A language learners’ forum

It's just a continuation of the old one and we all know how that one worked. I post general updates in English and specific updates in certain languages related to the topic I'm discussing.

I study (or have studied) pretty much every language ever except a few major ones like Japanese, Arabic(s) and Hindi so it doesn't really matter what language you write in here. Ok, I don't understand Georgian or Armenian so maybe lay off the really obscure languages but I'll do my best to figure out everything else.

Don't be shy. I want this log to be pretty interactive - I think pretty much all old HTLAL members read my old log and know what it was like and what it's about. I think I'm a pretty accomplished polyglot at this point so you can ask me for advice and tips in here if you want to.

About my actual methodology - it's laid out context-wise and goes by examples, but you should be able to find everything in my old log and when there's something new I'll copy and paste it here.

I think that's about it. Except that I haven't mentioned which languages I study, but... there's so many.

Let's just say the following:

I speak Dutch and English natively
I'm an experienced speaker of Russian, French, Swedish and German (I can read pretty much everything in these languages)
I'm quite advanced at Romanian
I also can speak Norwegian (if you allow me a few Swedish influences), Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese and some Greek. I've had longer conversations on complex topics in all of these and in all of them except Mandarin I can also write very well.
I have had basic interactions in Hebrew, Esperanto, Korean, Breton, Icelandic, Finnish and Czech.

I've also studied Latin, Danish and Afrikaans. I can't speak any of these. But I can read the latter two and I have grammatical insight into Latin.

I don't know what my levels are exactly, just that I can converse to some extent in all of them.

There you go.

Looking forward to reading your new log. I've been going through your old log on the other site as well. I'm finding it helpful because it starts out when your Russian was at a more beginner level and I can read your thought processes that you wrote out and things that confused you back then. I saw you asked, what is the difference between еду and иду? Not too long ago, I was thinking the same thing with my Russian studies.

It's about moving on foot vs. using a vehicle (which is indicated using на + loc., not using the instrumental as in other slavic languages)

But actually, when you are talking about bikes I'd rather say кататься (покататься) - я сегодня катался на велике по городу и там вдруг встретил моего отца на центральной площади

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tarvos wrote:But actually, when you are talking about bikes I'd rather say кататься (покататься) - я сегодня катался на велике по городу и там вдруг встретил моего отца на центральной площади

This is when you're cycling for fun. If you just use a bicycle as a way of getting somewhere, ехал is better. It's just uncommon in Russia

Serpent wrote:

tarvos wrote:But actually, when you are talking about bikes I'd rather say кататься (покататься) - я сегодня катался на велике по городу и там вдруг встретил моего отца на центральной площади

This is when you're cycling for fun. If you just use a bicycle as a way of getting somewhere, ехал is better. It's just uncommon in Russia

Yeah. But in Russia nobody actually cycles except one of my students who lamented the lack of bicycle lanes in Moscow. In the Netherlands I would usually prefer ехал but actually more commonly I would say езжал (because it's a regular commute rather than a one-off thing; I took the bike to university frequently).

There are actually quite many enthusiasts, but they do it for reasons like health benefits and reducing the traffic, although it's pretty much never easier than other means.

Just a tiny correction, that would be ездил already

Serpent wrote:There are actually quite many enthusiasts, but they do it for reasons like health benefits and reducing the traffic, although it's pretty much never easier than other means.

Just a tiny correction, that would be ездил already

Oh yeah, that's right, it would be.

It's also more dangerous with your traffic habits.

Reading this discussion is putting me off ever trying to learn Russian actively - almost bringing tears to my eyes. Well done, all you brave, Russian warriors!

On a more serious note, hello, tarvos. I don't think I ever posted on your old log, but I was certainly a lurker. Your progress is always inspiring.

Hi, Elenia. This is the moment where I try to find a hat, put it on my head, and salute you by taking it off again.

I've started walking into shops and bowing while saying thank you. This is all very funny.