Cristina’s way TAC 2013 TEAM MIR/SPARTA (Language Learning Log) Language Learning Forum

Cristina’s way TAC 2013 TEAM MIR/SPARTA
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Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log

248 messages over 31 pages: << Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 13 ... 30 31 Next >>

Brun Ugle
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Message 97 of 248

21 January 2013 at 7:45am | IP Logged

Solfrid Cristin wrote:

She looks very much like me, and has a very fair skin, even after a few days in the sun, so I do not think
that was it. No I am not sure I got it right, but she first said my daughter was very beautiful, and then she
made a swiping movement over her face and said something which involved chocolate, and smiled. ( And
my daughter did not have chocolate in the face so that was not it. I take it that "sweet as chocolate" is not a
regular expression in Russian?

Maybe she was referring to or suggesting that chocolate massage or facial or something of that nature. Or maybe her skin is a smooth as chocolate. I don't know any Russian expressions, so I can only make wild guesses.
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Solfrid Cristin
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Message 98 of 248

21 January 2013 at 8:49am | IP Logged

I'll answer all of your comments properly day after tomorrow when I get home - I have lost the regular
internet connection and am on my phone right now.

As for the two Greek letters I think I can manage them based on my listening to my Greek courses, I just
felt the explanations in the book were really unhelpful and counterproductive.
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tarvos
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Message 99 of 248

21 January 2013 at 9:11am | IP Logged

Марк wrote:

English h is the closest sound to Greek χ, and the Greek do not hear the
difference
between those sounds. γ speaks for itself, look at the IPA. I think Dutch ch and g are
uvular sounds, while the Greek sounds are velar. The best approximation I think is
Russian x and Southern Russian г.

The Dutch sounds can be either, depending on the dialect. In mine, they are uvular.
According to wikipedia, they are velar; it also makes sense, because uvularly, g and ch
would not contrast (and they don't in the Hague); I can pronounce g and ch differently
(they contrast in voicing for me and I pronounce them a bit further up).

Edited by tarvos on 21 January 2013 at 9:15am
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Марк
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Russian Federation
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Message 100 of 248

21 January 2013 at 9:30am | IP Logged

Solfrid Cristin wrote:

She looks very much like me, and has a very fair skin, even
after a few days in the sun, so I do not think
that was it. No I am not sure I got it right, but she first said my daughter was very
beautiful, and then she
made a swiping movement over her face and said something which involved chocolate, and
smiled. ( And
my daughter did not have chocolate in the face so that was not it. I take it that "sweet
as chocolate" is not a
regular expression in Russian?

Chocolate is not sweet, it's bitter.
1 person has voted this message useful

Марк
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Russian Federation
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Speaks: Russian*

Message 101 of 248

21 January 2013 at 9:34am | IP Logged

tarvos wrote:

because uvularly, g and ch would not contrast (and they don't in the Hague);

Why? One can easily pronounce a voiced and an unvoiced uvular fricative.
Solfrid Cristin, the explanation that Greek X is English H is good, because for Greek
ears English H is their X.
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Ogrim
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France
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Message 102 of 248

21 January 2013 at 9:35am | IP Logged

Hi Cristina. I really enjoyed reading your post about your experience in Egypt.

I am not surprised that there are many Russians there, or that the staff at the hotel speak better Russian than English. Certain tourist places in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East have become very popular destinations for Russians. I experienced the same in Crete last summer. We went on a day trip to Santorini, and there were 12 tourist buses with Russian speaking guides and only one where the guide spoke both Russian and English.

Now I am old enough to remember the time when meeting a Russian person was really exotic, when the Soviet Union still existed and hardly any "ordinary" Russian person was allowed to go travel to the "West".
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tarvos
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Message 103 of 248

21 January 2013 at 9:38am | IP Logged

Марк wrote:

tarvos wrote:

because uvularly, g and ch would not contrast (and they don't in the Hague);

Why? One can easily pronounce a voiced and an unvoiced uvular fricative.
Solfrid Cristin, the explanation that Greek X is English H is good, because for Greek
ears English H is their X.

Because in Dutch the uvular fricative is never voiced. From wiki :

The sound spelled <ch> is a voiceless velar fricative [x] in Northern Dutch and is
claimed to be a voiceless palatal fricative [ç] in Southern Dutch, including all of
Dutch-speaking Belgium.[11] (However, in many or perhaps most of these regions, the
actual sound used gives the impression of being front-velar, not palatal.) In the North
/ɣ/ is usually realized as [x] or [χ] and thus has merged with /x/ (which may be
realized as either [χ] or [x]), whereas in the South the distinction between /ʝ/ and /
ç/ has been preserved (neither of which may actually be palatal sounds; see above).
This doesn't apply to many dialects of West Flanders, East Flanders and Zeeland, which
realize both /ʝ/ and /ç/ as [x].

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Марк
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Russian Federation
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Message 104 of 248

21 January 2013 at 9:47am | IP Logged

Ogrim wrote:

Now I am old enough to remember the time when meeting a Russian person was really exotic,
when the Soviet Union still existed and hardly any "ordinary" Russian person was allowed
to go travel to the "West".

And to the East, and to the South.

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