Lesson 88 passive and lesson 39 active in Assimil Le Catalan Sans Peine are in the bag. I'm starting to get used to the French tenses a little better. Usually, at this stage of a course, when I am almost finished, I usually start to think about putting it aside and moving on as it has already taught me pretty much what I need to know to learn on my own from native materials. So, why haven't I moved on? Curiosity. I want to do the complete Assimil procedure so I can say I have actually done an Assimil course. As well, I want to be able to better advise people doing the course.
I have explained my decision to do this course as opposed to the Spanish-based one, despite Professor A's and others' high recommendations. Now that I am near the end of the course's passive wave, I am more convinced that I've made the right decision for myself. Having three Romance languages under my belt already, plus two French-lexified creoles, I started learning the language by reading translated novels and a non-fiction book. Realizing that I needed more structure to make the language active in my mind, I decided to do a course. My usual method was not available- "Pimsleur, if you're listening, you could really do with a Catalan course". Still, I am indeed using the multi-track approach.
For listening, I am watching a Catalan comedy series "Plats Bruts". I've done 59 episodes now almost 30 hours. I watched about the same of the animated youth series "Els Germans Kratts". I've read almost seven books in Catalan- 5 in translation. I'm almost finished (90%) with "Collita roja/Red Harvest". I'm on Unit 12 of "Digui, Digui" a monolingual Catalan multimedia course with video. I intend to go through this course more thoroughly when I've finished Assimil's active wave. I really want to concentrate on speaking and writing. The French-base Assimil course concentrates on conversation and it's a good fit into my program despite it's shortcomings. I suppose I'm also passively learning some French too.
Learning Catalan at this stage, has meant that I am more in maintenance mode with my other languages. Twitter has been a big help with this. At down times during the day, I can go there to check my feed and read/listen in all my languages.
I came across this explanation on the difference between the Catalan verbs "sentir/escoltar". Both have the sense of to hear but the nuance lies between hearing and listening- similar to "oír" and "escuchar" in Spanish. Which also led me to this video about "escalivada". Escalivada is mentioned several times in "Le Catalan Sans Peine". It is defined simply in the course as "légumes grillés"- grilled vegetables... but it seems to be a bit more than simply "grilled vegetables" outside of course world
Kwéyòl
Kwéyòl refers to the French Creole spoken in the Lesser Antilles (Caribbean Islands; not Haiti). While Kwéyòl and Kreyól Ayisiyen (Haitian Creole) are mutually intelligible to a large extent (more so to native-speakers), there are some big differences- like the word for to have, which is "gen/genyen" in Kreyòl and "ni" in Kwéyòl; the use of "ka" as a progressive indicator; and many other differences- kind of a big deal. Anyone interested in St Lucian Creole shoud go to the Kwéyòl Sint Lisi site and follow them on twitter
Oktòb/October is International Creole Heritage Month/Mwa Éwitaj Kreyòl. Creole Month exists to publicize and promote the language(s) in the world. The French lexified creoles in the former French colonies all spring from around the same time and have many elements in common with each other. In the islands of Dominica/Saint Lucia/Trinidad, English is the official language and the language of most tourists who visit them. We all know the force that English exerts. Before these islands were English-speaking the language was Kwéyòl. The language has been stigmatized in the islands and perceived as "broken French". The name of the language is often referred to in Kwéyòl as "Patwa" (patois). The word patois is also used to describe Jamaican (English) Creole.
In Trinidad the language is on its last legs and disappearing as we speak. In Dominica and St Lucia the language is not in danger but the stigmatization is the problem. Creole month aims to counter the stigmas and promote pride in the language.
Aranés
Aranés is the Occitan (Gascon dialectal variation) language of the Val d'Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees of Catalunya. I feel drawn towards this tiny but proud language spken by about 5,000 or so people. The language is official in Catalunya alongside Catalan and Spanish. Though it is attractive to me to learn, until I have learned Catalan, there's no point in learning it alongside. The languages are just too similar. One day, when covid is in the rear-view mirror, I'd like to visit the Val d'Aran. It looks stunningly beautiful. On a hot day in the tropics, a photo like this can make me feel cooler.
Djudeo-espanyol
The new edition of Aki Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Here) is online and available to read. AY is devoted to the preservation and promotion of the Ladino language. There's over 200 pages to read in Latin script.
Español
The creator of "Mafalda", "Quino"- Joaquin Salvador Lavado of Argentina, probably the most popular and beloved comic strip in the Spanish-speaking world passed away a couple of weeks ago. He was as big as any cartoonist in any language in the world. His comics were translated into Italian and Portuguese among other languages.
El País wrote:...10 frases de Mafalda
1. Al final, ¿cómo es el asunto? ¿Uno va llevando su vida adelante o la vida se lo lleva por delante a uno?
2. Debiera haber un día en la semana en el que los informativos nos engañaran un poco dando buenas noticias.
3. Indudablemente, la primavera es lo más publicitario que tiene la vida.
4. Tenemos hombres de principios, lástima que nunca los dejen pasar del principio.
5. Como siempre: lo urgente no deja tiempo para lo importante.
6. Hoy quiero vivir sin darme cuenta.
7. Mamá, cuando conociste a papá, ¿sentiste que te devoraban las llamas de la pasión o apenas algo se te tostaba?
8. Bueno, pero y el espíritu ¿a qué edad empieza a necesitar maquillarse?
9. ¿Qué habrán hecho algunos pobres sures para merecer ciertos nortes?
10. ¿Y Dios habrá patentado esta idea del manicomio redondo?
Eso es todo por ahora. Hasta la próxima, gente.