |
My my, it's been quite a while since I last posted here! I've been lurking in the
background of the forum, following my teammates progress. Allow me first to explain my
absence.
From mid-July on I took on three different jobs at home which kept me very busy. These
commitments, combined with other summer festivities (travel, music) resulted in little
time for languages. The time I did have I focused on French, and reading in
English/Irish. Frustrated by the lack of time available to commit to German, I decided
to simply maintain the level I had by reviewing Assimil lessons. The result is that I
have not made anywhere near the progress I had hoped to make with German by this time
of year.
However, I am glad I made the most out of a fun filled summer, and am now ready to
buckle down and return to committed study. I won't bother summarising what I've covered
since my last update as study time wasn't course based, merely using French online.
I've made good use of the likes of LingQ, and feel my overall level has continued to
improve (as slow as this improvement may be).
As for Welsh, I found that studying three languages at a time was not for me. This may
change now that I have much more free time, though I suspect that my lust for French
and German will fulfill my passion for the next long while. My time with Welsh will
therefore be limited to dabbling, and this doesn't sadden me too greatly.
P.S. Last week I had my first experience of speaking Gaelic with a native speaker here
in Ireland. I was delighted to finally speak the language, and the native complimented
me on my level, noting that I wan't simply relying on Irish as a crutch. We were able
to discuss most topics with ease, and I felt no major strain in expressing myself.
Given that this was my first time actively producing the language in conversation, my
rate of speech was not lightening fast, but smooth and expressive.
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liammcg Senior Member Ireland Joined 4602 days ago 269 posts - 397 votes Speaks: English*
| Message 67 of 89 11 November 2013 at 1:01pm | IP Logged |
Quite a while since my last update but that isn't to say I haven't been hammering away
at my languages! I got some great work done over the last month in all languages with
some study everyday. Here's a summary:
German: Working through Assimil, currently on passive lesson 56, passive lesson
6. The book has been excellent so far, really enjoying the content as well as the
presentation of grammar. There have been some bumps along the way but I simply revise
difficult lessons the following day. I've also played around with the A1 course on the
Deutschwelle site, nothing to serious just wanted to try something novel.
French: As usual I've been reading and listening to French everyday. I've
noticed improvements bit by bit, but still not where I want to be. I'm getting the
feeling I'll need to spend some time in France or Belgium in the not to distant future
to really get everything to click.
Scottish Gaelic: As those of you who follow the Clan Lugus log may know,
I've recently received to audio books in Gaelic with parallel translations. I've been
SLOWLY working my way through Fo Sgàil A' Swastika. My plan is to simply
continue through the book with regular revision to pick up on the finer points of the
Uist dialect in particular, as well as to gleam new vocabulary from the text. Currently
I can follow the story fairly well on the first hearing without relying on the
translation. This for me is quite an achievement as the language is fairly literary and
poetic in style. With regards to normal everyday speech my listening comprehension is
undoubtedly improvment. I'm able to follow most things on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
without too much effort, if the speech is fairly clear. In terms of production, I had a
look back on the exercises in Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks, and was pleased
to find I could complete the more difficult translation exercises with relative ease.
Now, the test will be to find regular skype partners!
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liammcg Senior Member Ireland Joined 4602 days ago 269 posts - 397 votes Speaks: English*
| Message 68 of 89 11 November 2013 at 7:26pm | IP Logged |
I've come to the conclusion that I need some fantasy novels for French as the dry short
stories I've been reading over the last few weeks are doing nothing for me. I've just
ordered the first three Potters (à l'école des Sorciers, la Chambre des Secrets & Le
Prisonnier d'Azkaban) off amazon.co.uk, let's see if they'll provide a boost in
motivation!
Edited by liammcg on 11 November 2013 at 7:39pm
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jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6907 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map
| Message 69 of 89 12 November 2013 at 12:17am | IP Logged |
I'm sure they will! I'm having a blast reading An Hobad/The Hobbit in Gaeilge/English, learning not-so-useful words in every other sentence. :D
How long have you been studying Scottish Gaelic? I'm looking forward to the day I can listen to RnaG and understand a whole lot.
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liammcg Senior Member Ireland Joined 4602 days ago 269 posts - 397 votes Speaks: English*
| Message 70 of 89 12 November 2013 at 1:09pm | IP Logged |
Yes I can imagine, very unlikely that the word troll will come up in conversation in the
Gaeltacht!
I started October last year as part of a college module. My level has taken a jump since
September when I decided to study diligently, If I had been as serious over the whole of
the past year I'm sure I'd be fluent by now, but I was wary of any potential interference
on my Irish.
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Iversen Super Polyglot Moderator Denmark berejst.dk Joined 6701 days ago 9078 posts - 16473 votes Speaks: Danish*, French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Esperanto, Romanian, Catalan Studies: Afrikaans, Greek, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Icelandic, Latin, Irish, Lowland Scots, Indonesian, Polish, Croatian Personal Language Map
| Message 71 of 89 12 November 2013 at 3:00pm | IP Logged |
Time will tell what word the translator has found for the unmistakable troll in the hidden chamber in volume II of HP. But once you have found it nothing can prevent you from using it in conversations.
Edited by Iversen on 12 November 2013 at 3:56pm
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liammcg Senior Member Ireland Joined 4602 days ago 269 posts - 397 votes Speaks: English*
| Message 72 of 89 12 November 2013 at 4:32pm | IP Logged |
^^^ Is fíor dhuit! I've never read any of the Potter's in ANY language, so looking
forward to delving into the original works as opposed to the films.
Edited by liammcg on 12 November 2013 at 4:35pm
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