Sahmilat's Languages Log

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Sahmilat
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: Texas
Languages: English
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Re: Sahmilat's Ancient Languages Log

Postby Sahmilat » Mon Sep 10, 2018 6:19 pm

Latin: Another lesson of Bradley's Arnold done. There was a funny sentence in this section: saxa multa de montibus volviebantur, et unus e ducibus nostris mole ingenti pulsatus vulnus mortiferum adeptus est. If two classicists were on the moon and one killed the other with a rock would that be messed up or what?
I'm splitting my reading time between short selections, some of which are from Corrigan and some of which are just from random readers on archive.org, and In Catilinam I. I think if I finish it at a reasonable time I might read some of Bellum Catilinae. It's pretty slow going but I'm not super concerned with getting a ton done as long as I do some most days.

Greek: I decided to start working on composition in Greek as well, and I started with Sidgwick's First Greek Writer. It's a fun book so far and I'm learning a lot of vocabulary (right now the grammar is very simple), but I still hate writing the letters ξ and ζ.

Taking a break from Sanskrit, I'm just not in the mindstate for it at the moment.
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Sahmilat
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: Texas
Languages: English
x 263

Re: Sahmilat's Ancient Languages Log

Postby Sahmilat » Sun Oct 14, 2018 1:51 am

It's been a little while since I posted here, and I haven't really kept with the methods I was using before. This is because I decided that I wanted to just maximize comprehensible input.

Latin: I decided to go ahead and just read LLPSI Roma Aeterna. It's not a huge challenge so far, I got through the first four or five chapters without encountering any words I didn't already know. I'm going to try to basically speed-read through the rest of it and then I'm not sure where I'm going to go. I'll either read some of the readers in that style, both those by Orberg and the others available, or I'll just find some other selections, probably either Wheelock's Latin Reader or one of several medieval and later readers in the interest of finding something rather easier than highfalutin classical Latin (to which I will of course return later).
I'm also considering looking for the audio from Assimil's Latin course to try and build up my listening fluency. I have seen plenty of podcasts but currently anything but the most basic spoken Latin is beyond my comprehension.

Greek: Same as Latin, basically, except that I don't have as good of a base in the language. I'm reading Italian Athenaze from the beginning to get used to reading large amounts at a time, picking up bits of vocabulary along the way. I'll use some of the (also Italian) supplements, maybe also JACT Reading Greek, and then just try to read some good old Attic Greek literature (probably Plato?). If anyone has recommendations for more reading, whether it's "fake Greek" or just easier stuff, let me know.
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Sahmilat
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: Texas
Languages: English
x 263

Re: Sahmilat's Languages Log [DEU, LAT, GRK]

Postby Sahmilat » Sun Apr 21, 2019 10:07 pm

Yeah I use this forum.

I spent the last semester at a different university, but I've been able to take a German class and an intermediate Greek class. Hope to return to my home university in the fall so that I can go back to taking advanced Latin and Greek classes.

German: I'm in a 400 level German class this semester and it's been a ton of fun. Right now I'm working on my final paper, an analysis of internal monologue in Arthur Schnitzler's Fräulein Else. We've gotten to read a lot of interesting things, and I had to give a 15 minute presentation about my paper-in-progress and I feel like I totally nailed it. In preparation for the summer, I've ordered two advanced German readers (shoutout to speakeasy who wrote a big post with recommendations). I'm considering working towards taking either the Goethe B2 test or the TestDaF by the end of the year.

Latin: I've been thoroughly converted by discord.gg/latin to treating Latin as a language to be read rather than as a code to be translated. I recently finished reading Familia Romana. I knew all the vocab and grammar in it already but it has helped my reading fluency a lot. I just started reading Paoli's Ciceronis Filius. I also have been listening to podcasts and was surprised to find that my listening comprehension is actually really good considering that I hadn't practiced it at all until now. My favorite podcast so far is Philologia Perennis. I've also managed to make time to pop into the Google Hangouts chats and talk a bit. I'm afraid I look a bit like a deer in headlights every time someone asks me a question, but for someone who's only been speaking Latin for ~2 weeks at this point, what can you expect?

Greek: I'm in a very traditional Greek class where we just spend the entire time reading off our translations of Homer instead of actually talking about the poem, so that's too bad. It's keeping my skills sharp to some extent though, and Homer's not too bad as long as you have a good dictionary or word parser like on Perseus. When the summer starts I think I'm going to work through Polis on my own to get a start on speaking/listening practice, then use JACT Reading Greek as a reader and follow it up with the other JACT anthology readers I have. I also have Morice's Stories in Attic Greek and between all those I should be fine until the end of the summer, when I will hopefully be taking a 1 on 1 class with one of my professors reading whatever I want (Plato, Lysias, Plutarch? Any suggestions?)
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Sahmilat
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: Texas
Languages: English
x 263

Re: Sahmilat's Languages Log [DEU, LAT, GRK]

Postby Sahmilat » Fri Apr 26, 2019 9:35 pm

I'm not quite done with exams but I'm close enough that I feel it's time to plan for the summer. Here's the idea I have.

One hour per day of each language, divided into
-15 minutes intensive reading (adding new words into Anki)
-15 minutes extensive reading
-15 minutes listening
-15 minutes writing

For all of the writing I think I'll just write about what happened that day in each language. I don't really have any better idea, but it's a skill I definitely need to practice.

German: For intensive reading I'm going to read some of the classic works of German literature I have at home. I have some Goethe, some Kafka, that sort of stuff. I've been using the dict.cc "in Vokabelliste übernehmen" function on words I look up, which can then easily be imported to Anki. German is the only language I've been doing flashcards for at the moment, and I'm still figuring out how I most want to format them. For extensive reading I'm going to use the readers I ordered that have annotations so that I don't need to look words up and can just focus on reading. Listening I might just do the news, or try to find some podcasts about things that interest me in German. I'm probably going to wait on the certification test until I need it if I decide on grad school in Germany.

Latin: For intensive reading I'm probably going to read some Seneca, who I've been interested in lately. I'll probably just read on Perseus, the new Scaife Viewer is nice. For extensive reading I'm going to finish Ciceronis Filius and then probably read/reread Ad Alpes. I've lately been listening to Philologia Perennis, and when I finish that I'll move onto one of the other many excellent Latin podcasts being produced right now.

Greek: I'm about done with my class, and I'm buying editions of Aeschylus and Euripedes to read intensively. I've read some of their plays in English, so hopefully the Greek will be easier because of that. I also might mix it up with some reading of Plato on Perseus. For extensive reading I am going to do JACT's Reading Greek and its supplements. Listening I'm a little worried about, I only know of one podcast in Ancient Greek but hopefully I can find some others.
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Sahmilat
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: Texas
Languages: English
x 263

Re: Sahmilat's Languages Log [DEU, LAT, GRK]

Postby Sahmilat » Thu May 02, 2019 7:52 pm

Mood: Waiting for exams to be over so I can go home.

Mood2: optative

Haven't started working on German yet.

Latin: Seneca is interesting but slow going. I'm recording myself reading each section out loud as I finish it and I'm listening to them the next day to immerse myself more in the text. Unfortunately I tend to stumble a lot reading out loud so it takes a few takes to record. I think it's helping though. Paoli uses a lot of weird vocabulary, but I'm kind of looking past that and just speedreading to get a better feel for Latin syntax.

Greek: Started reading the Euthyphro yesterday. I've read it in English before so it's a little easier, but I was not prepared for the sheer quantity of particles that would attack me. It'll get better every day though, and it's a short dialogue, so I should be moving on to the Apology in about a week. Hopefully I can get through 4-5 dialogues this summer.
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Sahmilat
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: Texas
Languages: English
x 263

Re: Sahmilat's Languages Log [DEU, LAT, GRK]

Postby Sahmilat » Sun May 19, 2019 11:03 pm

Plans are like analogies: I won't make them anymore, because I never follow them and no one wants to read them.

German: I have started reading Dichter, Denker, und Erzähler. I haven't been doing it very consistently (eek!). I skipped past the fairy tales after the first few because I hate Märchen (couldn't tell you why). I'm confessing my sins so that I actually read some more of it in the next few days. I also tried to read a short story from a Reclam anthology but it was too hard for me and I gave up lol.

Latin: I got a copy of Beeson's Medieval Latin Primer and I'm reading it. It starts off pretty easy and I know most of the classical words and only have to occasionally look up the ecclesiastical/medieval words that I don't understand from context. I have read a few of these stories before (when I read parts of Harrington's Medieval Latin, to which I will return in full after I finish Beeson) but rereading is a powerful tool and they aren't terribly uninteresting. I also checked out a Loeb of Tusculan Disputations from my local uni for a bit of heavier reading, but I haven't started it yet.

Greek: I'm a good ways through JACT's Reading Greek, which is useful as a graded reader after completing another Greek course (I'm skeptical of how effective it is to teach Greek from scratch). I'm reading about one section a day (of twenty) so I should be done with it in a week or two. I also grabbed Plato's Republic as a Loeb and it's fun reading. I think I'm getting the hang of this dual-language reader thing, and it seems very helpful. Would recommend to anyone trying to get into classical literature who is at an intermediate level of Latin/Greek.

French: I couldn't resist starting a new language. In the last week I've made it through one chapter a day of Le Francais par la Methode Nature (don't have a french keyboard yet) and one lesson of Assimil. I think it's a good combination, and if I continue at this pace I should get through Methode Nature when I start the active wave of Assimil and should hopefully have both wrapped up and be ready to move onto dual-language readers around the time I get back to school. I should add some real native listening practice, I don't think Assimil alone is enough audio.

I'm not using Anki right now, I'm just trying to read a lot.
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Sahmilat
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: Texas
Languages: English
x 263

Re: Sahmilat's Languages Log [DEU, LAT, GRK]

Postby Sahmilat » Sun May 26, 2019 7:11 pm

The amount of time I spend reading has unfortunately gone down a lot, but I'm still trying to make it a part of my life.

German: Haven't really read anything in DD&E since last week. I did, however, read a few pages of a Suhrkamp book on the history of physical violence. I think this book is a little too big-brained for me right now.

Latin: My other language I have been letting slip. I read one or two stories out of the Gesta Romanorum last week. Hopefully I'll be able to read more and maybe even listen to a podcast (!) once I start going to the gym again.

Greek: I'm in the middle of section 9 of JACT, which is selections from Aristophanes' wasps. My vocabulary is mostly good and I'm getting better at not reverting to translationese to understand the grammar.

French: I just finished lesson 14 of Assimil, the second review lesson, and I'm in the middle of chapter 13 of Méthode Nature. It's introducing grammar pretty fast (the imperfect, perfect, and future were introduced over only two chapters) but the slope doesn't seem to be too steep. I'm recognizing a lot of words obviously descended from Latin words I know, and a number of German words that were borrowed from French, such as la Tante = die Tante = aunt.
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Sahmilat
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: Texas
Languages: English
x 263

Re: Sahmilat's Languages Log [DEU, LAT, GRK]

Postby Sahmilat » Thu May 30, 2019 1:38 am

German: Read some more stories from DD&E, watched about half of a documentary about Benno Ohnesorg, and listened to and read some news about the European elections. Put some more reading material on my old kindle (4th gen?) but the German-English dictionary I downloaded isn't great. I guess I could try using the monolingual dictionary, but dictionary entries aren't that easy to read.

Latin: Just read more of Beeson. Nothing interesting on this front.

Greek: Finished section 9. Aristophanes is a funny dude, I might try to read The Wasps in full next semester. I can also highly recommend JACT after you've finished another textbook that's a little easier to use, like Athenaze. Still working on recognizing the component parts of compound words.

French: Slowed down a bit with Methode Nature, but I'm still doing a lesson of Assimil every day. I think this is a good combination. After I finish Methode Nature I'll probably pick up a couple of those Progressive CLE books, I hear those are good for intermediate books. Hopefully I get to that point by the end of the summer.
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Sahmilat
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: Texas
Languages: English
x 263

Re: Sahmilat's Languages Log [DEU, LAT, GRK]

Postby Sahmilat » Sat Jun 01, 2019 3:28 am

I just wanted to share a success I had. Today I did a lesson of Assimil and then flashcards for Greek and Latin, but other than that I only worked on German. I had a lot of free time today so I read Stefan Zweig's Schachnovelle in its entirety on my kindle and loved it. Wonderful book. Really boosted my confidence in my ability to read German.
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Sahmilat
Orange Belt
Posts: 107
Joined: Sun May 13, 2018 7:37 pm
Location: Texas
Languages: English
x 263

Re: Sahmilat's Languages Log [DEU, LAT, GRK]

Postby Sahmilat » Mon Jun 10, 2019 8:27 pm

For the last week I've been reading some of Thomas Bernhard's Holzfällen, which is giving me some trouble because it has no paragraph breaks or chapter divisions for the entire book. I'm only about 40 pages in because I've been having some trouble motivating myself to read it for an extended period of time. The language isn't terribly hard though. Maybe if I got an audiobook version of it to listen to as I read it would help me sit down and actually commit to reading.

I've only read a little Latin and almost no Greek in the last week :(. I'll probably sit down and read some Greek later today though.

For French, I've been doing Assimil most days and Methode Nature occasionally. The chapters have gotten pretty long and I don't always want to sit down and read a whole chapter each day.

I'm gonna be honest, I started watching Game of Thrones and it's basically destroyed my language learning time. It's a rough life.
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