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tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4667 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish
| Message 1505 of 1511 05 July 2015 at 11:08am | IP Logged |
Contrary to what people do on this forum I have decided to add Mandarin to my list of
languages that I speak. Not because it is perfect - it is not. Not by a long shot. Not
because I read it so well - I don't. But mostly because I've been using it so
effectively on a personal and also on a professional level (don't forget! I teach
Chinese people English for a living and I *have* to use Mandarin professionally, the
same way I do for Russian and French), and I can adapt to basic accent differences,
order tickets, find out information, and generally function like an independent human
being, that it is worth putting Mandarin as speaks on my list. I have a long way to
go, especially concerning the characters, but we'll deal with that when I return to
China and work specifically on my written comprehension and output.
As for the language learning advice blog: it will come, but not right now. Wait until
I have a better internet connection and then you will see it appear. I have a working
title already thanks to @Via Diva.
1 person has voted this message useful
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4667 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish
| Message 1506 of 1511 09 July 2015 at 4:38am | IP Logged |
Currently endeavouring on a mini-project for travel: revive my tourist Korean! And as a
first step on the way to failure, because I can't really write in Korean, I addressed my
teacher in... Mandarin, because she is a native speaker of both. Mandarin, of course, I
do speak.
The next two weeks will see me using my language challenge credits on Korean, and then...
I'm home, so I guess Esperanto will come after that.
2 persons have voted this message useful
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4667 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish
| Message 1507 of 1511 13 July 2015 at 2:46pm | IP Logged |
Back in Beijing. That sounds like the title of a bad movie. Anyway I've mostly been
practicing Mandarin and Korean (yes, Korean) and Mandarin is going fine. It still shocks
people when a whitey like me bursts into Mandarin. Now I should get the same reaction
when I speak Korean, hah.
By the way I spent the last five days in Jinan, partly I was sick so I didn't get much
done (the heat is killing me) but I did genuinely socialise with Chinese people. It is
possible! Just learn Mandarin :D
4 persons have voted this message useful
| numerodix Trilingual Hexaglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 6743 days ago 856 posts - 1226 votes Speaks: EnglishC2*, Norwegian*, Polish*, Italian, Dutch, French Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin
| Message 1508 of 1511 13 July 2015 at 3:03pm | IP Logged |
tarvos wrote:
Contrary to what people do on this forum I have decided to add Mandarin to my
list of
languages that I speak. Not because it is perfect - it is not. Not by a long shot. Not
because I read it so well - I don't. But mostly because I've been using it so
effectively on a personal and also on a professional level (don't forget! I teach
Chinese people English for a living and I *have* to use Mandarin professionally, the
same way I do for Russian and French), and I can adapt to basic accent differences,
order tickets, find out information, and generally function like an independent human
being, that it is worth putting Mandarin as speaks on my list. I have a long way to
go, especially concerning the characters, but we'll deal with that when I return to
China and work specifically on my written comprehension and output. |
|
|
That's awesome!
1 person has voted this message useful
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4667 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish
| Message 1509 of 1511 18 July 2015 at 9:48am | IP Logged |
Now you all have the chance to listen to me being interviewed by Jimmy Mello (in Italian)
. I am aware that there are a lot of mistakes in my Italian - I only studied it for about
two months or so. I did understand all his questions though.
(But for the interview's speed I should have probably been interviewed in French or
something)
italian/">Interview with Jimmy Mello
2 persons have voted this message useful
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4667 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish
| Message 1510 of 1511 26 July 2015 at 12:54pm | IP Logged |
I've mostly been travelling and have arrived in Seoul during the forum's downtime
after having spent time in Xi'an, Busan, Shanghai and a few other places. I'm just
happy nothing's blocked here but I've mostly been speaking my very meagre tourist
Korean with people. Somehow guesthouses are located in residential areas in South
Korea and my funds starting to run low meaning that I'm not going out as much as I
want - well, that's a bummer (I could spend more but I need the money for later this
year) so right now I'm just practicing the tiny bit of Korean I know - and it works!
Goes to prove you can be a polite tourist even if you speak the local language very
badly. I know the alphabet, I can say a few things and have an introductory
conversation! Getting there.
On Tuesday I am visiting the DMZ (including a border hop into North Korea!) and on
Wednesday I am returning to my homeland (arriving Thursday).
In other news, I finished Oblomov (finally) and a Jo Nesbo novel in the Swedish
translation (in three stinkin' days! I am fast).
3 persons have voted this message useful
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4667 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish
| Message 1511 of 1511 04 August 2015 at 11:04am | IP Logged |
Still here. I am in the Netherlands now but am leaving for Berlin in a few minutes -
passing through Europe for two weeks and a bit (Berlin, Prague, an Esperanto event in
Szentgotthárd, Hungary, and Munich).
Planning to speak German, Czech and Esperanto (but I do have my phrasebook for Hungarian
with me, although it's a Romanian one).
1 person has voted this message useful
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