Beosweyne learns more Zulu in 2023

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Beosweyne
Yellow Belt
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:59 am
Languages: En (L1), Fr (A2), Af (A1), Ar (beg.), Zu (beg.)
Ancient:
La (A2), Gr (A2), Eg (beg.)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16342
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Beosweyne learns more Zulu in 2023

Postby Beosweyne » Sun Dec 06, 2020 9:26 pm

To start off my log, a list of resources I'm using at present:

Afrikaans
  • Teach Youself Afrikaans - Burgers
    1957 ed., p. 27 (14%)
  • Graad 10 Lewenswetenskappe
    life sciences textbook, p. 50 (13%)
  • Hoe verklaar jy dit
    podcast at Radio Sonder Grense.

Ancient Greek
  • Greek Beyond GCSE - Taylor
    (44%)
  • True Stories - Lucian
    Hadavas ed., p. 126 (52%)

Classical Arabic
  • Routledge Introduction to Qur'anic Arabic - Younes
    p. 15 (6%)

French
  • Que sais-je? Les OVNI - Dorier & Troadec
    p. 27 (21%)
  • Les Aventures de Tintin
    audio dramatisation at France Culture.

Latin
  • Roma Aeterna - Ørberg
    p. 277 (65%)
  • De Amicitia - Cicero
    Gould & Whiteley ed., p. 15 (23%)

Middle Egyptian
  • Middle Egyptian Grammar - Hoch
    p. 115 (44%)

Zulu
  • Say It In Zulu - Rycroft & Ngcobo
    text & audio at SOAS, p. 10 (4%)
Last edited by Beosweyne on Sat Dec 31, 2022 2:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
10 x
Learn More Zulu: 28 / 468 (p. 28/468)

User avatar
Beosweyne
Yellow Belt
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:59 am
Languages: En (L1), Fr (A2), Af (A1), Ar (beg.), Zu (beg.)
Ancient:
La (A2), Gr (A2), Eg (beg.)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16342
x 342

Re: Beosweyne's log

Postby Beosweyne » Fri Dec 11, 2020 11:40 am

Afrikaans

I listened to an episode of the science Q&A podcast Hoe verklaar jy dit (dated 5/Apr/2020 on the site). Someone had sent a video of a caterpillar (ruspe) they had found with white specks (witstippels) on its skin. According to the invited entomologist, either some fly (vlieg) or wasp (wesp) had laid eggs on the caterpillar's soft inter-segmental skin, and the specks seen were the resulting maggots (maaiers), or else cocoons spun by the wasp larvae (perdebytjies). It seems such larvae can bore into the living caterpillar and gradually consume its fat reserves and internal organs.

Ancient Greek

I finished reading the final passages of book 1 of Lucian's True Stories. Here a sea battle is fought between giants that row islands as if they were warships, using trees for oars. Hundreds of these island-ships ram into each other. Enormous octopuses are tossed between islands as grappling hooks. Huge oysters and sponges also get mentioned. We witness the whole scene from inside a whale's mouth.

Latin

Image

For the third year running I attempted to write a novel in Latin for NaNoWriMo. Yet again my final word count was nowhere near the 50,000 winning target. I just managed to creep past the 10k mark on the final day:
daily-word-count.png

The story itself starts off in a remote mountainous town, reputedly the site of a long-abandoned gold mine. The last scene I wrote was set in a dark corner of an inn in Rome, where a plot was being prepared to poison the remaining townspeople and rediscover the entrance to the mine. But as I am not interested in continuing the story, I will likely never find out what happened next. :mrgreen:
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8 x
Learn More Zulu: 28 / 468 (p. 28/468)

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Beosweyne
Yellow Belt
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:59 am
Languages: En (L1), Fr (A2), Af (A1), Ar (beg.), Zu (beg.)
Ancient:
La (A2), Gr (A2), Eg (beg.)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16342
x 342

Re: Beosweyne's log

Postby Beosweyne » Mon Dec 14, 2020 4:38 am

Week 50 in summary.

Afrikaans
  • Studied Teach Youself Afrikaans 17% (+3)
  • Read Graad 10 Lewenswetenskappe 19% (+6)
  • Listened to Hoe verklaar jy dit, 1 episode.

Ancient Greek
  • Studied Greek Beyond GCSE 45% (+1)
  • Read True Stories 57% (+5)

Classical Arabic
  • Studied Routledge Introduction to Qur'anic Arabic 10% (+4)

French
  • Read Que sais-je? Les OVNI 38% (+17)
  • Listened to Tintin - les Cigares du Pharaon 40% (+20)

Latin
  • Studied Roma Aeterna & exercitia 66% (+1)
  • Read De Amicitia 32% (+9)
  • Wrote 120 words.

Middle Egyptian
  • Studied Middle Egyptian Grammar 45% (+1)

Zulu
  • Studied Say It In Zulu 5% (+1)
2 x
Learn More Zulu: 28 / 468 (p. 28/468)

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Beosweyne
Yellow Belt
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:59 am
Languages: En (L1), Fr (A2), Af (A1), Ar (beg.), Zu (beg.)
Ancient:
La (A2), Gr (A2), Eg (beg.)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16342
x 342

Re: Beosweyne's log

Postby Beosweyne » Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:35 am

Week 51 in summary.

Afrikaans
  • TY Afrikaans 18% (+1)
  • Graad 10 Lewenswetenskappe 22% (+3)
  • Hoe verklaar jy dit, 1 episode.
Ancient Greek
  • Greek Beyond GCSE 45% (+0.5)
  • True Stories 61% (+4)
Classical Arabic
  • Routledge Intro. to Qur'anic Arabic 12% (+2)
French
  • Que sais-je? Les OVNI 41% (+3)
  • Tintin - les Cigares du Pharaon, eps. 3 & 4.
Latin
  • Roma Aeterna & exercitia 67% (+1)
  • De Amicitia 48% (+16)
  • Composition, wrote 550 words.
Middle Egyptian
  • Middle Egyptian Grammar 47% (+2)
Zulu
  • Say It In Zulu 5% (+0.5)
2 x
Learn More Zulu: 28 / 468 (p. 28/468)

User avatar
Beosweyne
Yellow Belt
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:59 am
Languages: En (L1), Fr (A2), Af (A1), Ar (beg.), Zu (beg.)
Ancient:
La (A2), Gr (A2), Eg (beg.)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16342
x 342

Re: Beosweyne's log

Postby Beosweyne » Mon Dec 28, 2020 4:36 am

Week 52 in summary.

Afrikaans
  • TY Afrikaans, 21% (+3)
  • Graad 10 Lewenswetenskappe, 26% (+4)
  • Hoe verklaar jy dit, 1 episode.
Ancient Greek
  • Greek Beyond GCSE, 46% (+1)
  • True Stories, 67% (+6)
Classical Arabic
  • Routledge Intro. to Qur'anic Arabic, 15% (+3)
French
  • Que sais-je? Les OVNI, 61% (+20)
  • Tintin - les Cigares du Pharaon, ep. 5 (complete). Next, I am going to listen to the 5-part sequel Le Lotus Bleu.
Latin
  • Roma Aeterna & exercitia, 68% (+1)
  • De Amicitia, 58% (+10)
  • Composition, wrote 230 words.
Middle Egyptian
  • Middle Egyptian Grammar, 47% (+0.5)
Zulu
  • Say It In Zulu, 6% (+1)
3 x
Learn More Zulu: 28 / 468 (p. 28/468)

User avatar
Beosweyne
Yellow Belt
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:59 am
Languages: En (L1), Fr (A2), Af (A1), Ar (beg.), Zu (beg.)
Ancient:
La (A2), Gr (A2), Eg (beg.)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16342
x 342

Re: Beosweyne's log

Postby Beosweyne » Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:17 am

Here's how much ground got covered in week 53 of 2020, the closing week of the decade just past.

Afrikaans
  • TY Afrikaans, 25% (+4)
  • Graad 10 Lewenswetenskappe, 29% (+3)
  • Hoe verklaar jy dit, 1 episode.
Ancient Greek
  • Greek Beyond GCSE, 46% (+0.5)
  • True Stories, 73% (+6)
Classical Arabic
  • Routledge Intro. to Qur'anic Arabic, 17% (+2)
French
  • Que sais-je? Les OVNI, 78% (+17)
  • Tintin - le Lotus bleu, ep. 1.
Latin
  • Roma Aeterna & exercitia, 70% (+2)
  • De Amicitia, 65% (+7)
  • Composition, wrote 295 words.
Middle Egyptian
  • Middle Egyptian Grammar, 48% (+1)
Zulu
  • Say It In Zulu, 7% (+1)
2 x
Learn More Zulu: 28 / 468 (p. 28/468)

User avatar
Beosweyne
Yellow Belt
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:59 am
Languages: En (L1), Fr (A2), Af (A1), Ar (beg.), Zu (beg.)
Ancient:
La (A2), Gr (A2), Eg (beg.)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16342
x 342

Re: Beosweyne's log

Postby Beosweyne » Mon Jan 11, 2021 4:52 am

Week 1 in summary.

Afrikaans
  • TY Afrikaans, 29% (+4)
  • Graad 10 Lewenswetenskappe, 36% (+7)
  • Hoe verklaar jy dit, 9/Aug/2020 episode.
Ancient Greek
  • Greek Beyond GCSE, 47% (+1)
  • True Stories, 80% (+7)
Classical Arabic
  • Routledge Intro. to Qur'anic Arabic, 19% (+2)
French
  • Que sais-je? Les OVNI (complete). In the coming week I hope to start reading another title in the Que sais-je series, La religion romaine by Yves Lehmann.
  • Tintin - le Lotus bleu, ep. 2.
Latin
  • Roma Aeterna & exercitia, 71% (+1)
  • De Amicitia, 86% (+21)
  • Composition, wrote 265 words.
Middle Egyptian
  • Middle Egyptian Grammar, 49% (+1). Our study group has just completed chapter 8 out of 16. In the next chapter we will meet negative expressions for the first time, of the form "there are no crocodiles in the river", "I did not see the crocodile", "the crocodile approached without making a sound", etc.
Zulu
  • Say It In Zulu, 7% (+0.5)
4 x
Learn More Zulu: 28 / 468 (p. 28/468)

User avatar
Beosweyne
Yellow Belt
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:59 am
Languages: En (L1), Fr (A2), Af (A1), Ar (beg.), Zu (beg.)
Ancient:
La (A2), Gr (A2), Eg (beg.)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16342
x 342

Re: Beosweyne's log

Postby Beosweyne » Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:24 am

Week 2 in summary.

Afrikaans
  • TY Afrikaans, 33% (+4)
  • Graad 10 Lewenswetenskappe, 39% (+3)
  • Hoe verklaar jy dit, 15/Dec/2019 episode.
Ancient Greek
  • Greek Beyond GCSE, 48% (+1)
  • True Stories, 88% (+8)
Classical Arabic
  • Routledge Intro. to Qur'anic Arabic, 21% (+2)
French
  • Que sais-je? La religion romaine, p. 26/124. Very interesting book by Yves Lehmann, hard to put down so far.
  • Tintin - le Lotus bleu, ep. 3.
Latin
  • Roma Aeterna & exercitia, 71% (+0.5)
  • De Amicitia (complete). That was Cicero's extended meditation on the topic of friendship, written in the form of a dialogue. The language in many places was barely comprehensible to me, so I'm sure to have missed many subtleties of his argument. Although this edition by Gould & Whiteley has a great number of notes for beginners, I didn't want to consult them on my first read-through. Bis repetita placent surely, but the second reading will have to wait because for now I would like to read about less abstract things.
  • Selections from 'De Bello Gallico', p. 8/76. This is Hans Ørberg's edition of Julius Caesar's writings on the campaigns waged in and around Gaul, c. 55 B.C. It contains passages from books 1, 4 & 5 of De Bello Gallico. Want to know what's funny though? I have been teaching myself Latin for nearly 8 years, and in that time have read a few authors, but this is going to be my first stab at Caesar. :mrgreen:
  • Composition, wrote 270 words.
Middle Egyptian
  • Middle Egyptian Grammar, 50% (+1)
Zulu
  • Say It In Zulu, 8% (+1)
5 x
Learn More Zulu: 28 / 468 (p. 28/468)

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księżycowy
Blue Belt
Posts: 655
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2017 3:26 pm
Location: Earth
Languages: *Native*
English

*Studying*
Biblical Greek, Hebrew, German (Arabic)


*Waiting List*
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Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17499
x 1488

Re: Beosweyne's log

Postby księżycowy » Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:50 pm

Beosweyne wrote:
  • Routledge Intro. to Qur'anic Arabic, 21% (+2)

I hope you don't mind me asking a question here, but I'm curious how you're finding this text. Would you say it is a good textbook for someone starting from zero Arabic?
0 x
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Modern European Log
East Asian Log

DaF Kompakt A1-B1 (Klett) : 1 / 30
Modern German Pronunciation 2e (Hall) : 0 / 7
[Greek and Hebrew TBD]

User avatar
Beosweyne
Yellow Belt
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:59 am
Languages: En (L1), Fr (A2), Af (A1), Ar (beg.), Zu (beg.)
Ancient:
La (A2), Gr (A2), Eg (beg.)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16342
x 342

Re: Beosweyne's log

Postby Beosweyne » Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:26 pm

księżycowy wrote:
Beosweyne wrote:
  • Routledge Intro. to Qur'anic Arabic, 21% (+2)

I hope you don't mind me asking a question here, but I'm curious how you're finding this text. Would you say it is a good textbook for someone starting from zero Arabic?

In the introduction it says that the only pre-requisite is an ability to read arabic script. Although I already knew the script and a bit about Arabic grammar before starting, my experience with the book has been a little frustrating. Overall it feels too unsystematic for my liking.

The early lessons are presented in a spartan way: many sections consist of a 5-10 verse extract verbatim from the Quran (not simplified in any way) alongside a list of new words, and nothing else! It appears we are expected to read the extract, try to make sense of it using the vocabulary, and then verify against a translation of the Quran (not provided).

There are progressively more explanations in the following lessons, and a fairly detailed grammatical appendix in the back. However, direct references from the lessons to this appendix are rarely made, so when doubts crop up it is unclear where to seek clarification.

Another fault I find is that the exercises are all to do with parsing and translating Arabic to English, whereas I would have liked to do Arabic composition exercises as well.

But who knows, as I make more progress I might warm to the book's methodology.

Anyway thanks for reading my log, księżycowy. Feel free to comment here at any time.
2 x
Learn More Zulu: 28 / 468 (p. 28/468)


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