Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire

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sillygoose1
Green Belt
Posts: 380
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:25 pm
Location: USA
Languages: _
NA: English
C2: French
C1: German, Italian, Spanish
B2: Russian, Portuguese
A2: Japanese
A1: Mandarin
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=751
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Re: Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire

Postby sillygoose1 » Fri Jul 21, 2017 8:13 pm

French:

Books:
Balzac - La peau de chagrin - finished

Movies:
Le Missionnaire
Les demons de jesus
96 heures

Series:
Hard - Season 2
Les temoins - Season 1


Spanish:

El marginal - Season 1


German:

Books:
Schopenhauer - Die Welt als Wille & Vorstellung - In progress

Series:
Pastewka - Season 5
Stromberg - Done
The Same Sky - Season 1 episode 1

Movies:
Wir sind die Neuen


Russian:

Books:
Turkish Gambit L/R - done
Lars Kepler - Контракт Паганиниr - Chapter 11 and going slow

Series:
Мажор or Silver Spoon - season 1 - Done
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sillygoose1
Green Belt
Posts: 380
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:25 pm
Location: USA
Languages: _
NA: English
C2: French
C1: German, Italian, Spanish
B2: Russian, Portuguese
A2: Japanese
A1: Mandarin
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=751
x 631

Re: Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire (German & Russian focus w/ French maintenance)

Postby sillygoose1 » Mon Aug 21, 2017 12:59 am

French:

I went on another mini binge since my last post that I believe filled in a lot of gaps that I was previously experiencing but however has me still somewhat far from native level. I don't expect to get to a native passive level until I spend a few years in a Francophone country but at this point it's still a good metric to use for me right now.

Films(some I don't even remember but it must have been around 10-15):

Les tontons flingueurs
Bob le flambeur
Le doulos
A fond
Camping
L'operation corned beef
Les bronzes 1&2
Les visiteurs 1
Le clan des siciliens
La mariee etait en noir
Bis
Le cave se rebiffe

I wanted to focus on older films from the 50s and 60s in order to get acquainted with that language as well. Some of the words I encountered I never heard before which is now outdated slang so it was a good challenge. Besides that, French films from that era were awesome too so it was no slog and I had a lot of fun. Some of my favorite actors are Alain Delon, Lino Ventura, Jean Paul Belmondo, and Claude Rich. Directors would have to be Francois Truffaut, Jean Luc Godard and Jean Pierre Melville. I havent seen a Claude Lelouch film but soon I want to watch some soon.

Series:

Mafiosa - Finished. It went from a series that I almost quit on season 1 to being one of the better series I've ever seen season 3-5. If not for the death of an actor in real life the last season would have been the best season of TV I would've seen in French.

Hard - Finished


As for series, I still have the last seasons of Braquo, Fais pas ci fais pas ca and Kaboul Kitchen to watch as well as Le bureau des legendes which I havent yet seen and Baron Noir. A lot of other French TV doesn't seem interesting to me as much so I'll stick with films. Maybe Glace and La treve but those are your standard whodunnit. Even the second season of Les temoins got boring halfway in the first episode.


German:

I'm at a point where I can follow the plot and other intricacies in a show but not get every single detail. I guess that's B2. As indicated in my new thread title, this will be one of my main focuses from here on out. That's not to say I won't bother with other languages but those are already quite strong.

Film:

So most of the movies I've tried to watch are insufferable eg. 2010-2017 rom coms or bromedies. I've downloaded most of Fassbinder's and Herzog's filmography so I plan to regal myself with those eventually.

Series:

Pastewka - finished
Diese Kaminskis - Episode 1

Books:

Goethe - Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre - Chapter 8. It hasn't caused any problems per se in that I'm aware of word order and grammar. However, it seems like some of the story isn't really registering in my head and some words I've missed. I haven't read much in German so this is most certainly the reason why. This is also why I put Die Welt als Wille & Vorstellung on hold after a little bit.


Russian:

My biggest challenge at the moment remains to be Russian. Not so much the grammar anymore but the vocabulary. Reading is a pain, but I'm picking out more and more words in series. As with German, this is my other focus.


Series:

Brigada - Finished. This was difficult because the subs were so offsync and a lot of slang.
The Sniffer - Season 1 Episode 2. This one is a bit easier, like Silver Spoon.


I haven't watched any movies yet, but I have a good lineup waiting.


Books:

Lars Kepler - Контракт Паганиниr - Chapter 43. I'm starting to be able to visualize the story but still so many words that I haven't internalized. I'm still constantly looking up but I'm trying to cut down on it.


Spanish:

Film - Las brujas de Zuggaramurdi (?)


General:

Push French to its limits but without it being the main focus. Get German and Russian up to high levels by focusing mainly on those. Spanish will be like French but even less. A series every few months and a movie here and there. And Italian is tough since I kinda got put off due to real life problems so maybe I'll take language decay and have it sit at a B2 or maybe not. Setup bases for Dutch which has been done, Polish, and Czech.
Last edited by sillygoose1 on Thu Dec 28, 2017 2:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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sillygoose1
Green Belt
Posts: 380
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:25 pm
Location: USA
Languages: _
NA: English
C2: French
C1: German, Italian, Spanish
B2: Russian, Portuguese
A2: Japanese
A1: Mandarin
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=751
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Re: Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire (German & Russian focus w/ French maintenance)

Postby sillygoose1 » Tue Aug 22, 2017 8:03 pm

French:

Series:

Braquo Season 4 Episode 1



German:

Series:

Diese Kaminskis Episode 4 - Will probably finish today


Russian:

Series:

The Sniffer Episode 3
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DaveBee
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Posts: 952
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Languages: English (native). French (studying).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7466
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Re: Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire (German & Russian focus w/ French maintenance)

Postby DaveBee » Tue Aug 22, 2017 9:55 pm

sillygoose1 wrote:French:
Mafiosa - Finished. It went from a series that I almost quit on season 1 to being one of the better series I've ever seen season 3-5. If not for the death of an actor in real life the last season would have been the best season of TV I would've seen in French.
I think I'd agree with that. I've just watched it with L1 subtitles, and I'm now rewatching it with no subs.

By the end I was wondering if it was an attempt at a christian parable on the importance of forgiveness. Good stuff. Wonderful ending too. :-)
Last edited by DaveBee on Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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sillygoose1
Green Belt
Posts: 380
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:25 pm
Location: USA
Languages: _
NA: English
C2: French
C1: German, Italian, Spanish
B2: Russian, Portuguese
A2: Japanese
A1: Mandarin
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=751
x 631

Re: Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire (German & Russian focus w/ French maintenance)

Postby sillygoose1 » Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:11 pm

DaveBee wrote:
sillygoose1 wrote:French:
Mafiosa - Finished. It went from a series that I almost quit on season 1 to being one of the better series I've ever seen season 3-5. If not for the death of an actor in real life the last season would have been the best season of TV I would've seen in French.
I think I'd agree with that. I've just watched it with L1 subtitles, and I'm now rewatching it with no subs.

By the end I was wandering if it was an attempt at a christian parable on the importance of forgiveness. Good stuff. Wonderful ending too. :-)


That end scene was definitely worth the ride and gave me goosebumps with the music. As with other gangster movies or series I got the message that family and business usually come full circle. Hearing Corsican so often was pretty cool too. It has a really rustic feeling to it.
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sillygoose1
Green Belt
Posts: 380
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:25 pm
Location: USA
Languages: _
NA: English
C2: French
C1: German, Italian, Spanish
B2: Russian, Portuguese
A2: Japanese
A1: Mandarin
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=751
x 631

Re: Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire (German & Russian focus w/ French maintenance)

Postby sillygoose1 » Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:52 pm

German:

Series:

Schuld - 2 Episodes

I'm looking to finish the last four episodes by the weekend then start on some Austrian series. I watched an episode of Schlawiner which seemed funny. The only reason Schuld is even holding my attention is because of Moritz Bleibtreu. It's not that great but it's good for a learner looking for practice.


Books:

Nietzsche - Jenseits von Gut und Boese - stopped because I forgot how boring most philosophy is to me. I really only like stoicism, some political philosophy, ancient and medieval philosophy. Maybe I should revisit Schopenhauer one day because he seems like an exception but also seems like someone who could really bring your day down.

I have a few other books one of which is about propaganda and the other is a detailed history of the DDR which seems interesting. Fiction isn't doing anything for me lately. Really bored of it.


Russian:

Series:

More episodes of The Sniffer. Not much to say on this front except that I'm picking out more and more words as well as being able to pick out some I never saw before. I'm hoping that subtitles for Mazhor aka Silver Spoon season 2 come out soon because I'm looking forward to that very much.


Books:

Lars Kepler still. Tried some Boris Akunin again but it's too hard and the chapters too long.


Italian:

So I got over my personal problem with family and I found some motivation again. I'd like to one day get this to be as good as my French but not anytime soon.

Series:

1993 - episode 1&2


Spanish:

Looking to watch Alex de la Iglesia's newest film, El Bar, then have it go dormant for another half a year.
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DaveBee
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Posts: 952
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Location: UK
Languages: English (native). French (studying).
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Re: Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire (German & Russian focus w/ French maintenance)

Postby DaveBee » Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:13 pm

sillygoose1 wrote:German:
Books:

Nietzsche - Jenseits von Gut und Boese - stopped because I forgot how boring most philosophy is to me. I really only like stoicism, some political philosophy, ancient and medieval philosophy. Maybe I should revisit Schopenhauer one day because he seems like an exception but also seems like someone who could really bring your day down.

I have a few other books one of which is about propaganda and the other is a detailed history of the DDR which seems interesting. Fiction isn't doing anything for me lately. Really bored of it.
I read a french edition of James Mitchener's 'Poland' a while back, the Poles had a lot of trouble with their German neighbours, the Teutonic Knights, who look like an interesting story.
The Order ruled Prussia under charters issued by the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor as a sovereign monastic state, comparable to the arrangement of the Knights Hospitallers in Rhodes and later in Malta.
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sillygoose1
Green Belt
Posts: 380
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:25 pm
Location: USA
Languages: _
NA: English
C2: French
C1: German, Italian, Spanish
B2: Russian, Portuguese
A2: Japanese
A1: Mandarin
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=751
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Re: Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire (German & Russian focus w/ French maintenance)

Postby sillygoose1 » Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:24 pm

DaveBee wrote:
sillygoose1 wrote:German:
Books:

Nietzsche - Jenseits von Gut und Boese - stopped because I forgot how boring most philosophy is to me. I really only like stoicism, some political philosophy, ancient and medieval philosophy. Maybe I should revisit Schopenhauer one day because he seems like an exception but also seems like someone who could really bring your day down.

I have a few other books one of which is about propaganda and the other is a detailed history of the DDR which seems interesting. Fiction isn't doing anything for me lately. Really bored of it.
I read a french edition of James Mitchener's 'Poland' a while back, the Poles had a lot of trouble with their German neighbours, the Teutonic Knights, who look like an interesting story.
The Order ruled Prussia under charters issued by the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor as a sovereign monastic state, comparable to the arrangement of the Knights Hospitallers in Rhodes and later in Malta.


That's actually really crazy that you mention that because my focus lately has been on the Middle Ages, Holy Roman Empire, Knights Templar, and all of that stuff from that large time period especially Central Europe. I'll check to see if there's a German or Russian version of it somewhere. Thanks for the rec.
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sillygoose1
Green Belt
Posts: 380
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:25 pm
Location: USA
Languages: _
NA: English
C2: French
C1: German, Italian, Spanish
B2: Russian, Portuguese
A2: Japanese
A1: Mandarin
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=751
x 631

Re: Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire (German & Russian focus w/ French maintenance)

Postby sillygoose1 » Fri Sep 08, 2017 5:54 pm

French:

Series:

Braquo season 4 episode 4 - Four more left, but no rush


Films:

A bout de souffle - Probably would have liked it in high school but my god the deconstruction every scene was unbearable. No more Godard for me


German:

Series:

Hinfading - Episode 2


Films:

Looking to watch one or two this weekend. Probably some Fassbinder


Books:

Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törleß


Russian:

Series:

The Sniffer - Three more episodes to go. Then I'll get through season 2 and start on some movies.


Books:

Same as always


Italian:

Series:

1993 - finished. The second season of 1992 basically. Waiting for Suburra to come out now.



Spanish:

Series:

Narcos season 3. Loved it more than the others.


Films:

El bar - I forget if I said that already
La comunidad


No more Spanish for awhile.
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garyb
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Re: Sillygoose1's Language Extraordinaire (German & Russian focus w/ French maintenance)

Postby garyb » Sat Sep 09, 2017 8:38 am

How was El Bar? I was hoping to see a late-night screening of it at a film festival a few months ago which sounded great fun, but it was all sold out. I loved El día de la bestia, so silly.
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