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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Tenebrarum Groupie United States Joined 5199 days ago 84 posts - 115 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi | Message 25 of 43 21 January 2012 at 10:54am | IP Logged | ||
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I don't have anything too interesting to say for this log, but it's 4:30 AM and I'm
bored as hell, so I'll give it a shot. Over the Thanksgiving break I had from college, my friend (from India) and I stayed in North Carolina with a family friend. This meant a week of hearing nothing but Hindi! The friend we stayed with is from Chandigarh, his roommate from Hyderabad, and two friends - one from Delhi and the other also Hyderabad. So not only was I getting a good opportunity for Hindi practice, but I got to hear different accents and whatnot. I'm not gonna lie, I did speak English at certain points. But I was loving the constant exposure to Hindi that I was receiving! But there was one problem (which I'm glad I experienced): I've always been able to understand people speaking Hindi/Urdu in person, but at times I had quite a bit of trouble with two of the people. The Punjabi man in particular had me scratching my head at times upon hearing his speech. But overall it was not only excellent for my Hindi, but for learning more about Indian culture in general. Plus the food was always great (daily chai and parathas with achar)! There were times during which it felt most natural to speak Hindi simply because I had become so used to hearing it. Oh yeah, also finally saw my first Bollywood movie in a theater (Rockstar and later Desi Boyz). Between the perfect weather and having a movie theater that serves samosas, alcohol, and plays new Bollywood films, I see no reason why I shouldn't move to Raleigh XD. I'll be going back to college in just a few days, and this semester my friend will be my tutor. Though I wasn't exactly encouraged to study Hindi this winter break, I'm very excited that I'll be starting these tutoring sessions this semester. I'm often unsure of what exactly I should be studying or what will give me the best results, so I think these sessions will give me the guidance I need. The Teach Yourself book is the required textbook for this independent study program, but I purchased Usha Jain's Beginner's Grammar as well, so we will also work with this. I will make sure to focus on speaking as opposed to writing. While I most certainly want to be able to write well, my want to speak far outweighs my want to write. I think that's about it... today's wanderlust language was Georgian. This language has one of the nicest scripts I've ever seen! And all of those consonant clusters fascinate me. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Tenebrarum Groupie United States Joined 5199 days ago 84 posts - 115 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi | Message 26 of 43 10 February 2012 at 5:23am | IP Logged | ||
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I've already had several tutoring sessions since this semester has started, so I
suppose I can update. The first few sessions were awful. Awful simply because I haven't spoken Hindi in so long that I wasn't even able to form sentences. I was able to understand everything she said with great ease, but my speaking... So despite my tutor's helpfulness and encouragement, I was feeling terrible. But I was being stupid and unconfident, only making things worse for both myself and my tutor. So things have gotten better since those first few sessions. In the past I had tried to learn the numbers past 1-20, but it just wasn't working out and I didn't enjoy it at all. But one day my tutor told me to learn 1-50 by the next day. So I did! And recently I did the same for 51-100. It will be awhile 'till I'm able to recall each random number easily, but I've most certainly made progress with it. I had abandoned Anki a long time ago as it caused me great frustration, but recently I tried it again and I think I found a good method to remember new vocabulary. I've learned that I'm more of a visual learner (at least with words - as I always picture in my mind how they are spelled). Unfortunately I didn't give enough attention to whether a word is masculine or feminine in the beginning of my studies, so I'm having to re- learn many words. To do this I use color to differentiate the two types of nouns in Anki. And because of my aforementioned visual memory, it seems to be pretty effective. I've had a couple of five-hour plus study sessions over the past couple of days, so I really want to keep this up. Usha Jain's Intro to Hindi Grammar is superb. The explanations are thorough but easy to understand. There are also plenty of exercises. There is a CD which has nearly nine hours of audio, all of which corresponds with the drills in the book. There is a translation exercise in each chapter and I find this to be the most useful drill, but unfortunately it is not on the CD and the book doesn't have an answer key, so I must consult with my tutor. Also, it seems the CD cannot be imported into Itunes. But ultimately this is nitpicking with a book that otherwise seems excellent! I realized that I too frequently relied on Bollywood for my studying. In other words, I would not study anything, but then put in a movie and say "well, at least I'll be getting three hours of listening practice". Three hours of listening (without subs of course) is indeed good, but without additional studying, it won't do me any good. Fortunately I'm someone who can watch a movie many times before I tire of it even a little bit. Over the past few days I've been addicted to Shor in the City - so I've had a hard time watching any film other than this one. Normally I watch a movie with subs if it's my first time seeing it (and I'd watch it without subs every other time), but I think from now on I'll do no subs even if I've never seen the film before (this is what I'm doing with Aamir). I'm consistently surprised at just how many grammar constructions and nuances there are that I have yet to learn. I know that Hindi is not considered one of the hardest languages out there in terms of grammar, but grammar is my weakness so it is often hard to wrap my head around certain points. This is why I'm very impressed by people who are learning grammar-heavy languages (and Navajo? Forget it. I can't even understand the English explanations!) Once I'm able to produce grammatically correct sentences, my Hindi will be considerably better. Well I think that's it for tonight... I'm trying harder to improve my grades this semester, but despite all the great film classes I'm taking, I often find it difficult to put down my Hindi resources and study something else. I love learning this language and I will be making considerable progress this semester. Edited by Tenebrarum on 10 February 2012 at 5:31am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| buchstabe Tetraglot Senior Member Germany Joined 4495 days ago 52 posts - 108 votes Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, French, Spanish Studies: Czech, Swedish, Japanese | Message 27 of 43 06 March 2012 at 11:13pm | IP Logged | ||
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नमस्ते तेनेब्ररुम,
you mentioned several times that you like to watch Bollywood films. Have you by any chance come across shorter formats in Hindi (like sitcoms)? Thx! बुच्स्ताबे 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Medulin Tetraglot Senior Member Croatia Joined 4461 days ago 1199 posts - 2192 votes Speaks: Croatian*, English, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Norwegian, Hindi, Nepali | Message 28 of 43 07 March 2012 at 6:14am | IP Logged | ||
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Sitcoms are not common in India, but soap operas are :)
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Tenebrarum Groupie United States Joined 5199 days ago 84 posts - 115 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi | Message 29 of 43 08 March 2012 at 7:37pm | IP Logged | ||
नमस्ते बुच्स्ताबे! As Medulin has said, serials are more popular, but in general I don't know too much about either of these. The closest thing I can think of is the comedy Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai (just remove the space in some of the links): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarabhai_vs_Sarabhai http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= bTWpNw-00eY I've seen pieces of several serials, but I never get around to sticking with one serial and watching it! However, I will mention two that you can check out, the first of which I enjoy and feel is better than others I've seen: Bade Acche Lagte Hain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bade_Achhe_Lagte_Hain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= D1UxDdJozfE Navya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navya http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= lCx2UjohDMk Another popular one is Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai? - I'm not very familiar with it, but it has won many awards. As expected you'll often have to deal with/like a ton of melodrama. Frequent are scenes in which a family stands around in the midst of some kind of argument while the camera lingers on each person's face XD. I once found a site on which you could view various serials and turn subtitles on/off - I don't know remember the name, but if I find it I will post a link in this log. For the time being, there is this site: http://website.informer.com/visit?domain= apne.tv At the bottom of the homepage are several channels, each containing either serials or reality shows such as Roadies and Survivor. Some of the videos are taken from youtube, so some may not play. Hope you find something to enjoy here! Thanks for reading/commenting! -क्रिस 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| buchstabe Tetraglot Senior Member Germany Joined 4495 days ago 52 posts - 108 votes Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, French, Spanish Studies: Czech, Swedish, Japanese | Message 31 of 43 11 March 2012 at 9:37pm | IP Logged | ||
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शुक्रिया!
Thanks for taking the time to compile all those links, Tenebrarum, much appreciated. I checked them out this weekend. In Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai, I hardly understood anything yet, but I could catch a few sentences in Bade Acche Lagte Hai and several serials I tried on the Hindi TV serials webite, which was fun and exactly what I'm looking for. I still have to learn a lot of vocabulary before I can hope to be able to watch films, but for getting used to the sound of real language, those shorter formats are handy. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Tenebrarum Groupie United States Joined 5199 days ago 84 posts - 115 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi | Message 32 of 43 29 March 2012 at 3:52am | IP Logged | ||
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No problem buchstabe - glad I could help!
------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------ - नमस्ते! आजकल मेरी पढ़ाई ठीक चल रही हैं। कभी कभी मेरी पढ़ाई रुक जाती हैं क्योंकि मैं आलसी जाता हूँ या मुझे दूसरा काम है। जब मुझे कुछ फ़ुरसत है, तब मुझे हिंदी ही पढ़नी चाहिए। मेरी शिक्षिका ने मुझे बहुत मदद किया है। मैंने उसे बताया कि अभी हिंदी बोलने का अभ्यास सबसे ज़रूरी बात है क्योंकि इस क्लास को एक ही इम्तिहान है और मैं उसमें भारतीय शिक्षक से बात करूंगा। मैं शब्द और व्याकरण सीखता हूँ, लेकिन अगर मैं अपनी शब्दावली और व्याकरण की जानकारी इस्तेमाल नहीं करता हूँ, तो मैं अपनी हिंदी में सुधार नहीं करूँगा। आज मुझे एहसास में हुआ कि मुझे हिंदी बोलने-वाले लोगों से बात करना बहुत पसंद है। आज मुझे दो दोस्तों मिलना था। वो छोटी सी बातचीत थी, लेकिन मज़ा आया। मैंने मोसेस/लाउशू का "लेवल अप विडीओ" देखा है और मेरे ख़याल से वह बहुत अच्छा है और मुझे भी ऐसा करना चाहिए। मज़ा और मददगार है। मेरा विश्वविद्यालय का त्यौहार ख़त्म हो गया है, तो मैंने पिछले हफ़्ते में क्या किया? कुछ ख़ास नहीं... मैं अक्सर लॉन्ग आइलैंड (मेरा होमटाउन) जाता हूँ, मगर यह बार मैं अपने दोस्त के साथ स्कूल का शहर रहे थे। हमने बहुत बॉलीवुड की फ़िल्में देखी और दुकानों से कुछ चीजें ख़रीदे। इस शहर में कोई हिन्दुस्तानी रेस्टोरेंट नहीं है, तो यह बुरी बात है इसलिए मैं हिन्दुस्तानी भोजन खाने का इंतज़ार नहीं कर सकता। मैं असली में थोड़ी ज़्यादा अंग्रेज़ी के शब्द (exam, grammar, etc.) इस्तेमाल करता हूँ क्योंकि यह तो आम है, पर मैं लिख रहा हूँ इसलिए मुझे दुसरे शब्द इस्तेमाल करना चाहता हूँ। ------------------------------------------------------------ -- Transliteration (take these spellings with a grain of salt): namaste! aajkal meri padhai thik chal rahi hain. kabhi kabhi meri padhai ruk jaati hain kyunki main aalsi jaata hoon ya mujhe dusra kaam hai. jab mujhe kuch fursat hai, tab mujhe hindi hi padhni chahiye. meri shikshika ne mujhe bahut madad kiya hai. maine use bataya ki hindi bolne ka abhyas sabse zaruri baat hai kyunki is class ko ek hi imtihaan hai aur main usmein bharatiya shikshak se baat karunga. main shabd aur vyaakaran seekhta hoon, lekin agar main apni shabdavali aur vyaakaran ki jaankaari istemaal nahin karta hoon, to main apni hindi mein sudhaar nahin karunga. aaj mujhe ehsaas mein hua ki mujhe hindi bolne-vale logo se bat karna bahut pasand hai. aaj mujhe do dosto milna tha. vo choti si baatcheet thi, lekin mazaa aayaa. maine moses/laoshu ka "level up video" dekha hai aur mere khayaal se vo bahut accha hai aur mujhe bhi aisa karna chahiye. mazaa aur madadgaar hai. mera vishvavidyaalay ka tyauhar khatm ho gaya hai, to maine pichle hafte mein kya kiya? kuch khaas nahin... main aksar long island (mera hometown) jaata hoon, magar yeh baar main apne dost ke saath school ka shahar rahe the. hamne bahut bollywood filmen dekhi aur dukano se kuch chizen khareede. is shahar mein koi hindustani restaurant nahin hai, to yeh buri baat hai isliye main hindustani bhojan khaane ka intazaar nahin kar sakta. main asli mein thodi zyada angrezi ke shabd istemaal karta hoon kyunki yeh to aam hai, par main likh raha hoon isliye mujhe dusre shabd istemaal karna chahta hoon. --- ------------------------------------------------------------ -- Rough translation: Hello! Lately my studies have been going fine. Sometimes my studies stop because I get lazy or have other work. When I have some free time, I need to study Hindi especially. My teacher has helped me a lot. I told her that currently speaking practice is the most important thing because this "class" has only one exam and I will have to talk with an Indian professor. I learn words and grammar, but if I don't use my vocabulary and grammar knowledge, I won't improve my Hindi. Today I realized that I really like speaking with Hindi speakers. Today I met two friends. It was only a brief conversation, but I had fun. I have seen Moses'/Laoshu's level up video and in my opinion it's good and I should do the same. It's fun and helpful. My university's break has ended, so what did I do over the last week? Nothing special... I usually go to Long Island (my hometown) but this time my friend and I stayed in the town. We watched many Bollywood films and bought some things from stores. There isn't any Indian restaurant in this town, so this is unfortunate, therefore I can't wait to eat Indian food. In reality I use some English words because this is normal, but because I'm writing I want to use different words. ------------------------------------------------------------ - What I've written is pretty boring and obviously limited (and of course more formal than how I speak), but I know there are mistakes in here and that's exactly why I wrote this. Any corrections would be greatly appreciated - thank you!! Edited by Tenebrarum on 30 March 2012 at 9:27am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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