Learning Specific Vocabulary? (Construction, Law, etc.)

Ask specific questions about your target languages. Beginner questions welcome!
drp9341
Orange Belt
Posts: 241
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:21 pm
Location: NY, USA
Languages: Native: English (US)
C1/C2: Spanish, Italian
B2+: Portuguese
B2: French, Polish
A1: Russian, German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=5978
x 962

Learning Specific Vocabulary? (Construction, Law, etc.)

Postby drp9341 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 1:25 am

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since I posted, I promise to update the log soon!

I have about 4 months before I have to participate, in a big way, in a massive renovation. There will be American, and Polish workers, and I need to learn how to accurately talk about construction in Polish.

The plan I have is:
- Read the wikipedia pages on Carpentry / Renovation etc. and put those words into Anki.
- Watch "How to Videos" on Youtube in Polish and see how much I understand, THEN see how much I can "describe"
- Find some online sites that talk about construction and renovating in Polish and dissect them.

Does anyone have any advice on how to do this? With Martial Arts it was a bit more straightforward, and there is more room for error. In this endeavor, a mistranslation could lead to expensive problems.

Thanks guys!
3 x

Speakeasy
x 7658

Re: Learning Specific Vocabulary? (Construction, Law, etc.)

Postby Speakeasy » Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:01 am

drp9341 wrote: ... The plan I have is ...
Bravo! Kudos on a truly ingenious plan!

drp9341 wrote: ... With Martial Arts ... there is more room for error ...
I don't want to "beat you up on this" but, might I suggest that in a real hand-to-hand combat situation even a minor mistake, an error of judgement, or a mistimed gesture could lead to disaster? Failure to dodge/block a sucker punch and you're down, totally helpless, your very life in the hands of your assailant, someone you don't know and whose intentions you can only speculate about. No, in real combat, there is NO room for error.
1 x

User avatar
Axon
Blue Belt
Posts: 775
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:29 am
Location: California
Languages: Native English, in order of comfort: Mandarin, German, Indonesian,
Spanish, French, Russian,
Cantonese, Vietnamese, Polish.
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5086
x 3288

Re: Learning Specific Vocabulary? (Construction, Law, etc.)

Postby Axon » Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:18 am

drp9341 wrote:Hello everyone!

It's been a while since I posted, I promise to update the log soon!

I have about 4 months before I have to participate, in a big way, in a massive renovation. There will be American, and Polish workers, and I need to learn how to accurately talk about construction in Polish.

The plan I have is:
- Read the wikipedia pages on Carpentry / Renovation etc. and put those words into Anki.
- Watch "How to Videos" on Youtube in Polish and see how much I understand, THEN see how much I can "describe"
- Find some online sites that talk about construction and renovating in Polish and dissect them.

Does anyone have any advice on how to do this? With Martial Arts it was a bit more straightforward, and there is more room for error. In this endeavor, a mistranslation could lead to expensive problems.

Thanks guys!



Excellent plan!

The Wikipedia pages may give you good vocabulary but I'd just get those from the Polish websites on carpentry and renovation. The how-to websites in Polish will have much more the type of vocabulary and usage you need.

Depending on what you mean by "participate in a big way" you will have very different language requirements. Are you going to have to understand things like "Where is the hammer" or "Help me spackle this wall" or "Okay mister, the floor joists here are rotted out with termites, we're going to need to go under the house, where's the crawlspace?" Or all three?

You live in Poland and so you can learn in a much more hands-on way than vocabulary and Anki. You can go to a hardware store and make sure you know all the names of the things you see as well as how to describe them. "This is plywood. This is 50 centimeters wide, 2 centimeters thick, and 1.5 meters long. It's kind of bent so I want to look for one that's straighter." Then call over the clerk and ask about these things.

I understand that there are a lot of Polish people employed in the UK as carpenters and masons. Perhaps your local friends and acquaintances know some Polish people who can do their jobs in English and thus provide you with the vocabulary and usage you're looking for. There may also be resources, online or offline, for Polish carpenters learning English for special purposes.

Didn't you learn Polish to a conversational level inside a year? I have no doubt that you will master this particular domain very soon.
3 x

drp9341
Orange Belt
Posts: 241
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:21 pm
Location: NY, USA
Languages: Native: English (US)
C1/C2: Spanish, Italian
B2+: Portuguese
B2: French, Polish
A1: Russian, German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=5978
x 962

Re: Learning Specific Vocabulary? (Construction, Law, etc.)

Postby drp9341 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:23 am

Speakeasy wrote:
drp9341 wrote: ... The plan I have is ...
Bravo! Kudos on a truly ingenious plan!

I'm not sure if that was sarcasm, or if you just forgot to quote the "plan." I'm leaning towards sarcasm, but then again this is a language learning forum, not 4chan.

drp9341 wrote: ... With Martial Arts ... there is more room for error ...
I don't want to "beat you up on this" but, might I suggest that in a real hand-to-hand combat situation even a minor mistake, an error of judgement, or a mistimed gesture could lead to disaster? Failure to dodge/block a sucker punch and you're down, totally helpless, your very life in the hands of your assailant, someone you don't know and whose intentions you can only speculate about. No, in real combat, there is NO room for error.


Not to completely derail my own thread but if I need an answer: When you're in "hand-to-hand combat" do you listen to your friends as they call out what they think you should be doing?
I'm talking about talking classes and such. There are demonstrations to supplement the "verbal instruction".
Training a martial art =/= fighting hand to hand in life or death scenarios.
1 x

drp9341
Orange Belt
Posts: 241
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:21 pm
Location: NY, USA
Languages: Native: English (US)
C1/C2: Spanish, Italian
B2+: Portuguese
B2: French, Polish
A1: Russian, German
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=5978
x 962

Re: Learning Specific Vocabulary? (Construction, Law, etc.)

Postby drp9341 » Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:28 am

Axon wrote:
drp9341 wrote:Hello everyone!

It's been a while since I posted, I promise to update the log soon!

I have about 4 months before I have to participate, in a big way, in a massive renovation. There will be American, and Polish workers, and I need to learn how to accurately talk about construction in Polish.

The plan I have is:
- Read the wikipedia pages on Carpentry / Renovation etc. and put those words into Anki.
- Watch "How to Videos" on Youtube in Polish and see how much I understand, THEN see how much I can "describe"
- Find some online sites that talk about construction and renovating in Polish and dissect them.

Does anyone have any advice on how to do this? With Martial Arts it was a bit more straightforward, and there is more room for error. In this endeavor, a mistranslation could lead to expensive problems.

Thanks guys!



Excellent plan!

The Wikipedia pages may give you good vocabulary but I'd just get those from the Polish websites on carpentry and renovation. The how-to websites in Polish will have much more the type of vocabulary and usage you need.

Depending on what you mean by "participate in a big way" you will have very different language requirements. Are you going to have to understand things like "Where is the hammer" or "Help me spackle this wall" or "Okay mister, the floor joists here are rotted out with termites, we're going to need to go under the house, where's the crawlspace?" Or all three?

You live in Poland and so you can learn in a much more hands-on way than vocabulary and Anki. You can go to a hardware store and make sure you know all the names of the things you see as well as how to describe them. "This is plywood. This is 50 centimeters wide, 2 centimeters thick, and 1.5 meters long. It's kind of bent so I want to look for one that's straighter." Then call over the clerk and ask about these things.

I understand that there are a lot of Polish people employed in the UK as carpenters and masons. Perhaps your local friends and acquaintances know some Polish people who can do their jobs in English and thus provide you with the vocabulary and usage you're looking for. There may also be resources, online or offline, for Polish carpenters learning English for special purposes.

Didn't you learn Polish to a conversational level inside a year? I have no doubt that you will master this particular domain very soon.




I'm gonna be renovating my own apartment, and two (possible three) of the guys coming to help me from America are great tradesmen, but don't speak a word of Polish, and I don't expect the local workers to be very skilled in English, although I hope to be surprised.

Yes I'm going to need to be basically fluent in this domain. It will definitely be a challenge, considering it's not something I'm doing out of passion, and I never really liked construction all that much.
0 x

Speakeasy
x 7658

Re: Learning Specific Vocabulary? (Construction, Law, etc.)

Postby Speakeasy » Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:57 am

drp9341 wrote: I'm not sure if that was sarcasm, or if you just forgot to quote the "plan." I'm leaning towards sarcasm, but then again this is a language learning forum, not 4chan.
My reply (to your plan) was an expression of genuine support and encouragement. I cannot fathom how you would interpret either my supportive comments, or my sparing use of the quotation function, as sarcasm. I see no point in continuing this discussion.

drp9341 wrote: Not to completely derail my own thread but if I need an answer: When you're in "hand-to-hand combat" do you listen to your friends as they call out what they think you should be doing? I'm talking about talking classes and such. There are demonstrations to supplement the "verbal instruction". Training a martial art =/= fighting hand to hand in life or death scenarios.
My reply was in opposition to your suggestion that the engagement in what-could-be a life-threatening situation (Martial Arts / Hand-to-hand combat) allows the participant a greater margin of error than does making a wrong choice of vocabulary during a construction project. I continue to believe that risking the loss of one’s life and risking the loss of a few dollars in a home-renovation project could have dramatically different outcomes and that the margins of error are, quite simply, incomparable. Your follow-up statement leaves me not only unconvinced, but deeply confused. I see no point in continuing this discussion.

Enjoy your studies, you have … a truly ingenious plan!
1 x

User avatar
reineke
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3570
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:34 pm
Languages: Fox (C4)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=6979
x 6554

Re: Learning Specific Vocabulary? (Construction, Law, etc.)

Postby reineke » Thu Oct 11, 2018 6:39 pm

Talking about practical advice...I'm guessing it's a concrete building. Plenty of Polish people have worked in the UK but even if you hire a mason who doesn't know a word of English you should be fine. The Oxford-Duden Pictorial Dictionaries series is really good. Good luck and congratulations.
1 x

Kraut
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2599
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2017 10:37 pm
Languages: German (N)
French (C)
English (C)
Spanish (A2)
Lithuanian
x 3204

Re: Learning Specific Vocabulary? (Construction, Law, etc.)

Postby Kraut » Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:30 pm

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... levue.html

Bungling builders bulldoze entire historic French chateau by mistake... after its millionaire owner told them to demolish a small outhouse on its estate
Chateau de Bellevue, near Bordeaux, once boasted 140,000-square-feet of grand reception rooms, ornate fireplaces, winding marble staircases
Then its new owner, a Russian millionaire businessman, employed a team of Polish builders to renovate the manor to its former glory
But the workers apparently misunderstood the instructions and pulled down the castle, leaving the outhouse completely untouched
1 x

User avatar
Axon
Blue Belt
Posts: 775
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:29 am
Location: California
Languages: Native English, in order of comfort: Mandarin, German, Indonesian,
Spanish, French, Russian,
Cantonese, Vietnamese, Polish.
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5086
x 3288

Re: Learning Specific Vocabulary? (Construction, Law, etc.)

Postby Axon » Fri Oct 12, 2018 12:53 am

My suggestion about finding English-speaking builders was more so that you could message them about specific language questions. Like send a quick picture and say "This is called a .... right? And I want to .... it, how do I say that in Polish?"

You may also benefit from a moderate amount of study in English of what you want to do, since having a bigger vocabulary for it in English might help if you need to look up words during the actual construction.
1 x


Return to “Practical Questions and Advice”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests