Sam's Year of Reading Only Spanish

[samfrances]

Uff! That was a difficult few pages. Lots of "vides frondosas" and verbs like "latir" and "arrodillarse". I'm going to keep going for at least the first 20 pages though, to see if it gets easier. I don't know whether this intensive reading style will be better or worse for my learning than my usual more exensive style, but I guess we'll see.

[iguanamon]

I remember when I read my first real book in Haitian Creole, Woben Lakwa/Robinson Crusoe. I had finished a very thorough and complete DLI Basic Course. I'd read Genesis in the Old Testament with a parallel text to help me when I needed it. That first real book was tough, even though I'd read it already in English as a kid and more recently in Portuguese. It seemed as if I was looking up words right and left. Probably the first 50-75 pages were very difficult and frustrating. I remember that after the first third of the book, things got a lot easier. By the last third of the book, reading was significantly easier.

Learning a language, especially the first second language, is difficult. It takes time, effort and, indeed, frustration. My only advice is to stick with it despite the frustration. It will become easier to read but you have to build up a base. Looking up words helps to do that.

Right now, I am reading a "noir" novel in Catalan, a translation of a 1929 novel by American author Dashiell Hammett. You wouldn't think there would be a half a dozen words for "to crash" or "to grab" in a language... but there are. I just have to deal with it. I could skip over these unknown verbs and adverbs and finish the novel much quicker if I did, but I wouldn't learn the language that way. As I've gotten to the halfway point of the novel, I find that I have fewer words to look up and reading is becoming easier to do. Now, I highlight interesting idioms and turns of phrase more and more. I'm getting there... and you will too... despite the frustration.

[samfrances]

I remember when I read my first real book in Haitian Creole, Woben Lakwa/Robinson Crusoe. I had finished a very thorough and complete DLI Basic Course. I'd read Genesis in the Old Testament with a parallel text to help me when I needed it. That first real book was tough, even though I'd read it already in English as a kid and more recently in Portuguese. It seemed as if I was looking up words right and left. Probably the first 50-75 pages were very difficult and frustrating. I remember that after the first third of the book, things got a lot easier. By the last third of the book, reading was significantly easier.

Learning a language, especially the first second language, is difficult. It takes time, effort and, indeed, frustration. My only advice is to stick with it despite the frustration. It will become easier to read but you have to build up a base. Looking up words helps to do that.

Right now, I am reading a "noir" novel in Catalan, a translation of a 1929 novel by American author Dashiell Hammett. You wouldn't think there would be a half a dozen words for "to crash" or "to grab" in a language... but there are. I just have to deal with it. I could skip over these unknown verbs and adverbs and finish the novel much quicker if I did, but I wouldn't learn the language that way. As I've gotten to the halfway point of the novel, I find that I have fewer words to look up and reading is becoming easier to do. Now, I highlight interesting idioms and turns of phrase more and more. I'm getting there... and you will too... despite the frustration.

Thanks Iguanamon. I don't mind the hard work, as long as its productive. Sounds like from your experience that this sort of "close reading" can be productive, so that's encouraging.

[samfrances]

Phew! Those first 20 pages kicked. my. butt.

I'm going to try reading a bit more extensively from now on, reading each clear section or chapter a few times through before resorting to the dictionary.

Onwards!

[samfrances]

Finally finished Esperanza Renace. Got a bit distracted along the way, and didn't keep to my rule of reading only Spanish novels. It was hard going at times, but I feel I have really grown through reading it. I may post a more detailed review at some point in the future.

Next, I'm going to read something much, much easier!

[jeff_lindqvist]

Welcome back!

[luke]

So, most recently I read Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari, for example. I guess it might be worth a look in translation. Sapiens might be even better, actually.

Audible has Sapiens in Spanish. Listened to it on a couple of long drives. It's easier to keep the argument than a novel.