Languid Language Learning

[Brun Ugle]

Wow, had never heard that before. To answer Brun Ugle, nope, they don't say that where I'm from. I'm gonna ask around the embassy, since we have Americans from all over the country, see if any of them heard that before who weren't stationed or knew folks from the UK.

So very interesting, which is why I love the English language so much! Thanks to you both.

I've heard that usage, but I agree, we don't say that here. I think it is just my obsession with Elizabeth Nesbit that acquainted me with it.

Maybe it’s more British. I’m American from NJ, but my maternal grandparents came from England and some of the English didn’t really wash out. I know I have more Anglicisms in my speech than many other Americans, I’ve also lived in Europe for 18 years and hear more British English these days. Another thing that occurred to me is that both Elenia and I are under the influence of Scandinavian languages and here “fast” means firm, fixed, unmoving, etc. So our usage might not be typical. Sometimes when I say things like that, I wonder if it’s real English or Norwenglish.

[Brun Ugle]

It sucks I can't come

Ohh.. that does suck, and you're probably the nearest one to Bratislava!

Yes, but I am also the one most probable to sit a pediatrics exam (=a huuuge nightmare) a few days after that weekend

This made me think of a surprise paediatrics exam being sprung on the rest of us - the horror!

It's looking less and less likely that I'll be able to come. My savings are dripping away rather quickly now, which means I have no cushion for extravagant spending, and I also have a deadline that weekend. I'll also being going back to London and the start of the month, because my brother is turning 18 and that's apparently some kind of big deal (I can't believe he's going to be eighteen. We're going to throw a big party for him, and charge his friends entry fees )

I love your idea!!! Surprise paediatrics/anatomy/pathology/etc. exams for everyone! People don't understand why are these so nightmarish, let's show everyone why! Actually, just "surprise something exam" without the verb (or with various ones) looks very suspicious

Of course the 18 years are a big deal! Just a few generations ago, his chances to get so far would have been rather low. Reaching this point is a big reason to celebrate!

I’m going to have to learn both French and pediatrics before the Gathering?! This is going to be tough.

[rdearman]

I’m going to have to learn both French and pediatrics before the Gathering?! This is going to be tough.

I figure pediatrics will be the easy part.

[Systematiker]

1. I've heard "a fast date" in my dialect to refer to a set, unchanging appointment. Blackwater, NE Florida. Also, "fast" as fixed and unmoving would be normal in a nautical ("make fast") setting, or in certain exhortations ("hold fast to..."). I suspect that it's not normal for my actual dialect but the nautical influence caused it.

2. Anyone watching how pediatrics/paediatrics is flipping back and forth in this thread? That's been fun (well and I just caught up on like three pages so it was all at once for me).

3. Wish I could come play in French too, but I can't make it - I can't even make closer stuff

[zenmonkey]

1. I've heard "a fast date" in my dialect to refer to a set, unchanging appointment. Blackwater, NE Florida. Also, "fast" as fixed and unmoving would be normal in a nautical ("make fast") setting, or in certain exhortations ("hold fast to..."). I suspect that it's not normal for my actual dialect but the nautical influence caused it.

I'm likelier to use firm date (NorCal). He's a bit fast (means he's a bit debauched) but he's a fast friend (steady).

[Elenia]

This week's triumphant, all caps post:

I MANAGED TO UNDERSTAND NORWEGIAN PEOPLE SPEAKING NORWEGIAN!

(I ordered a coffee and a tea in a starbucks using Swedish and completely understood and responded to the questions the Norwegian barista put to me. Also understood some things in other restaurants, and when a Norwegian acquaintance was ordering food in another restaurant, as well some of her conversation about the menu with the restaurateur. On the other hand, I completely failed to understand the receptionists at the hotel. Like, all of them, almost all of the time.)

As for goals: I'm not at all sure what they were, and this post is late anyway, but I'm pretty sure that there were three, and that I managed all of them. I read through more than a page of Swedish for class (not nearly as much as I need to read) and a nice article about a hundred year old man from Hungary who tends his allotment in Malmö every day with his wife. I also started on gold listing and had a lot of language conversations at work on Friday. One of the ladies has, extremely kindly, offered to correct my texts and teach me prepositions - necessary: as some of you have seen, my partner has no idea where to begin with them Finally, today I attended a puppy training class with my friend and understood pretty much everything. I didn't get one joke the teacher made, and I was blindsided when someone asked me if the dog was a Jack Russel. That was partly due to the fact that I was confused about being addressed (clearly, she hadn't realised that he is not at all my dog) and partly because I get confused about dogs anyway, and wasn't expecting a name. I might have gotten it more quickly if she'd asked what type of dog he was.

I didn't create any goals for this week as I - rightly - predicted that I would be exhausted from travelling. I figure I will continue to be exhausted until next week, after I have had a potato weekend of not doing anything other than being a potato. So goals will wait until Friday.

[Brun Ugle]

Don’t worry, I don’t always understand all Norwegians either, and nor do Norwegians. A lady from Oslo area told me that shortly after she moved up here, she received a letter notifying her the chimney sweep would be coming and she called the township to find out if there was anything she needed to do ahead of time. The lady on the phone asked if she’d put the ladder up, but she couldn’t understand what she was saying. Put what up where? In Trøndelag, there is a tendency to leave off endings, and consonants are sometimes left out or mushed. Also, we have some different words.

[luke]

I heard this week you can identify when a Norwegian is getting aggressive... He looks at your shoes when he's talking to you. (rather than his own).

[Elenia]

Tomorrow is Friday, and I will be at work all day and then out all evening!

So I will set next weeks goals today:

1. Watch two episodes of På Spåret
2. Make at least one new list in my 'bronze' book
3. Distil the first 100 words I wrote out last week
4. Read two pages of Swedish
5. 30 sentences for each language pair on Clozemaster

One of the books I have to class I now have in Swedish, English and French, so I'll be having a good look at that. Otherwise, I have an unwise amount to read in English for a buddy read with my friend. (I was meant to read three pages a day for ten days but read... none. Oops.) So I'm not counting on getting too much other reading done before Sunday, when we will be skyping and talking about it. However my Goodread's challenge is giving me puppy dog eyes. And all of the reading I need to do for class

I'm missing doing things for Finnish, but I don't have the mental space right now. Clozemaster will have to sustain that.

[Elenia]

A slightly late update, partly because of an exceptionally busy Friday but mostly because I forgot about my goals.

1. Watch two episodes of På Spåret
2. Make at least one new list in my 'bronze' book
3. Distil the first 100 words I wrote out last week
4. Read two pages of Swedish
5. 30 sentences for each language pair on Clozemaster

I did watch those two episodes of På Spåret. We got one answer on eight, before any of the teams. SPOILER ALERT: it was Trondheim I'd read a small article about the Saami national day and remembered reading the name of the town. We paused - so we didn't get the point in real time - but we still got it We did fairly poorly on the rest though. SPOILER OVER.

I think I made a new list, and I have certainly done some distillations. I'm washing my hair today, so I won't create a new list until tomorrow. (I've been at it for about six hours and I still haven't even gotten near water yet. The sorrows of my life).

I didn't read the two pages of Swedish I had been intending to read, but ended up transcribe the first chapter of Gormenghast in Swedish to help my partner with his translation thesis. I used words I found there to create a new goldlist (so I did do that!)

That leaves the only thing I didn't do to be Clozemaster. I've been spending a lot less time at my computer recently, and although I have the app on my phone I haven't used it in quite some time. I want to keep this update short, as I still have to finish washing my hair - which includes washing and then styling it. I love long hair, but I really hate the effort it takes.