Kurdish Kurmanji Log: Let's get crazy

[Zerrez]

Goal: C1 at Standard Kurmanji AND Afrini Kurmanji.

Current level: B1 reading for Standard, A2(?) Speaking for Afrini. My listening isn't great for either. Speaking is around A1.5 for both dialects. Writing level isn't worth mentioning for Standard. I'm developing a writing system for Afrini, as I need one, and nothing has been written in this dialect before.

The main reason I'm learning Kurmanji is to do a PhD about the Oral History of Afrin, a peaceful Kurdish area of Syria until 2017, that's now losing its history due to BS war stuff. I'd like to record its history before it's too late. For this I need to know both the Standard dialect of Kurmanji for writing, research, etc. and the Afrini dialect, which is quite different than Standard.

Resources for Standard: Books and Yazidi refugees at the refugee camp I'm now working in. Also an informal online Kurdish club once a week, and possibly lessons on italki if I have the time.

Resources for Afrini: Writing in the Afrini dialect is non-existent but there's a brilliant comedy series in Afrini on YouTube with hundreds of episodes. Also I have confidential personal speaking sources.

Study Method As of now, my study method for Standard is to read a book (5 pages a day on average), save 10 new Standard words into Anki each day, which after a couple months of this, seems to add up to aprox 100 cards a day. I also practice writing by translating English into Standard Kurmanji for an hour a day. I've also been doing this for 2 months but I'm still terrible at it. I practice speaking Afrini Kurdish sporadically but at a regular pace throughout the week with a secret source/s.

Day 1

Standard:
Anki: Aprox 100 cards
Writing: No time today
Reading: The night's still young

Afrini:
Speaking: negligible
Listening: no

Today is a great day to start this language log because it's day 1 of working at the refugee camp. Won't say where for privacy reasons. There some Yazidis from Sinjar here that I hope to practice speaking with. Their Kurmanji is near identical to Standard and I love their accents. I have at least 1 Afrini source here as well. Possible more.

Ending Notes: I have a book I want to finish by Wednesday night. That's in 6 nights, if I include this one which is already almost over. I think I have 70 pages left in the book. At the current rate of my reading it's insane to think I can finish it in 6 days, but insane is my style.

See you tomorrow.

[Zerrez]

Day 2

Standard:
Anki: Aprox 80 cards; 10 new words/phrases as usual.
Writing: 45 mins; practice sentences
Reading: 17 pages; Dê û Dêmarî

Afrini:
Speaking: no
Listening: no

Today was the first day of attempting to finish the book, "Dê û Dêmarî" (Mother and Stepmother) by Wednesday night. That's just 5 nights from now, and I'll likely only have time 3 of those nights. There are 115 pages. Today's goal was to reach page 50, which I did. Tomorrow's goal will be to reach page 70.

Dê û Dêmarî is an interesting little book. It's a one of a kind, and I think the only book written by this author. It takes place in a Yazidi village in pre and post WW2 Armenia, presumable where the author grew up. It's an interesting glimpse into that world.

Ending Notes: I'm really happy with today's studying. It was tough to get through 17 pages today. Things were getting a bit bleary towards the end. Tomorrow's goal will be 20 pages. Let's see what happens. In other news, I heard through the grape vine that there may be a tiny online Afrini speaking group emerging in the next couple weeks. Looking forward to that.

See you tomorrow.

[Zerrez]

Day 3

I did it. I read 20 pages in Kurmanji today. It took over five hours and it's now past 3 in the morning. I did it and I'll do it again tomorrow...

Until then...

[Zerrez]

Standard:
Anki: Aprox 80 cards; No new words, in a rare turn of events.
Writing: Not today
Reading: 20 pages; Dê û Dêmarî
Speaking Club: 1.15 hours

Afrini:
Speaking: no
Listening: no

Today was the third day of attempting to finish the book, "Dê û Dêmarî" (Mother and Stepmother) by Wednesday night. Today Monday at 2am. 25 pages to go.

This was the third day/night of really pushing the limits of my reading. It's not fun. I don't plan on doing it again after I finish this book. That said, my improvement has been markedly noticeable in just three days, so it's not all for nothing.

Ending Notes: Tomorrow I won't have time for anything but Anki. Hopefully the break from reading will give me the strength I need for the final 20 page push I'll do on Tuesday.

Until then, best of luck in your own language adventures.

[Zerrez]

Standard:
Anki: Aprox 80 cards; 10 new words, per usual.
Writing: 1/2 hour
Reading: Not today

Afrini:
Speaking: not much
Listening: no

Today, as expected, I didn't have time to read. No worries. Tomorrow's going to be the last big push of Dê û Demarî. I'm ready for it.

Ending Notes: I didn't expect to do anything more than Anki today but I was itching to practice writing a little. So glad I did. Can't wait for tomorrow's maddness!

See. You. Then.

[Zerrez]

Day 6

Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! I finished it! My God, that was not easy. I never want to cram-read above my level like that again. But what an accomplishment.

The reason I did this to myself is that I told someone I read this book, when actually I just read the first 30 pages before giving up because it was too difficult to read. Then, I realized I was going to meet this person on Thursday morning so I had no choice but to sacrifice my weekend and nights until I managed to get all the way through it.

Take-aways from this wild ride:
I did learn a lot and am more confident in my Kurmanji reading. I became markedly better very very quickly. This was a sink-or-swim situation so I swam, but I'm exhausted from it and lost all my free time for a few days. If you want to get good at reading in your target language very quickly, it's possible if you're willing to do nothing but read for 5+ hours each day. A few of those nights I was staying up past 3am in order to reach each 20-page goal.

Here's the normal stuff:

Standard:
Anki: Aprox 150 cards; 10 new words, per usual.
Writing: 1 hour
Reading: 22 pages

Afrini:
Speaking: no
Listening: no

Next Goal:
This week I'll be starting Kurmanji lessons, working at the camp more, and returning to my easier novel. I think I'll lay low for a few days while I adjust to this week's new schedule. I also have an idea for a python program that could make my reading easier. I'm looking forward to making it.

Tomorrow will be one week into this log, so I'll do a quick summery of everything I've done in this week. It will be interesting to see how much or little I've done.

[Zerrez]

Day 7

Standard:
Anki: Aprox 100 cards; No new words, odd day.
Writing: 0
Reading: 0

Afrini:
Speaking: no
Listening: no

Today was a little different. I'm getting ready for a new life that will start tomorrow. New volunteer job, new apartment, new classes. I had some free time today but I used it to make a program that works kind of like the old "Learning With Texts". I believe this will allow me to up my reading level faster.

Stats for Week 1
Anki: Added 50 new cards, (256 unique cards since March 20)
Writing: 2.75 hours
Reading: Around 70 pages
Speaking: 1.5 hours

Take aways:
There was a huge reading/input imbalance this week. Next week I'd like to balance it out with more output like speaking and writing. I'll be starting a Kurmanji class tomorrow and working at the camp more this week. That should help a lot. And of course, I won't be cramming a book above my level. Maybe I'll try to focus more on writing and simmer down to 5 pages a day with an easier novel.

I've also been doing nothing on the Afrini front. I'm not worried about it. This will change at some point sooner than later.

Let's see how week 2 goes!

[Severine]

I also have an idea for a python program that could make my reading easier. I'm looking forward to making it.

That was the sound of my ears perking up. No pressure to elaborate, but if you feel inclined to do so, you have at least one Python-loving nerd interested in the details.

[Zerrez]

I also have an idea for a python program that could make my reading easier. I'm looking forward to making it.

That was the sound of my ears perking up. No pressure to elaborate, but if you feel inclined to do so, you have at least one Python-loving nerd interested in the details.

It's almost done. When I finish it and clean up the code, and test it for a few days, I'll let you know. Probably in a week or two. Send me a DM if I forget!

[Zerrez]

Week 2, Day 1

Standard:
Anki: Aprox 175 cards; 80 new words thanks to a vocab list from class.
Writing: 0
Reading: 0
Class: 1.5 hours

Afrini:
Speaking: not much
Listening: no

The internet isn't working tonight for whatever reason so I'll be brief - typing this on my phone.

Great first day of class! The teacher is really great. Kurmanji is one of those languages where there's always beginner classes, but usually nothing offered at a higher level. This class was Kurmanji 2, so I'm feeling blessed today.

The next few days will be Anki heavy, but I have the time so I'll be returning to my normal Anki/writing/reading routine.

Speaking of reading, I'm working out the kinks of my faux Learning With Texts python program. I love it so far. Hopefully it will be something I can start using tomorrow. Also going to the camp tomorrow evening. In short, I'm gearing up for a good set of intense study days.

See you then!