Foreign Languages

Carolin · Post by **Carolin** » March 11th, 2016, 2:16 am

AmalArRumaih wrote:I want to record Arabic books, but I didnt find a book here that I would enjoy.

i can help you set one up if you have a good text

Piotrek81 · Post by **Piotrek81** » April 17th, 2016, 12:38 pm

In recent days I've been scouring YT in search of German-learning related videos. There are some really interesting chanels there. Two I've subscribed to so far are "German with Jenny" (with a native German teacher) and "Learn German with Herr Antrim" (with a US profesional German teacher; he also does reviews of German language resources on the Internet). The idea was to spend as little money on language learning materials as possible

.

lian2902952 · Post by **lian2902952** » April 19th, 2016, 10:40 am

Well my mother tongue is Chinese , buuuuut i also speak fluently in English and Russian. I tried to teach myself french briefly in high school, but the grammar was just alien to me so i gave up. maybe you think russian grammar is monstrous but french is woooorse.No offends !
Then I picked up Latin in 2013, which I also gave up due to complicated grammar.

I am also an amateur opera singer , so I tried to learn italian. Took a course on Edx but gave up due to heavy workloads.

As soon as i finish my current project I will continue my italian lessons i hope.

NinaLily · Post by **NinaLily** » May 10th, 2016, 7:04 am

As a Norwegian, I started learning English when I was around 8, had English in school for 10 years. I always liked English, and because I was interested, I would always be miles ahead of the current curriculum being taught, resulting in extremely boring English lessons.
When I started 8th grade I started learning Spanish in school, and after 5 years, I did pretty well. Especially if I had a dictionary on hand. Unfortunately, as I haven't really read much Spanish for years, I can't talk much any more. I still understand quite a bit, and I do plan on taking it up again later, but right now my focus is on Portuguese.
I started just a few months back through duolingo, and since the grammar is pretty much the same, I now know at least quite a bit. I understand most of what my Portuguese friends post on facebook, but don't ask me to speak, or even write a single sentence. I'm hoping to study medicine in the future, and right now I'm looking at studying medicine in Portugal.
In 9th grade I started teaching myself Icelandic, and I knew quite a bit! Now that I have been through at least some, I understand quite a lot, as it is quite close to Norwegian.
Obviously, the nordic languages are quite similar, and I have no problems understanding Swedish or Danish, just don't ask me to speak, because that is not going to sound very good.
Apart from this, I also know a few words in Bengali. Apart from the regular parts with, hi, name, and such, I can ask for a banana. That's about as far as it goes.
Quite recently I started learning the Norwegian Sign Language. This Summer I'm attending a roleplay camp where I'll play a deaf character, so I figured I'd learn some!

Right now my focus is on Portuguese, and then I'm hoping to take up Spanish again. I'd also love to take up my Icelandic again, and one day, I probably will. Just not yet!

Piotrek81 · Post by **Piotrek81** » May 11th, 2016, 3:06 am

Here's a very interesting video about how one's ego may hinder one's language-learning process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asmTaB6RH7I
I've just found this channel and it has lots of interesting videos, not only tips but also (and predominantly) about particular languages.

Piotrek81 · Post by **Piotrek81** » January 2nd, 2021, 8:57 am

Time to dig this one up.

Anyone has plans regarding language learning for 2021? I've been thinking about brushing up my Italian. What about you, fellow LibriVoxers? Also, if you're interested in languages, or want to come back to one(s) you were learning before, my question is what motivates you?

AngeliqueAnja · Post by **AngeliqueAnja** » January 2nd, 2021, 9:36 pm

I'm Dutch by birth, but have never spoken it. My mother cringes at any attempt I make. In school I learned French and Indonesian, even going so far as to Study Indonesian at University and study abroad... I did do a quick look at Project Gutenberg, but there was nothing there, probably because Indonesian wasn't made the official language of Indonesia until 1945, meaning that there won't be much out there that is in the public domain, if any.

Annie

Piotrek81 · Post by **Piotrek81** » January 3rd, 2021, 1:34 am

AngeliqueAnja wrote: ↑January 2nd, 2021, 9:36 pm I'm Dutch by birth, but have never spoken it. My mother cringes at any attempt I make. In school I learned French and Indonesian, even going so far as to Study Indonesian at University and study abroad... I did do a quick look at Project Gutenberg, but there was nothing there, probably because Indonesian wasn't made the official language of Indonesia until 1945, meaning that there won't be much out there that is in the public domain, if any.

Annie

Take a look at our Abandoned Projects thread. There's one work there tagged as being in Indonesian viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22757

AngeliqueAnja · Post by **AngeliqueAnja** » January 3rd, 2021, 1:49 am

Piotrek81 wrote: ↑January 3rd, 2021, 1:34 am
Take a look at our Abandoned Projects thread. There's one work there tagged as being in Indonesian viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22757

I guess that I could attempt a test chapter... But I would guess that my Indonesian is probably not good enough for a project like Around the World in 80 Days... It would be very slow going if I did...

CSCO · Post by **CSCO** » January 3rd, 2021, 2:41 am

Take it easy. You have 80 days and more and more.

A snail goes faster than a bullet at rest.

AngeliqueAnja · Post by **AngeliqueAnja** » January 3rd, 2021, 2:47 am

LOL, true, but I haven't said I'll do it! Only that I would consider it!

Post by **Availle** » January 3rd, 2021, 3:00 am

Just to chime in here about that particular Indonesian project: It's been abandoned for a reason, let's say.

It is pretty messy and needs a lot of cleaning up and it's best left until you have a bit more experience around LV.

AngeliqueAnja · Post by **AngeliqueAnja** » January 3rd, 2021, 3:10 am

I saw that with the ones that are supposedly ready and the ones needing editing, etc... Plus a book of that size, it would be daunting in English I think...

Post by **Kazbek** » January 3rd, 2021, 7:14 am

AngeliqueAnja wrote: ↑January 2nd, 2021, 9:36 pm I'm Dutch by birth, but have never spoken it. My mother cringes at any attempt I make. In school I learned French and Indonesian, even going so far as to Study Indonesian at University and study abroad... I did do a quick look at Project Gutenberg, but there was nothing there, probably because Indonesian wasn't made the official language of Indonesia until 1945, meaning that there won't be much out there that is in the public domain, if any.

If you do an advanced catalog search at HathiTrust.org, checking the box for "Full view only" and selecting a language filter for Indonesian, you get almost 500 results. Generally, the books that are available in full view at HathiTrust are acceptable here, though our admins might take a closer look to vet those published after 1925.

Michael

Post by **Kazbek** » January 3rd, 2021, 8:39 am

Piotrek81 wrote: ↑January 2nd, 2021, 8:57 am Also, if you're interested in languages, or want to come back to one(s) you were learning before, my question is what motivates you?

I'm motivated by the sunk cost fallacy. Whenever I invest a significant amount of effort in learning a language, I loathe the idea of abandoning it and forgetting what I had learned, so I have no choice but to continue enjoying world literature in the original.

Michael