Og Jeg Elsker Språk

Girl | 24 | 🇺🇸 -> 🇳🇴🇫🇷🇹🇷 This is my stab at having a Langblr | I graduated university and realized that all I wanted to do was learn languages | Main: @thescorpioracer

[pompadourpink]

Les temps du présent

Le présent de l'indicatif/présent simple

The indicative present is used to

describe what one is currently doing (présent d'énonciation): je travaille - I'm working (as we speak)

describe a fact (présent de vérité générale/historique): les chats sont des animaux - cats are animals

describe an ongoing fact that started in the past (présent duratif): il pleut depuis hier - It's been raining since yesterday

describe the scene (présent de description): le soleil est caché aujourd'hui - the sun is hiding today

describe a habit (présent d'habitude): je cours tous les dimanches - I run every sunday

describe what just happened (présent de passé proche): je viens d'arriver - I just got there

describe what is about to happen (présent de futur proche): je suis là dans une minute - I'll be there in a minute

give an order (présent d'injonction), alternative to the imperative present: tu rentres tout de suite ! - You get home immediately!

make a story feel real (présent de narration): il y a six ans déjà que mon ami s'en est allé avec son mouton. Si j'essaie ici de le décrire, c'est afin de ne pas l'oublier. - It has been six years since my friend left with his sheep. If I try to describe him here, it is so that I will not forget him. (Le Petit Prince)

express a possibility (présent d'hypothèse): si tu es gentil, tu auras un cadeau - if you're kind, you'll get a present

La conjugaison

First group (-er except Aller): je marche, tu marches, il/elle/on marche, nous marchons, vous marchez, ils/elles marchent

Second group (-ir with -iss- in the plural forms): je finis, tu finis, il/elle/on finit, nous finissons, vous finissez, ils/elles finissent

Third group (everything else): typically je cours, tu cours, il court, nous courons, vous courez, ils courent; long -oir verbs: je veux, tu veux, il veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils veulent; -indre/-soudre verbs: -s, -s, -t, -ons, -ez, -ent; other -dre verbs: -ds, -ds, -d, -dons, -dez, -dent; -ttre: -ts, -ts, -t, -tons, -tez, -tent; -rir, -llir: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent

Auxiliaries: je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont + j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont

N.B. Many third-group verbs are irregular because they used to be two different verbs (ex: Être comes from both Essere - to be and Stare - to stand) that eventually became one and consequently have two bases and can have up to five stems. Always double-check for different, stems, extra letters, accents, etc.

Notable exceptions:

The vowel -i- cannot be between two other vowels in the first and second person plural so it will turn into -y- (vous croyez, nous voyons)

In -cer and -ger verbs, the first person plural changes to allow for the correct pronunciation (nous lançons, nous mangeons); c > ç, go > geo.

In -aître verbs, only the third person singular keeps the accent (elle naît).

Le présent progressif

The progressive present is an emphasized version of the enunciation present and is therefore used to describe an ongoing action that started recently and is actively being done as the narrator is speaking.

It is built by putting together the subject, the verb Être conjugated in the indicative present tense, the adverbial locution "en train de" (in the progress of), the infinitive form of the verb of action, and possibly an object.

Je suis en train de manger, j'ai bientôt fini - I'm eating, I'm almost done

Est-ce que tu es en train de travailler? - are you working?

Nous sommes en train de faire nos devoirs - we are doing homework

-

Le conditionnel présent

The present conditional is used

to express a wish: j'aimerais retourner en Italie - I'd love to go back to Italy

a suggestion: tu devrais partir tôt - you should leave early

a hypothesis: il pourrait rentrer demain - he could come home tomorrow

to casually share one's opinion: je n'aimerais pas qu'on me dise ça ! - I wouldn't like it if someone told me that (can be a way to aggravate a situation)

to ask something politely: je voudrais un café - I'd like a coffee

to refer to the future in the past: elle a dit qu'elle arriverait tard - she said she'd arrive late

La conjugaison

Conjugating the present conditional is easy for the first two verbal groups: just add the terminations to the infinitive of the verb. If the verb ends in -e, remove it: prendre > je prendrais. Fun fact: you can build the imperfect tense by removing -er- for the first group and turning -ir- into -iss- for the second.

First group (-er except Aller): je marcherais, tu marcherais, il marcherait, nous marcherions, vous marcheriez, ils marcheraient

Second group (-ir with -iss- in the plural forms): je finirais, tu finirais, il finirait, nous finirions, vous finiriez, ils finiraient

Third group (everything else): typically: je courrais, tu courrais, il courrait, nous courrions, vous courriez, ils courraient; auxiliaries: je serais, tu serais, il serait, nous serions, vous seriez, ils seraient + j'aurais, tu aurais, il aurait, nous aurions, vous auriez, ils auraient

Main irregular verbs: auxiliaries + aller - j'irais, devoir - je devrais, pouvoir - je pourrais, recevoir - je recevrais, savoir - je saurais, tenir - je tiendrais, venir - je viendrais, voir - je verrais, vouloir - je voudrais

N.B. Make sure to not mix it up with the simple future tense, they're similar!

L'impératif présent

The present imperative mood can only be conjugated in the second person singular and the first and second person plural. It is used

to give an order: viens ici tout de suite - come here right now

a suggestion: appelle-le tout de suite, non ? - maybe call him now?

a plea: s'il te plaît, pardonne-moi ! - please, forgive me

to ban someone from doing something: ne touche pas à ça ! - do not touch that

La conjugaison

Warning: it often looks like the indicative present - without a subject. If so, in the second person singular, the verb will require a final -s only if the current final letter is a consonant. Certain verbs cannot be conjugated, like vouloir.

être: sois, soyons, soyez; avoir: aie, ayons, ayez

va, allons, allez; finis, finissons, finissez; marche, marchons, marchez

N.B. Pronouns can be added: a reflexive verb will come with a tonic pronoun and a dash in a positive sentence: Lave-toi !, and a direct object pronoun in a negative sentence: Ne te vexe pas !; when referring to a portion -en: Prends-en un peu ! (an -s will be added for the liaison to be possible), and to a place, -y: Vas-y !

-

L'infinitif présent

is the neutral form you find in dictionaries: courir, marcher, prendre

is found after prepositions À, De, Pour and Sans: c’est sans dire, viens à la maison pour dîner !, on part sans perdre de temps

is found after a conjugated verb: il voulait partir tôt (the second verb can be the first element of the sentence: courir nous fatigue)

expresses an order, advice, prohibition: frapper avant d’entrer

expresses anger, surprise or a wish: m'excuser, moi ? plutôt mourir !

expresses doubt in an interrogative sentence: que faire de ce garçon ?

-

Le participe présent

The present participle works like an adverb and either expresses an action that happens at the same time as another action, that is possibly the consequence of that action, or describes the subject. It is built by removing the termination of the verb and replacing it by -ant.

Les employés possédant une voiture peuvent se garer dans la rue - the employees who own a car can park in the street

Étant déjà en retard, je décide de courir - being already late, I decide to run

N.B. To get the right pronunciation or avoid a mix-up with an adjective, it can be necessary to modify or add letters when building the present participle. For example: convaincre > convainquant (as convaincant is the adjective), diverger > divergeant ([ʒ], as divergant would be a [g] sound).

Movie: La Piscine - Jacques Deray, 1969

Fanmail - masterlist (2016-) - archives - hire me - reviews (2020-) - Drive

[amillionlanguages]

Ted Talks for aspiring polyglots

I love these all for various reasons so I highly recommend checking them out!

How to learn any language in six months — Chris Lonsdale

The secrets of learning a new language — Lýdia Machová

How to learn any language easily — Matthew Youlden

Why We Struggle Learning Languages — Gabriel Wyner

Learning a language? Speak it like you’re playing a video game — Marianna Pascal

Hacking language learning — Benny Lewis

How to Talk Like a Native Speaker — Marc Green

[quotemadness]

My heart is a thousand years old. I am not like other people.

Charles Bukowski (via quotemadness)

[pompadourpink]

Les autres pronoms

Possessive pronouns (mine, ours)

Masc. sg.: le mien, le tien, le sien, le nôtre, le vôtre, le leur 

Fem. sg.: la mienne, la tienne, la sienne, la nôtre, la vôtre, la leur

Masc. pl.: les miens, les tiens, les siens, les nôtres, les vôtres, les leurs

Fem. pl.: les miennes, les tiennes, les siennes, les nôtres, les vôtres, les leurs

Ex: tu pensais que tu avais pris tes lunettes mais c'étaient les miennes - you thought you had taken your glasses but they were mine

Demonstrative pronouns

They replace demonstrative determiners followed by a noun

They can be one of three types: prepositional (c'est celle de Laure - it's Laure's), relative (les robes en soie sont celles que je préfère - silk dresses are the ones I prefer), or nominal (j'ajoute à cette lettre celle de mon fils - I add to this letter the one of my son).

Singular - celui (m), celle (f): celle en bleu - the blue one

Plural - ceux (m), celles (f): ceux-là sont mieux - those are better

Neutral - ceci - this (rare), cela - that, ça - this (short for cela): ça ira - that will be fine, c’/ce*: c’est un chien - this is a dog, ce sont des chats - those are cats

N.B. Adverbial particles -ci (short for ici) and -là are added to indicate the distance. Celui-ci means this one (close), celles-là those ones (far away).

*Do not mix up the masculine singular demonstrative determiner ce that is followed by a singular masculine noun (ce chat est blanc - this cat is white) and the demonstrative pronoun ce that is followed by est/sont (is/are) or a relative pronoun (c'est ce qu'il m'a dit - that is what he told me; ce sont les chaussures qu'il a choisies - those are the shoes he chose)

N.B. C'est is used with a noun: c'est un gentil garçon - he's a nice boy, an adverb: c'est si joli - it's so pretty, or a masculine singular adjective when talking about a situation or activity: c'est facile - it's easy. Il/Elle est is used with adjectives when talking about living beings or things: elle est grande - she's tall, in expressions: il était une fois - there one was, before a past participle: elle est partie - she's gone.

Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns represent the nouns placed in front of them

Que/qui

subject (qui), when talking about living beings or things and describing them, placed before a verb: la fille qui porte un pull rouge aime la glace - the girl that is wearing a red jumper likes ice cream

indirect object (qui), when talking about people, after a preposition, placed before either a determiner and a noun or a pronoun (la fille à qui tu as parlé aime la glace - the girl you talked to likes ice cream)

direct object (que), when talking about living beings or things, placed before either a determiner and a noun or a pronoun (la fille que tu aimes aime la glace - the girl you love likes ice cream)

Quoi

object, when talking about things, often vague (something, nothing): c’est ce à quoi j’ai pensé toute la journée - that is what I thought about all day long

Dont

possessive phrase (complément de nom): je bois dans une tasse dont la anse est cassée - I’m drinking from a mug that has a broken handle

indirect object, equivalent of "of which": le livre dont je t’ai parlé est sorti - the book I told you about is out

adjective object: les filles sont allées à un concert de Rihanna, dont elles sont fan: the girls have gone to a Rihana’s concert, whom they are fans of

Où

adverbial phrase of place: la chambre où je dors est la plus grande de la maison - the room I sleep in is the biggest in the house

adverbial place of time: septembre est le mois où je suis née - September is the month in which I was born

Compound relative pronouns

Auquel, duquel, lequel (marriage of prepositions à, de, le and of simple relative pronouns)

subject - rare, literary: j’ai appelé ma mère, laquelle m’a informée de ton accident - I called my mum who told me about your accident)

object, about things or animals: les chaises sous lesquelles je suis cachée sont en bois - the chairs under which I am hidden are made of wood; c’est l’endroit duquel il est parti - this is the place from which he left; les hommes auxquels elle parle sont allemands - the men she is talking to are German

Neutral relative pronouns

They are built by adding ce, which can be roughly translated as "the thing", to dont, que, qui and used when the antecedent isn't mentioned or when it's a clause often after a comma.

Ce qui is the subject of the verb that follow: je ne sais pas ce qui est tombé - I don’t know what fell down (word by word I don't know the thing that has fallen), j’ai eu un accident, ce qui explique pourquoi je suis en retard - I got in an accident, which explains why I’m late

Ce que or ce qu' is used as a direct object and is generally followed by a subject and a verb: ce que je te demande, c’est d’être à l’heure - what I’m asking you is to be on time (word by word the thing that I ask of you it is to be on time), c’est ce que je voulais dire - that’s what I meant

Ce dont is used as the preposition de’s object: ce dont j’ai peur, c’est qu’il revienne - what I'm afraid of is that he will come back (word by word the thing of which I'm afraid, it is that he comes back), c’est précisément ce dont je veux te parler - that is precisely what I want to talk to you about 

N.B. To stress a point, we can use ce qui/que/dont + c’est/ce sont: ce qui me plaît le plus, c’est ta robe - what I most like is your dress.

Movie: Pierrot le fou - Jean-Paul Godard, 1965

[pompadourpink]

Les temps verbaux

Les temps

Le passé

Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait): Elle avait fermé la porte - She had closed the door [imperfect Être/Avoir auxiliary + past participle]

Imperfect (imparfait): Elle fermait la porte - She closed the door [description, historical detail, habit in the past]

Perfect (passé composé): Elle a fermé la porte - She has closed the door [simple present Être/Avoir + past participle]

Simple past (passé simple): Elle ferma la porte - She closed the door [literary]

Past conditional (conditionnel passé): Elle aurait fermé la porte - She would have closed the door [present conditional Être/Avoir + past participle; expresses a regret or theory/fantasy]

Perfect past (passé antérieur): Elle eut fermé la porte - She had closed the door [simple past Être/Avoir + past participle; rare, literary, expresses the anteriority of an action compared to the one that follows]

Recent past (passé récent): Elle vient de fermer la porte - She just closed the door [simple present Venir de + infinitive; about what just happened]*

Past imperative (impératif passé): Aie fermé la porte - Have the door closed (before...) [present imperative Être/Avoir without the pronoun + past participle; only in 2nd person singular + 1st/2nd person plural, expresses the anteriority of an action (order, prohibition, suggestion, plea) compared to the one that follows]

Past infinitive (infinitif passé): Avoir fermé la porte est important - Having closed the door is important [present infinitive Être/Avoir + past participle; expresses the anteriority of an action accomplished before the one that follows]

(Past participle (participe passé): Elle a fermé la porte [used after an auxiliary in multiple compound tenses, usually to express a past action])

Le présent

Indicative/simple present (présent de l'indicatif/simple): Elle ferme la porte - She closes the door

Progressive present (présent progressif): Elle est en train de fermer la porte - She is closing the door [simple present Être + en train de + infinitive; about what is in the process of happening]

Present conditional (conditionnel présent): Elle fermerait la porte - She would close the door [expresses politeness, a desire, suggestion, theory]*

Present imperative (impératif présent): Ferme la porte - Close the door [simple present without the pronoun; only exists in 2nd person singular and 1st/2nd person plural, expresses an order, prohibition, recommendation, plea]

Present infinitive (infinitif présent): Fermer la porte - Close the door [infinitive verb; used in lists, on signs, after certain prepositions/conjugated verbs, expresses a number of feelings]

(Present participle: Elle ferme la porte menant aux chambres - She closes the door leading to the bedrooms [verb + -ant; used to add precisions and usually replaces qui + simple present verb])

Le futur

Near future (futur proche): Elle va fermer la porte - She is going to close the door [present Aller + infinitive; about what is about to happen]

Simple future (futur simple): Elle fermera la porte - She will close the door

Perfect future (futur antérieur): Elle aura fermé la porte - She will have closed the door [simple future Aller + infinitive; about what will have happened]

*NB: To use "If... (then)..." constructions, use imperfect for V.1 and present conditional for V.2 in the present (Si elle mangeait, elle n'aurait pas faim), or pluperfect for V1. and past conditional for V.2 in the past (Si elle avait mangé, elle n'aurait pas eu faim).

Les modes

Present gerund (gérondif présent): Elle ferme la porte en criant - She closes the door shouting [(conj. verb 1 +) en + verb 2 + -ant; used to describe two simultaneous actions, not to be used with a stative verb (Être, Sembler, etc.)]

Past gerund (gérondif passé): Ayant fermé la porte, elle fut enfermée dehors - Having closed the door, she was locked out [Être/Avoir + -ant + past participle; used to describe the anteriority of an action]

Present subjunctive (subjonctif présent): Il faut qu'elle ferme la porte - She has to close the door [triggered by certain constructions + que; about an uncertain action that hasn't happened atm, that only exists in someone's head.]

Past subjunctive (subjonctif passé): Il fallait qu'elle ait fermé la porte - She had to have closed the door [certain constructions + que + pronoun/noun + present subjunctive Être/Avoir + past participle; about an uncertain situation that might have happened]

Imperfect subjunctive (subjonctif imparfait): Il fallait qu'elle fermât la porte - She had to close the door [certain constructions + que + pronoun/noun + present subjunctive; RARE/lit., about an uncertain situation that hadn't happened yet]

Pluperfect subjunctive (subjonctif plus-que-parfait): Il fallait qu'elle eusse fermé la porte - She had to have closed the door [certain constructions + que + pronoun/noun + imperfect subjunctive Être/Avoir + past participle; RARE, lit., about an uncertain situation that might have happened]

[pompadourpink]

L’alphabet phonétique

Les voyelles

[a] open front unrounded vowel - cinéma (cinema, m); hat

[ɑ] open back unrounded vowel - château (castle, m); hot

[e] close-mid front unrounded vowel - clé (key, f); may

[ɛ] open-mid front unrounded vowel - père (father, m), chêne (oak, m); bed

[ə] mid central vowel/schwa - jeu (game, m); bird

[i] close front unrounded vowel - souris (mouse, f); free

[o] close-mid back rounded vowel - rose (rose, f); UK yawn

[ɔ] open-mid back rounded vowel - océan (ocean, m); thought

[ø] close-mid front rounded vowel - jeudi (thursday)

[œ] open-mid front rounded vowel - peur (fear, f)

[u] close back rounded vowel - chou (cabbage, m); boot

[y] close front rounded vowel - tu (you); UK few

This vowel diagram shows the inside of the throat from the left side (pronounce /i/ “eee” and /ɑ/ “aaa” to feel the difference). Antérieur: front, postérieur: back, aperture: opening of the lips.

Les voyelles nasales (when followed by a consonant except -h- or ending a word)

[ɑ̃] > am, an, (é)en, em, aon - temps (time, m)

[ɛ̃] > aim, ain, eim, ein, em, (i)en, im, in, um, un, ym, yn - pain (bread, m)

[ɔ̃] > om, on - ombre (shadow, f), bonjour (hello)

[œ̃] > um, un - humble, un (one, m); dying, turning into [ɛ̃] 

N.B. When a nasal sound is produced, despite being made of two letters, they are to be pronounced as their own sound: in Bonjour, the /o/ and the /n/ shouldn’t be heard at all since they are followed by the consonant /j/, as opposed to the usual dragging of /o/ then /n/ like in Bonne journée.

Les semi-voyelles

[j] voiced palatal approximant - lieu (place, m); you

[ɥ] voiced labial–palatal approximant - huile (oil, f); wall

[w] voiced labial–velar approximant - oui (yes); witch

Les consonnes

[b] voiced bilabial plosive - bête (beast, f)

[d] voiced dental and alveolar plosive - déjeuner (lunch, m)

[f] voiceless labiodental fricative - faim (hunger, f)

[g] voiced velar plosive - gâteau (cake, m)

[ʒ] voiced postalveolar fricative - ange (angel, m); vision

[k] voiceless velar plosive - cadeau (gift, m)

[l] voiced apical alveolar approximant - lait (milk, m)

[p] voiceless bilabial plosive - pain (bread, m)

[ʁ] voiced uvular fricative - roi (king, m)

[s] voiceless alveolar fricative - sel (salt, m); nonsense

[t] voiceless denti-alveolar plosive - table (table, f)

[v] voiced labiodental fricative - violon (violin, m)

[z] voiced alveolar fricative - maison (house, f)

[ʃ] voiceless postalveolar fricative - chocolat (chocolate, m)

Les consonnes nasales

[m] voiced bilabial nasal - miel (honey, m)

[n] voiced denti-alveolar nasal - nez (nose, m)

[ɲ] voiced palatal nasal - montagne (mountain, f)

[ŋ] voiced velar nasal - connexion (connection, f); sing 

Voiced sounds are those that make our vocal chords vibrate when they are produced; voiceless sounds are produced from air passing through the mouth at different points. Fricatives are consonants with the characteristic that when they are produced, air escaped through a small passage and make a hissing sound; plosives are a type of consonant produced by forming a complete obstruction to the flow air out of the mouth.

[versaillesadness]

[linguacoreana]

Learn 30 Words Per Month

This is a good goal because it’s pushing you, but not beyond your limits. 30 words per months ends up as one word per day on average. That’s not too unreasonable, right? We usually have 5 minutes here or there to learn how to use a word very well. If you don’t have time, that’s okay because you can make up for it with the flexibility of this goal.

Flexibility is okay as long as you have a way to get back on track if you fall off. I tried to learn 365 Chinese characters this year. There were months where I did nothing. However, because of the flexibility of the goal, I was able to quadruple up at the end of the year, and I still reached my goal. It wasn’t as smooth as I had hoped, but I achieved it. My push helped me learn to read and write 365 Chinese characters I wouldn’t have known if I didn’t make this resolution.

If I had made the goal one Chinese character per day, I would have beat myself up after the first failure and totally given up. Instead, having flexibility (but firmness) baked into the resolution meant that I actually made it without punishing myself for one mistake or overly busy day.

Do 6 Hours of Listening Per Month

I am a big fan of listening as I have talked about on my YouTube channel. I personally think you should drown yourself in native speaking examples. This is an amazing goal because of all the passive benefits of listening.

As for the specifics of the goal, this is very reasonable, but still allows for you to push. On average, you would need to watch 12 minutes of content in your target language per day. That’s totally reasonable. Follow a YouTube channel in your target language! If you want long-form content, that accounts for 4 movies of 90 minutes in length. This means you could watch one movie on the streaming platform you already pay for every weekend. This is absolutely doable, but the results accumulate so many good benefits.

Write 1 Sentence About My Day Per Day

A key to get better is to produce the language and get feedback. There’s no better way to produce the language than calmly, carefully making a good sentence.

On top of that, with a goal like one sentence per day, you’ll have so many good sentences after just one month. At the beginning of the year, you might start with “today was so busy” or “today I relaxed all day,” but after some time, your sentences will grow in complexity. For me, my goal would be to write a complex, rich sentence like “Originally, I was planning to run by the grocery store to grab a couple high-caloric snacks to treat myself, but I ended up falling asleep on the couch with my dinner in my hands stained with pizza sauce on account of my crippling depression.” Imagine the possibilities…

Take 1 italki Lesson Per Week

Consistency is so critical. Creating a regularly scheduled event, especially one connected to another person, will definitely keep you on track.

Even on weeks where your progress is slow, or you can’t find time to do language study, a regularly scheduled event keeps you on the path to improvement.

On top of that, although reading, listening, and writing can be fit into a busy schedule rather easily, it’s hard to regularly find time to speak the language with a native speaker unless it’s a speaker who has a set time to speak with you.

I’ve had so many busy weeks where life obligations prevented me from doing my reading or listening or any other goal on this list. However, thanks to my dedication to proving to another person that I have done something in the week, I do even get minimal progress in those weeks that would have been zero progress had I not had the recurring task.

To get $10 in your student wallet after spending $20, use this link to use italki as your tool to progress.

Record Yourself Speaking Once Per Week

Something we lose sight of with language learning is perspective. It often does not feel like any progress is being made. This is because change happens slowly, and we don’t notice when it happens. If we record ourselves from time to time, we can see the progress firsthand.

This goal also is really nice because you don’t have to worry about embarrassing yourself in front of native speakers. You don’t have to post this or show this to anyone. Just by recording yourself speaking, you’ve done two things: (1) you have a record of your level at that moment for future comparisons, and (2) you got your brain practicing speaking and forming sentences.

I accomplished this goal with Turkish, and it was very exciting to see progress. I love to go back to my old footage and noticing such a huge leap in my progress. It’s very motivating while being minimal commitment on your part. As a goal, this is beneficial because you do regular practice in a way you might not have done; you can get out of your comfort zone.

Finish 1 Novel By December 31st

This deadline might not be pushing the envelope for a lot of people, but if you have never read a novel in your native language before, it’s distant enough to not feel overwhelmed while being close enough that you don’t procrastinate forever.

Novels are such a great source of vocabulary. Authors tend to use a very sophisticated mélange in their writing, so you are bound to encounter tons of new, good phrases while hopefully enjoying yourself.

Even if you do want to do more listening or speaking, reading in general is such a great passive way to improve your speaking with deep, rich expressions and elevated speech. If you drop some idiom from a novel into your daily speech, you’re bound to impress natives.

Speak 1 Hour Everyday in April

“April” is just a placeholder for any month. What I am really suggesting is do something that is probably out of your comfort zone for an extreme push in a limited time. the duration is bound by a beginning and end so that you don’t continue until burnout. However, the time is long enough that sustained effort will make a difference to your skills.

Assuming you don’t speak the language regularly, a daily push is enough to get your brain to really take the speaking skill seriously.

Who do you speak to? That’s your choice. This could be a daily tutoring lesson, recording yourself, or making an agreement to meet with a native speaker friend or language exchange partner.

The main point is that one very good goal is to set a bound time where you will push much harder than you will normally.

Finish My Grammar Textbook by March 31st

Although grammar is not everything, you will never speak fluently until you have at least a basic grasp of the main grammatical concepts of the language. Grammar is somehow divisive in the language community, but I am firmly on the side of getting it done as fast as possible so you can start focusing on vocab acquisition, accent, and native-style sentences.

Giving yourself a due date for finishing a grammar textbook is a way to cut through the procrastination and get a critical piece of learning done.

March 31st is an arbitrary date. Choose a date that makes sense with your schedule and your book. A good speed could be one chapter per week or one grammar point per day depending on how your book is organized. What you should be focusing on is setting a due date for this thing that could take years if you procrastinate enough.

You need to eat your vegetables before you can have dessert.

[amillionlanguages]

2+ Months of Language Learning Prompts!

Sometimes it can be tricky to know what to learn if you are teaching yourself a language. Here are some ideas for what you can focus on learning each day for the first two months of learning a new language! I formatted it so there is the general topic for the day and then in parentheses are some ideas to get you started but you can definitely learn a lot more than what I’ve written down! These are just to help generate some ideas!

This definitely would move pretty quickly if you covered all this material in 2 months so you could definitely spend more time on each topic if you need! This would require quite a bit of time each day in order to learn it all. This could totally work for a 4 or 6-month challenge where you spend 2 or 3 days on each of the topics I listed if you don’t have enough time to cover each topic in just one day!

Polite phrases (thank you, please, yes/no, you’re welcome, I’m sorry)

Introductory phrases (hi, my name is, I’m from, I speak, how are you?)

Pronouns (I, you, he, she, they, we)

Basic people vocab (girl, boy, man, woman, person, child)

Basic verbs in present tense (to eat, to drink, to walk, to read, to write, to say)

Sentence structure (how to form some basic sentences)

Negative sentences (I do not __)

Question words (who, what, where, when, why, how, how to form questions)

Numbers (0-20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 1,000, 1,000,000)

Time (hour, minute, half hour, reading the time)

Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert, appetizer)

Basic foods (apple, banana, rice, bread, pasta, carrot, soup, water)

More foods (beef, pork, fruit, vegetable, juice, coffee, tea, chocolate, cake)

Kitchen (stove, oven, kitchen, fridge, table, chair, bake, boil)

Eating supplies (knife, spoon, fork, plate, bowl, cup, glass)

More verbs (to make, to have, to see, to like, to go, to be able to, to want, to need)

Family (father, mother, son, daughter, aunt, uncle, cousin, grandmother, grandfather, parents, grandparents)

Transportation (car, train, plane, bus, bicycle, airport, train station)

City locations (apartment, building, restaurant, movie theater, market, hotel, bank)

Directions (north, south, east, west, right, left)

Adjectives (good, bad, smart, delicious, nice, fun)

More verbs (to give, to send, to wake up, to cry, to love, to hate, to laugh)

Colors (red, yellow, blue, green, purple, black, white, brown)

Emotions (happy, sad, calm, angry)

Physical descriptions (tall, short, blonde, brunette, redhead, eye color)

Body parts (arm, leg, hand, finger, foot, toe, face, eye, mouth, nose, ears)

Descriptors (rich, poor, beautiful, ugly, expensive, inexpensive)

Basic clothing (shirt, pants, dress, skirt, jacket, sweater, skirt, shorts)

Accessories (belt, hat, wallet, gloves, sunglasses, purse, watch)

More verbs (to keep, to smile, to run, to drive, to wear, to remember)

Animals (cat, dog, horse, cow, bear, pig, chicken, duck, fish)

More animals (turtle, sheep, fox, mouse, lion, deer)

Months (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December)

Seasons (fall, winter, spring, summer)

Weather (sunny, cloudy, hot, cold, snowing, raining)

States of being (I’m hungry, I’m tired, I’m thirsty)

House (bedroom, living room, bathroom, stairs)

Furniture (bed, lamp, couch, door, window)

Electronics (phone, TV, computer, camera, radio, headphones)

Nature (tree, flower, plant, animal, grass, animal, outside, sky, sun, moon, clouds)

More verbs (to teach, to learn, to understand, to know, to listen, to hear)

School (classroom, elementary school, high school, college, student, class, grade, homework, test)

School subjects (math, science, English, art, music, chemistry, biology, physics)

School supplies (book, pencil, pen, paper, notebook, folder, backpack, calculator)

Classroom features (student desk, teacher desk, whiteboard, chalk, clock, bell)

Jobs (teacher, scientist, doctor, artist, dancer, musician)

More jobs (surgeon, manager, engineer, architect, lawyer, dentist, writer)

More verbs (to buy, to sell, to work, to ask, to answer, to dance, to leave, to come)

Comparisons (less than, more than, same, __er than)

Languages (French, German, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, English, Japanese)

Countries (France, Germany, China, Russia, Spain, Mexico, United States, Japan)

Religion (church, temple, mosque, to pray, Judaism, Christianity, Islam)

Past tense (I was, he ran, she wrote)

Hobbies (shopping, sports, soccer, chess, fishing, gardening, photography)

More verbs (to describe, to sleep, to find, to wish, to enter, to feel, to think)

Art (paint, draw, painting, gallery, frame, brush)

Morning routine (to wake up, to brush teeth, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, soap)

Future tense (I will run, he will write)

TV + internet (online, internet, to watch TV, TV show, movie, documentary, cartoon)

More verbs (to look for, to stay, to touch, to meet, to show, to rent, to wash, to play)

[linguistness]

Best language learning tips & masterlists from other bloggers I’ve come across

(these posts are not my own!)

THE HOLY GRAIL of language learning (-> seriously tho, this is the BEST thing I’ve ever come across)

Tips:

Some language learning exercises and tips

20 Favorite Language Learning Tips

what should you be reading to maximize your language learning?

tips for learning a language (things i wish i knew before i started)

language learning and langblr tips

Tips on how to read in your target language for longer periods of time

Tips and inspiration from Fluent in 3 months by Benny Lewis

Tips for learning a sign language

Tips for relearning your second first language

How to:

how to self teach a new language

learning a language: how to

learning languages and how to make it fun

how to study languages

how to practice speaking in a foreign language

how to learn a language when you don’t know where to start

how to make a schedule for language learning

How to keep track of learning more than one language at the same time

Masterposts:

Language Study Master Post

Swedish Resources Masterpost

French Resouces Masterpost

Italian Resources Masterpost

Resource List for Learning German

Challenges:

Language-Sanctuary Langblr Challenge

language learning checkerboard challenge

Word lists:

2+ months of language learning prompts

list of words you need to know in your target language, in 3 levels

Other stuff:

bullet journal dedicated to language learning

over 400 language related youtube channels in 50+ languages

TED talks about language (learning)

Learning the Alien Languages of Star Trek

.

Feel free to reblog and add your own lists / masterlists!

[nordic-language-love]

Norwegian TV shows you don’t need a VPN to watch

With us being all on lockdown, there’s a lot of time for language-learning, and a fun way to do that is to watch TV shows in your target language. For Norwegian-learners, NRK TV has a lot of choice. Although a lot of shows are geoblocked, there are many that are available worldwide, so here are some that I like. Feel free to reblog and add your own!

Current Affairs & Talk Shows

Kveldsnytt - daily news featuring the main headlines, sport and weather. Usually 15-20 minutes long, features news from in Norway and worldwide. Really good starting point for breaking into Norwegian TV.

Debatten - debate show about current political issues, usually 30 minutes long. Host speaks very clearly with an easy dialect, guests vary but tend to be well-spoken.

Einig? - 2-4 people sat in a room trying to have sensible discussions about politics

Sånn Er Norge - another good show for breaking into Norwegian TV as it covers cultural aspects of Norway and the host speaks in clear Oslo dialect.

Quiz Shows

Hva Feiler Det Deg? - medical quiz show where a team of three doctors go head-to-head with a team of three normal people with internet access to try and guess a person’s medical condition. Lots of medicine-related vocab so ideal for anyone wanting to go into a medical profession

Nytt På Nytt - comedy quiz show about current affairs (Norway’s version of Have I Got News For You). Lots of slang and humour related to Norwegian celebrities and politicians so better suited to higher level learners.

Documentary

Fra Bølle Til Bestevenn - reality-documentary series following six dog-owners and their naughty doggos through doggy bootcamp with a pro trainer. If you don’t fall in love with Anton then we can’t be friends.

113 - documentary series following first responders in Trondheim. Again, good for those who are interested in medicine as you’ll pick up lots of relevant vocab. Dialects vary but you’ll get a good helping of trøndersk.

Dialektriket - documentary series about different dialects throughout Norway. Super interesting if you wanna learn more about dialects and how they’re perceived by Norwegians.

Folkopplysningen - documentary series about how easily we’re influenced, covering topics related to health, science, politics, media and all sorts. Andreas speaks really clearly so it’s good for A2+

Evig Ung - documentary series about ageing and how to avoid it. Good for science nerds wants to learn/practice science-y vocabulary.

Drama

SKAM - well, it had to be mentioned! Chances are you’ve already watched (or at least heard of) this show. Lots of drama, romance, scandal and everything else you’d want from teenagers living it up in secondary school (linked episodes have english subtitles).

Blank - drama series about teenagers being teenagers. Kinda similar to SKAM but it follows completely new characters each season and is a bit less OMG DRAMA.

Lovleg - series following 16yo Gunnhild starting a new life at a new school in Sandane. Also similar to SKAM with slightly less drama. Mostly vestlandsk dialects. Wlw in season 2.

Comedy

Side Om Side - sweet and light-hearted sitcom based around the day-to-day lives of three very different families.

Parterapi - comedy series about couples in partner therapy. Short (10 min) episodes.

[norwegiatlas]

NORWEGIAN WORD OF THE DAY

utenomjordisk

(def./plur.) utenomjordiske

adj. extraterrestrial (lit. outside-of-earth-ly)

Tror du på utenomjordisk liv? / Do you believe in extraterrestrial life?

image from here

[tealingual]

IndyLan is an application for learning some of the Europe’s endangered languages and about the cultures of the people who speak them. You can learn Northern Sámi, Basque, Cornish, Gaelic, Galician or Scots. It’s free to download from App Store and Google Play. 

[pompadourpink]

Radio plays

Can you recommend any sources for radio plays? In the late 80s, there was a show called LA Dramatique de Minuit. Monday through Friday from 11:30 PM to midnight. Each week two actors would perform 5 different half-hour radio plays. One each night. I loved that show when I was studying in France. Is there anything like that now accessible via the internet?

*

Nuits noires - France Inter (2010s): detective stories (45mn)

Playlist Fictions enfantines - France Inter (2010-)

57, rue de Varenne - France Inter (2014/2020, 5 seasons): the daily life of a prime minister (24mn)

Signé Furax - RTF/Europe 1 (50s): Detectives Black and White fight against an evil genius, the dreaded criminal Edmond Furax, as well as a shadowy organization, the "Babus" (8mn)

Bons baisers de partout (60s/70s, from the same people) parody of spy/James Bond movies (60mn)

Les maîtres du mystère - France Inter (52/65): adaptation of spooky stories - Christie, Doyle, Poe, etc. (55mn) then turned into Mystère mystère (50mn) and L'heure du mystère (55mn) in 65/74.

Le mystérieux Docteur Cornélius - France Culture (77/78): the clash of two characters and antagonistic conceptions of the world: one, the debonair French scientist Prosper Bondonnat, whose research is directed with the sole aim of adding a stone to the "radiant edifice of modernity", the other, by the evil Dr. Cornelius Kramm, an American plastic surgeon, inventor of "carnoplasty" (a process that allows giving an individual the appearance of another), obsessed with power and money. (29mn)

[pompadourpink]

Books for beginners

L'Etranger - Albert Camus, 1942

Aujourd'hui, maman est morte. Ou peut-être hier, je ne sais pas. J'ai reçu un télégramme de l'asile : « Mère décédée. Enterrement demain. Sentiments distingués. » Cela ne veut rien dire. C'était peut-être hier. L'asile de vieillards est à Marengo, à quatre-vingts kilomètres d'Alger. Je prendrai l'autobus à deux heures et j'arriverai dans l'après-midi. Ainsi, je pourrai veiller et je rentrerai demain soir.

*

Le Petit Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943

Lorsque j'avais six ans j'ai vu, une fois, une magnifique image, dans un livre sur la Forêt Vierge qui s'appelait "Histoires Vécues". Ça représentait un serpent boa qui avalait un fauve. Voilà la copie du dessin. On disait dans le livre :"Les serpents boas avalent leur proie tout entière, sans la mâcher. Ensuite ils ne peuvent plus bouger et ils dorment pendant les six mois de leur digestion."

*

Candide - Voltaire, 1759

Il y avait en Westphalie, dans le château de M. le baron de Thunder-ten-tronckh, un jeune garçon à qui la nature avait donné les mœurs les plus douces. Sa physionomie annonçait son âme. Il avait le jugement assez droit, avec l'esprit le plus simple; c'est, je crois, pour cette raison qu'on le nommait Candide. Les anciens domestiques de la maison soupçonnaient qu'il était fils de la sœur de monsieur le baron et d'un bon et honnête gentilhomme du voisinage, que cette demoiselle ne voulut jamais épouser parce qu'il n'avait pu prouver que soixante et onze quartiers, et que le reste de son arbre généalogique avait été perdu par l'injure du temps.

*

Sept jours pour une éternité - Marc Lévy, 2007 (slushy)

Allongé sur son lit, Lucas regarda la petite diode de son beeper qui clignotait frénétiquement. Il referma son livre et le posa juste à côté de lui, ravi. C'était la troisième fois en quarante-huit heures qu'il relisait cette histoire et de mémoire d'enfer aucune lecture ne l'avait autant régalé. Il caressa la couverture du bout du doigt. Ce dénommé Hilton était en passe de devenir son auteur culte.

*

La Belle et la Bête - Jeanne de Beaumont, 1757 (tale)

Il y avait une fois un marchand qui était extrêmement riche ; il avait six enfants, trois garçons et trois filles, et, comme ce marchand était un homme d’esprit, il n’épargna rien pour l’éducation de ses enfants et leur donna toutes sortes de maîtres. Ses filles étaient très belles, mais la cadette surtout se faisait admirer, et on ne l’appelait, quand elle était petite, que la Belle Enfant, en sorte que le nom lui en resta, ce qui donna beaucoup de jalousie à ses sœurs.

*

Barbe-bleue - Charles Perrault, 1697 (tale)

Il était une fois un homme qui avait de belles maisons à la ville et à la campagne, de la vaisselle d’or et d’argent, des meubles en broderie, des carrosses tout dorés. Mais, par malheur, cet homme avait la barbe bleue : cela le rendait si laid et si terrible, qu’il n’était ni femme ni fille qui ne s’enfuît de devant lui. Une de ses voisines, dame de qualité, avait deux filles parfaitement belles. Il lui en demanda une en mariage, en lui laissant le choix de celle qu’elle voudrait lui donner.

*

La Cantatrice chauve - Eugène Ionesco, 1950 (absurd)

SCÈNE I

Intérieur bourgeois anglais, avec des fauteuils anglais. Soirée anglaise. M. SMITH, Anglais, dans son fauteuil et ses pantoufles anglais, fume sa pipe anglaise et lit un journal anglais, près d’un feu anglais. Il a des lunettes anglaises, une petite moustache grise, anglaise. À côté de lui, dans un autre fauteuil anglais, Mme SMITH, Anglaise, raccommode des chaussettes anglaises. Un long moment de silence anglais. La pendule anglaise frappe dix-sept coups anglais.

Mme. SMITH

Tiens, il est neuf heures. Nous avons mangé de la soupe, du poisson, des pommes de terre au lard, de la salade anglaise. Les enfants ont bu de l’eau anglaise. Nous avons bien mangé, ce soir. C’est parce que nous habitons dans les environs de Londres et que notre nom est SMITH.

[pompadourpink]

Sentiment-related expressions

Avoir le béguin pour quelqu’un : having a crush on someone

Avoir le coeur gros/serré : having a heavy heart

Avoir le sang qui bout : being angry

Avoir le sang qui ne fait qu’un tour : feeling a strong, negative emotion

Avoir les boules : being upset

Avoir mauvaise conscience : feeling guilty

Avoir un coeur d’artichaut : to fall in love easily

Avoir un noeud dans la gorge : choking up

Broyer du noir : feeling down

Faire grise mine : sulking

Faire la soupe à la grimace : looking annoyed, upset

Faire une drôle de tête : looking sad, upset

Fleur bleue : romantic

Heureux comme un roi : very happy

Joie de vivre : happiness

Malheureux comme les pierres : very sad

Méchant comme une teigne : very mean

Mi-figue mi-raisin : unsure about what to think

Péter un plomb : going ballistic

Prendre aux tripes : shaking up, moving, overwhelming

Rester de marbre : remaining stoic

Sauter au plafond : being very enthusiastic

Se mettre en boule : getting angry

Se mordre les doigts : regretting something

Se replier sur soi-même : withdrawing into oneself

Tirer son chapeau à quelqu’un : to take one’s hat off to someone

Tourner autour de quelqu’un : flirting with someone

Tourner comme un lion en cage : being restless, frustrated

Vider son sac : pouring out one’s heart

[noctifernoctua]

If you are a Norwegian learner, you have probably struggled with the kj sound. Even many Norwegians struggle with this sound. It's hard to explain accurately what it sounds like, but the closest thing I can think of is to hiss like a cat (not sh sound, it should be quite far back), then move the sound forward a bit. Try to listen to an audio of cats, mimic the sound, then try saying it as part of words.

Examples:

Kjedelig (boring)

Kjekk (handsome)

Kjeks (crackers)

Kjell/Tjeld (1: male name, 2: Eurasian Oystercatcher, they sound the same)

Kjeller (basement)

Kjenning (aquaintance)

Kjent (known, in some cases it means famous)

Kjetil (male name)

Chips (fries. I'm not sure how this happened)

Kile (tickle. Some also say kill, which has the potential to cause uncomfortable situations as it sounds exactly what it looks like.)

Killing (baby goat)

Kinn (cheek)

Kirke (church, first k is pronounced kj, second is normal)

Kiste (coffin)

Kjole (dress)

Kylling (chicken)

Kyrkjebø (a last name, rolled r, ø is similar to the u in ugh. Both k and kj are pronounced kj in this one)

Kyss (kiss, the y sounds closer to an i than anything else)

Kjøkken (kitchen)

Kjøle (cool down)

Kjøleskap (refrigerator)

Kjønn (gender)

Kjøtt (meat)

Kjæreste (boyfriend/girlfriend. Literally: dearest)

Feel free to add more examples, add to the explanation, or add any corrections! I am Norwegian but I might still make mistakes.

[adito-lang]

The speech therapist in this video has some fun exercises too!