the Diaries of a Caffeinated Squirrel

[Jar-Ptitsa]

Veverka

Tha Czech word is pretty simple
But I cannot say it in my other languages, how comes I don't know it?

You must know the word when you are a squirrel haha

French: I should finally work more on my accent. But perhaps I have just given up. I don't know. I really don't feel like doing anything about this, perhaps I have just lost any hope or perhaps it is not worth the investment. I don't know. My French is good enough for all my needs. It could do with some improvements and it will improve (mostly rarer situations, with which I'd struggle even in Czech.) Further studying the langauge annoys me. My accent has been improving slightly, thanks to singing. I am now much more aware of my vowels. We don't overuse them in Czech, which is why I am bad at some (ou or o are typical examples, I think just fixing these could move me a lot forward, so that I could focus on other mistakes) in French (and Italian, as that is the language of my first singing etudes) and I should have dealt with this years ago. That is the problem. I should have dealt with this. Or perhaps the teachers I used to have should have dealt with this. No wonder I don't trust teachers anymore. Why pay them, if I need to find everything on my own anyways (unfortunately, the same could be said about most teachers at my medical faculty at Prague. They are "teaching" just because they have to spend some hours in the classroom)

It's great when the foreigners speak French, I really like it, it sounds so nice.

I don't know the czech accent, but the typical English one I know and it sounds sweet. Some poeple in my job speak in French with me (they try, some can speak it but others only a little), and they seem nicer than when they speak in English!! They want to practise it, they wouldn't have to of course, i can understand them in English (sort of haha - but yes, mostly now). They are different people, but those are teachers (lecturers, professors, I don't exactly know their jobs). Other foreign accents in French sound so nice as well. The only ugly one is flemish.

[Brun Ugle]

After German a Scandinavian language would be very easy. You'd have a large passive vocabulary already and the Scandinavian languages leave out a lot of the craziness of German like the cases and random plural forms.

That is the right tongue twister, I think. It had only four words, so it wasn't hard. I've since seen a few longer ones, but they didn't make us do those.

Thanks for your very thorough review. I'm a little torn because I sort of feel like there are weaknesses in my A level skills, but I'm not sure if it would be useful to really start at such a low level. Maybe what I need is a good overview of the grammar and then jump in higher up. I'll have a look at the textbook though. It definitely sounds like a good one. I'm just not sure whether I would be better off beginning from the beginning or not.

[Systematiker]

After German a Scandinavian language would be very easy. You'd have a large passive vocabulary already and the Scandinavian languages leave out a lot of the craziness of German like the cases and random plural forms.

Easier than the other way around

[Cavesa]

Fortunately for me, the Czech accent in French is not known much, so people guess all kinds of countries (actually, many don't know the Czech Republic exists, so how could they guess the accent from there). By my looks, I am quite passable in many european countries. Not extremely typical of the country, but still quite in the norm. I would seriously stand out only in the north, I suppose. And the more serious are their health problems, the less do the patients care and ask

My accent is definitely different from the English one, but I dislike it. I am just giving up as it feel like too much of a lost cause. I'll work on it, should I get a job in France in a year and half. Without that, there is no big profit in it, compared to focusing on other languages.

I am falling behind my plans again, my stupid illness hasn't left me. I hate being a mysterious patient. Let's hope there will be some results coming from the samples and that it won't be the super bad infectious desease the doctor mentioned. (It shouldn't be. Such a disease isn't likely to visit me every year and stay for a couple months every time, and then just leave). Really, it all started by my visit in Prague. Had I stayed in Prague, I would have had the same thing, just two months earlier.

So, let's see how much studying can I do during the rest of the week.

You know, it sucks, having respiratory problems. especially now that I've started taking singing lessons and returned to practicing flute playing again.

[Jar-Ptitsa]

Fortunately for me, the Czech accent in French is not known much, so people guess all kinds of countries (actually, many don't know the Czech Republic exists, so how could they guess the accent from there). By my looks, I am quite passable in many european countries. Not extremely typical of the country, but still quite in the norm. I would seriously stand out only in the north, I suppose. And the more serious are their health problems, the less do the patients care and ask

My accent is definitely different from the English one, but I dislike it. I am just giving up as it feel like too much of a lost cause. I'll work on it, should I get a job in France in a year and half. Without that, there is no big profit in it, compared to focusing on other languages.

The polish accent is more known I suppose. Is it similar in the foreign langauges?

I am falling behind my plans again, my stupid illness hasn't left me. I hate being a mysterious patient. Let's hope there will be some results coming from the samples and that it won't be the super bad infectious desease the doctor mentioned. (It shouldn't be. Such a disease isn't likely to visit me every year and stay for a couple months every time, and then just leave). Really, it all started by my visit in Prague. Had I stayed in Prague, I would have had the same thing, just two months earlier.

So, let's see how much studying can I do during the rest of the week.

You know, it sucks, having respiratory problems. especially now that I've started taking singing lessons and returned to practicing flute playing again.

A couple months every year, how nasty and annoying Then it's not the same as the cough which I had which many had here this winter. I hope that you will get well soon. Can you play a lot on the flute? It's a nice instrument and angels play it as well.

[Cavesa]

I don't think the polish accent is likely to be the same. We may have lots of similar sounds in the langauge, but the overall melody, the stress, and everything seems to be quite different. Not sure. Ask tarvos, she is quite knowledgeable about it

The squirrel seems to have run into a wall.

I don't know, perhaps I took up too much, and now I am quite paralyzed to do anything at all. I study too little. Both languages and medecine. Any ideas? Any experience with getting blocked this way, please?

[Elenia]

I don't think the polish accent is likely to be the same. We may have lots of similar sounds in the langauge, but the overall melody, the stress, and everything seems to be quite different. Not sure. Ask tarvos, she is quite knowledgeable about it

The squirrel seems to have run into a wall.

I don't know, perhaps I took up too much, and now I am quite paralyzed to do anything at all. I study too little. Both languages and medecine. Any ideas? Any experience with getting blocked this way, please?

Relax for a bit. Block out 'relax time' and actually relax (don't let it be time in which you 'should' be studying but are not). Then go back into it. Make sure you take your breaks when you need them, and make sure the edges between work time and break time are well defined.

[Brun Ugle]

What Elenia said. Also, don't feel bad about letting your language study consist of only fun stuff like TV and books for a while. I have periods like that, and I learn a lot even if I'm not really studying.

[Ani]

I am falling behind my plans again, my stupid illness hasn't left me. I hate being a mysterious patient. Let's hope there will be some results coming from the samples and that it won't be the super bad infectious desease the doctor mentioned. (It shouldn't be. Such a disease isn't likely to visit me every year and stay for a couple months every time, and then just leave). Really, it all started by my visit in Prague. Had I stayed in Prague, I would have had the same thing, just two months earlier.

It seems ridiculous proposing a diagnosis to a medical student, but are you sure it isn't allergic bronchopasms/allergic asthma? The fact that you get it every year for such a long time, but on a different schedule depending on region.. sounds like some winter environmental allergy.

[tastyonions]

Otherwise: on my year abroad, we all realised that squirrel is often really hard to say in other languages. My German friend despaired of ever teaching us to pronounce it correctly, and she also despaired of ever saying it correctly in English herself. I can't even remember what it was in Danish, all that I remember was that it was extremely difficult to get my tongue around. And I even found it difficult in French. Tricksy squirrels!

There are a lot of videos on YouTube about how speakers of [insert language] can't say the word "squirrel." My favorite example is this two video sequence:

"Persians can't say this word": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8M3MGnOAbU
"Persians can now say this word": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_LhdEjEd00

"Écureuil" and "Eichhörnchen" can definitely be problematic for many people. On the other hand, Spanish "ardilla" is not so tough, and Italian "scoiattolo" is even easier.

I love the "-euil" vowel sequence in French. I don't know if I've heard it in any other language yet.