Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

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MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2114
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
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Re: Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Sun Jul 04, 2021 7:32 pm

Starting today, for French and Spanish I will list only the highlights and I will no longer track time. I have not reached my listening goals yet, but I am far enough along that I just need to keep on trucking.

For Ancient Greek, I may have finally found a working marriage of vocabulary study and Justin Slocum Bailey style extensive reading. I'm going through the shorter texts that I chose for extensive reading. I had already put all of them in LWT. Now selection by selection I am downloading the unknown words and checking their frequencies against the Logeion dictionary at the University of Chicago. For those whose frequencies are greater than 50 in the corpus, I keep the illustrative sentence from LWT. If don't understand the sentence, I use the Scaife Viewer to find a translation.
As of today, I have worked through the tale in Herodotus about Arion and the dolphin and the account in Thucydides about the Athenian plague. A row from the table looks like this. I hope dispensing with the BBCode doesn't screw it up.

περιγένοιτο | surpassed, survived. | aor 3s opt. περιγίγνομαι 1438 περι-γίγνομαι| καὶ εἴ τις ἐκ τῶν μεγίστων {περιγένοιτο} and even if someone survived the worst

The first section gives the word, the second the English meaning, the third the verb details. Where the word repeats with a hyphen, as περι-γίγνομαι here, the parts are a hint for me to remember the meaning of the whole. The frequency is also given. Last is the illustrative sentence from Thucydides and the (almost always English but may be French) translation.
Once I learn the words, I may use ANKI to remember them, but to learn them I will use Study Stack, and, possibly, practicing some writing suitable for a four-year-old Ancient Greek. The process takes some time to finish, but in the meantime, I am in a way, rereading the text
10 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

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MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2114
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
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Re: Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Sun Jul 18, 2021 10:02 pm

Nothing much.
Yesterday I watched The Battle of Algiers. Mostly in French, but I used the good English subtitles. A fresh film devoid of clichés and with solid acting from all. It was recommended here on the Forum just recently, but I can't find the reference. :( Thanks to whatever member recommended it.
Also more work on the DCC 500 Basic Greek vocabulary with the help of Study Stack, Quizlet and LWT.
9 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

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MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2114
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
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Re: Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Sat Jul 31, 2021 5:15 pm

Nothing special to report about French and Spanish. Nothing for reading has caught my fancy lately. Iguanamon wrote about a book of the Falco series by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, but though Arturo Pérez-Reverte writes clear solid Spanish, the Falco book I read did not inspire me to read more. Iguanamon also praises Almudena Grandes, whom I have not read and want to give a shot. The local library has several of her books, including "El Lector de Julio Verne." Coming up in my search for her was a film called Malena es un nombre de tango. The connection of the film with Grandes is not clear. I've ordered the film and (I think--I'm not sure how getting an ebook from the library works) an eBook of "El Lector de Julio Verne."

Iguanamon's post is here

I've listened to some of the audiobooks of Bonjour Tristesse and Madame Bovary in French and Trafalgar in Spanish.
Xenophon's Hellenica fits with the plan to re-read works in Ancient Greek. A commentary also references Lives of Alcibiades by Plutarch and Cornelius Nepos (in relatively easy Latin), which I've peeked at.
9 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

DaveAgain
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1968
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:26 am
Languages: English (native), French & German (learning).
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Re: Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

Postby DaveAgain » Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:25 am

MorkTheFiddle wrote:Iguanamon wrote about a book of the Falco series by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, but though Arturo Pérez-Reverte writes clear solid Spanish, the Falco book I read did not inspire me to read more.
I wondered if that was the Falco-the-Roman-PI for a moment (I listened to some of the radio adaptations), but wikipedia says NO.
I've listened to some of the audiobooks of Bonjour Tristesse
Did you like that? I've read differing reviews, but it's on my to-read list.
1 x

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MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2114
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
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Re: Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Sun Aug 01, 2021 5:06 pm

DaveAgain wrote:
MorkTheFiddle wrote:Iguanamon wrote about a book of the Falco series by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, but though Arturo Pérez-Reverte writes clear solid Spanish, the Falco book I read did not inspire me to read more.
I wondered if that was the Falco-the-Roman-PI for a moment (I listened to some of the radio adaptations), but wikipedia says NO.
I've listened to some of the audiobooks of Bonjour Tristesse
Did you like that? I've read differing reviews, but it's on my to-read list.

Falco is a "modern-day" detective in the mold, I think, of a detective in Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett or etc.
Bonjour, Tristesse is one of my favorite novels, French or otherwise. Making allowances in the difference in mores between now and the early '50s, Sagan gives a perceptive portrayal of a young woman in her late teens and the amoral milieu of her wealthy background. Yet it is not a heavy Proustian read at all, but rather a fast-paced narrative (though not to the extent that "stuff happens" :) ) full of interesting, believable people.
Jacqueline Pagnol, from French movies, gives a good reading of the complete novel ("texte intégral"), if you want to listen in. Catherine Deneuve, probably better known, also has a rather more expensive reading, but I have not listened to it and do not know whether it is the complete text. (Amazon is out of stock of the Deneuve version).
7 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

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MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2114
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
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Re: Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Sat Aug 07, 2021 3:57 pm

Spanish
From my library I acquired (1) Instant Spanish Vocabulary Builder by Tom Means and (2) Spanish Vocabulary by Michel Thomas. Online they are
Instant Spanish Vocabulary Builder by Tom Means
and Michel Thomas Speak Spanish Vocabulary Builder: 5-CD Vocabulary Program (Michel Thomas Series)
Thomas is recommended by rdearman in this Youtube video


Both Means and Thomas work with cognates. I installed both on the iPod.

French
I truncated DLI French and installed Vol 1 on the iPod. I googled instructions for using Audacity for truncating, but I could have saved time by referring to Luke (who mentions this in a couple of posts, but I can't find either now).
Not wanting to repeat the phrases, I made the gaps between phrases short. Works nicely on the iPod in the gym, because the phrases are clear. And they move on quickly, too, which I also like.
Iguanamon more than once speaks to the advantages of DLI versus similar governmental language programs.

Looking for something historical to read, an entry in wikipedia for Famous French Historians led to a nineteen (19!) volume history of France by Jules Michelet from the 19th century. It begins with the Celts, which has something of an old-fashioned fondness for cheerleading and wanders astray a bit into Asia Minor and Italy. But it's all French and plenty of it. This comes from Gutenberg.org. I downloaded the pdfs from there, used Calibre to convert them to .mobi format and uploaded them via Send to Kindle to the Kindle.

Ancient Greek
Reading Hellenica by Xenophon and materials relating to specific topics from Lysis, Plutarch, Cornelius Nepos and Diodorus Siculus, as referenced by G. E. Underhill in his Commentary with Introduction and Appendix on the Hellenica of Xenophon, Oxford 1900. I'm also using Xenophon the Hellenica Books I. and II. by Robert W. Blake. Reading this coordinates well with my extended reading "project."
10 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

User avatar
MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2114
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
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Re: Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Sun Aug 15, 2021 5:15 pm

French
Malena es un nombre de un tango depicts the life of regular people suffering the regular calamities life afflicts us with. The main plot consists of a girl about 10 years old growing up and reaching her mid-30s. Early in the film Malena prays to God to turn her into a boy. In a way, He does. Maybe a couple of plot glitches, otherwise an excellent film with excellent acting. The title, btw, is never explained.
Stayed up all night a couple of nights to finish reading Jules Michelet's 19-vol Histoire de France. Just kidding. Checking to see if you're awake. More modestly, I finished the first 1/4 of the first volume. After a start with a sketchy portrayal of Celts, Michelet settles into a well-thought-out description of Romans and Celts/Gauls in what was a Roman province. Although Michelet is an academic, his prose is accessible and interesting. Looking forward to reading the rest.
Spanish
No multi-volume history of Spain from earliest times showed up on the radar, but one has to wonder if the early days of the Celts belong in a history of France and so whether a history of Spain can't just begin with the fall of the Roman Empire. So far a search of archive.org has not turned up much, but we'll se. Maybe I'll try the works of Modesto Lafuente who like Michelet is from the 19th Century.
The Classics
A bit more of Plato's Symposium and a glance at the Odes of Horace.
15 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

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luke
Brown Belt
Posts: 1243
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2015 9:09 pm
Languages: English (N). Spanish (intermediate), Esperanto (B1), French (intermediate but rusting)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16948
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Re: Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

Postby luke » Sun Aug 15, 2021 8:21 pm

MorkTheFiddle wrote:French
Stayed up all night a couple of nights to finish reading Jules Michelet's 19-vol Histoire de France. Just kidding. Checking to see if you're awake.
Spanish
No multi-volume history of Spain from earliest times showed up on the radar, but one has to wonder if the early days of the Celts belong in a history of France and so whether a history of Spain can't just begin with the fall of the Roman Empire.

Curious what you think of the Pero eso es otra Historia. It's not a book, so may not be what you're looking for.


But Andoni Garrido seems to know a lot of history, covers a lot of ground, and the videos are very well done in HD.
3 x

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MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2114
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
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Re: Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Mon Aug 16, 2021 6:35 pm

luke wrote:Curious what you think of the Pero eso es otra Historia. It's not a book, so may not be what you're looking for.

But Andoni Garrido seems to know a lot of history, covers a lot of ground, and the videos are very well done in HD.

No es exactamente lo que estaba buscando, pero me gusta mucho. I planned a brief look for now to see what it was about and ended up watching the whole thing. I look forward to seeing the other segments.
Not giving up on books, I reserved Arturo Pérez-Reverte's Historia hoping to find some guidance in his bibliography. Bibliographies can often be good sources of further reading.
Thanks for the recommendation of this video!
4 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

User avatar
MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2114
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
x 4824

Re: Mork the Fiddle's 2019 Log

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:34 pm

8/16
DLI French 28 min
HIstoria de España (Parte 1)-Prehistoria, Prerromanos (Iberos, celtas) 1:09:57
LUPA Postal de San Francisco 21:06 min
8-17-8/18
Treasury of Golden Prose: Antiphon, Andocides; Lysias "Funeral Oration," Aeschines
8/23/2021

Historia de España (Parte 2)-Reino de Asias, Emerdo de Cordoba, Origin de Castilla y Pamplona 1:14:00. Thanks Luke.
8/24/2021

"L'expansion de l'Univers est elle infinie Documentaire Français Complet"
Truncated 11 DLI French tapes for iPod, Lessons 36-45
Used Linux PDFsam to split Lafuente Historia de España Tome 2 and used Calibre to convert the pdfs to mobi for Kindle; alas, the mobi's were illegible and the basic pdfs too small to read on Kindle. :(

Through the week I read a little more than 1/2 of Histoire de France Book 1, approx 220 pages.
11 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson


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