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Post by squaretaper LIT AF PE on Jun 30, 2022 15:50:20 GMT -5
For those of us trying to learn a new language...this is a place to discuss our progress, advice, resources, etc...
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Post by squaretaper LIT AF PE on Jun 30, 2022 15:56:38 GMT -5
I'll start: I majored in French and lived in Burgundy from 2008-2010 so while I would no longer say I'm fluent due to lack of anyone to talk to, I'm extremely comfortable carrying on a conversation. I'm a heritage Cantonese Chinese speaker, which means I can talk to my family but have difficulty discussing more complex topics like science or politics. I took courses up to intermediate German at the university level for personal enrichment, so I can carry on a reasonable conversation but this requires a LOT of brainpower. Currently learning Italian for when I go visit to scope out my retirement property at Lake Como next year. Calling txjennah PE for tutoring help! |
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Post by txjennah PE on Jun 30, 2022 16:16:15 GMT -5
Thank you for creating this thread, @squaretaper LIT AF PE. I have been soooo lax with my Italian lessons and need a kick in the pants.
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Post by txjennah PE on Jun 30, 2022 16:18:39 GMT -5
Eeeee just read your post! So you basically speak four languages...that is AWESOME. I'm a quarter French and was there to visit for the first time a couple of weeks ago, I SO wish I could speak the language! That is really cool you used to live in Burgandy.
I have a tutor on italki.com and she's the sweetest if you want a live Italian tutor. Let me know and I can send you her info! She has reasonable rates.
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Post by squaretaper LIT AF PE on Jun 30, 2022 16:26:20 GMT -5
Eeeee just read your post! So you basically speak four languages...that is AWESOME. I'm a quarter French and was there to visit for the first time a couple of weeks ago, I SO wish I could speak the language! That is really cool you used to live in Burgandy. I have a tutor on italki.com and she's the sweetest if you want a live Italian tutor. Let me know and I can send you her info! She has reasonable rates. I can speak those three I mentioned comfortably, but definitely NOT four!
Buuuut, I dabble in a bunch of languages depending on how short my attention span is that day and can decipher Cyrillic/Greek (I mean, they're just alphabets) but I have no idea what I'm actually reading...so I hopefully I'm not reciting back something naughty! 
Edit: Can you PM me your tutor's name? I want to get a tutor BUT I would need to power through some basics first. Working on it now...
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Post by BlueBluePrint PE PMP on Jul 5, 2022 18:06:22 GMT -5
Oh this is perfect! I am just starting Spanish. I took French in HS, but I've forgotten nearly everything. I also want to learn Italian since my husband's family is Italian and he is going to see about getting dual citizenship. We want to plan a trip there in the not-so-distant future.  |
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Post by squaretaper LIT AF PE on Jul 5, 2022 18:13:17 GMT -5
I also want to learn Italian since my husband's family is Italian That's so cool! Does Mr. BlueBluePrint PE PMP also speak Italian? I'm learning it now and it sounds sooo different to my ears because I've been hearing stupid French for so long! I like Italian in that you pronounce it pretty much exactly the way it's written. Stupid French has too many exceptions and esoteric conventions that are pretty tricky for most Anglophones. |
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Post by BlueBluePrint PE PMP on Jul 5, 2022 18:27:41 GMT -5
He doesn't (yet). His mom and his aunts do though and his grandparents did. Agree with French and all the exceptions, though that's not much different than English, and all the exceptions and words that sound the same but mean something completely different. |
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Post by leggo PE on Jul 5, 2022 19:07:44 GMT -5
I got a double major in college — B.A. in German was the non-engineering half. I definitely was fluent once upon a time — dreaming in German, could have a decently complex conversation and understand/think in German when spoken to. That has severely deteriorated once I left the educational environment where I was exposed to German on a near daily basis. Now I maintain a bit of my practice with DuoLingo — but that’s mostly vocabulary practice for me.
Also on DuoLingo, I have started the baby steps of learning French, where I am pretty much convinced everything sounds the same.
Okay, a few fun facts! Firstly, I studied abroad in Hungary as a teenager and definitely became fluent in Hungarian at the time. Unfortunately, that disappeared as soon as I came back to the U.S. I can’t really speak it at all anymore, but can understand it a little bit and can recognize Hungarian last names!
Secondly, I used DuoLingo to learn some targeted Spanish before taking a trip to Spain in 2017. It worked well enough that I was mistaken as a Spaniard a couple of times! It was pretty cool!
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Post by Blybrook PE on Jul 5, 2022 23:42:48 GMT -5
For a while when I was expected to go back to Japan; I was using the Pimsleur method for Japanese. Let it go as the trip was cancelled. There's a few phrases that I still use.
Also used this method for Spanish when I was headed to Spain for work. Didn't get far enough into the program for it to be helpful.
If the proposal comes thru for work in Japan; I'll pick it up again.
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Post by txjennah PE on Jul 6, 2022 8:34:37 GMT -5
Oh this is perfect! I am just starting Spanish. I took French in HS, but I've forgotten nearly everything. I also want to learn Italian since my husband's family is Italian and he is going to see about getting dual citizenship. We want to plan a trip there in the not-so-distant future.  EEEEEEEEEEE that's awesome! Where is his family from, and where are you wanting to go? I am a dual citizen I am looking to get my Italian passport but it seems like a process. I actually didn't become a US citizen until I was 21! |
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Post by txjennah PE on Jul 6, 2022 8:35:18 GMT -5
For a while when I was expected to go back to Japan; I was using the Pimsleur method for Japanese. Let it go as the trip was cancelled. There's a few phrases that I still use. Also used this method for Spanish when I was headed to Spain for work. Didn't get far enough into the program for it to be helpful. If the proposal comes thru for work in Japan; I'll pick it up again. That's badass your work might send you to Japan. I really want to go there! |
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Post by txjennah PE on Jul 6, 2022 8:36:11 GMT -5
I got a double major in college — B.A. in German was the non-engineering half. I definitely was fluent once upon a time — dreaming in German, could have a decently complex conversation and understand/think in German when spoken to. That has severely deteriorated once I left the educational environment where I was exposed to German on a near daily basis. Now I maintain a bit of my practice with DuoLingo — but that’s mostly vocabulary practice for me. Also on DuoLingo, I have started the baby steps of learning French, where I am pretty much convinced everything sounds the same. Okay, a few fun facts! Firstly, I studied abroad in Hungary as a teenager and definitely became fluent in Hungarian at the time. Unfortunately, that disappeared as soon as I came back to the U.S. I can’t really speak it at all anymore, but can understand it a little bit and can recognize Hungarian last names! Secondly, I used DuoLingo to learn some targeted Spanish before taking a trip to Spain in 2017. It worked well enough that I was mistaken as a Spaniard a couple of times! It was pretty cool! Whaaat, that's so awesome! I bet even if you don't remember Hungarian right now, you can probably pick it up again (if you wanted to). |
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Post by BlueBluePrint PE PMP on Jul 6, 2022 10:09:31 GMT -5
Oh this is perfect! I am just starting Spanish. I took French in HS, but I've forgotten nearly everything. I also want to learn Italian since my husband's family is Italian and he is going to see about getting dual citizenship. We want to plan a trip there in the not-so-distant future. EEEEEEEEEEE that's awesome! Where is his family from, and where are you wanting to go? I am a dual citizen I am looking to get my Italian passport but it seems like a process. I actually didn't become a US citizen until I was 21! His Grandma was from Calabria and his Grandpa from the Sicily area I think. So we would definitely be visiting around there! But, I've never been, so it would be a month long vaca traveling as much as we could! |
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Post by ChebyshevII PE PMP on Jul 6, 2022 10:27:28 GMT -5
his Grandpa from the Sicily area I think. So we would definitely be visiting around there! Just don't make one of the classic blunders: Never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line! |
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Post by squaretaper LIT AF PE on Jul 6, 2022 10:43:54 GMT -5
it would be a month long vaca But..but..what about Piper n Timber n Ollie?? |
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Post by BlueBluePrint PE PMP on Jul 6, 2022 12:27:35 GMT -5
it would be a month long vaca But..but..what about Piper n Timber n Ollie?? Always a concern when we want to vaca! Usually, my parents watch them. |
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Post by Dothracki PE on Jul 6, 2022 18:39:33 GMT -5
I am learning Italian on duolingo for a planned trip to Italy in September. I don't know if I should keep it up afterwards or switch to Spanish. I feel like Spanish would be a more useful language to learn. I don't know if I have the mental capacity to learn two languages at once anymore.
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Post by mudpuppy on Jul 6, 2022 19:34:02 GMT -5
I don't know if I have the mental capacity to learn two languages at once anymore.
I tried that in high school with german and spanish. Turns out I have nowhere near the brainpower to do that. Sometimes I can barely speak English as it is. |
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Post by txjennah PE on Jul 7, 2022 8:38:44 GMT -5
I am learning Italian on duolingo for a planned trip to Italy in September. I don't know if I should keep it up afterwards or switch to Spanish. I feel like Spanish would be a more useful language to learn. I don't know if I have the mental capacity to learn two languages at once anymore. The good thing is they're so similar, so if you learn one, you can communicate in the other. My mom can understand a lot of Spanish even though she speaks Italian. |
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Post by Blybrook PE on Jul 7, 2022 16:17:03 GMT -5
Well, just submitted another proposal for work in Japan. Third one this year. Guess I better restart the Japanese training as trips could occur later this quarter or early next.
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Post by squaretaper LIT AF PE on Jul 7, 2022 17:02:07 GMT -5
Well, just submitted another proposal for work in Japan. Third one this year. Guess I better restart the Japanese training as trips could occur later this quarter or early next. Cool! Fingers crossed! Send a postcard, I love postcards! |
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Post by Blybrook PE on Jul 7, 2022 17:37:24 GMT -5
Well, just submitted another proposal for work in Japan. Third one this year. Guess I better restart the Japanese training as trips could occur later this quarter or early next. Cool! Fingers crossed! Send a postcard, I love postcards! Postcards are easier to bring back / send than the infamous Japanese Kit Kats. Oh so many flavors (link above is only a small sampling). I do not recommend Saki or Wasabi; however the green tea is pretty good. I will be keeping the carryon lightly packed to account for bringing back a few boxes. |
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Post by ChebyshevII PE PMP on Jul 7, 2022 17:40:40 GMT -5
Cool! Fingers crossed! Send a postcard, I love postcards! Postcards are easier to bring back / send than the infamous Japanese Kit Kats. Why's that? I'm confused as to why it'd be hard to smuggle kit kats. |
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Post by Blybrook PE on Jul 7, 2022 17:52:17 GMT -5
Why's that? I'm confused as to why it'd be hard to smuggle kit kats. It's not smuggling them, it's having enough room in the carryon to fit them all when folks want several boxes each. They're perfectly legal to bring back, I've found the best flavor options at the airport and depending on how many connections you have, you can easily have issues fitting it into the overhead bin of later flights. Depending on the layovers, they have to get repacked into checked baggage. TSA had fun the last time through as I had a second carry on filled with boxes of flavored kit kats. The one guy at customs wanted a sample of each flavor. |
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Post by txjennah PE on Jul 8, 2022 9:17:03 GMT -5
Well, just submitted another proposal for work in Japan. Third one this year. Guess I better restart the Japanese training as trips could occur later this quarter or early next. That's awesome!! Hope you are able to visit. |
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Post by BlueBluePrint PE PMP on Jul 8, 2022 10:05:40 GMT -5
I am learning Italian on duolingo for a planned trip to Italy in September. I don't know if I should keep it up afterwards or switch to Spanish. I feel like Spanish would be a more useful language to learn. I don't know if I have the mental capacity to learn two languages at once anymore. that's kind of why I started with Spanish. And I know I don't have the capacity to learn two at the same time! |
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Post by chart99 PE on Aug 3, 2022 11:52:36 GMT -5
I am currently in the process of learning more Arabic, as a middle eastern that was a lazy child, I was the only one (from immediate family) not to really know how to speak as i was the youngest and at that point, i was just left alone. Regret that as i should of stuck with it when i was young and could still be malleable. That is changing now thru classes and trying to speak to my mom and sisters albeit with alot of corrections  |
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