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Nancy’s Language Learning

  Tags: Arabic | Spanish
 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log Post Reply
196 messages over 25 pages: << Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 11 ... 24 25 Next >>
Bakunin
Diglot
Senior Member
Switzerland
outerkhmer.blogspot.
Joined 4945 days ago

531 posts - 1126 votes 
Speaks: German*, Thai
Studies: Khmer

 
 Message 81 of 196
01 April 2014 at 8:26pm | IP Logged 
Hi nancydowns, very interesting log! I like how you apply yourself to Arabic just because your friend chose to study it :) I was impressed by your writing sample, too. My Thai writing looked like that of a preschooler for a long time, but yours doesn't give that impression. Have you already started to explore Arab culture? Getting access to a whole new world is often the best thing about taking up a new language!
2 persons have voted this message useful



nancydowns
Senior Member
United States
Joined 3737 days ago

184 posts - 288 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 82 of 196
02 April 2014 at 3:36am | IP Logged 
BOLIO wrote:
Good job Nancy. You are doing great. I cannot imagine tackling more than Spanish right now. I am very interested in how your journey plays out.
Before you know it you will have conquered something that the majority of the world only dreams about doing (especially our home country!). Good for you.
                                
Les deseo mucho   éxito     & nbsp;    &n bsp;         &n bsp;         &n bsp;         &n bsp;         &n bsp;         &n bsp;         &n bsp;      
أتمنى لكم النجاح


Gracias, Bolio! Espero que hayas tenido un buen viaje el fin de semana pasado. Estoy en un viaje de negocios ahora, así que no tengo tanto tiempo como la
semana pasado. Pero estoy tratando estudiar ambos idiomas cuando puedo.

El árabe es múy difícil, y no sé si puedo aprenderlo en mí vida! pero me gusta mucho estudiarlo porque es múy diferente que el ingles y el español.

(Thanks, Bolio! I hope you had a good trip last weekend. I am on a work trip right now, so I don't have as much time as I had last week. But I am trying to
study both languages when I can.

Arabic is very difficult, and I don't know if I will learn it in my life! But I enjoy studying it because it is very different than English and Spanish).



Edited by nancydowns on 02 April 2014 at 3:37am

1 person has voted this message useful



nancydowns
Senior Member
United States
Joined 3737 days ago

184 posts - 288 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 83 of 196
02 April 2014 at 3:48am | IP Logged 
Bakunin wrote:
Hi nancydowns, very interesting log! I like how you apply yourself to Arabic just because your friend chose to study it :) I was impressed by
your writing sample, too. My Thai writing looked like that of a preschooler for a long time, but yours doesn't give that impression. Have you already started
to explore Arab culture? Getting access to a whole new world is often the best thing about taking up a new language!


Hey thanks for stopping by, Bakunin! I really do enjoy your log and surely wish I was both brave enough and skilled enough to try your style! :-) Turkish is
really what I wanted to learn, but my friend had no interest in it, so I told her whatever language she chose I'd learn with her... little did I ever imagine
she'd choose Arabic!!! :000 But it is kind of interesting to sink yourself into a language that is so completely different from anything you know! I keep
telling myself that I am going to give this a year. If after a year, I want to learn more, I will. but if after a year, I don't want to continue with
Arabic, I will allow myself to move on to another language. But I will give it my best shot for a year and reevaluate.

I have not had a lot of time yet to get into the culture. I hope that maybe once I am a little further along that reading native texts will be possible...
but who knows how long that will take! In college I read the 1001 Arabian Nights, but that is really the most I have ever read from there.

I like those German picture books that you posted pictures of. I think I might order some because I am really interested in the idea of learning with no
translation, and maybe if I had a native to study with sometime, it would be interesting to try it out!

Keep up the good work on Turkish! I am keeping an eye on your log, and I'll pop in and say hi sometimes, and I'd be glad if you did the same here! :-)
2 persons have voted this message useful



Bakunin
Diglot
Senior Member
Switzerland
outerkhmer.blogspot.
Joined 4945 days ago

531 posts - 1126 votes 
Speaks: German*, Thai
Studies: Khmer

 
 Message 84 of 196
02 April 2014 at 6:01pm | IP Logged 
So you really wanted to learn Turkish? Maybe you will take it up later, it’s never too late to start a new language :)) But Arabic is a fascinating language as well with a beautiful script, and I would assume that Arabs love you for trying to learn their language. When I asked about culture, I meant more mundane things like food, music and traveling. My exposure to Arab food is limited, but there’s a Lebanese shop close by which I visit every other week or so for a quick and delicious bite, and I’ve tried also a few other Lebanese and Moroccan restaurants and usually enjoyed the food. I also like Arab tunes, they use different scales which makes their music sound dreamy and exotic.

You can try those picture books with an Arab tutor as well… would be really cool to see somebody else apply this method :) I need to wait and see how it will turn out with Turkish, but when I applied it to Thai, I loved the fact that my tutor talked to me for two hours in that alien tongue and I actually got what he said - because of the pictures. It was pretty exhausting, but a great learning experience. But mind you, you probably need to be an introvert to be able to sit through an hour or two of listening. By the way, since you are a native English speaker, I can’t find a translation of the term Wimmelbuch… are those books an exclusively German thing?

Anyway, I’ll be following your log and wish you a great time exploring Arabic!

Edited by Bakunin on 03 April 2014 at 4:02am

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Crush
Tetraglot
Senior Member
ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5680 days ago

1622 posts - 2299 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto
Studies: Basque

 
 Message 85 of 196
03 April 2014 at 2:09am | IP Logged 
In Spain i commonly ate something called "arroz árabe", essentially rice with little noodles, coca cola, and raisins. I'm not sure how "Arab" it really is, though. (EDIT: There was also another dish with chickpeas, onions, and raisins that i had quite a bit and was supposedly also an Arab dish)

Also, have you ever read "La tesis de Nancy"? It talks about a US student (Nancy) who goes to Sevilla for her (doctorate?) thesis. It's pretty funny and talks about a lot of the silly mistakes and misunderstandings she has there. A person at a used book shop in Spain recommended it to me and i really enjoyed it.

Tu último mensaje salió casi perfecto, ¡es asombroso, la verdad! Bueno, he aquí algunas pequeñas sugerencias:
"así que no tengo tanto tiempo como la semana pasado." -- semana es feminina, entonces habría de decir "la semana pasadA"

"Pero estoy tratando estudiar ambos idiomas cuando puedo." -- Se dice "tratar de", así que "estoy tratando de estudiar". Y otra cosa, "ambos" está bien dicho aquí, pero creo que coloquialmente se suele preferir "los dos": "estudiar los dos idiomas". "Ambos" me parece bastante formal.

"El árabe es múy difícil" -- "muy" no lleva ninguna tilde

"porque es múy diferente que el ingles y el español." -- otra vez, no hace falta la tilde sobre la "u", y creo que aquí se diría "diferente del inglés" o "diferente al inglés".

Edited by Crush on 03 April 2014 at 2:15am

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nancydowns
Senior Member
United States
Joined 3737 days ago

184 posts - 288 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 86 of 196
04 April 2014 at 2:45am | IP Logged 
Bakunin wrote:
So you really wanted to learn Turkish?


ABSOLUTELY!!! Turkish was one of the languages I suggested to my friend when she was deciding what language she wanted to learn next. I suggested
Mandarin and Turkish, and she chose Arabic! I have absolutely nothing against Arabic, I had just never thought of learning it myself. Turkey, the
country, intrigues me because it seems like a bridge between Europe and the Middle East. I love the food that comes from the Greek/Turkish/Persian
area, but I am not familiar with other types of food from the Arab world. I would love to meet some Arab people, however for now, I am worried about
talking to any Arabic people because I don't want to learn a dialect. I am trying to just stick with the Standard Arabic and learn the proper form
and then go with a dialect after I get things under my belt... is that the best way? Who knows, but it's the way I am studying right now. So I
guess the Wimmelbuch books won't be for Arabic, but maybe my next exotic language, if I can find a tutor.

I think the Wimmelbuch books are probably specifically German, but there may be other countries with similar books. I have seen books similar here,
but I can't remember the names. However, I think a decent substitute (although not nearly as rich in pictures) are the Richard Scarry books. There
are words in those, though. But the books that are about 'busy town' have all kinds of things going on in them with just a few little sentences per
page. There's also "Where's Waldo," but I am not sure you can find the practical things like different seasons and things that those German books
have.

I don't know what I want to learn next, but I do think I might take 6 months or so to work on my French. I took two years in highschool and two in
college, but didn't retain a whole lot. I am hoping 6 months of dedicated study will get me to a decent level. Then I want to go for another exotic
language, either Turkish, Hebrew, or Greek. Those three are on my radar, we'll see! :-) Mandarin may just have to be a longing that is never
fulfilled... ? But first a full year of Arabic and Spanish. After that, I will reevaluate and see if I want to continue with the Arabic to a higher
level or go on to something that is more on my mind.
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nancydowns
Senior Member
United States
Joined 3737 days ago

184 posts - 288 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 87 of 196
04 April 2014 at 3:26am | IP Logged 
¡Gracias, Crush! Me alegro de verte otra vez. No sé ¿por qué usé la tilde en 'muy'? Quizás pensaba de 'más'. Gracias por sugieres "La
tesis de Nancy". Quiero leerlo un día. Estoy tratando de terminar Assimil y FSI antes de leer los libros ficción. ¿Crees que es una buena
idea? ¿O debería leer los libros también, y solo avanzo en Assimil y FSI más despacio? No sé cuál es la mejor, pero creo que necesito
aprender más antes de leer porque no entendería muy bien. Si entienda más grammatica, entonces me gustería leer los libros.

I went way out on a limb here with some of my word choices. I used conditional and subjunctive, and I'm not sure I got them in the right
places. I am learning little by little in Assimil and FSI, but I do feel like I am getting a pretty solid foundation!

edited to say that I am putting this out on lang8 also. ;-)

Edited by nancydowns on 04 April 2014 at 3:29am

1 person has voted this message useful



Crush
Tetraglot
Senior Member
ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5680 days ago

1622 posts - 2299 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto
Studies: Basque

 
 Message 88 of 196
04 April 2014 at 4:23am | IP Logged 
Bueno supongo que recibirás correcciones en lang-8, pero si tienes alguna duda puedes preguntarla aquí.

Creo que está bien esperar un rato para empezar a leer libros en castellano, no creo que sería divertido ya que no tienes el vocabulario ni la gramática necesarios para leerlos.

El condicional se usa igual que en inglés, así que no creo que te causará ningún problema. El subjuntivo es bastante más complicado, pero en tu escrito, no se usaría el presente del subjuntivo sino el imperfecto: si entendiera/entendiese (las dos formas se pueden usar). En inglés (igual que en francés), empleamos el pasado: "If I UNDERSTOOD, I would" (Si entendiera, haría / Si je comprenais, je ferais...) en vez de "If I understand, I will" (Si entiendo, haré / Si je comprends, je ferai).

Como siempre, escribes muy bien, creo que tu "método" está funcionando muy bien para ti :)

Ah, y a mí también me encantaría estudiar el turco, la verdad es que hace un par de años un miembro aquí en HTLAL ofreció enseñarme el turco hasta poderlo hablar fluidamente con un método de aprendizaje que estaba desarrollando. Me divertí mucho pero al cabo de un mes perdimos el contacto y desde entonces me he quedado con las ganas. Siempre digo que quisiera volverlo a estudiar, ya que es un idioma muy interesante (y por lo visto muy regular!). También he estudiado algo de griego con el curso de Language Transfer. También esta lengua me encanta, el sonido me hace recordar el castellano y tiene una gramática muy interesante. Si algún día decides estudiarlo, recomiendo encarecidamente el curso de Language Transfer.


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