Return of the Blog

I've been focusing a lot on vocabulary lately, especially Portuguese. The other day, I thought about giving up Spanish, but can't. You don't just give up something you've been working at for 15 years. I think Spanish has taken a back burner, because I've added so many languages to the list since beginning to learn it, and I take for granted that it's fairly easy (well, compared to some of the others I'm learning) + the numerous resources.

At the same time, I can't help but think about how advanced I would be if I had concentrated better on it all this time. It's useless to harp on that though, I just have to keep improving from where I am, and that goes for all of the languages on my list.

Drive-By Update

I figured after nearly a month, it was about time I posted to this thing, even though I don't really have anything exciting in the world of language learning to report.

I've been studying my Romanian for the last few days, as well as a little Serbian and Portuguese. I also tried to translate some Polish music this morning using this website.

Mujer = Girl?

I got a letter from the girl in Nicaragua I sponsor, and was struck by this sentence: "Soy la unica mujer en mi familia ya que tengo 2 hermanos." I have to say, I've never seen mujer translated to mean 'girl.' I wonder if this is a Nicaraguan Spanish thing, or maybe a mistake? I just thought it was interesting, and perhaps am proving I live under a rock, because for all I know, mujer is quite commonly used to mean 'girl' in certain parts of the Spanish-speaking world.

Making a Real Effort

I really want to get better at my languages. I'm tired of being at a standstill and my lack of motivation.

So...

No more passively listening to a newscast while organizing my desk drawer, or reading headlines in a newspaper but not the whole article.

Goodbye to language blogs sitting empty or taking months to post.

Gone are the days of books collecting dust on my shelf, telenovelas gone unwatched, and song lyrics untranslated.

I'm done with audio/subtitle options on DVDs going unused, bookmarked but forgotten podcasts, and long drives sans course CDs.

There are so many things I could be doing every day to improve any one of the languages I'm learning, and I'm going to try harder to do just that.

The Lure of Languages

When you're learning many languages, you can't help but wonder about others and even contemplate learning more, all the while ignoring the fact you need to focus on and improve those "many languages" you've already taken up.

That being said, I've become curious about Creole. I don't know if I would get serious about it, but I don't see any harm in learning some basics. Ah yes, famous last words. ;)

Whether I do or don't, here's a small handful of resources...

• Voice of America - Read and listen to the news in Creole.
• The Good Book - The Word of God, Haitian style.
• Un jour en Haiti - Each video has a Creole and French version.

The ABC's of Serbian

I've been concentrating on Serbian for the last few days. One thing I did was make myself a sheet of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet with the cursive form next to each printed letter. I can't write in Cyrillic to save my life, so thought a visual reminder would help. Even though Cyrillic isn't a far stretch from the Latin, it still takes some getting used to.

I imagine native writers don't necessarily make every letter look so neat and fancy. The ultimate goal is to get comfortable enough with writing in Cyrillic to develop my own style and not try to be so "by the book." Or I could just type and let the keyboard worry about it.

Let's be honest, there's really no *need* for me to write in Cyrillic, but it does make the learning experience just a tad more interesting.

In closing, try your hand. I got a 97% in 2 minutes/20 seconds. I don't have the Cyrillic order memorized (it's different from the Latin, which Serbian also uses) so I was like, "Where is it!" :D

Can You Hear Me Now?

I need to figure out how to record myself in the languages I'm learning in order to get feedback, as well as in English. Just an idea for the near future and something I've been meaning to do for a while.