Daily Language Vocab & More

Olivia l U.S. l Native: English l Studying: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Swahili, ASL, etc...

[myriadlanguages]

This is the Amazing Person Award! Once you are given this award you are supposed to paste it in the ask of eight different people, who, in your opinion, deserve it. If you break the chain nothing will happen, but it is sweet to know someone thinks you're amazing inside and out

Thanks! You’re the best. <3

[myriadlanguages]

French Vocab 2.27.2018

Le tranchoir: the cutting block (slicer)

Le cache-cache: the hide-and-go-seek

Tremper: to soak (dip)

Chatouiller: to tickle

Bien pensé: well thought-out (good thinking)

[myriadlanguages]

French Vocab 2.22.2018

L’étal [m]: the stall (stand)

Le bâtonnet: the stick

La querelle: the quarrel (dispute) 

Ivre: drunk

Apparemment non: apparently not

[myriadlanguages]

Sorry for disappearing for awhile. I had issues with WiFi at both the hotels I stayed at in Beijing. And I thought I would have free time, but that hasn’t really been a thing. It has been a lot of fun, though. Hopefully things will slow down after orientation is over, and I can get back to posting every day. I know I started this blog when I was in Spain, but it feels odd to be studying other languages when I am studying abroad and barely know the basics of Mandarin. I guess I’ll just have to spend even more time studying, so that I don’t freeze my progress in the others.

[clouds-of-wings]

i = in fred = peace i fred = alone

Swedish is indeed a wise language.

[qxzu-deactivated20210803]

Easy Tips To Be More Familiar With Your Target Language

The key to getting familiar with your TL is to practise regularly so here are some fun things I do to familiarise myself with my TL(s).

Obviously, to get better at writing, you need to start a diary in your TL. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated or super personal. You can write about a dream you had or your lunch or a random encounter with a stranger..etc. One thing I’ve found that really helps you learn new vocabulary quickly is to explain to yourself topics you’re interested in in your TL. For example write about how the latest presidential election went in your country. That way you get to learn vocabulary related to a certain topic faster than if you’re just memorising words because you’re actually using them.

Start thinking in your TL. Even if you’re not advanced enough. Start bit by bit. Sentence by sentence. Train yourself to think a specific sentence in your TL. For example everytime you think “Oh that’s easy!” don’t say it in your native tongue, train yourself to think it in your TL. And that’s that. Keep adding sentences till it becomes natural for you to think in your TL.

If you’re anything like me and LOVE to daydream and imagine yourself in AUs or in some unrealistic scenarios then do it in your TL. It makes learning and practicing your TL much more fun. Again, if you’re not advanced enough just switch a couple of sentences and keep adding sentences untill you’re a fluent!

Write (some of) your tasks/To-Do lists/reminders in your TL.

Switch the language on your phone to your TL. If it’s too overwhelming, switch only one app. Something you go on frequently so you know where each setting is and having them in a different language won’t bother you.

Translate billboards/signs when you’re outside and you’re bored.

Randomly repeat words. For me, Mandarin is a very beautiful language and I love how the words sound so I’ll randomly start repeating all the words I know because I like how they roll off my tongue

Those are all the tips I have for now. Good luck!

[myriadlanguages]

Tell me five things that make you happy, then pass this on to the ten most recent people in your activity😊

Sorry, I meant to answer this sooner, but I needed a bit of a break from social media. I’ve had a rough couple days. I remembered this, though, and figured it might help me feel a bit better to focus on positive thoughts. 

1. The conversations I have with my mom and sister, where we tell each other absolutely everything on our minds, and we support each other unconditionally.

2. Moments where you get to use the knowledge you have spent so much time trying to learn, proving that you do actually know it, and that it is useful.

3. Drinking a perfect cup of tea while reading a great book.

4. Upbeat songs that you can’t resist singing and dancing horribly to.

5. The endless possibility of things that I could do with my future, and the adventures that I will have along the way.

[that-s-not-it-deactivated201907]

I wonder how many languages does my FBI agent speak

[myriadlanguages]

Spanish Vocab 2.14.2018

Ataviar: to wear (dress up in)

El chispazo: the spark (static)

La vereda: the path (way)

La acera: the sidewalk

El caserío: the small village (hamlet)

[charlies-langels]

I saw this in my textbook and thought it might help people interested in learning Spanish :)

[myriadlanguages]

French Vocab 2.13.2018

Soutenir: to hold up (support, maintain)

Endiablé(e): wild (frenzied)

La friandise: the sweet (candy, treat)

Chut: shush (hush)

Précipitamment: in a hurry (hastily)

[chibird]

Every step forward counts as a step in the right direction!  ✨

Webtoon | Patreon | Instagram

[holdyourlangue]

‘it’s not procrastination if i’m watching it in a different language’ - every linguist ever

[myriadlanguages]

Spanish Vocab 2.12.2018

El bienestar: The well-being 

El paradero: The whereabouts

El (la) estafador(a): The swindler

Acaloradamente: Heatedly 

Perturbar: To disturb (confuse)

[myriadlanguages]

Disney Movie Titles in Mandarin

迪士尼 - Disney 

花木兰 - Mulan   狮子王 - Lion King 阿拉丁 - Aladdin 美女与野兽 - Beauty and the Beast 睡美人 - Sleeping Beauty 小美人鱼 - The Little Mermaid 白雪公主与七个小矮人 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 灰姑娘 - Cinderella 小姐与流浪汉 - Lady and the Tramp 魔髮奇緣 - Tangled 木偶奇遇记 - Pinocchio 亚特兰蒂斯：失落的帝国 - Atlantis: The Lost Empire 救難小英雄 - The Rescuers 救難小英雄澳洲歷險記 - The Rescuers Down Under 獅王大冒險家：森林王子 - The Jungle Book 高飛狗 - A Goofy Movie 風中奇緣 - Pocahontas 爱丽丝梦游仙境 - Alice in Wonderland 玩具總動員 - Toy Story 鐘樓怪人 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame 101忠狗 - 101 Dalmatians 大力士 - Hercules 蟲蟲危機 - A Bug’s Life 泰山 - Tarzan 猫儿历险记 - The Aristocats 星際寶貝 - Lilo & Stitch 小飛俠 - Peter Pan 星銀島 - Treasure Planet 狐狸与猎狗 - The Fox and the Hound 海底總動員 - Finding Nemo 熊的傳說 - Brother Bear 超人特攻隊 - The Incredibles 汽車總動員 - Cars 料理鼠王 - Ratatouille 曼哈頓奇緣 - Enchanted 瓦力 - WALL-E 天外奇蹟 - Up 公主與青蛙 - Princess and the Frog 勇敢傳說 - Brave 無敵破壞王 - Wreck-It Ralph 冰雪奇緣 - Frozen 海洋奇緣 - Moana 動物方城市 - Zootopia  

[myriadlanguages]

French Vocab 2.11.2018

Plier: to bend (curve, fold)

Arborer: to display (wear, sport)

Entraînant(e): lively (upbeat)

L’éleveur [m]: the farmer (breeder)

Dedans: indoors (inside)

[myriadlanguages]

Updates & Stuff

Sorry, I know that this is a lot to read. It’s really just for the couple of people who keep track of what I am doing. So, here we go.

1. No more Winter Language Challenge! If you haven’t already noticed, I slowly just stopped doing it. I loved the activities, but to be honest, I hate structuring my studies too much. It started to feel like a chore to me. I have never had an issue with motivating myself to study my target languages every day, but only because it’s something that I’ve never been forced to do. I will still use some of the ideas from the challenge, but only when I feel that it will be useful. I hope this doesn’t discourage anyone else from trying a language challenge. It doesn’t need to be something that you post on here, or that you do every single day. Do whatever fits your study style, helps you reach your goals, and keeps you motivated. 

2. I’m leaving for China in a week! I will study there until June, and then spend a couple of weeks in Japan. I don’t really know what my schedule will be like, but I am going to assume that it won’t be so hectic that I can’t keep up with my blog. As you may imagine, I will be focusing more than usual on Mandarin. So, this leads me to my next change…

3. Mandarin side blog! Since 95% of you follow me for Spanish and French, which are still my main target languages, I don’t want to bombard you with posts you have no interest in. So, I am changing things around a bit so that there is no real change on this blog. I will still reblog resources for all of my target languages on here, but in moderation. Most of it will still be for Spanish and French. For the others, original content and large amounts of reblogging will be split up. My new Mandarin blog, @studyingmandarin, will probably become both a langblr and travel blog. I haven’t actually done anything with it yet, but I will start posting for real once I get to China. 

4. German and Italian side blogs! I also made @studyinggerman and @impendingitalian. Like this blog, they mostly just have short vocab lists, but I’ve actually been doing themes! I can’t promise that these will remain daily, but they don’t take long to make, so who knows? I may or may not create blogs for my other target languages in the future. It’s already a lot to keep track of. I’m only a beginner in the others anyway, so I’m not sure how much help I would be.

5. I don’t hate Tandem! A couple of you may recall my panicked post from a few days ago about how I made accounts on HelloTalk and Tandem. I ended up just sticking to Tandem, since it allows me to select more than one target language for free. And I’ve made some friends! In the languages that I don’t speak as well, I chose more advanced English speakers. We mostly chat in English, but they throw in some phrases for me to learn. In others, we split it up pretty evenly. I am still terrified of calling anyone, but the people who asked mentioned it right away, so I simply chose not to talk with them. The only thing I have to say is that, despite Tandem stating that it is 100% NOT a dating app, people still try to flirt with you. And I have received a number of “goodnight beautiful” messages. Still not sure how to respond to that. Most people have been fine, though.