Ogrim's Krambu - a plethora of languages, mostly European, both old and new

Continue or start your personal language log here, including logs for challenge participants
User avatar
Ogrim
Brown Belt
Posts: 1009
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:29 am
Location: Alsace, France
Languages: Norwegian (N) English (C2), French (C2), Spanish (C2), German (B2), Romansh (B2), Italian (B2), Catalan (B2), Russian (B1), Latin (B2), Dutch (B1), Croatian (A2), Arabic (on hold), Ancient Greek (learning), Romanian (on hold)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?t=873
x 4169

Re: Ogrim's language experiences - Russian, Romansh, Romanian, Arabic and more

Postby Ogrim » Wed Nov 24, 2021 3:36 pm

I said in the last post that Dutch was one of the languages for passive enjoyment, but that is not completely true, because I do try to improve my knowledge of Dutch a little bit every day, even if I only spend 20-30 minutes on it. I revise vocabulary and I read a few pages of the Comprehensive Dutch Grammar I bought as an e-book when I have a spare moment.

I've finished the novel De donkere kamer van Damokles by Willem Frederik Hermans, and I enjoyed it a lot. The last couple of years I haven't read a lot of fiction, preferring non-fiction books, but the story is quite captivating, although the ending leaves you with some questions unanswered. That however is clearly on purpose, you have to make your own judgement about what is true or not. I won't give any spoilers, just say that it is the story of an "insignificant" man who, when the Nazis invade the Netherlands, is recruited by a Dutch officer who looks almost like his twin brother, to help the resistance, and he goes on to carry out several missions, but then towards the end of the war things take a strange turn, and you start wondering as a reader what is reality and what is fantasy in this man's world. I am certainly going to read more works of Hermans, but before that I have a couple of other Dutch-speaking authors I would like to get acquainted with.

After that I switched to a novel in German, Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink, and I managed to finish that in just three days - it is not very long. It is the story of a (very) young boy who starts an intimate relation with a much older woman, until that woman suddenly disappears and he sees her some years later as one of the defendants in a war crime tribunal. On social media I've seen some readers focus a lot on the "young boy and older woman-relationship" but there are really no explicit descriptions of carnal relations to get upset by. For me it is a book about the dilemmas I guess many Germans had to struggle with after the Second World Word: how do you relate to people who worked for Gestapo, SS or die Wehrmacht? Should you try to understand why they acted the way they did? Can you still see their humanity knowing that they did horrible things? For me it was a book worth reading.

I keep working my way through Братья Карамазовы, but I don't always get to the 20 pages a day that I had set as a target for myself. I prefer to go slowly and look up most words I don't recognise to make sure I get the meaning of each sentence. So it will take a lot of time before I am through with the book.

I also found some interesting videos in Russian on YouTube about Dostoyevsky, which can be found here. Just a warning: this is a channel made by Metropolitan Bishop Ilarion, who is sort of number two in the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, so even the films about Dostoyevsky have a clear religious purpose. With that said, they are professionally made and they provide some valuable information about the author's life. And for me it is a great listening practice. By the way, I've also bought a biography in German about Dostoyevsky, but there are other books I want to read before getting to that one.

I was going to give less priority to Arabic, but I am not sure if I will be able to do so much longer. Every time I listen to spoken (Standard) Arabic and I don't understand most of it (which happens a lot), I get this urge to study harder and faster to arrive at a level of some proficiency. There is something about this language that keeps pushing me on, no matter how frustrated I get about my slow progress.

Final observation today, I've learnt a new word in English: "Dapper". I came across this rather amusing YouTube channel called Gentleman's Gazette, which has videos about how a real gentleman should dress properly, and also videos about what you should not wear if you want to look "dapper". I'd never come across that word before, but then I guess I am not very dapper the way I dress normally. To be honest, most of their videos seem like fashion tips for posh, old-fashioned Etionians or Ivy League-graduates, although secretly I must say I would quite like to look "dapper" from time to time. :D
7 x
Ich grolle nicht

DaveAgain
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1968
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:26 am
Languages: English (native), French & German (learning).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... &start=200
x 4049

Re: Ogrim's language experiences - Russian, Romansh, Romanian, Arabic and more

Postby DaveAgain » Wed Nov 24, 2021 3:51 pm

Ogrim wrote:
Final observation today, I've learnt a new word in English: "Dapper". I came across this rather amusing YouTube channel called Gentleman's Gazette, which has videos about how a real gentleman should dress properly, and also videos about what you should not wear if you want to look "dapper". I'd never come across that word before, but then I guess I am not very dapper the way I dress normally. To be honest, most of their videos seem like fashion tips for posh, old-fashioned Etionians or Ivy League-graduates, although secretly I must say I would quite like to look "dapper" from time to time. :D
In O brother where art thou George Clooney's character uses Dapper Dan brylcreem. ;-)

I sometimes watch a French youtube channel called The Golden Grounds, her most recent video was about Dandyism, which seems like a related topic :-)
1 x

User avatar
Ogrim
Brown Belt
Posts: 1009
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:29 am
Location: Alsace, France
Languages: Norwegian (N) English (C2), French (C2), Spanish (C2), German (B2), Romansh (B2), Italian (B2), Catalan (B2), Russian (B1), Latin (B2), Dutch (B1), Croatian (A2), Arabic (on hold), Ancient Greek (learning), Romanian (on hold)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?t=873
x 4169

Re: Ogrim's language experiences - Russian, Romansh, Romanian, Arabic and more

Postby Ogrim » Wed Nov 24, 2021 4:40 pm

DaveAgain wrote:I sometimes watch a French youtube channel called The Golden Grounds, her most recent video was about Dandyism, which seems like a related topic :-)


Thanks for the link, I'll certainly have a look. I first came across the concept of Dandyism when reading a biography about Oscar Wilde, who certainly incarnated the concept of a Dandy in the late 19th century in the UK. By the way, Dandyism is closely linked to the Decadent Movement which originated in France but spread across Europe and even to the US.
3 x
Ich grolle nicht

User avatar
Ogrim
Brown Belt
Posts: 1009
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:29 am
Location: Alsace, France
Languages: Norwegian (N) English (C2), French (C2), Spanish (C2), German (B2), Romansh (B2), Italian (B2), Catalan (B2), Russian (B1), Latin (B2), Dutch (B1), Croatian (A2), Arabic (on hold), Ancient Greek (learning), Romanian (on hold)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?t=873
x 4169

Re: Ogrim's language experiences - Russian, Romansh, Romanian, Arabic and more

Postby Ogrim » Wed Dec 15, 2021 4:21 pm

Since my last post here I've been to Spain for some days and then I have been very busy at work. The trip to Spain was not really planned, but my father-in-law had to undergo surgery and although it was not anything really serious we decided we should go and help out a little bit once he was out of the hospital.

The trip to Spain meant that I spent less time on active studying, but at least I got to read more than usual. I finally read the latest novel by Amin Maalouf, Nos frères inattendus. It is one of the stranger stories he has written, and I enjoyed it less than most of his previous novels, but it still has some good points and an important underlying message.

I also started on Il cimitero di Praga by Umberto Eco. The author said he tried to make the main character of the story "into the most cynical and disagreeable character in all the history of literature", and I think he has more or less succeeded. It is not a nice story actually - the main topic is antisemitism and how myths and forgeries in the 19th century was the ground on which the Holocaust could be created. But as always, Eco writes really well and creates and engaging story around this disagreeable character.

I keep reading Dostoyevsky and although it goes slowly I am at least some 20% into the Brothers Karamsov (according to my Kindle). I am certainly learning a lot of new Russian words and I notice that I don't need to look up as many words now as I did in the beginning.

Finally, for some lighter reading I've been through the collection of political sketches by the Guardian's sketch writer John Crace compiled in his latest book called A Farewell to Calm. It covers the period from January 2020 to June 2021 so most of the sketches concern the UK Governments' handling of the pandemic. I love the British tradition of political sketches, and John Crace is one of the best in my view. In general I really like the way the British are not afraid to make fun of their politicians and of other powerful people; media in many other countries in Europe I know are much more cautious in that respect.
13 x
Ich grolle nicht

User avatar
Ogrim
Brown Belt
Posts: 1009
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:29 am
Location: Alsace, France
Languages: Norwegian (N) English (C2), French (C2), Spanish (C2), German (B2), Romansh (B2), Italian (B2), Catalan (B2), Russian (B1), Latin (B2), Dutch (B1), Croatian (A2), Arabic (on hold), Ancient Greek (learning), Romanian (on hold)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?t=873
x 4169

Re: Ogrim's language experiences - Russian, Romansh, Romanian, Arabic and more

Postby Ogrim » Thu Jan 27, 2022 5:31 pm

I guess it is a bit late to wish everyone a Happy New Year, but I do it anyway, since I haven't been here since mid-December. I spent the Christmas holidays in Norway, and January has been terribly busy at work, so I really haven't had much free time, and as I am working from home again most days of the week I spend too many hours in front of the computer so I try to disconnect once I am done with work for the day.

Language-wise things are moving ahead without too many changes to my routine. I wish I had more time for languages, but at least I believe I manage to use efficiently the time I do spend on studying.

I was not doing much Latin at the end of last year, but then I got a notification from Latinitium about their latest project, an application for audiobooks in Latin, called Legentibus. I couldn't resist, so I signed up straight away. It costs you 10 euros per month (or 100 euros if you sign up for a year) and so far they have a good collection of beginner and intermediate texts, including Lingua Latina per se illustrata, Fabularum Orbilii by A.D. Goodley and stories specially written for the application, but they also have authentic Latin prose like Vellum Catilinae by Sallust, Caesar's De Bello Gallico and Cicero's speeches In Catilinam, to name but a few. They keep adding new texts on a regular basis. The great thing about this is that you don't only have the audio, the texts are read by Latinitium founder Daniel Pettersson, but also the written text. The sentences are automatically highlighted as you read along with the audio, and you also have a vocabulary list with explanations. So my time spent on Latin has increased dramatically since signing up to this great resource. I am really impressed by all the work Daniel Petersson does for the Latin language, and I don't mind spending some money to support it.

I've also been dedicating more time to Classical Greek. I watched a few videos by Luke on PolyMathy where he talks about Greek, and he strongly recommends the course Athenaze for self study, especially the Italian version. Unfortunately I have not been able to find the first of the two course books, it seems to be out of stock everywhere, so I went ahead and bought the second volume, but I will finish Reading Greek before I start using it, as the texts are at a higher level. Also, as Athenaze does not have any dictionary part, I've bought the newest edition of Liddell and Scott's Greek-English dictionary.

With so much focus on the classical languages I have had less time for my other language projects. I am still not done with the Brothers Karamazov but I do try to get through some pages every day just to keep the flow of the story (which is not always easy to follow) and I also watch Russian YouTube channels now and then. Arabic on the other hand is down the list right now, I have not had the motivation to invest much time in it lately, but I don't want to give it up altogether, so I try at least to ensure basic maintenance of what I know. Time will tell this year if I return to it more seriously.
10 x
Ich grolle nicht

User avatar
Ogrim
Brown Belt
Posts: 1009
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:29 am
Location: Alsace, France
Languages: Norwegian (N) English (C2), French (C2), Spanish (C2), German (B2), Romansh (B2), Italian (B2), Catalan (B2), Russian (B1), Latin (B2), Dutch (B1), Croatian (A2), Arabic (on hold), Ancient Greek (learning), Romanian (on hold)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?t=873
x 4169

Re: Ogrim's language experiences - Russian, Romansh, Romanian, Arabic and more

Postby Ogrim » Fri Jan 28, 2022 6:29 pm

I am going from updating my log once month to once a day so you will have to excuse me :) , but yesterday I forgot to say anything about Dutch, which in fact has been the modern language I have spent the most time on during these last weeks. It helps that my son is in The Netherlands and that we will soon go and visit, but I also have to say that the more I engage with the Dutch language the more I like it. I have discovered a few new writers that I find really interesting, and I really enjoy watching Dutch TV via the NPO app, which has a lot of open content (some of it is geoblocked).

Right now I am reading Pieter en de anderen by Cees Nooteboom. It was his first novel and came in 1955, and I am enjoying it so far. Nooteboom has certain affinities with the French existentialists, and next on my list is his novel Rituelen which was published in 1980.

My problem with Dutch is that there are "too" many similarities with Norwegian and even more so with German, but then there are all those small words which make all the difference (and quite a few false friends). I know that if I really wanted to become proficient in Dutch I would need a tutor and I would have to work actively on speaking and writing the language. For the moment I don't have the time for that, but I will certainly continue to work on my Dutch and, hopefully, when I go to visit my son, be able to have some basic conversations in Dutch.

(My son doesn't understand why I bother, he does everything in English, but then he knows that I am a language nerd so he is happy for me to translate any Dutch document he receives.)
15 x
Ich grolle nicht

User avatar
Ogrim
Brown Belt
Posts: 1009
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:29 am
Location: Alsace, France
Languages: Norwegian (N) English (C2), French (C2), Spanish (C2), German (B2), Romansh (B2), Italian (B2), Catalan (B2), Russian (B1), Latin (B2), Dutch (B1), Croatian (A2), Arabic (on hold), Ancient Greek (learning), Romanian (on hold)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?t=873
x 4169

Re: Ogrim's language experiences - Russian, Romansh, Romanian, Arabic and more

Postby Ogrim » Fri Mar 11, 2022 4:59 pm

It's been a while. I have been through a somewhat difficult time this last month and had little time for this forum (apart from the fact that most of the time I just got an error message when I tried to log in.)

The most important thing for me that happened was that my mother passed away. She was 92 and it was expected but nonetheless it was sad and it meant that I had to go to Norway and spend some time with the family. Following that I had to deal with some other, unrelated family issues which I won't go into here, but they have taken a lot of energy and time as well.

Before all this happened my wife and I had a long weekend in Seville which was really pleasant. Seville is a fantastic city, and it inspired me to reread the novel "La piel del tambor" de Javier Pérez Reverte. The book is about a mystery around a small ruinous church in Seville, and it describes the city beautifully. If you read Spanish I can really recommend this novel - it is also a good introduction to this author's works. The book was written in 1995 so some of the things it describes, like Internet connection through the fixed telephone line, seems pretty outdated today, but Seville looks pretty much the same way today as it did then almost 30 years ago.

Then world events took a dramatic turn which directly affects my place of work, and although in my particular role it is more or less business as usual it has had an impact as well.

In spite of all this I have tried to keep up with languages as best I can. On my travels to Spain and Norway I have really profited from the Legentibus app for Latin, and I have also tried to continue with Greek although at a slower pace. I hope over the next few days and weeks that things will calm down and I will get back into a regular routine again.

In spite of everything, I've also continued with Russian. I plug along with Dostoyevsky and I read articles in Russian on the web. I've actually concentrated more on stuff related to Russia's history rather than current affairs this last couple of weeks, for obvious reasons,

Arabic is on hold. I would love to get back into it soon, but I can't find the time or the energy right now. Maybe in a few weeks.

I continue watching Dutch TV from time to time, but I have not really been able to work actively on my Dutch. It's work in progress.
17 x
Ich grolle nicht

User avatar
iguanamon
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2352
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 11:14 am
Location: Virgin Islands
Languages: Speaks: English (Native); Spanish (C2); Portuguese (C2); Haitian Creole (C1); Ladino/Djudeo-espanyol (C1); Lesser Antilles French Creole (B2)
Studies: Catalan
Language Log: viewtopic.php?t=797
x 14187

Re: Ogrim's language experiences - Russian, Romansh, Romanian, Arabic and more

Postby iguanamon » Fri Mar 11, 2022 6:05 pm

So sorry for your loss, Ogrim. I am sending you warm vibes from the Caribbean.
3 x

lichtrausch
Blue Belt
Posts: 511
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2015 3:21 pm
Languages: English (N), German, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean
x 1380

Re: Ogrim's language experiences - Russian, Romansh, Romanian, Arabic and more

Postby lichtrausch » Fri Mar 11, 2022 7:32 pm

Sorry for your loss, Ogrim.
3 x

User avatar
stell
Orange Belt
Posts: 178
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2022 11:25 pm
Location: Canada
Languages: English (N1), French (N2), Spanish (advanced), Tagalog (perpetual toddler), Russian (beginner)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17696
x 996

Re: Ogrim's language experiences - Russian, Romansh, Romanian, Arabic and more

Postby stell » Fri Mar 11, 2022 9:27 pm

I'm very sorry for your loss.
3 x


Return to “Language logs”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests