Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

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Mista
Blue Belt
Posts: 608
Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 11:03 pm
Location: Norway
Languages: Norwegian (N), English (QN). Studied Ancient Greek (MA), Linguistics (MA), Latin (BA), German (BA). Italian at A2/B1 level. Learning: French, Japanese, Russian (focus) and various others, like Polish, Spanish, Vietnamese, and anything that comes my way. Also know some Sanskrit (but not the script) and Coptic. Really want to learn Arabic and Amharic.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7497
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Re: Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

Postby Mista » Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:28 pm

That's great, thanks for the help! I may have to finally give Netflix a try, then - or at the very least, I can talk my mom (who knows more Arabic than I do) into watching something with me the next time I go home to visit. Miyazaki is a great suggestion, usually a good deal more enjoyable than Disney in my experience, but since I have him sorted under "Japanese" in my brain, I would probably never have come up with the idea myself of watching him in Arabic :lol:
1 x

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Maiwenn
Orange Belt
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:26 am
Location: Grand Est, France
Languages: English (N) & French
focusing on: MSA & Moroccan Arabic
backburner: German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7321
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Re: Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

Postby Maiwenn » Thu Apr 16, 2020 5:16 pm

There's actually a ton of Arabic-dubbed Japanese content out there. My partner grew up watching some Japanese shows in MSA that I had never heard of.

For legal youtube options, there's Cartoon Network MENA and Nickelodeon Arabia.
Nickelodeon Arabia has some full episodes and apparently a livestream of Spongebob episodes?
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZTLU3 ... FBXVc0vD1g
Cartoon Network MENA:
https://www.youtube.com/user/CNArabic/featured
With separate channels for The Amazing World of Gumball: https://www.youtube.com/user/ElmoreStre ... c/featured
And Powerpuff Girls:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUkv4s ... cCqFW5248A

An extra recommendation from my partner's past (though I'm unsure of it's status, so I won't link it) is المناهل, it's a show from the 80s(?) to teach children MSA. It's good fun.

And for Levantine Arabic, there's Iftah ya simsim (the Arabophone version of Sesame Street):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC48pfs ... ZTLQxZjS4g
4 x
SC reading: 3819 / 10000 AR
SC reading: 3334 / 5000 FR
SC reading: 65 / 2500 DE :?

Corrections are always welcome. :)

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Maiwenn
Orange Belt
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:26 am
Location: Grand Est, France
Languages: English (N) & French
focusing on: MSA & Moroccan Arabic
backburner: German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7321
x 777

Re: Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

Postby Maiwenn » Sun Apr 19, 2020 3:36 pm

The MSA Sesame Street is great! Thanks for the videos, Hashimi! :)

I got it into my head a couple days ago that I really wanted to try playing Scrabble in Arabic. Some arts and crafts time later, my partner and I played an inaugural game with our set made of cardboard. Against all odds (and assistance from my partner on a couple turns), I eked out a win. (Though it doesn't really count given the aforementioned assistance.)

(Sorry for the potato quality of the photo, I got tired of downsizing the file so just went straight to the smallest option.)
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
8 x
SC reading: 3819 / 10000 AR
SC reading: 3334 / 5000 FR
SC reading: 65 / 2500 DE :?

Corrections are always welcome. :)

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Maiwenn
Orange Belt
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:26 am
Location: Grand Est, France
Languages: English (N) & French
focusing on: MSA & Moroccan Arabic
backburner: German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7321
x 777

Re: Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

Postby Maiwenn » Fri May 01, 2020 9:28 am

Hello May!

Well, I've just signed up for the Super Challenge in Arabic (full), French (double), and German (half) as well as the 6wc in Mandarin, so May is off to a great start. For the 6wc, I'll only be tracking time for Mandarin as I can't be bothered to track for everything. For Mandarin, I'll be using clozemaster and Méthode 90's Chinois Débutant from Livre de Poche. It's a similar set up to Assimil.

For Arabic, I recently discovered that National Geographic Abu Dhabi has begun putting a lot of its (dubbed in Arabic) episodes on youtube. Here's a link to the channel. My current obsession is أمن المطارات: مدريد (Airport Security: Madrid):


Also, as it is Ramadan (رمضان مبارك y'all), loads of Ramadan shows are now flooding youtube. So much to watch. If there are any I particularly enjoy, I'll update the log.

I also got back into skype lessons this week with 2 in Darija and 1 in MSA. Now to get back into writing....

For the Forum Book Club, I'll be reading Camus' La Peste in French (and listening to the audiobook in Arabic separately) and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Courrier Sud in French. I was hoping to get Astrid Lindgren's The Brothers Lionheart in Arabic, but I couldn't quite justify the cost.
3 x
SC reading: 3819 / 10000 AR
SC reading: 3334 / 5000 FR
SC reading: 65 / 2500 DE :?

Corrections are always welcome. :)

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Maiwenn
Orange Belt
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:26 am
Location: Grand Est, France
Languages: English (N) & French
focusing on: MSA & Moroccan Arabic
backburner: German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7321
x 777

Re: Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

Postby Maiwenn » Fri May 08, 2020 2:33 pm

Week 1 of the Super Challenge is done and I'm on target! And... well beyond the target for listening/watching in Arabic and German. :lol: It doesn't hurt that we've started watching Fauda (though I only count half the time since it's a mix of Arabic and Hebrew). The current dialect breakdown for Arabic "films" is 61% MSA, 29% Moroccan, 10% Levantine. I also had two skype lessons (2 Darija, 1 MSA) which went well.

In order to maximise what I'm getting out of the Arabic reading, I've been making a point of highlighting any words for which I'm unsure of the meaning OR the pronunciation. I usually don't look them up as I go along, but afterward. Looking up words often goes --> google translate, look up in my French->Arabic dictionary for nouns or my Bescherelle for verbs. Today I remembered that, duh, I could use the monolingual Arabic dictionary almaany to look up pronunciation and that that would be oh so much faster. I've also added in a children's book on voyager Ibn Battuta which conveniently already has all its harakat. When I read in general, I don't sound out words, which means I can read texts in English and French fairly fast. I'm having to force myself out of this habit with Arabic, because it means I'm not necessarily fully incorporating all the new words. Reading a book that has its harakat in means I'm not accidentally practicing wrong pronunciations.

Arabic:
Read:

  • 70 pages قلعة هاول المتحركة(Howl's Moving Castle)
  • 1 page الحيلي في القواعد والإلعراب (a grammar book I bought in Morocco)
Listened to/Watched:
  • Finished Audiobook سلسلة الأحداث المؤسفة (A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning)
  • ~20 minutes of the Audiobook الطاعون (La Peste)
  • Various National Geographic Abu Dhabi shows
  • Masterchef Maroc
  • Fauda
German:
Read:

  • Reckless
Listened to/Watched:
  • Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens
French:
La Peste

Oh!!! And I saw this post with 7 fiction tv shows produced in MSA, in case it may be of interest to others: https://arabicgoals.com/tv-shows-modern ... -learners/
They're all available on youtube (legally).
3 x
SC reading: 3819 / 10000 AR
SC reading: 3334 / 5000 FR
SC reading: 65 / 2500 DE :?

Corrections are always welcome. :)

User avatar
Maiwenn
Orange Belt
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:26 am
Location: Grand Est, France
Languages: English (N) & French
focusing on: MSA & Moroccan Arabic
backburner: German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7321
x 777

Re: Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

Postby Maiwenn » Wed May 27, 2020 1:45 pm

Arabic

I finished قلعة هاول المتحركة(Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones)!! Now all I want to do is go back and reread her other books. Sadly, this seems to be the only Arabic translation of any of her works. I'll be reading through the books I have geared toward middle grade readers before attacking another "real" chapter book. I've also read a bunch of children's books. When I read them, I make a point of reading out loud to reinforce pronunciation.

On a long walk this weekend, I summarized things I've been reading to my partner in Arabic. I do feel like my spoken Arabic is becoming more sophisticated (or at least more varied in its constructions hahaha) thanks to the extra reading. I try to pay attention to how things are expressed and why.

In terms of listening/watching, I've been watching Trollhunters on Netflix + listening to audiobooks. Though I'm not counting it for the Super Challenge, I've also taken to doing exercise videos by a Lebanese woman, Sara Popfit. They're fun. She likes to call out "Bravo 3liki" a lot, so I've taken to saying it like her whenever I'm happy with something I've done. Thankfully, my downstairs neighbors continue to be elsewhere, so I don't need to worry about bothering them.

German

Continuing with Reckless and listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks. I'm on book 4 now!

French reading
La Peste (Camus) & Courrier Sud (Saint-Exupéry) for the Forum book club.
Patients by Grand Corps Malade. I saw the film adaptation when it was in theaters and loved it. The book did not disappoint.
I'm now reading La Garçonne, the French translation of Alia Mamdouh's غلامة. The translator did a fantastic job. My partner is reading the original as I read the translation. It will be a (long) while before I'm at the level where I could appreciate the original. For now, I'm happy to read the translation.

EDIT to add a picture of these skits for schoolchildren I bought way back when and am finally reading now. It's not often you see a script for a conversation between a waiter and customer in MSA. They're funny and only cost about 50 cents each.
IMG_7186.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
4 x
SC reading: 3819 / 10000 AR
SC reading: 3334 / 5000 FR
SC reading: 65 / 2500 DE :?

Corrections are always welcome. :)

User avatar
Maiwenn
Orange Belt
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:26 am
Location: Grand Est, France
Languages: English (N) & French
focusing on: MSA & Moroccan Arabic
backburner: German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7321
x 777

Re: Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

Postby Maiwenn » Mon Jun 01, 2020 6:10 pm

May Super Challenge Recap

French
677 pages including La Peste (Camus), Courrier Sud (Saint-Exupéry), Patients (Grand Corps Malade), La Garçonne (Alia Mamdouh, tr. Stéphanie Dujols), Les 3 filles du Docteur Darwin (Haddad), Les Yeux jaunes des crocodiles (Pancol)

German
193 pages read, all Reckless
960+ minutes of Harry Potter audiobooks (won't add in HP4 minutes until completed) & Dark

Arabic
330 pages read, mostly قلعة هاول المتحركة but also various children's books and now the bridge-to-novels books. I also accidentally began أعجوبة (Wonder, by R.J. Palacio), so I'm now splitting my time between that and the bridge-to-novel books.
1521+ minutes of audiobooks, National Geographic Abu Dhabi, Fauda, Trollhunters, and The Willoughbys.
Currently sitting at 65% MSA, 20% Levantine, 15% Moroccan.

Happily on track for the Super Challenge!
The 6WC, however, not so much. I'm not very good at remembered to "clock in" before starting activities. So while I have been chugging along with Mandarin, I haven't bothered to update the bot since... the first week? Oh well.


Goals for June Super Challenge
* More Moroccan!
* Stay on track!
* L'Étranger (Camus) & Mersault, contre-enquête (Daoud) for the Forum Book Club.
* LR L'Étranger with the Arabic audiobook.

I'm only 30 pages into Wonder (R.J. Palacio), but I'm finding it really easy. It seems like it would be quite accessible for A2/B1 learners. Maybe. I don't know.
3 x
SC reading: 3819 / 10000 AR
SC reading: 3334 / 5000 FR
SC reading: 65 / 2500 DE :?

Corrections are always welcome. :)

User avatar
Maiwenn
Orange Belt
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:26 am
Location: Grand Est, France
Languages: English (N) & French
focusing on: MSA & Moroccan Arabic
backburner: German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7321
x 777

Re: Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

Postby Maiwenn » Tue Jun 30, 2020 9:50 am

Whoops, where did June go? Despite majorly slacking off on reading the past 2 weeks, I'm still on track (and ahead of schedule for Arabic!).

The English translations on this menu are giving me a great chuckle this morning:
Image
Source: https://twitter.com/vladadraws/status/1 ... 5434418177

June Super Challenge Recap

French
*Ceux qui ont peur (Dima Wannous, translated by François Zabbal) which I read while listening to the Arabic audiobook
*L'Étranger (Camus) will try to read Kamel Daoud's book today/tomorrow

German
*finished Reckless (Funke)
*began Der Papiermagier (Holmberg) a book I previously read in English.

Arabic
*finished أعجوبة (Wonder, Palacio translated by Ehab Abdel Hamid). A great read, perfectly at my level.
*قبعة رغدة
(تغريد النجار) Easy read, technically a chapter book, but the type was so big I counted 2 pages as 1 for SC purposes.
*random kindle samples
*began وطلع الصباح
(جوزفين مسعود) intended for middle schoolers and includes definitions for rare, tricky words in Arabic. I'm finding it a bit more of a slog than Wonder.

Haven't added in/calculated any of the listening yet:
*A full season of Cairo Class a drama about Kuwaiti students who have gone to Cairo for university in the 60s.
*The fourth season of Alexa & Katie without subs. My comprehension has gone way up since the first time I watched this show. Yay progress!
*الكبرياء والهوى (Pride and Prejudice, Austen) audiobook
*Avatar: The Last Airbender
*Various episodes of Moroccan series, looking for a show to focus on.
*Intensive listening/transcription of short episodes of the Moroccan show Salwa w Zoubir (SC-ineligible)
*Lots of BBC radio (SC-ineligible)

I've been going through the Arabic textbooks I bought way back when, mining them for vocabulary and expressions I missed for whatever reason. These books are:
*Assimil's Arabic (claims to bring one to B2)
*Harrap's Arabe Méthode express en 15 minutes par jour ! (also claims to bring one to B2)
*Nathan's Arabe Initiation (claims A2 in 20 days)

Goals for July
*Weekly writing about what I've read in Arabic.
*Finish reading through Harrap's Arabe.
*Start active German use again.
*Stay on track!
6 x
SC reading: 3819 / 10000 AR
SC reading: 3334 / 5000 FR
SC reading: 65 / 2500 DE :?

Corrections are always welcome. :)

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ANGELINA
White Belt
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2020 8:32 am
Languages: 中文(N)英语(B2)阿拉伯语(B2)
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Re: Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

Postby ANGELINA » Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:25 am

I also study arabic ,and would mind recommend me some interesting and meaningful arabic movies?
0 x

User avatar
Maiwenn
Orange Belt
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:26 am
Location: Grand Est, France
Languages: English (N) & French
focusing on: MSA & Moroccan Arabic
backburner: German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7321
x 777

Re: Mostly Arabic with Maiwenn

Postby Maiwenn » Tue Jun 30, 2020 4:02 pm

ANGELINA wrote:I also study arabic ,and would mind recommend me some interesting and meaningful arabic movies?


Sure! Always happy to have another Arabic student around here. Are you looking for a particular dialect? I've listed a few of my favorites by dialect.

Palestinian
The Idol


Lebanese
‎کفرناحوم‎ (Capernaum)


Egyptian
حادث النيل هيلتون (The Nile Hilton Incident)


Saudi Arabian
بركة يقابل بركة (Barakah Meets Barakah)


Moroccan
Razzia (not exclusively Arabic)


Tunisian
Un divan à Tunis (half French, but excellent)
1 x
SC reading: 3819 / 10000 AR
SC reading: 3334 / 5000 FR
SC reading: 65 / 2500 DE :?

Corrections are always welcome. :)


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