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Sprachprofi
Nonaglot
Senior Member
Germany
learnlangs.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 6229 days ago

2608 posts - 4866 votes 
Speaks: German*, English, French, Esperanto, Greek, Mandarin, Latin, Dutch, Italian
Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swahili, Indonesian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese

 
 Message 1 of 162
07 November 2008 at 2:32pm | IP Logged 
So the idea has been discussed extensively here. Please go to that thread if you want to learn more about the idea or want to discuss it further and keep this thread clean as a work thread, with dialogs and translations with notes.

I am going to base the this course (at least the first part) on the European Reference Framework for Languages Level A1, as most European countries have started to adopt their classic tests (like the DELF and the Zertifikat Deutsch) to reflect these levels. Having thoroughly read the definition of this level, I have determined that the crucial situations are:
- basic greetings and phrases
- introducing yourself and others
- talking about your family
- talking about your hobbies
- talking about the weather
- filling out a form
- describing people
- giving and understanding directions (walking & public transport)
- asking for help / making requests
- shopping, paying
- talking on the phone / making an appointment

Also, from another source I have gleaned that a vocabulary of at least 300 English words (differing of course for other languages) would be expected after completion of this level, so we should take our time and not call this level complete until we have at least 20 lessons. This also means a grammar pace that some might find slow, especially since students aren't supposed to know all grammar until they have completed level B1, possibly even B2.

For the current state of the translations, please go to http://www.learnlangs.com/coursewiki/index.php?title=Multila ng/Lessons and see where you can help.

Edited by Sprachprofi on 09 November 2008 at 3:09pm

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Sprachprofi
Nonaglot
Senior Member
Germany
learnlangs.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 6229 days ago

2608 posts - 4866 votes 
Speaks: German*, English, French, Esperanto, Greek, Mandarin, Latin, Dutch, Italian
Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swahili, Indonesian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese

 
 Message 2 of 162
07 November 2008 at 3:12pm | IP Logged 
Here are two initial lessons, I'll post more tomorrow. When providing your translation, please just put the headline (e. g. "Lesson 1 - Simplified Chinese") and don't quote the English dialog or others' posts.
I have not written notes for the English. If anybody wants to learn English with this course in the future, a native English speaker should write up some notes and then we'll need to translate them into the student's native language. For now, we'll assume that the student understands notes written in English.

Lesson 1 - Original

Anna: Hello Tom!
Tom: Hello Anna! How are you?
Anna: I'm well, and you?
Tom: I'm very well, thank you. I have to go. See you later!
Anna: Bye!

Extra: Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening! Good night!

Yes, not very imaginative, but a must. This lesson is not supposed to teach any grammar - all of these phrases are supposed to be learned as phrases, because they will be very different in each language. In a lot of languages, the phrasing doesn't even make much sense when translated. Yet people have to know them. In the notes for this lesson, please talk a bit about the script, spelling or pronunciation of your language. For example, you could tell them that "th" is pronounced /θ/ or /δ/ and give tips on how to make that sound. Even if people hear it in the recordings, that doesn't mean that they can produce it themselves without a little guidance.

NOTES for English - a start
(1) Note that a lot of people will say "I'm good" instead of "I'm well", even though it's not correct.

Lesson 2 - Original

Tom is arriving at a train station in another city, where he's supposed to meet with Alex. They know each other from a forum and they're meeting offline for the first time.

Tom: Excuse me, are you Alex?
Man 1: No, I am not.
Tom: Oh, I'm sorry.
Man 1: No problem.
...
Man 2 (walks up to Tom): Hello!
Tom: Hello Alex! I'm Tom, from Canada.
Man 2: Sorry, I am not Alex. She is over there.
Tom: She??? Alex is a woman?

In the notes, teach the copula (if it exists) and its negation. If this involves a lot of conjugation in your language, teach the singular only for now. The copula is this something that links two words that refer to the same thing, as in "Tom is a student.". This idea could be expressed as "Tom = a student", and the copula is the word (or lack of word) that expresses the idea of the " = ".

--- Addition of November 10th ---

Lesson 3 - Original

Tom and Alex have talked a bit and now they are going to Alex' house. On the way, Alex points out some sights.

Alex: This is the river, and that over there is the famous bridge.
Tom: Interesting. What is this?!
Alex: That is the history museum.
Tom: No, not that building. This... modern... building.
Alex: Oh, this is the art museum.

If your language has these features, please explain them shortly:
- definite articles
- word genders
- compound nouns, if "history museum" and "art museum" would be compounds in your language
- word order for article + adjective + noun
DON'T go into declensions or changing adjective forms yet - of course you should use them if they are required, but don't explain yet.


Lesson 4 - Original

Tom: Is your home very far?
Alex: No, we are almost there. Are you tired?
Tom: No, I'm not tired.
...
Alex: Let me introduce you to my family. This is my father. Dad, this is Tom.
Tom: Nice to meet you.
Father: Likewise.
Alex: And this is my mother.
Tom: Nice to meet you, too.
Mother: Likewise.
Alex: And... where is John?
Mother: John is not here at the moment. He and Sarah are at a party.
Tom: John? Sarah? Alex, is Sarah your sister?
Mother: John is her brother. Sarah is his girlfriend.

For the introductions, please don't translate literally but provide whatever phrases people are supposed to say.

If your language has these features, please explain them shortly in the notes:
- plural forms of the copula if you opted to teach singular only so far
- "to be" for a location, if it is different from the copula
- possessive pronouns
- if it makes a difference in your language, translate "younger sister" and "younger" brother and explain more here


Edited by Sprachprofi on 10 November 2008 at 11:41am

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dragonfly
Triglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
Joined 6238 days ago

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

 
 Message 3 of 162
07 November 2008 at 3:50pm | IP Logged 
Lesson 1 - Russian

Anna: Привет, Том! (Privet, Tom!)
Tom: Привет, Анна! Как дела? (Privet, Anna! Kak dela?)
Anna: Хорошо, а у тебя? (Khorosho. A u tibya?)
Tom: Очень хорошо, спасибо. Мне нужно идти. Увидимся! (Otchen' kharasho, spasibo. Uvidimsya!)
Anna: Пока!
(Poka!)
Extra: Доброе утро! Добрый день! Добрый вечер!
        Здравствуйте! (neutral)

Lesson 2 – Russian

Tom: Извините, Вы Алекс? (Izvinite, Vi - Aleks?)
Man 1: Нет. (Net)
Tom: О, простите! (O, prastite)
Man 1: Никаких проблем (ничего). (Nikakih prablem (nitchevo).)
...
Man 2 (walks up to Tom): Привет! (Privet!)
Tom: Привет, Алекс! Я Том из Канады. (Privet, Aleks! Ya Tom iz Kanadi.)
Man 2: Извините, я не Алекс. Она там. (Izvinite, ya ne Aleks. Ana tam.)
Tom: Она? Алекс – женщина? (Ana? Aleks - zhenchina?)

Comments:
1.     In Russian copula (to be in this case) is usually omitted (very convenient). Impersonal sentences are also possible.
2.     We tend to omit possessive pronouns when it is clear from the context who the possesser is. E.g.: Как (твои) дела?
3. "Как дела?" literally means "How are you things?". The word-for-word translation for "How are you" would be "Как ты?", but it is less common and more informal.
4. "Мне нужно идти" literally means "I have the necessity to go - я имею (у меня есть) необходимость идти".
5.    There are two words meaning “you” in Russian: ты and Вы. The latter is used when you address a person you don’t know, who is older than you (except for close relatives). It’s polite and is usually written with the capital letter.
6. The negation in Russian is expressed by putting "не" before the verb. If the verb is just implied (as in "я не Алекс"), put "не" where the verb should be.


Edited by dragonfly on 08 November 2008 at 11:39am

3 persons have voted this message useful



dragonfly
Triglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
Joined 6238 days ago

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

 
 Message 4 of 162
07 November 2008 at 3:53pm | IP Logged 
The disadvantage of being a native speaker is that you cannot forsee all the difficulties that te learners of your language may come across. So feel free to ask and I'll complete my commentaries.
1 person has voted this message useful



Hashimi
Senior Member
Oman
Joined 6018 days ago

362 posts - 529 votes 
Speaks: Arabic (Written)*
Studies: English, Japanese

 
 Message 5 of 162
07 November 2008 at 4:33pm | IP Logged 



Lesson 1 - Arabic عربي

Anna: مرحبا توم!
Tom: مرحبا آنا! كيف حالك؟
Anna: أنا بخير، وأنت؟
Tom: أنا بخير، شكراً. عليّ الذهاب. أراكِ لاحقاً.
Anna: وداعاً.

Extra: صباح الخير! مساء الخير! ليلة سعيدة!

Lesson 2 - Arabic عربي

يصل توم إلى محطة القطار في مدينة أخرى حيث يفترض أن يلتقي أليكس. كلاهما يعرف الآخر من خلال منتدى وهما يلتقيان في الواقع للمرة الأولى.

Tom: عفواً، هل أنت أليكس؟
Man 1: كلا. لستُ هو.
Tom: أوه، المعذرة.
Man 1: لا مشكلة.
...
Man 2 (يمشي باتجاه توم): مرحبا!
Tom: مرحباً أليكس! أنا توم، من كندا.
Man 2: عفواً، أنا لستُ أليكس. إنها هناك.
Tom: إنها؟؟ هل أليكس امرأة؟؟

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Julie
Heptaglot
Senior Member
PolandRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 6662 days ago

1251 posts - 1733 votes 
5 sounds
Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, GermanC2, SpanishB2, Dutch, Swedish, French

 
 Message 6 of 162
07 November 2008 at 4:40pm | IP Logged 
Lesson 1 - Polish

Anna: Cześć (1) Tom (2)!
Tom: Cześć Anna! Co u ciebie?
Anna: Wszystko w porządku (3), a u ciebie?
Tom: Też wszystko w porządku (4). Muszę iść. Do zobaczenia później!
Anna: Cześć!

Extra: Dzień dobry! (5) Dobry wieczór! Dobranoc!

(1) The word "Cześć" is informal and it used both in the meaning of "Hello" and "Bye".
(2) The names, just as most of Polish nouns, are declinated - which means that they change their forms depending on the function in the phrase. Greetings like "Cześć" actually require a vocative (changed) form but in everyday's speech most people use just the nominative (the form without any change). Don't worry about the cases, you'll learn them later step by step.
(3) "Wszystko w porządku" means "everything fine".
(4) Something about cultural differences: if you ask any Pole how he's doing the most positive response you can usually get is "everything fine". It's not that common to answer "very well". The little word "też" means "too, also".
(5)"Dzień dobry" means actually "Good day" and is used instead of "Good morning" and "Good afternoon".

I hope I didn't write to many notes (and already scared anyone who'd like to learn Polish ;))... Right now I'm trying to translate the second lesson into Polish, and it's much harder, as some things are just expressed very differently...

I think what will probably be necessary are the exact translations of the lessons back into English, so that learner knows what actually the phrase means (like in Assimil).

Edited by Julie on 07 November 2008 at 6:13pm

1 person has voted this message useful



peppelanguage
Triglot
Groupie
ItalyRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5623 days ago

90 posts - 94 votes 
Speaks: Italian*, Spanish, English
Studies: French, Swedish

 
 Message 7 of 162
07 November 2008 at 4:54pm | IP Logged 
Lesson 1 - Italian

Anna: Ciao Tom!
Tom: Ciao Anna! Come stai*?
Anna: Io** sto bene, e tu?
Tom: Io** sto molto bene, grazie. Devo andare. A presto***!
Anna: Ciao!

Extra: Buongiorno! Buona sera! Buona notte! (In Italian we don't have "good morning", we are not used to say "Buona mattina")

*"How are you?" can be translated like "Come stai?" or "Come va?"...Come va is more used, but I think most of the books for Italian courses will put "Come stai", it's more "literal"
**In Italian is not necessary to put always the subject,when is clear from the context (- Come stai? - Bene, grazie)
***"See you later" literally means "Ci vediamo più tardi", but in Italian this would mean "We meet later (TODAY)" while in English is just a way to say goodbye...


Lesson 2 - Italian

Tom arriva alla stazione di un'altra città*, dove dovrebbe incontrarsi con Alex. Si sono conosciuti su un forum ed è la prima volta che si incontrano di persona.

Tom: Scusa, sei tu Alex?
Man 1: No, non sono io.
Tom: Oh, mi scusi**.
Man 1: Nessun problema.
...
Man 2 (si avvicina a Tom): Ciao!
Tom: Ciao Alex! Sono Tom, dal Canada.
Man 2: Mi dispiace, ma non sono Alex. Lei è laggiù.
Tom: Lei??? Alex è una donna?

*of ANOTHER city? we didn't mention no cities in lesson one...anyway...this is the exact translation :)
** "Mi scusi" means "I'm sorry" but it's more formal...the colloquial way to say it is "Scusa/Scusami" (using the 2nd person)

the same of dragonfly applies to me too...if something misses, just tell me :)
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BGreco
Senior Member
Joined 6152 days ago

211 posts - 222 votes 
3 sounds
Speaks: English*
Studies: French, Spanish

 
 Message 8 of 162
07 November 2008 at 4:54pm | IP Logged 
I would change "I'm well" to "I'm good." Nobody says "I'm well," and unless you are actually talking about being ill, "I'm good" is more correct.


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