Polytheist Polyglot

My language blog. I'm currently learning German, French, Korean, Spanish and ASL. I follow from RoyalFrostDragon as this is a side blog. On Duolingo and Memrise as RoyalAutumnFrost

[dean-el]

And just like that, I’m learning Japanese. If anyone has any resources to share, feel free.

I get bored and so I make terrible life choices like trying to learn entire languages in my spare time.

[polyglottraveler]

French Slang Masterpost

Abbreviations 

Slt (Salut) = Hello Bcp (Beaucoup) = A lot Dsl (Désolé) = Sorry Stp (S’il te plait) = Please Dac (D’accord) = Okay Qd (Quand) = When  Qqch (Quelque chose) = Something Qqn (quelqu’un) = Somebody

Internet words 

Mdr (Mort de rire) = Lol Ptdr (Pété de rire) = Lmao Vdm (Vie de merde) = Fuck my life Tg (T’as gueule) = Shut up BG (Beau gosse) = Hot guy  Tkt (T’inquiête) = Don’t worry

Common sayings 

Bref = In short Ouais = Yeah Putain, Merde = Shit C’est de la merde = It’s crap     Ça craint = It sucks         Ça me soûle = It’s annoying me  C’est relou (C’est lourd) = It sucks  C’est ouf (C’est fou) = It’s crazy C’est trop cool = It’s awesome C’est le bordel = It’s a mess Je suis claqué = I’m exhausted               Je me casse = I’m getting out of here   Je m’en fou = I don’t care         Tu rigoles = You’re jocking       Tu te fous de ma gueule = You’re kidding me  Tu fais quoi? = What’s up? Laisse tomber = Just forget it Fais gaffe = Be careful                 Péter un plomb = Going crazy                 Avoir la flemme de faire quelque chose = To be too lazy to do something

Unformal verbs

Bouffer = To eat Taffer = To work Roupiller, Pioncer = To sleep Kiffer = To have a crush on someone Etre vénère (Etre énervé) = To be annoyed Se marrer = To laugh

Unformal nouns

Un mec = A guy             Une meuf = A girl         Un pote = A friend       Une bagnole = A car                     Une baraque = A house             Un pieu = A bed             Un bouquin = A book Une clope = A cigarette                        Le fric, le blé, le thune, l’oseille, le pognon = Money   Un flic, un keuf = A cop               Un gosse, un gamin = A kid       Un boulot, un taf, un job = A job           La fac = University         Le bahut = High school

The above phrases/words can be used in almost every informal situation, but don’t use them in your essays or in any kind of normal writing!

[fusdoq]

An Introduction to Arabic Grammar

So I have thought about making a quick and simple intro to Arabic grammar, this mysterious and beautiful language that is hard to grab and take hold of easily! (I know what I am talking about because, even I am a native speaker, I faced a huge problem to simplify and make things clear in this post!!). Thus, here are some general points about Arabic grammar (نحو و صرف):

Arabic sentence structure:

English is an SVO language: Subject+ Verb+ Object/Adjective/ Adverb. Arabic can follow this order too, but it is so heavy and unnatural. Actually, Arabic has 2 different types of sentences;

 the verbal sentence (الجملة الفعلية ) and the nominal sentence (الجملة الإسمية). The verbal sentence has a general form of VSO: Verb+ Subject+ Object/ Adjective/Adverb… Ex: ذهب أحمد إلى المدرسة (‘went Ahmed to school’= Ahmed went to school). 

The nominal sentence has the form of Object/ Subject (noun) + adjective/adverb/verb (but it is rare for the latter case). Ex: رنيم فتاة رائعة (‘Ranim girl wonderful’ = Ranim is a wonderful girl). What is the difference? The first structure is used for sentences where there is a verb (as the name indicates), and the other one for the rest.

 But wait; is there a sentence without a verb?!!! That leads us to the next point!

There is no verb “to be” in Arabic:

Ok this may sounds crazy to some, especially whose first language is romance or Germanic one, but believe me, there are other languages that doesn’t have “ to be” too. In Arabic, it is simple, no “to be” at all, not in the present, in the past nor in the future! It is so easy, just pull away this verb. Ex: you want to say “I am happy”, say ‘I happy’  ـة /أنا فرح

Articles (the/ A):

There is only the offset of « the » which is ‘al’ ( الـ), applies for all gender and number ( because some languages do have some differences but not Arabic). There is only a problem of the pronunciation sometimes, which I’ll treat in another post.

 Remember! No “a”!!

Gender and number:

Ahhh! This!! We have a lot of pronouns, a loooot(!!!) which are based in specified gender and number.

 Let’s take an example of “you”; there are anta (أنت singular masculine), anti (أنتِ singular feminine), antouma (you two masculine and feminine), antom ( أنتم  plural masculine) and antona ( أنتنَ  plural feminine ). Imagine this with all the other pronouns!! And of course, there is an accordance with verbs and adjectives depending on that! (But don’t worry, in the majority of Arabic dialects, things are a lot easier and some pronouns are never used).

Roots system:

Arabic language is based over a system of roots and there are like “templates”  that help construct words. Roots are mostly formed o 3 letters (sometimes 4 letters), and everything can be derived of them.

 Let’s take an example:  the root ( ك.ت.ب) =write and the derivations : the verb kataba كتب( write), kiteb كتاب (book), kateb كاتب (writer), maktaba مكتبة (library), the verb taketaba تكاتب ( exchange messages, letters, anything written), etc… I’ll make another more detailed post about that if you want

Pronunciation and conjugation:

This is the most difficult part! The pronunciations of words depends on their function in the sentence and their conjugated form!! I am not only talking about verbs, I am talking about every single word in the sentence! 

Well to be honest, it’s not ALL the word that changes in pronunciation, only the last syllable. And there are three possibilities: الضم (addam) which add the sound ‘oo’, الفتح (al-fat’h) which add the sound ‘a’ and  الكسر (al-kassr) which add the sound ‘ee’. I’ll try to make a post about that; the functions in the sentence and which modification has its one.

 These modifications are called علامات الإعراب (literal translation: Arabisation signs)  and I think this is so accurate! Because this is so specific to Arabic, but it is also pretty hard to learn ( don’t forget the gazillion exceptions that there are!!). Even native speakers make mistakes in that. Actually, the majority of our generation mispronounce everything (and this is very sad :/), so don’t worry! Don’t put too much effort in this! But if you master them, you’ll be an amazing and beautiful Arabic speaker!! This will make you so special!!

This is what I managed to remember about Arabic specific Grammar, and I should mention here that I’m talking about the standard Arabic, Fus’ha that is recognized in every country talking Arabic, dialects differ! I hope this help you get an idea about how Arabic functions, good luck in your learning and if you need any help in Arabic, have any questions or suggestions, please tell me! I’ll be more than happy to help ^^ more posts are coming!

[firstsignofspring-deactivated20]

Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ in Yiddish, by klezmer musician Daniel Kahn

[greenandhazy]

can I just say, I love this version so much not just because it’s beautiful in its own right (it is), but because it’s such a good translation? it’s by no means an exact translation, but a lot of times when I see translated music, people strive to be as close to exact as possible, and what’s so great is that Daniel Kahn doesn’t do that. he doesn’t have to–he’s coming from the same background as Leonard Cohen, he understands all of the religious allusions as well as the uniquely Jewish viewpoint behind them. so he allows himself to stray from the literal words, and having that freedom actually makes his translation (and re-translation) more authentic because it has the same nuance and underlying meaning as the original.

which I think is especially poignant for Hallelujah, because a lot of Christian artists have covered this song and totally changed or eliminated the most explicitly Jewish verse–the one that references “the name”–in favor of one that describes the explicitly Christian “holy dove/ghost/spirit.” which sucks because and it’s a really powerful verse, and I think putting it back into its original context, and then translating it into and then back from Yiddish makes it even more powerful.

[polyglotweekly]

POLYGLOT WEEKLY’S REBLOG OF THE WEEK

I feel bad about not following all of my lovely followers back. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to get sucked into social media and not come up for air if my Dashboard is too full. So as a compromise, I decided to add this feature. Once a week, I’ll browse my followers’ blogs to find something pertinent to the blog and reblog it to help spread the love and information.

This is simply interesting.  That is all.

[phonetish]

Cyprus minority sees chance to save ancient language

Kormakítis (Cyprus) (AFP) - In a village in northern Cyprus, a community struggling to save its ancient language has seen a glimmer of hope in intensified efforts to reunify the divided island. Kormakitis was once the hub of Cyprus's Maronite minority, descendants of Syrian and Lebanese Christians

Kormakítis (Cyprus) (AFP) - In a village in northern Cyprus, a community struggling to save its ancient language has seen a glimmer of hope in intensified efforts to reunify the divided island.

Kormakitis was once the hub of Cyprus’s Maronite minority, descendants of Syrian and Lebanese Christians who spoke Sanna, a unique dialect of Arabic influenced by the Aramaic spoken by Jesus.

The language is now severely endangered, according to UNESCO.

[nprfreshair]

Sound Bite: 

Daily Show host Trevor Noah reads a passage from his book, Born a Crime, about how he uses language to “cross boundaries.” He reads in Afrikaans and Zulu, two of the six languages he speaks.

[langue-etrangere-deactivated201]

Conlangs on Good Mythical Morning

[my-hindi-alma-deactivated201804]

Anatomy of Hindi

[polytheistpolyglot]

Language Learning Plans

Want to learn a new language? Don’t know where to start? I can create you a custom language learning plan. The plan will make use of free resources, and be tailored to your interests. 

How much does it cost? Nothing. 

I like compiling resources so I’ll do it for free but if you would like to request one message me your target language, your current level of fluency, an email, and consider giving a donation here. 

[scottasgaeilge]

Irish Starter Kit

It’s been a while since I last posted something, so here are two things that I think are worthwhile. 

1.) http://www.focloir.ie/ 

Hands down the best online Irish-English dictionary. Reasons for this - It has a lot of audio files in the three dialects, but it can also conjugate verbs. It also has phrases and examples of words used in sentences.

If you click on the word ‘verb’ beside any verb, it will you give you a list of the verb in all the tenses. 

2.) http://www.nualeargais.ie 

Everything you need to know grammar-wise. Literally covers everything.

[q-irex]

Ok so normally I don’t ask for this kind of stuff but here it goes

If you’re learning or if you post about/in… really ANY of the South Slavic languages, or if you’re learning/you post about/in Ukrainian, please favorite or reblog this so I can find some more blogs dealing with these lovely languages.

To narrow it down a little, I’m actively working on Serbian, Bulgarian, and I have some decent experience with Slovene and I’m thinking about starting to learn Croatian again so… yeah really any of the South Slavics will do. Ukrainian is my East Slavic and I’d love more blogs that post about this one.

Anyway… reblog or favorite so I can find some more Slav blogs

[polytheistpolyglot]

I have one Serbian resource post if you are interested.

[the-almost-officialnurse-deacti]

In my humble opinion, sign language is important to know for anyone going into the medical field. Yes, there are interpreters, but in some situations, interpreters may not be able to make it to the patient in time for essential communication   to be held between the health care provider and the patient. Below is a list of resources you can use and add to in order to learn and gain an understanding of ASL and Medical ASL.

Websites to Learn ASL

American Sign Language University ASLPro.com Start ASL Signing Savvy Handspeak

Apps to Learn ASL

ASL Coach ASL: Fingerspelling Marlee Signs

YouTube Channels to Learn ASL

Dr. Bill Vicars Rochelle Barlow Rob Neilson

Dr. Bill Vicars Medical Sign Language Lessons 

Lesson 01 Part 01 Lesson 01 Part 02 Lesson 02 Part 01 Lesson 02 Part 02 Lesson 02 Part 03 Lesson 03 Part 01 Lesson 03 Part 02 Lesson 03 Part 03 Lesson 04 Part 01 Lesson 04 Part 02 Lesson 04 Part 03 Lesson 05 Part 01 Lesson 05 Part 02 Lesson 06 Part 01 Lesson 06 Part 02 Lesson 06 Part 03 Lesson 07 Part 01 Lesson 07 Part 02 Lesson 07 Part 03 Lesson 08 Part 01 Lesson 08 Part 02 Lesson 08 Part 03 Lesson 09 Part 01 Lesson 09 Part 02 Lesson 10 Part 01 Lesson 10 Part 02 Lesson 10 Part 03 Lesson 11 Part 01 Lesson 11 Part 02 Lesson 11 Part 03 Lesson 12 Part 01 Lesson 12 Part 02 Lesson 12 Part 03

[pardonmewhileipanic]

i’m going into the medical field so i’m adding this to my list of things to try and work on

[deutsian]

In what order would you recommend learning German for someone who is trying to self teach/is a beginner?

I’m not so sure what you mean by “order” by I presume you mean what to start off with? :) I’d say focus on first and foremost:

- Alphabet/Pronunciation: Relatively simple if you’re a native English speaker; just watch out for ch, r and ü ö ä. >>> As for forming basic sentences, try to learn a handful of:- Basic nouns (LEARN THE GENDER AND THE PLURAL OF THEM); also ensure you learn some that are relatable to your life - do you enjoy music? Learn the word for tune, melodie, lyrics, rhythmn, instrument etc.- Basic adjectives (good, bad, great, beautiful, old, new etc.)… if you wish to focus on adjective endings as well, you can.- Basic verbs (haben & sein auxilliaries - learn their conjugations) e.g. to play, to eat, to buy.- Personal pronouns (I, you, he/she/it, we, you all, they = ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie).- Modal verbs and how their word order works.

Spend your time forming lots of sentences until you get the gist about how word order works (you’ll need to look up this as well.

>>> For basic grammar, learn about:

- Verb conjugation; honestly it’s v v v simple in German - nearly all verbs end en (or ern or something similar) so conjugation is the same 99% of the time.- Simple word order; German places verbs differently - learn about it.- Learn the nominative and accusative case.

>>> After you have a fair grounding of how to use simple sentences I’d say start learning things like:

- Dative & Genitive case- Subordinate clauses and subordinating conjunctions- Adjective endings- Imperfect tense, perfect tense and futur I

>>> For general things you should be doing to help with german:

- Listen to a LOT of it. In terms of music;CRO, Sarah Connor, Glasperlenspiel, Fettes Brot, Alligatoah are some Musicians I recommend. In terms of general listening either Google “Easy German Youtube” or “Slow German” (website).- Watch some German cartoons or films - Das Experiment, Die Welle, Lola Rennt und Goodbye Lenin! are some good films.- Duolingo, Memrise, Mondly are good vocab builders.- André Klein has geat beginner German books - example HERE

–

God I really hope this is what you were after, I’m always really stuck when people ask about doing it from scratch because it really can vary depend on the individual.

[nnapulitanerd]

300 Essential Italian Words

I took the liberty of filling out the 300 Essential Words chart devised by @funwithlanguages for Italian. Enjoy!

First Verbs

be - Essere

there is - C’è

have - Avere

do - Fare

go - Andare

want - Volere

can - Potere // Riuscire

need - Avere bisogno di

think - Pensare

know - Sapere // Conoscere

say - Dire

like - Piacere

speak - Parlare

learn - Imparare

understand - Capire

Conjunctions

that (as in “I think that…” or “the woman that…”) - Che (”Penso che…” o “la donna che…”

and - e

or - o 

but - ma

because - perché

though - però

so (meaning “therefore”; e.g. “I wanted it, so I bought it”) - Quindi (”Lo volevo, quindi l’ho comprato)

if - se

Prepositions

of - di

to - a

from - da

in - in

at (a place) - a

at (a time) - a

with - con

about - circa // su

like (meaning “similar to”) - come

for (warning, this one has several meanings that you need to take care of) - per

before (also as a conjunction) - prima

after (also as a conjunction) - dopo

during - durante

Question Words

who - chi

what - (che) cosa

where - dove

when - quando

why - perché

how - come

how much - quanto

which - quale

Adverbs

a lot - molto

a little - un po’

well - beh // insomma

badly - male

only - solo

also - anche

very - molto

too (as in “too tall”) - troppo (”troppo alto”)

too much - troppo

so (as in “so tall”) - tanto // così

so much - tanto

more (know how to say “more … than …”) - più (”più…. che…”)

less (know how to say “less … than …”) - meno (”meno…. che”

as … as … (e.g. “as tall as”) - come (”alto come”)

most - più // la maggior parte (di)

least - minimo

better - meglio // migliore

best - migliore // meglio

worse - peggio // peggiore

worst - peggiore // peggio

now - ora // adesso 

then - poi // allora

here - qui // qua

there - lì // là

maybe - forse // magari

always - sempre

usually - di solito

often - spesso

sometimes - a volte

never - (non) mai

today - oggi

yesterday - ieri

tomorrow - domani

soon - presto

almost - quasi

already - già

still - ancora

even - anche

enough - basta // abbastanza

Adjectives

the, a (technically articles) - il, lo, la

this - questo, questa

that - quel, quello, quella

good - buon, buono/a, bene, bello/a, bravo/a

bad - male

all - tutto

some - di // del, dello, della // alcune

no - no

any - qualsiasi

many - molti/molte

few - poche/pochi

most - la maggior parte di 

other - altro/altra

same - stesso/a

different - diverso/a

enough - abbastanza/basta

one - uno

two - due

a few - poche/i

first - prima

next - prossimo

last (meaning “past”, e.g. “last Friday”) - scorso/scorsa

last (meaning “final”) - ultimo/a

easy - facile

hard - difficile

early - prima / presto

late - tardi

important - importante

interesting - interessante

fun - divertente

boring - noioso/a

beautiful - bello/a

big - grosso/a ,grande

small - piccolo/a

happy - felice

sad - triste

busy - occupato/a

excited - eccitato/a

tired - stanco/a

ready - pronto/a

favorite - preferito/a

new - nuovo/a

right (meaning “correct”) - giusto/a, vero, proprio

wrong - sbaglioto/a

true - vero

Pronouns

Know them in the subject (“I”), direct object (“me”), indirect object (“to me”), and possessive (“my”) forms.

I - io

you - tu

she - lei

he - lui

it - il, lo

we - noi

you (plural) - siete

they - loro

Nouns

If your language has grammatical gender, then learn each noun as “the [noun]” with “the” in the correct gender. (e.g. in Spanish, instead of learning language = “idioma”, learn language = “el idioma”.) This will help you remember the gender.

everything - tutto

something - qualcosa

nothing - niente // nulla

everyone - tutto

someone - qualcuno

no one - nessuno

(L’)Italiano

English - (L’)Inglese

thing - (una) cosa

person - (una) persona

place - (un) posto

time (as in “a long time”) - (un) tempo (”molto tempo fa)

time (as in “I did it 3 times”) - (una) volta (”l’ho fatto 3 volte)

friend - (un/a) amico/a

woman - (una) donna

man - (un) uomo

money - (i) soldi

country - (un) paese

(L’)Italia

city - (una) città

language - (una) lingua

word - (una) parola

food - (il) cibo

house -  (una) casa

store  -  (un) negozio

office -  (un) ufficio

company  -  (una) società

manager - (un) gestore

coworker  -  (una) collega

job - (un) lavoro

work (as in “I have a lot of work to do”) - lavoro (”ho un sacco di lavoro da fare”)

problem - (un) problema 

question - (una) domana

idea - (un’)idea

life - (la) vita

world - (il) mondo

day -  (un) giorno

year -  (un) anno

week -  (una) settimana

month  -  (un) mese

hour  -  (un’)ora

mother, father, parent - mamma, papà, genitore

daughter, son, child - figlia, figlio, bambino/a

wife, husband - moglie, marito

girlfriend, boyfriend - ragazza/o, fidanzato/a

More Verbs

work (as in a person working) - lavorare (la donna lavora)

work (meaning “to function”, e.g. “the TV works”) - funzionare (”la tv funziona”)

see- vedere

use - usare

should - dovere (dovere also means “to have to”, i.e. “Devo andare, ciao!” – “I have to go, bye!)

believe - credere

practice - praticare

seem - sembrare

come - venire

leave - lasciare

return - tornare

give - dare

take - prendere

bring - portare

look for - cercare

find - trovare

get (meaning “obtain”) - ottenere

receive - ricevere

buy - comprare

try - provare

start - cominciare // iniziare

stop (doing something) - fermare // smettare

finish - finire

continue - continuare

wake up - svegliarsi

get up - alzarsi

eat - mangiare

eat breakfast (in several languages, this is a verb) - mangare la colazione

eat lunch - pranzare

eat dinner - cenare

happen - succedere

feel - sentire

create (aka “make”) - creare

cause (aka “make”) - causare

meet (meeting someone for the first time) - incontrare//conoscere

meet (meaning “to bump into”) - riunare // incontrare

meet (an arranged meeting) - riunare

ask (a question) - chiedere

ask for (aka “request”) - domandare

wonder - chiedersi

reply - rispondere

mean - significare

read - leggere

write - scrivere

listen - ascoltare

hear - sentire

remember - ricordare (ricordare also means “remind”)

forget - dimenticare

choose - scegliere

decide - decidere

be born - nascere

die - morire

kill - uccire

live - vivere

stay - stare // rimanere

change - cambiare

help - aiutare

send - mandare // spedire

study - studiare

improve - migliorare

hope - sperare

care - interessare

Phrases

hello - Ciao, salve

goodbye - Ciao, ci vediamo, a dopo, a presto

thank you - grazie // ti prego

you’re welcome - prego, di niente, di nulla

excuse me (to get someone’s attention) - scusami

sorry - scusa // mi dispiace

it’s fine (response to an apology) - tranquillo/a

please - per favore

yes - sì

no - no

okay - okay, va bene

My name is - Mi chiamo …

What’s your name? - Come ti chiami?

Nice to meet you. - piacere di conoscerti

How are you? - come stai? (formal: come sta?)

I’m doing well, how about you? - va bene, anche te?

Sorry? / What? (if you didn’t hear something) - scusa? cosa?

How do you say ______? - come si dice ____?

What does ______ mean? - cosa significa _____?

I don’t understand. - non capisco, non ho capito

Could you repeat that? - puoi ripetere?

Could you speak more slowly, please? - Puoi parlare più lentamente, per favore?

Well (as in “well, I think…”) - insomma

Really? - davvero? vero? sul serio? seriamente? veramente?

I guess that - credo che // suppongo che

It’s hot. (talking about the weather) - fa caldo

It’s cold. (talking about the weather) - fa freddo

Sorry in advance for any errors! I’m not a native, so natives out there feel free to correct me on anything I may have messed up!

[lass-uns-studieren-deactivated2]

14 Day Langblr/ Languages Challenge by lass-uns-studieren

On a whim one lazy morning, I thought I ought to create a langblr challenge. You don’t see many of these around as you do regular studyblr challenges so I felt like making one specifically for all the langblrs out there. Have fun!

Your target languages and why you want to learn them

Favourite word in your target language(s)

Post a progress pic from Duolingo or Memrise or Quizlet

Find and attempt to make a recipe from your target language or translate a recipe from your native to your target/vice versa

Fave quote in your target language(s)

Show us your language resources/ exercise books

Hardest thing about your target language(s)

Your favourite songs/bands in your target language(s)

Show us how you write in your target language(s); in any alphabet

If your native language wasn’t x, what’d you want it to be and why? If you like your native language, why would you stick with it? 

If you could wake up one day speaking another foreign language, what’d it be? (it can’t be any of the ones you’re currently studying!)

Read the news in your target language(s) and summarise what you’ve learnt of current events

What is your favourite untranslatable word/phrase and why?

Write out something random in your target language(s), in any level of proficiency. Just go random!

Tag me with @lass-uns-studieren and hit me up!

[amateurlanguager]

So I found this really cool site where you can listen to and read easy children’s stories in Italian. When you press play, the speaker reads the story to you and you can follow along with the Italian. You have the option to show or hide the English translations, depending on your level. The stories contain all kinds of vocabulary structures and verb tenses, so if you are anywhere in the novice to early intermediate range, this could be useful to you.

They also have resources to help you learn the language (links are at the bottom of the story) that include explanations and audio. There are only three stories up– I Tre Porcellini, Riccioli d'oro e i tre orsi, and Cappuccetto Rosso– but they also have Spanish and French versions of all three and a German version of the first two.

Reading and listening to stories is one of the best ways to practice your language skills, so go out there and practice that language!

[salutonriano]

The Secrets of a Successful Language Learner

An interview with a professor who spends his retirement learning more languages

“ I grew up in a St. Louis suburb where I had the good fortune to study Russian in junior high and Chinese in high school.  While in high school I spent two months on an exchange in Brazil, living in a family with no English speakers, and learned some Portuguese. Later, I improved my knowledge of Portuguese by studying in a school for foreign students in Lisbon. I got a Bachelor’s degree in Russian and Chinese. Then, I began to study Uzbek on my own in preparation for a dissertation on Soviet language policy. I have since studied Kazakh and can read several other Turkic languages.”