a simple language blog

welcome! this blog is dedicated to track my progress in my foreign languages langblog|studyblog

[midwinterarchives]

i am going insane. i wanted to change my faucet because my uncle said that was the problem with my kitchen sink. now i have turned off every possible water source in the entire house, no other tap is working (my neighbour's neither). BUT THE HOT WATER IS STILL RUNNING. and not just dripping but like consistently running. WHAT THE FUCK.

[raiquen]

Book Review: The Invisible Man, H. G. Wells

My review in a Tweet:

"Would men turn evil if they were free from society?" is a frequent question in fiction and phylosophy in general, and while it's present in this book, it has been exaggerated on literary analysis that followed it. Overall, an interesting read with a very dull middle part.

Complete Review:

I decided to pause my other readings to dive into special thematic books for Halloween, while also complementing the nights I watch movie classics. So, for the first special review, I chose "The Invisible Man", by Herbert George Wells.

Years ago, I read "The Time Machine" by the same author, and it left a good impression of his writing skills. This time, while it wasn't bad, I'd say it left me a little unimpressed. The prose and descriptions, like the dialogues, were precise and well written but a bit dense. Wells would go over too many details, and although it's probably a common product of its time, it lacks a more deep or meaningful story.

The book it's divided in chapters, but I think the plot it's separated in four parts:

The arrival of the Invisible Man to a small town, his secret protected by the costume he wears.

The reveal of the secret and the following chaos.

The origin of the Invisible Man, told by himself to an old friend he runs into.

The manhunt of the Invisible Man.

The first part it's quite interesting as a reader, because we know what his secret is, so it's fun to read the guesses of the townspeople and the "mysterious events" that surround the stranger.

The second part is also fun, because of the paranoia and desbelief that the reveal of the Invisible Man provokes.

This third part, his backstory, the one I was most eager to read about (driven by the curiosity of getting to know how would the author explain or justify Griffins' invisibility) turned out to be so dull and slow. The proccess is a bit uninteresting (applying the refracting properties of an object to another thanks to a machine barely described), but the tedious first days of Griffin as an invisible man and his laments for all the unfortunate stuff that happens to him because no one can notice him is so... unsufferable. Specially because H.G. Wells decides to describe a lot the most boring stuff. We barely get to see a truly evil Invisible Man.

He does tell to his old friend that he needs an accomplice to declare his Reign of Terror, but by the time we reach this point, we have 10% or 15% of the book left, so the last part is mostly his friends saying No to him and helping the local police capture him (because the narration of his first days invisible gave him the information he needed). Griffin kills a man and injuries badly a few more men, but besides that and stealing money and food, he's no more evil than any person left behind by society.

So maybe, another possible interpretation to this story is not "Do men turn evil when free from society's watchful eye?" but rather "Men will do what they must to survive in a society that won't notice (help) them". Then, maybe, after a life like that, they will grow resentful and bitter like Griffin.

Score: 6.5/10.

My other 2023 readings.

[conarcoin]

resources for staying safe online

always important, but i feel like especially recently. particularly stuff that’s a bit more than just the usual “don’t post personal info”

feel free to share this post on twitter or anywhere else, staying safe is important

justdeleteme.xyz - direct links to delete accounts

how a photo’s hidden exif data exposes your personal information

have i been pwned? - check if your accounts have been compromised in a data breach. CHANGE ANY ACCOUNT THAT USES THE SAME EMAIL AND PASSWORD

online harassment field manual

form for removing personal information from google (for the eu), see also: “remove your personal information from google”

extreme privacy: what it takes to disappear (personal data removal workbook)

filter lists for ublock origin, and more

restore privacy - online privacy resources center

privacytools.io

online spyware watchdog

how secure is your password?

defensive computing checklist

cloudflare dns

non-technical tips on staying anonymous

webrtc leak shield - chrome, firefox

web safety tutorials by the electronic frontier foundation

crash override network - resources for victims of doxing and online harassment

[asimplelanguageblog]

VERBS I LEARNED THIS WEEK :

Commander : to order something or to order somebody around ,give the orders :

J'ai commandé une robe par catalogue

I ordered a dress from a catalogue

Elle a commandé une pizza

She ordered a pizza

Le professor a commandé à l'élève de se taire

The teacher ordered the student to be quiet

Lever : to raise ,hold something up ,put something in the air ,to get up

Elle a levé la main

She raised her hand

Elle a levé la main pour répondre à la question

She raised her hand to answer the question

Je me lève à sept heurs pour aller travailler

I get up at seven to go to work

Avoir besoin de : to need( have need of )

J'ai besoin d'une plus grande taille

I need a bigger size

Elle a besoin d'une nouvelle veste

She needs a new jacket

Elle a besoin de sucre

She needs sugar

Prendre : to take, to pick up ,to take something from someone, to take the train, bus ,to have a meal etc (prendre is a really useful verb )

Je prends mon petit déjeuner à huit heures tout les jour

I have my breakfast at eight am everyday

Il m'a pris mon stylo

He took my pen

J'ai pris le livre chez moi

I took the book to my place

Elle doit prendre le train à neuf heures

She has to take the bus at 9am

J'ai pris un taxi hier

I took a taxi yesterday

Il a pris le verre qui était sur la table

He picked up(took) the glass that was on the table .

[st-pam]

[lafilledanslaville]

✎ vocabulaire pour les hôtels

duolingo vocab

réserver un hôtel - to book a hotel

la réception - reception (desk)

« vous voulez rester combien de nuits ? » - how many nights do you want to stay?

« je voudrais rester … nuit(s) » - i would like to stay … night(s)

une chambre - a bedroom

une clé - a key

un lit - a bed

« combien de … ? » - how much/how many…?

une télévision - a television

une serviette - a towel

« je voudrais… » - i would like…

l’adresse - the address

propre - clean

tout est compris - all is included

cher/chère - expensive

une chambre double - a double room

la douche - the shower

une chambre simple - a single room

le wifi - the wifi

le mot de passe (du wifi) - the password (to the wifi)

ne marche pas - doesn’t work

non-fumeur - nonsmoking

interdits - prohibited

du (jour) au (jour) (mois) - from (month + day) to (day) ~ par exemple: du six au huit juillet = from july sixth to the eighth

[logogreffe]

Très vs Trop vs Super vs Vraiment in French

Let's set the scene : You're talking to your friend, she shows you her new art piece and you say "C'est très beau !" to say "It's so pretty !". And for a few seconds she looks a bit disappointed.

(This might sound a bit exaggerated but if a friend of mine, a native French speaker*, says "c'est très beau !" to me, I might assume that :

they're saying that ironically because it's such a strange way to say "it's so pretty !".

they think that I'm under the age of 8 and I'm bothering them - "c'est très beau, now go play with the other children")

(If your friend knows you're not French, she'll understand what you mean, don't worry)

So then, what should you say ?

First, let's take a look at "très"

1. Très // Very :

If you are writing a thesis/sending an email to French clients/talking to your boss etc…using "très" to say "very" is the way to go.

BUT we don't actually use it that much orally in the day to day life in exclamative sentences such as "It's very + adj ! "

Note 1 : Surprisingly if you want to say "It's not very + adj ! " you can still use "très".

Exemple n° 1 et 2 : "C'est pas très bon !" // "It's not very tasty !" "C'est pas très pratique ! " // "It's not very practical !"

In text messages or orally, whenever you want to say "It's very + adj !" I would suggest you forget about "très" and use the other expressions I'll mention in this post. Note 2 : You cannot use the word "très" with every adjective ! - La maison est très belle. La maison est très magnifique. - La soupe est très bonne. La soupe est très délicieuse. [This website lists adjectives you can use to avoid saying "très". The adjectives on the left can be used with "très", the ones on the right cannot.]

2. Trop // Too :

"Trop" can be translated as "too" or "too much"

Exemple n°3 : "Mon café est trop sucré". // "My coffee is too sweet"

BUT NOW. If we go back to our great example : Your friend shows you her art piece. A possible answer is :

"C'est trop beau !" (lit. translation :" it's too pretty").

"C'est + trop + adj ! " is a very common way to say "it's very + adj ! ". Note 1 : It's quite informal ! Be careful whom you use it with !, (I was scolded as a child for using it)

Note 2 : This only works with the adjectives mentionned below ! If you use any other adjectives like "hot" for example : "l'eau est trop chaude" will mean that the water is too hot. (I guess you could also think of "trop" in this context as "so") Note 3 : "Trop" can also be used in the following structure : "Subject + [être] + TROP + Adj" - Beau/belle : C'est trop beau ! // It's so pretty ! (C'est trooooop beau ! // It's soooo pretty ! ) Elles sont trop belles ! // They are so pretty ! - Cool : C'est trop cool ! // It's so cool ! Mon chat est trop cool ! // My cat is so cool ! - Chiant : (!!!bad word alert!!!) C'est trop chiant ! // It's so fucking annoying ! Mon frère est trop chiant. // My brother is such a pain in the ass. - Moche : C'est trop moche ! // It's so/very ugly ! Ce tableau est trop moche. // This painting is so/very ugly. - Bien : C'est trop bien ! // it's so great ! Ce film est trop bien ! // This movie is really great ! - Sympa : C'est trop sympa de ta part ! Merci ! // It's so nice of you! Thank you! Mes amies sont trop sympas ! // My friends are so nice !

Note 4 : Saying "c'est cool ", "c'est beau ", "c'est bien", "c'est sympa" sounds quite passive-aggressive in French. ("c'est chiant", on the other hand works perfectly on its own, don't worry) Note 5 : Those are the most common adjectives that you can use with "trop" . I cannot think of any other adjectives but there might be some more ! The use of "Trop" is really common but informal. What should you say if you don't want to say "trop" and don't want to use "très" either ? -> You can use "super" or "vraiment"

3. Super : You might have seen it translated as "Great". When used in the exclamative sentence "Super !" or before a noun , it does indeed mean "great". But if it is used before an adjective, it becomes synonymous with "really" or "very"!

Exemple n°4 : "Il fait super chaud dehors !" // It's really hot outside !

4. Vraiment : "Super" is a bit more formal than "trop" yet if you're talking to the big boss, "vraiment" would be better.

C'est trop beau ! < C'est super beau ! < C'est vraiment beau !

Note 1 : "Vraiment" literally means "truly". Yet, I feel like in some situations we use this one in French the way English speakers use "really".

Exemple n°5 : "C'est vraiment énervant, j'arrive pas à utiliser ce logiciel" // "It's really/truly annoying, I can't figure out how to use this computer program."

Note 2 : While "trop" and "super" are informal, you can use "vraiment" in both formal and informal settings.

Exemple n°6 : "T'es vraiment chiant !" // "You're really/truly a pain in the ass !" (You could also say "t'es trop chiant !" ou "t'es super chiant !")

5. A few more examples and 3 mores words to say "very"

Exemples n°7 et 8 : "Il fait super froid dehors aujourd'hui ! " // "It's really cold outside today !" "38 euros ? Putain, c'est super cher ! " // " 38 euros ? Fuck, that's really exprensive !" Some people also use "méga" "archi" or "giga" to say "very " , (those 3 are informal as well)

Exemples n°9 , 10 et 11

"Il fait méga chaud dehors ! " // "It's really really hot outside !" "J'ai archi faim !" // "I'm really really hungry" "J'ai giga soif !" // "I'm really really really thirsty" You can try this little test I made about this post here ! * from mainland France

[technicallyimpossibleperson]

I downloaded doulingo to be threatened into learning French, as i read in memes I'll be. but i gotta say it's not doing it for me. Its not scary or ominous. I had high expectations smh. I wanna bu bullied into learning something cause im too lazy and hardheaded to do it by myself heheh

[asimplelanguageblog]

Brazilian Portuguese basic house vocabulary :

Janela(f)=window

Porta(f) =door

SOFÁ (m)=sofa

Mesa de centro/centro(f) = coffee table

Estante (f)=living room shelves

Cadeira(f) = chair

Mesa (f)= table

Estante de livros (f)=bookshelf

Prateleira (f)=shelf

Cama (f)= bed

Armário de cozinha (f)=kitchen's cabinet

Mesa de cabeceira(f) = bedside table

Mesa de jantar(f) =dining table

Penteadeira (f)= dressing table

Guarda-roupa(m) =wardrobe

Cômoda(f) =chest of drawers/dresser

Microondas=microwave

Gaveta (f)=drawer

Cortinas (f plural) =curtains

Banco/tamborete (m)=stool

Fogão(m)=stove

Pia (f)= sink

Som (f) =stereo

Vaso (m)= vase

Forno(m) =oven

Congelador(m) =the freezer of the fridge

Freezer (m)= freezer

Cafeteira(f)= coffee maker

Liquidificador (f)=blender

Batedeira(f)=mixer

Coifa(f)=range hood

Chuveiro(f) = shower

Banheira(f) = bathtub

Vaso sanitário/privada (m,f)=toilet

Geladeira (f)= fridge

[asimplelanguageblog]

Realistic Language goals:

Last year I would set language goals that were too ambitious and in the end I couldn't achieve many of them, I kind of bit off more than I could chew, so this year I'm trying to set up more realistic and possible goals in order to do that I'm currently using a method called the daily high light . The daily highlight is the only thing you need to get done that day no matter what so, I set up a daily highlight for the week and some optional goals that I don't have to get done if I don't want to. I also try to do something related to language learning everyday even if it is just watching a kid's show in my target language

My language goals :

French:

Try to watch something in French every day so I keep exposing myself to the language

Learn a vocabulary topic every day

Review my anki cards

Master the basic grammar

English :

Record myself every day(most important goal)

Read aloud

Once a week write a small paragraph about movies or any topic I like so that I can improve my writing and grammar .

Read ten books in a month ( I think that's the most ambitious goal so far )

[asimplelanguageblog]

Words I learned from beginner's short stories in French :

Entourée = surounded

Envie = to feel like doing something

Morceau = piece/bit of pan/fromage

Bois = wood

Bassines =bowl

Ajouter = to add

Les briques = the bricks

Travers : across/through

Cour : yard

Rappelait = to remind/ be reminded of

Sèjour = stay(noun)

Pendant =during

Alors = so/then(indicates a consequence)

Chemin = path/way

Tournesols = sunflowers

Ensuite = later /afterwards/then

Pêcheur =Fishman

Frapper = to knock

Le Champ = the field

Traverser = to cross

La côte = the coast

Au loin = in the distance

[asimplelanguageblog]

06/30 days of language learning.

This is a summary of what i did these past few days, let's start with French, I read a short story about the beaches of France ,did my anki cards ,learned how to use lequel,lequelle,lequels ,watched a lot of children's cartoons in French ,found out how to use ce,cet,ces and cette. In English I recorded myself and made a paragraph with piled up vocabulary, read a wikipedia's article aloud .

Things I wanna do next week :

Get started on the imparfait

Write a daily paragraph

Improve my grammar in English

Study the verbs which use "être " as an auxiliary verb.

[asimplelanguageblog]

the hardest part of learning a language is the beginning because you have no idea what you're doing! , it's like you're trying to get somewhere, but with no directions .

[logogreffe]

What does " de quoi " mean in French ?

Avoir + de quoi + verbe à l'infinitif = to have the means/the equipment to do something - Vous avez de quoi faire des lasagnes chez vous ? // Do you (plural or formal) have the ingredients to make lasagna at home ? Note : When talking about food, it will usually mean "do you have the ingredients to make...." but it might also refer to the equipment required, such as an oven/a wok... - T'as de quoi prendre des notes ? // Do you have something to take notes on/with ? - T'as de quoi payer sur toi ? // Do you have any money on you? You can also use this structure with other verbs like "acheter" (to buy) ou "prendre" (to bring) for example : - J'ai acheté de quoi faire des crêpes. // I bought the necessary ingredients to make some crêpes. Note 1 : It might also refer to a specific kind of pan used to make crêpes. Note 2 : Crêpes and pancakes are absolutely not the same thing and I refuse to use those words interchangeably. - J'ai pris de quoi lire. // I brought something to read with me. - J'ai pris de quoi manger. // I brought something to eat with me.

Avoir + de quoi + verbe à l'infinitif can also be translated as "to have enough (of something) to do something : - J'ai de quoi vivre confortablement pendant un an sans travailler // I have enough (money) to live comfortably for a year without working. - J'ai, dans mes placarts, de quoi manger pendant un mois. // I have, in my cupboards, enough (food) to eat for a month.

Other uses of "de quoi" -> À la suite de quoi = Whereupon -> Some verbs might require the use of "de quoi" in certain cases : - Il n'y a pas de quoi s'inquiéter. // There is nothing to worry about. - Il n'y a pas de quoi s'énerver. // There is nothing to get worked up about. - Je ne comprends pas de quoi on parle. // I don't understand what we are talking about. - Mais de quoi tu parles ? // What the hell are you talking about ? Note : Be careful with "mais" at the beginning of a question, it is the equivalent of "what the hell"/"what on earth" Mais qu'est ce que tu fais encore là ? // What the hell are you still doing here ?

[asimplelanguageblog]

French essential verbs

AVOIR = TO HAVE

ETRÊ= TO BE

MANGER = TO EAT

BOIRE = TO DRINK

MARCHER : TO WALK

VOIR = TO SEE

DORMIR =TO SLEEP

ACHETER =TO BUY

VENDRE = TO SELL

PARLER = TO TALK, TO SPEAK

DIRE = TO SAY, TO TELL

LIRE = TO READ

ALLER = TO GO

VENIR = TO COME

APPRENDRE = TO LEARN

LAVER : TO WASH

UTILISER : TO USE

COUPER : TO CUT ,TO CHOP

CUISINER =TO COOK

METTRE: TO PUT

DÉPENSER : TO SPEND

ESSAYER :TO TRY ,TO TRY ON

OUBLIER : TO FORGET

FERMER : TO CLOSE

OUVRIR: TO OPEN

VERSER = TO POUR

ÉCRIR = TO WRITE

CHERCHE : TO LOOK FOR

SAVOIR = TO KNOW, TO KNOW HOW TO DO SOMETHING

VOULOUIR : TO WANT

POUVOIR = CAN , BE ABLE TO

[the---hermit]

hii I've been learning Italian on duolingo since May 2021 (my two Italian best friends got me into Måneskin around Eurovision and I decided I want to understand the lyrics properly lol), could you recommend any relatively easy Italian books I could read?

Hello hello! This is really exciting, I hope you are having fun learning Italian!

My go do recommendations for people who are learning a language is to read books that are meant for kids (this works too with movies tbh). This is because at the end of the day if you have been learning a language for kust a few yeara you are at the level of a child native to that language, so why not use the tools meant for those children to learn more? If you trust me with this advice my first recommendation is my childhood favourite (that believe it or not I am currently rereading in a nostalgic moment): Geronimo Stilton. You might be familiar with this litterary mouse because it has been translated in a lot of languages but the author is Italian! There's so much you can pick from this collection of books the standard novels, the classic litterature retellings for children, the Tenebrax family series, and my childhood favourite the Kindom Of Fantasy series (it's called Nel Regno Della Fantasia in Italian!). These books offer you a variety of genres so you can find something that works for you, they are fun and easy to understand and they could be a great starting point.

Another option is Italo Calvino's children/YA stories (I guess you could call them that). I personally own a fairytale collection by him but ai have not yet read it so I can't be super precise about it (but in general fairytales work very well too when learning a language because again they are meant for kids so they tend to be easier). I also remember reading a few of his stories in middle school, back in the day I hated reading so I will be honest with you I don't remeber lots, but I do remember Il Barone Rampante (a story which I really want to reread so you'll probably read more of that on my blog in the future). This is the story of a boy who has an argument with his parents, climbs on a tree and refuses to get down again. Other stories by him that I am pretty sure we got to read in middle school are Il Visconte Dimezzato and Il Cagaliere Inesistente.

As I said I think kid's books are a great starting point (graphic novels toocalthough sometimes they can be a bit more challeng because of the humor, but if you are interested I have a pretty good list of Italian graphic novel authors). This is what came to mind right away, if you need a more curated recommendation list I will research a bit more and put it together, so let me know (also let me know if you end up reading anything from this list, and how your Italian learning is going, if I can be helpful I am happy to help!).

[asimplelanguageblog]

I've been learning english for four years now and I still write like a five year old.