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Élan’s Team Alef Farsi/Arabic/Somali Log | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Crush Tetraglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5864 days ago 1622 posts - 2299 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto Studies: Basque | Message 9 of 17 25 December 2012 at 7:30am | IP Logged |
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Élan, i've picked up various Somali resources (of varying quality) scrounging the web, as Somali is a language i'm also very interested in. Here's a few books i've got, roughly in order of how recent they are:
1. La socco af soomaaliga (Make Progress in the Somali Language) (latest revision 2006). This one is more of a grammar book than many of the others and also has a nice list of other Somali resources. 2. A Somali Newspaper Reader (1984) 3. Reading in Somali, an Elementary Cultural Reader, Vol I (1969) 4. Reading in Somali, an Elementary Cultural Reader, Vol II (1969) 5. Notes on the Somali Language (old course from 1903) 6. Practical Grammar of the Somali Language (1897) And a couple Italian courses: 1. studi somali 1 - Fonologia e lessico 2. studi somali 2 - Sintassi della lingua somala (1981) And one course in French that appears to be pretty thorough with nice simple explanations and a lot of background on Somali history/culture: 1. Parlons somali - langue et culture If you're interested in any of them, let me know. Also, there's a fairly large list of resources (in several languages) here: http://morgannilsson.se/somaliska/laromedel.phtml (EDIT: There are also more links on the side to grammars, easy readers, etc.) This book in particular seems to be mentioned a bit, but i've never seen it: 1. ISKA WAX U QABSO: A Somali Language Learning Manual (for self-study) And a more recent book (from 2007): 1. Af Soomali Aan Ku Hadalno (Hadallo) : Let's Speak Somali: A Multidimensional Approach to the Teaching and Learning of Somali as a Foreign Language The main issue i think is that most of these courses are all text, there is no audio component. I just know of the Colloquial course, and that only comes with two tapes. If you have access to native speakers/others who can speak the language, that'll probably help, but it would still be wonderful to have more audio available. Edited by Crush on 25 December 2012 at 7:36am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5443 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian | Message 10 of 17 27 December 2012 at 6:23pm | IP Logged |
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Thank you so much for these resources! I'm very interested in #2, 3, and 4. How do you like the newspaper reader?
I wish I was comfortable enough with a native speaker to ask him or her to record some clips to go along with resource #1. Maybe by the end of TAC I will find someone to help with this--or I will just put an ad on Craigslist! I'm afraid I will be relying very heavily on Colloquial Somali and the limited tapes. I am also hoping to find a very helpful teacher when I take my Somali language & culture class on February. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5443 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian | Message 11 of 17 28 December 2012 at 10:36pm | IP Logged |
 Farsi/Persian
Typing Persian I received a PM with a great question about typing Persian. Sometimes you'll see two Persian letters next to each other that aren't connected, even though they would normally connect when there's no space in between. Here is an example: میکنم When typing casually, people will use one of the following forms: میکنم | می کنم All are fine and understandable! If you like the first form (which you usually see in dictionaries), it can be produced using a "zero width non-joiner" key. On the Persian keyboards for Mac, the ZWNJ key is Shift+Space. I've read that on Windows it's Shift + Space, Ctrl + Shift + 2, or Shift + B. You will often see the ZWNJ key being used with the می prefix and the ها plural suffix. I hope this is helpful! Edited by Élan on 17 January 2013 at 8:57pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5443 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian | Message 12 of 17 17 January 2013 at 5:31pm | IP Logged |
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Wow, I cannot believe we are halfway through month one of TAC 2013. My TAC is off to slow start, due to a
promotion at work. It's very good news for me, so I cannot be too upset that my language-learning progress has slowed. I am starting Somali and Arabic classes in February, so things should get more interest next month. Because I work in refugee resettlement, I have access to materials in many languages that aren't very accessible. I will do my best to share them here. Expect to see me sharing resources for Arabic, Farsi, and Somali, as well as Karen, Burmese, Dzongkha, Nepali, Oromo, and Amharic. Resources About Health The first resources I'd like to share are 4 PDFs about the flu put out by the CDC. They are available in English and all the languages I listed above (+more). You can find them here. Also about health, you can find Karen videos with English subtitles on Youtube here. Want to learn more about the Affordable Care Act? You can find information in English, Arabic, Burmese, and Nepali. Go here and click "Resources for Providers and Refugees". Sorry, it's not letting me post the long link. Finally, this page has pamphlets about health in English, Arabic, and a variety of other languages. Mouse over "Pamplets" in the top left part of the page. My apologies that these resources aren't the most exciting topics, but I know it's really difficult to find any resources for some languages. Also, please excuse the formatting of my logs! It has some issues with posting links. Edited by Élan on 17 January 2013 at 5:35pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5443 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian | Message 13 of 17 17 January 2013 at 9:15pm | IP Logged |
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Farsi/Persian
Addressing People in Persian Addressing people properly in Persian is an important skill to have. The two words you'll need to know are: خانم | khanoom | miss/ma'am آقا | agha | mister These words are sometimes used with ezafe, the connecting sound, so they become agha-ye and khanoom-e. When addressing a woman, you can use her first name (informal) or last name (formal). For women, khanoom always comes after the first name or before the last name (always using ezafe). If you are speaking to woman named "Farah Mohammadi" you could address her as: "Farah khanoom" or "khanoom-e Mohammadi". When addressing a man, you have a few options. You can use his first name, his first name with ezafe, or his last name (always with ezafe). If speaking to a man named Reza Mohammadi, you could say: "agha Reza", "agha-ye Reza", or "agha-ye Mohammadi". The middle form, "agha-ye Reza", is more formal than the first form, but less formal than using the last name. The tricky thing when address is man is using his first name + agha (no ezafe). Sometimes agha goes before the first name, sometimes it goes after. It all depends on the sound. Some names are pretty much always pronounced one way or the other ("agha Reza", "Mohammad agha"), while other names go both ways ("Amir agha" or "agha Amir"). In formal settings (school, etc), the formal version is always used: khanoom-e Mohammadi and agha-ye Mohammadi. Edited by Élan on 17 January 2013 at 9:16pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| druckfehler Triglot Senior Member Germany Joined 4867 days ago 1181 posts - 1912 votes Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, Korean Studies: Persian | Message 14 of 17 17 January 2013 at 9:37pm | IP Logged |
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Congratulations on your promotion!
I remember being glad for any resource I could find in Samoan (although ho knows when I'll get around to studying it). Among those were brochures about earthquakes and health. I think it's a great idea to use these as resources for less common study languages. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5443 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian | Message 15 of 17 31 January 2013 at 9:57pm | IP Logged |
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Farsi/Persian
Today I thought I'd repost a song translation from my old log before it's lost forever. :P I originally translated it almost two years ago, one day before the 6WC started. Once again, the 6WC is one day away! Here is the repost: 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 your 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! 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5443 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian | Message 16 of 17 03 February 2013 at 3:51pm | IP Logged |
 Somali
I'm putting Arabic on hold for now (other than review) while I focus on Somali for the 6WC. After a couple glasses of wine, I officially signed up. ;) I don't see many people (or anyone at all) on HTLAL studying Somali. Still, I hope I can make this log a very useful one for Somali learners in the future. To start, I'll share some Somali music. Hopefully with translations later! Farxiya Fiska - "Dhag Dhag" Farxiya is part of the new generation of Somali musicians. From her Somali Wikipedia page, I can see she is 28 years old. Waayaha Cusub - "Burcad Baded" ("Pirates") Waayaha Cusub is a Somali hip-hop crew. They performed at the Kennedy Center in DC last year. You can find the performance on Youtube. I really like the female rapper/singer in their crew named Falis Abdi. Aar Maanta - "Dhadhami" Aar Maanta is a Somali singer based out of London. He mixes pop songs with more traditional Somali songs. He's agreed to translate some of his songs to help Somali learners. Cashirka Koowaad / The First Lesson Today was the first day of my Somali class. We practiced pronunciation (hingaad), talked about culture, and learned some words. I would like to share some of the words I learned. wanaagsan = good subax wanaagsan = good morning galab wanaagsan = good afternoon fiid wanaagsan = good evening habeen wanaagsan = good night We learned words for every letter of the alphabet to practice pronunciation. bar = teach, baro = learn, buur = mountain talo = advice, toos = straight, tiro = count, tijaabo = exercise/activity jaar = neighbor (also "daris"), jilib = knee, jeer = hippo xero = compound, xoog = strength, xor = free dameer = donkey, daad = flood, dumar = female rag = male, reer = family, raad = footprints safar = journey, saliid = oil, sawir = picture, saf = line shan = five, shanlo = comb, sheeko = story/tale, shaah = tea dheg = ear, dhalo = glass cad = piece, caano = milk gabar = girl, gees = horn, galab = afternoon, geeri = death faras = horse, fasal = class, falaar = arrow qoys = family, qareen = lawyer, qalab = tool kaalay = come, kaalmo = help, keen = bring maal = wealth, mas = snake, macalin = teacher nolol = life, niyad = moral war = news, wakiil = representative, wiil = boy hees = song, hilib = meat yariis = small, yaxaas = crocodile, yaanyo = tomato ama = or, ardey = student From these words, we learned some short phrases, like: geeska Africa = the horn of Africa war keen = bring news / "what's up?" We also learned a proverb that made me giggle: ragu shaah = men are for tea dumarka sheeko = women are for talking Most of the "difficult" letters exist in Arabic, so they were pretty easy. The difficult sound is "dh", which I have told is made by curling your tongue back so the underside of your tongue is touching the top of your mouth, then making the sound. Otherwise, c = ع x = ح q = ق kh = خ All vowels in Somali have a regular version and a doubled version ("a" versus "aa"). They sound very similar, but the double version is held a little longer and seems a little stronger. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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