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crush
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Re: ABATT (All Basque All The Time) + MIA (Japanese)

Postby crush » Sun May 31, 2020 1:58 pm

Dagane wrote:Incorrect. As far as I know, it was a common practice with convicts of terrorism (not just "political" prisoners. Such a thing would be illegal) and the reason behind it was the avoidance of demonstrations that support terrorist acts outside the prison gates. It made sense because the professionals working in Basque prisons would otherwise risk being menaced. Whether it is still a relevant policy nowadays, I am not sure. Maybe not.

From what i've read, it's not always people convicted of violent crimes, though the majority are. Some were people who supported ETA (or other independentist groups like Resistência Galega), held material for them, were charged with "apología del terrorismo", or committed acts of violence against property. And i believe it was intended to disrupt the ranks within prisons and make it easier for people to leave those groups, as having other group members in the same prison made it difficult to leave. In that regard it seems to have been pretty successful. I hadn't heard of the prison workers being a concern, though that's definitely a possibility. One of my goals for learning Basque was to get a better understanding of the conflict (i.e. to get the "other" side).

When i first came to Spain, there did seem to be a lot of people who associated "Basque" and the "Basque Country" with ETA, people on all sides have strong feelings about it even if they've never really thought too deeply about it before. I'm not sure if that stigma has disappeared or not, but my guess would be it hasn't, at least not completely.

As for learning Basque, it's a really interesting language, it's a shame it's less common here for people to learn the other regions' languages as there's a real variety of choice here in the peninsula! In the states it's similar, i suppose, though the indigenous languages are more spread out and segregated, unfortunately. Hopefully you get around to trying Basque out some day! When the time comes, i'd be happy to share resource suggestions and whatnot. I'm just diving into real Basque literature now, so i don't have much to offer on that front ;)
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Dagane
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Re: ABATT (All Basque All The Time) + MIA (Japanese)

Postby Dagane » Sun May 31, 2020 2:16 pm

I honestly don't know what they do with people convicted of "apología". It doesn't sound right to me that they are sent far from home. I guess the expresion "presos políticos" bothered me. In Spain there are "políticos presos" and no "presos políticos". The distinction is important because it denotes the government and the justice are powers independent from each other, or at least as independent as it is common among the European democracies. The expression you used is stressed by some nationalist propaganda which questions this statement. However, some of that same propaganda has proved guilty of connivance with the largest worldwide fake news agencies. So there you go.

Personally I find it frustrating that languages are linked to political ideologies. Why should somebody tell me what language I should speak? I want to speak Galician in Coruña without the conservatives forcing me to speak Spanish, and Spanish in London without being harassed by brexiters. And when I was on holidays in Slovenia some German tourists asked me for directions in German and I just helped them without questioning why they were bluntly approaching me in German. And so on and so forth.

Anyway, apologies for sidetracking the thread. I wish you good luck with Basque. I kind of envy your efforts to learn it!
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ryanheise
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Re: ABATT (All Basque All The Time) + MIA (Japanese)

Postby ryanheise » Tue Jun 02, 2020 4:28 pm

Hi crush, have you noticed any mental switch in your brain yet after doing monolingual cards, or is it too early to notice any changes?

I experimented with monolingual sentence cards a while ago, but I wasn't sure if they were worth it on balance. They took more effort to create, and in an effort to choose the simplest-to-understand Japanese definition, it ended up being a lossy process where I often wasn't able to capture the nuanced meanings in the sentence in the same way I was able to with English translations. At the same time, whenever I listened to my bilingual cards (note I'm using an audio-only approach), I did feel that the English was becoming more and more distracting, and I didn't want my brain to keep reinforcing the translation between the two languages.

More recently, I've been experimenting with what I would describe as "ephemeral" English translations. The idea is to use the English translations only briefly at the start, just enough to let your mind understand the nuanced meaning, but then to quickly forget the English and replace it by the Japanese. In practice, I'm using an overlearning algorithm (more similar to Glossika rather than Anki) with the English translations on side B, but I only hear them in the early reps, and they quickly disappear. After that, I only hear the Japanese, but due to the more frequent reps that you get with overlearning, just hearing the Japanese from that point onward is enough to refresh my memory of the meaning. So effectively the English translations are ephemeral and are quickly forgotten and replaced by a Japanese mental representation.
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crush
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Re: ABATT (All Basque All The Time) + MIA (Japanese)

Postby crush » Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:01 pm

ryanheise wrote:Hi crush, have you noticed any mental switch in your brain yet after doing monolingual cards, or is it too early to notice any changes?

It's still too early to say, however i have noticed some words are clearer after reading the Japanese definition.

The past couple weeks i've been experimenting with the DJT style cards, these are closer to traditional individual word cards but there's additional context on the back, namely an example sentence + audio of the individual word and the sentence. The reason for this experiment has been that i've found my reviews just take up so much time, i don't even have that many reviews per day relatively speaking (the max was around 100-150) but i felt like it was taking so long that it was cutting into the time i could spend immersing in Japanese. So my thought was to try to limit my time spent on reviews and up the time i can spend on reading/listening.

And that's all just a long segue into the main point i wanted to make: for sentence/audio cards, i've found monolingual cards can be pretty useful as your main goal is to understand the sentence. However, in these word cards, it's so much harder to remember a Japanese definition than it is to just recall an English word. This is probably also due to the fact that MIA stresses not outputting until you can understand the language pretty well and have a good feel for it. So while i can understand the Japanese definition, it's way harder for me to recall it (even vaguely).

What i've been doing has been to put the English translation and to add the Japanese definition as well when i can understand it and especially when it provides extra clarification or nuances not present in the English definition. I've actually found this far more helpful in my Basque cards where i can already understand most definitions and i can often omit the Spanish translation altogether.

Anyway, i'm still very early in the monolingual transition and there are still a large number of definitions that i can't make sense of. The definitions in general are also much heavier and more difficult for me to read through as i can't just glance at them, i have to go word for word from start to finish, sounding each word individually in my head.
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crush
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Re: ABATT (All Basque All The Time) + MIA (Japanese)

Postby crush » Sat Jun 06, 2020 10:44 pm

Basque
I've been going to the euskaltegi every day and reading + adding new vocabulary to Anki using the card format i mentioned in the last post. I want to try retiring cards once they reach a month interval so i can add a bunch of new words while focusing on reading more than Anki studies. Basically getting the words to stick around long enough to come across them again in my books, and if i forget them the next time just going through the process again.

Japanese
I've lowered the monolingual definition cards to two a day as i try to lower my overall review count. Yesterday i had a lot fewer reviews and was able to get a good bit of reading in. Reading is definitely more tiring than watching anime, but i really enjoy it, at least reading Harry Potter, i'm not sure how i'd enjoy more difficult books. Going back to the euskaltegi and bringing Basque back into my study routine has definitely put a dent in the time i can dedicate to Japanese, however.

I recently finished season 4 of ドクターX (Doctor X). The predictability of every episode is kind of annoying, but i felt like watching a live action show. I have some romance shows lined up that seemed like they would be relatively simple, so i was planning on watching that until golyplot mentioned Cardcaptor Sakura. I've watched the first two episodes and might give that a shot, at least i won't have to worry about what to watch for a while ;) Plus, the dialog is relatively easy and i can understand a good bit of it.
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crush
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Re: ABATT (All Basque All The Time) + MIA (Japanese)

Postby crush » Sat Jun 13, 2020 3:42 pm

Basque
I felt like i was falling a bit behind in some other projects this week so i took the week off to stay at home and work on those projects more heavily. I read in Basque for about 1-2 hours a day though, i finished a book of short stories called "Heriotzak" which was decent, i read it on a Kindle and highlighted sentences as i read which i imported into Anki. I'm now reading another book of short stories which are based around different cities, some of the stories are pretty interesting, but i think i'd rather have one plot to follow so my next book won't be a short story collection.

Japanese
I've started watching Cardcaptor Sakura, i've watched the first 15 episodes. They're a bit repetitive as each episode involves Sakura capturing a new card with about 4-5 minutes left in the show, but it's still entertaining enough and the dialogs are pretty easy to understand. As the series is pretty long, i think i'll watch one week then switch to another show for a week before coming back to Sakura for a week.

Otherwise, i've been adding about 5 new cards a day + 2 monolingual definition cards. My review times have gone down, but it's still longer than i'd like it to be so i'll probably keep this slower pace up for another week or two. I've been mining cards from 僕だけがいない街 ("Erased"), i've really enjoyed this show. I only watch an episode when i'm out of new cards to learn so my progress through it has been slow, i generally get about 20-30 i+1 cards per episode.

I've also been reading through Harry Potter and a story or two a day from Satori Reader. Progress with 時のオカリナ (Ocarina of Time) has been slower, but i played a little this week as well.
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crush
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Re: ABATT (All Basque All The Time) + MIA (Japanese)

Postby crush » Sun Jun 21, 2020 7:19 pm

Basque
I'm about 2/3rds of the way through the book of short stories. The stories are interesting enough but it just feels like studying. Coupled with bad sleep i just haven't made much progress. I've been adding a lot of new words mined from the stories into Anki though and have already seen several of them again which has been encouraging. There was also a new grammar form (-neko, something along the lines of as soon as...) which i hadn't come across before. Generally it's because of vocab that i can't understand a sentence, though there are still major gaps in my verbs, notably the subjunctive and past tense forms of certain forms like the potential.

Japanese
I stopped watching Sakura to watch a romance drama called イタズラなKiss (Mischievous Kiss). The story and acting wasn't terribly moving but it was nice being able to follow along with the easy dialog. I finished the first season and will go back to Sakura for another week or so.

I didn't do much reading this week, i think i need to put more time into reading than watching shows. Reading is my weak point in Mandarin and i don't want to have the same issue in Japanese. I think when my Japanese is at a better level i'll go back and work on building my reading skills in Mandarin. The main issue i had with Mandarin is that apart from Wuxia novels (which can be pretty tough) there's not a whole lot of Chinese literature that i was interested in. I read a bit of 三毛's stuff which was interesting, but she had a very plain (and easy to understand) writing style. I definitely want to read more, though. It's just easier in Spanish and Catalan as i'm more familiar with the topics and authors (plus it's way easier for me!).

Anyway, i may try spending a couple weeks doing 70% reading and 30% watching anime/shows and seeing how that goes. My end goal is to be able to play old JRPGs (so i should be more focused on reading anyway).
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crush
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Re: ABATT (All Basque All The Time) + MIA (Japanese)

Postby crush » Sat Jun 27, 2020 8:44 pm

Basque
For the most part i've just been reading and adding new words to Anki. Classes are now over, so it's time to figure out where to go next. The Coronavirus sorta put a damp on my Basque studies, at least spoken Basque, and it's also a bit difficult to really go anywhere else from here.

Japanese
I've been slowly watching the second season and trying to put more time into reading. I got a bit distracted the past few days in a game of Civilization 6 but i've been putting in over an hour of reading a day most days. I finished chapter 7 of Harry Potter yesterday and am maybe 1-2 days away from the halfway point in the book.

As for Anki stuff, i finished 僕だけがいない街 ("Erased"), i added about 250 cards total from all 12 episodes. Not sure what i'll mine from next, maybe Sound: Euphonium (a recommendation from a friend). I've also been learning about 5 cards a day from Satori Reader. I found Anki easier to use than their built-in SRS so i've been sending the cards to Anki.

I haven't played Ocarina of Time much this week as i've been allocating that time to reading in Basque. It definitely feels nicer focusing on one language at a time and making fast progress, but it's so hard to just focus on one. And really, i should be focusing on Basque but i'm afraid Japanese will be too hard to pick up if i set it aside. I kind of regret spending so much time on Japanese this past school year, but it is what it is. I'm hoping i can save up to come back again and really polish off my Basque. I'm pretty sure my reading/writing are easily decent enough to pass a B2 exam, my listening can probably scrape by as well, but my speaking ability just isn't there. I often wonder how great my Basque would be now if i'd spent all that time immersing in Basque TV instead of unintelligible Japanese shows :lol: Oh well, once my Japanese reaches the same level as my Basque is now, that's enough for me.
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crush
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Re: ABATT (All Basque All The Time) + MIA (Japanese)

Postby crush » Sun Jul 05, 2020 11:38 am

Basque
As i've been reading a Spanish book (Nosotros, los asesinos by Eduardo de Guzmán) i haven't been reading anything in Basque. I'm almost done with the book so next week will probably get back to another Basque book.

I've also been finishing up the new words/sentences from the last book i read in Anki. Today's the last set of 10 new words, after that it'll just be reviewing until i start reading the next book.

Japanese
I'm not sure if i've just picked some tougher shows or if it's just that i haven't been watching as much anime lately but the two shows i'm watching now have been much harder to follow. I'm mining sentences from 風が強く吹いている (Run With the Wind). The story starts off a bit slow, i'm not sure how it'll be in the long run. I was looking for an anime related to running, in particular long distance running, and this was the only thing that really showed up (though it's more related to track and field).

I'm also watching 響け! ユーフォニアム (Sound! Euphonium) and finding it really hard to follow along. Not sure why as it doesn't seem too terribly complicated. I haven't been watching much, one episode every other day or so.

I've spent more time this past week on reading, generally i get 30 minutes to an hour. I've been having trouble finding time to fit immersion in lately, a mixture of poor sleep, figuring out visa issues, and getting busy with work. I've been considering buying the first Harry Potter audiobook to use as passive immersion/immersion while running, but the only place i could find it was at Audible and there it's nearly $50 which seems quite expensive...
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crush
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Re: ABATT (All Basque All The Time) + MIA (Japanese)

Postby crush » Sat Jul 11, 2020 7:18 pm

Basque
I'm still reading Nosotros, los asesinios. It's a really interesting (and often heartbreaking) book, i should be done with the book in the next couple days. It's nice reading in Spanish as it's a nice change of pace from Basque and especially Japanese which are so much more effort. I've got my next book lined up for Basque, i forget which one exactly, perhaps 33 ezkil? Anyway it's on my ebook reader so i'll have more to say about it next week after i've started reading it.

Japanese
Still mining from 風が強く吹いている (Run With the Wind). The fourth episode picked up a bit so i'm thinking the rest of the series should be pretty good. It's also been encouraging me to get out and go jogging more frequently, which has been nice!

As for 響け! ユーフォニアム (Sound! Euphonium), i finally finished the first season. I have to say that it has been a pretty big letdown so far, friends had talked really highly of it but it hasn't captivated me at all and some of the characters are just straight annoying. The main core of three friends are ok, don't really have any attachment to any of them though.

I caved in on the Harry Potter audiobook and have been listening to it during my runs. I finished reading chapter 10 last night and started chapter 11 today (of 18 altogether), so i'm now well over the halfway point in the book. I am seeing some of the words i've mined which is always exciting, but there's still so much unknown. It tends to go back and forth in the book, there'll be long stretches where i understand roughly 90% of the words/grammar followed by an equal long stretch where i understand about 5%. It's frustrating and motivating at the same time. I'm slowly getting used to the different sound effect words (it seems there is a sound for everything, it often feels like reading a comic book). I may set a goal of reading all 7 books and seeing how my reading skills are after that and if i may be ready to try my hand at Japanese literature, in particular stories i've never read before.
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