greeting

i just throw everything in here

[h0neytalk]

Favorite VERY BASIC Comprehensible Input Sources I’ve Found (all free)

These are all for Italian and Arabic (MSA + Levantine dialect) and suitable for A1! I’ve found the very early stages are the hardest to find stuff for but also when it’s the most boring to be confined to flashcards and memorizing so hopefully this helps. Also it keeps me from losing these links.

Italian:

Curioso come George (Italian Curious George, honestly a lot of kids shows can get tiring but Curious George doesn’t hit that “annoying” pitch while still being simple) (link is to one episode but you can find tons in the related vids) (also segments are themed so you can find ones that roughly correlate to a unit of vocab like weather or clothes)

Ardea Digitale Schoolbooks (schoolbooks for children that you can download as PDFs along with workbooks/worksheets)

Arabic (MSA)

Read Learn Play Arabic (cannot speak highly enough of this one it’s so good and there’s so much and idk how it isn’t talked about more)

Cartoon Network MENA (good just because the material is recognizable, obviously usefulness of vocab/level is gonna vary by show)

Arabic (Levantine Dialect)

Sesame Street! Aka Ahlan Simsim. (Some segments are more advanced than others obviously but it’s incredible for learning the sound of the dialect and is also not grating for adults imo) (free on YouTube)

Lingualism Diaries (not nearly as beginner friendly as Read Learn Play but definitely doable within a few weeks assuming you know the alphabet) (also has audio versions)

I highly recommend lingualism.com for a ton of Arabic materials in all sorts of dialects/levels but they’re mostly paid (not expensive! But not free) and this post is meant to compile free stuff.

[theprivatelifeofsherlockholmes]

10 UNTRANSLATABLE NORWEGIAN TERMS

1. Skjerp deg

This phrase does not bode well for you. It usually means you’re making an idiot of yourself. “Skjerp deg” could be translated as “Sharpen yourself up,” and it’s used in all sorts of contexts.

Teachers use it to tell students to pay attention. I yell it at friends who are doing something ridiculous. Cops use it to tell off criminals who are obviously lying to them, parents say it when telling off their five-year old who has just drawn with crayons all over the new wallpaper.

2. Kos(elig)

This is a common feature of all the Scandinavian countries: We have a word to describe the feeling of warmth and friendliness that arises from sharing simple pleasures of life with people you like.

Keep reading

[historical-nonfiction]

Color and Language

Many people are surprised to learn that different languages do not consider the basic colors to be the same. Some New Guinea Highland languages, for example, still have terms only for black and white (perhaps better translated as “dark” and “light”). Hanuno'o language, spoken in the Philippines, has only four basic color words: black, white, red and green. Pirahã language, spoken by an Amazonian tribe, is said to have no fixed words for colors. According to linguist Dan Everett, if you show them a red cup, they’re likely to say, “This looks like blood”. Some languages have color distinctions which are, well, foreign to native English speakers:

Latin originally lacked a generic color word for “gray” and “brown” and had to borrow its words from Germanic language sources.

Biblical Hebrew had no word for blue.

Navajo has one word for both grey and brown and one for blue and green. It has two for black, however, distinguishing the color of “coal” from that of “darkness”.

Russian, Italian, and Greek  have different basic words for darker and lighter shades of blue. 

Hungarian has two different basic red words – bordó (darker reds) and piros (lighter reds.)

Shona language (a Bantu language from Southern Africa) has no one word for our “green” concept; they have one word for yellowish-green, and a different word for bluish-green.

Hindi has no standard word for the color “gray”. However, lists for child or foreigner Hindi language learning include “saffron” [केसर] as a basic color.

In Gaelic glas can mean both “grey” and “green”– glasbheinn is “green mountain”; glais-fheur is “green grass.”

[languageoclock]

[languages-arent-real]

[Norwegian] When to Use: ANNERLEDES & FORSKJELLIG

Sources: http://grammatikk.com/pdf/ForAnn.pdf , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T29KzevkkJI , and a couple Norwegians

Annerledes ≈ different, contrasting, out of the ordinary

Use it

To compare the subject (of a clause) with something else

As an adjective meaning different in the traditional sense of contrasting, not the same

As an adjective meaning different in a general sense (different than what one is used to, how something was before, everything else, etc.)

With the word enn to say that the subject is different than something else

Examples

In the following examples, the subject is in bold italics and the thing being compared to the subject is in bold. If there is no direct comparison, italics will denote what annerledes modifies.

Katter er annerledes enn hunder. | Cats are different than dogs.

Jordbær og blåbær er like, men brokkoli og blomkål er annerledes. | Strawberries and blueberries are similar, but broccoli and cauliflower are different (than berries).

Alt er annerledes her. | Everything is different here. (You could also think of this as an implied comparison to another place, or just in general)

Jeg ser annerledes ut, nå som jeg har klippet håret. | I look different, now that I have cut my hair. (You could also think of this as an implied comparison to how the speaker looked before the haircut)

Vi spiser annerledes mat. | We eat different food. (Note that this does not mean “We eat different food than each other,” but rather “We eat peculiar/out of the ordinary/different food.” Think of the song “I’m Different”)

Forskjellig ≈ different, contrasting, various

Use it

To compare parts of the subject with each other

As an adjective meaning different in the traditional sense of contrasting, not the same

As an adjective meaning various

With the word fra to say that the subject is different from something else

Examples

In the following examples, the subject (or a part of it) is in bold italics and the thing (which in this case could be another part of the subject) being compared to the former subject is in bold. For clauses in which the subject consists of more than one noun, the entire subject is in [brackets]. If there is no direct comparison, italics will denote what forskjellig modifies. Also note that when forskjellig applies to two or more things (which is often), it must be in the plural form (forskjellige).

[Katter og hunder] er forskjellige. | [Cats and dogs] are different.

Katter er forskjellige fra hunder. | Cats are different from dogs.

Jordbær og blåbær er like, men [brokkoli og blåbær] er forskjellige. | Strawberries and blueberries are similar, but [broccoli and blueberries] are different (from each other).

Boka inneholder forskjellige folkeeventyr. | The book contains various folk tales.

Vi spiser forskjellig mat. | We eat different food. (“You and I eat foods that are different from one another.” – compare to the similar example above with annerledes)

Notes:

annerledes enn = forskjellig/e fra

[stormboxx]

#SKAMSPEAK 1: Ass - A Crash Course in Norwegian Language and Slang.

Hei! You ready to learn some Norwegian slang?!

I’ve been playing with this idea for a while, and as a language geek, I find the slang, style and ‘language’ in SKAM very fun and endearing :)

The slang word I want to focus on today is the word ‘ass’. The reason I chose this one is because it is seriously troublesome to translate. And it’s a word we use a lot in Norway. So you should know it. (There’ll be several audio examples throughout this ‘lesson’ ;) )

“Disclaimer”: Before we start I should say that as there’s very little research done regarding this word, the examples presented here are my own; other Norwegians might disagree with my explanation/with how I choose to translate this word, so I should say that this post, with all examples and explanations, is from my subjective viewpoint. This post will show you that translating this word into English is very challenging; there’s not really any good equivalent.

Okay, let’s get down to business!

I’m guessing to most of you, this word was a little confusing in the beginning? “What, it doesn’t mean Norwegians are hung up on talking about booty ALL the fucking time?” No, actually. (Though I have nothing against a good butt, that’s for sure..! :D )

‘ass’ is a shortened form of the word ‘altså’.

Altså, in its most basic form, can be translated to the word(s): therefore, accordingly, so. 

But! It is such a hard word to translate because the meaning of the word can change depending on context. I’ll try giving you some examples:

Keep reading

[languages-arent-real]

penpal ask ideas // food

What was the last thing you ate? Which do you do most often: make meals yourself from a recipe, make meals yourself from some kind of prepackaged (think top ramen) or frozen food, let someone else cook for you, or get food from a restaurant? What's your favorite thing to eat on a cold winter day? What's your favorite thing to eat in the summer? Do you like to snack while reading or watching tv? What do you usually have? What's your policy on sharing food? Have you ever tried any interesting or strange food combinations (chicken + waffles?), and how did they turn out? What are your favorite foods? What's a food you absolutely cannot stand? If you could have any food at all right now, what would it be? When was the last time you had garlic bread? What's your favorite fruit? Favorite vegetable? What's the last food you burned yourself on? Was it worth it? What are the most popular foods where you live? Are there any foods you've always wanted to try, but haven't yet? If you cook, what is your best dish or your favorite thing to make? If you cook, do you have any good recipes you'd be willing to share? If you cook, what has been your biggest disaster yet in the kitchen? Under what circumstances would you consider eating pizza with pineapple on it?

[languages-arent-real]

penpal ask ideas // laughter

Can you tell me about a time you (or a friend) were laughing so hard that you couldn't finish your sentence? What's your favorite comedy series, book, or movie? When was the last time you were accidentally funny and made someone laugh without meaning to? (not because they were laughing at you or making fun of you, but because you did something they genuinely thought was funny) What makes your laugh during class, at a business meeting, etc? What happened the last time you couldn't stop laughing? Have you ever peed yourself while laughing? Do you ever make yourself laugh? What are your favorite memes? Do you have any inside jokes or localized memes with your friends or family? What are the funniest YouTube videos you know? (top 3?) What's something that makes you laugh for no real reason? Are you a class clown? When was the last time you had a beverage come out of your nose because you were laughing? (or you started to choke on your food)

[languages-arent-real]

penpal ask ideas // home

What do you see when you look out your window?

Is your room messy or clean?

Where do you get your work done?

What sounds do you hear at night?

What are your relationships with your neighbors like, if you have neighbors?

Where do you read books or watch Netflix?

Who do you live with, if anyone, and what are they like?

What does it sound like when it rains there?

Do you like it where you live?

If you could make any changes to your bedroom, what would they be?

Where do you eat?

Do you have an attic and/or basement and is it spooky or cool?

What’s the coziest place in your house?

How long have you lived where you live now?

If you had a choice in deciding where you live, what made you choose it?

What is your home like on stormy days?

What is your favorite smell (a certain food being cooked, candles, etc) to come home to?

How comfortable is the floor for sleeping?

What have you (or someone else) broken in your house and how? (for example a hole punched in a wall out of anger, a wall that’s dented because you ran too fast to the door when your pizza was delivered, etc)

What is your housing situation? Do you live in an apartment, a dorm, a house, or something else?

What is your favorite thing about home?

How home-y is your home? Is it just the place you live, or does it feel like more? What does home mean to you?