Strictly German

[renaissancemedici]

My Greek studies:

From
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO
NEW TESTAMENT GREEK
Samuel G. Green
I've reached paragraph 17. So far it's very easy, but that's good, isn't it? The vocabulary is practically modern Greek anyway, so this is such a great way to focus on good old grammar. The syntax is very simplified compared to classical Greek, so that too is an relatively easy introduction to more complicated paths.

As I've said before I want my studies of Greek to be fun and stress free (that doesn't mean careless of course...). It's not so easy to get rid of the reflex of stress concerning this particular language, as it has been so linked with exams and school in the past. I am almost over that feeling, but I have to pay attention because underneath it's still there and if I allow it, it will come back as anxiety. I am happy to be doing this though.

All this seriousness and high brow atmosphere of ancient Greek... It's a no-no. I had a few wonderful teachers at school who brought Greek down to earth, and made the texts come alive. They didn't treat them as sacred or anything. One teacher in particular was quite irreverent: she even told us the missing verses in Aristophanes passages, that has been "censored" in the high school books (and for good reason...). Ok, so Koine is the Bible, but everything else you can be irreverent about

Anyway, Koine is easy, but one shouldn't underestimate it.


I don't have a plan or a goal as you can imagine. It's a lifelong thing. How do you relate to your own languages? I'll start a new theme with that question.

[renaissancemedici]

One more German chapter (or rather two). What a slow start. I'm not complaining though. After the health problems I've witnessed lately, I will never stress over such things again.

As for Greek, I went through my books yesterday, not my digital resources, the actual books. They are so many. I still have every single language book since I was in elementary school, and many more I added over the years. That shows something, right? In fact I have kept all the books about all the languages that I've got my hands on since I was a kid. I still lament over a TY German method a friend of mine borrowed, never returned but claims she has.

[renaissancemedici]

I feel like ranting a bit. Whatever happened to my past ambitions about languages?

As you can see I am focusing strictly on one language right now, because wanderlust killed my efforts in the past. However I see so many people handling many languages, so I think there must be a way for me to do it as well. Better use of my time maybe?

Anyway, here's where things stand with languages I've dabbled with in the past.

Italian: my best effort so far. I quietly and without any fuss went through more than half an Assimil course. I should start again and finish it this time. There is so much motivation about Italian, it's there and I never have to look for it.

Turkish: I've lost my appetite for Turkish lately, and this is a classic example of how language learning is influenced by non-language factors. I did study though: FSI up to a point and plenty of Turkish episodes from random series that always seem to be on TV. I have a good grasp of pronunciation, the rhythm of the language and quite a lot of vocabulary. In fact more than a lot. The grammar though is lacking terribly.

Hebrew: I like it a lot but it deserves some time on its own. I will learn the alphabet one of these days, before I even attempt on Hebrew again. That is the only way to succeed in that language. Or any language with an unfamiliar alphabet. A bit of Pimsleur gave me some phrases and that's all. I remember I liked FSI.

Russian: Ah, my first language crush... Never really learned it, although I have a ton of books and endless brief starts... I've given up on it in the last several years, but it's still in the back of my mind. It will take sometime before I try again.


All of this makes me wonder why do I want to learn any language? No language will help my really professional life, other than English that is. I thought maybe German, but not really... So I am free to fly wherever I want. It's not a bad feeling.

[renaissancemedici]

Revision time in German. I might take my time with the first seven chapters of both books. I feel unsure with my knowledge and I am in no hurry. I still like using both books, and it would be great if I keep that up, but I might drop one after a point. I keep my options open.

I am also thinking of starting studying French again, because that is always on the back of my mind nomatter which other language is my current obsession. I should simply deal with the fact that it is my most beloved foreign language, and surrender.

I have a decent level in French, so it's not as scary as German. For the same reason I feel it will not interfere with my German progress. In reality it will be more of a revision at first, because I'll start from scratch to make sure I fill any knowledge gaps along the way. The good thing is I can go directly to french sources like documentaries, films, books etc., something I do anyway.

I feel great about making this decision. French makes me happy...

[renaissancemedici]

...and as much as French makes me happy, I'm quickly going back to my strictly German plan, because I am falling back to old bad habits here.

To my current textbooks I add this, as a side dish.

https://archive.org/details/firstbookingerma00chil

It is old, but it has several things I like. I had always wanted to learn how to read the old German print, although I don't think I'll bother with the handwriting (maybe one day). There are so many books printed like that, and it's worth the effort. It has poetry! It has verses to memorize and proverbs to learn. I like this type of textbook, as old as it may be.

The drawbacks are two. It has no audio. Also I am not sure if the language isn't too outdated or not, and if someone can check it out I'd be grateful. Although I am under the impression that the German language hasn't changed so drastically over the years. I don't know.

Learning little verses and songs by heart has always helped me with languages.


I'm sorry I can't seem to focus lately, but there are things going on that make me even question the point of things in my life, including learning languages for fun. On the one hand life seems too short for worrying about anything but health, on the other it seems too long to live it without the beautiful things (like Goethe in the original maybe). Then, I keep losing my head over several languages, while the fact is I have limited time and (mostly) energy to spare for them so I know I should "attack" only German if I am to learn it.

My father has serious (most serious) health issues that require daily attention and several stays in a hospital. It's such a difficult situation, mainly for him, but also for the family. Meanwhile in the hospital I see things, and meet people, talk to them and think. My way of thinking has changed lately about what is most important in my life. I've met people who have given up, and people who enjoy every second of the time they have left. Suppose you knew you don't have much to live, what do you do with the rest of your time? Nothing, everything, focus on one thing you really like? Anyway...


Yesterday I deliberately fed my motivation of German, by watching this


This will be my last post of wanderlust, I'll just immerse myself as much as I can in German and see what happens.

[renaissancemedici]

8th chapter of Assimil with ease done. I am stopping the older Assimil for now, it's time. The A.W.E. chapters become progressively more substantial so I think I can go without the other one.

My complementary book stands, although I haven't really tried to learn anything by heart yet. I keep reading the introduction and first chapter. I think I'm getting the hang of the gothic print. There are classroom expressions (Fragen Sie das Gedicht vor!-Sie haben einen Fehler gemacht.-Seien Sie aufmerksam!) I love how it is all in Sie mode.

Then you've got verses to memorize, riddles and proverbs, all in the first chapter.
Das Buch ist rot, das Heft ist blau.
Das Pult ist braun, die Wand ist grau.

Was ist dunkel, was ist hell,
was ist langsam, was ist schnell?


By the way, hell means bright/light, and in Greek as well the root (h)el- means the same, hence Hellas, Greece (bright stone, stone of light), or the name Helen (the bright one). Weird...

I have a really good feeling about the assimil/old book combination, and as time goes by I'll modify my study plan as needed.

I am also getting familiar with the German keyboard...
Das genügt für heute.

[renaissancemedici]

This is an exercise from the First German Book, the first translation exercise.

1. Wo sind wir? Wir sind in der Schule.
2. Ist das Zimmer klein? Nein, es ist gross und hell.
3. Ist der Stuhl neu? Ya, er ist neu.
4. Aber der Tisch ist alt. Er ist nicht zehr schön.
5. Die Tinte ist nicht gut. Sie ist zu dünn.
6. Das Papier ist auch nicht gut. Es ist zu dick.
7. Die Tafel ist klein aber neu.
8. Das Buch ist grün. Das Papier ist gelb. Der Bleistift ist lang. Das Stück Kreide ist kurz und weiss.

What it has taught me:

I have no confidence correcting myself, but what can you do? There is no appendix with the answers. But even that could be an advantage to an ardent student.

You do have to learn the article and the noun together or else...

I appreciate the German language's precision, despite the difficulties.

The lack of audio in some resources is not a tragedy. There are other things we can do for pronunciation these days.



Is it weiss or weiß?

I have bought a huge notebook where I will write down whatever I need, because it turns out I learn better when I write. Exercises are super important, even from old books, because they help remember everything.

[renaissancemedici]

J'allais dire "juste pour Jean Gabin", mais c'est un très bon film. On peut entendre trois langues, le français, l'allemand et un peu d'anglais. Ça fait des années que je ne l'avais pas vu. Vive le Youtube!

Non, je n'étudie pas le français, mais je regarde toujours des films.

[renaissancemedici]

Mir ist langweilig. Ich lese Bücher, ich mache meine Hausarbeiten, ich spreche mit meinen Freunden, aber heute möchte ich nichts tun. Ich bin ein bisschen traurig und ich möchte nicht lernen.

Der Sommer ist da. Die Sonne ist warm und hell. Wir tragen Sommerkleidung. Ich sehe das Meer und ich möchte schwimmen. Aber das Wasser ist immer noch kalt.

Question:
Mir ist langweilig. Is that the right phrase for "I'm bored"?

[Kat]

Mir ist langweilig. Is that the right phrase for "I'm bored"?

Yes, that's correct.

Is it weiss or weiß?

It's weiß.

Unless you are using Swiss German spelling. The Swiss don't have the letter "ß" and write "ss" instead. It's also acceptable to replace "ß" with "ss" if you are not able to write the letter "ß", for example if your keyboard doesn't have it.

As for the exercise, you got almost everything right. Well done!

1. Wo sind wir? Wir sind in der Schule.
2. Ist das Zimmer klein? Nein, es ist grossß und hell.
3. Ist der Stuhl neu? YJa, er ist neu.
4. Aber der Tisch ist alt. Er ist nicht zsehr schön.
5. Die Tinte ist nicht gut. Sie ist zu dünn.
6. Das Papier ist auch nicht gut. Es ist zu dick.
7. Die Tafel ist klein aber neu.
8. Das Buch ist grün. Das Papier ist gelb. Der Bleistift ist lang. Das Stück Kreide ist kurz und weissß.