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When will my wife come back from the war (storygraph maintenance)

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a commission gift from @slyricochet to his boyfriend @lukesolo!!!

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How To Romanticise Language Learning

TL = Target Language

Buy a new folder, highlighters and journal all in a specific colour for your TL

Find a drama/series to fall in love with

Create music playlists for different moods (e.g. aggressive rap/upbeat pop/sad songs/old classics)

Cook a traditional meal from the country of your TL

Make a summary sheet of some big historical event that shaped the country of your TL

Learn about the traditional dress (and colour significance) from your TL country

Compose a song in your TL

Research into famous art from your TL country (e.g. Japanese Irezumi) and try to recreate it in a sketchbook

Find a classic tale written in your TL (e.g. War and Peace in Russian)

Make an aesthetic Pinterest board that summarises your TL

Research into classic architecture built in your TL country

Designate a special area to study your TL (and make that area minimalist/pretty)

Make an aesthetic Pinterest board about travelling to your TL country

Write a poem in your TL

Write a short story in your TL

Keep a diary in your TL

Find a favourite YouTube channel in your TL

Write up a list of reasons why you're learning this TL and pin it up on the wall (read whenever you need motivation!)

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German politic comedy, insane rent prices in Munich and Sherlock. Pure Gold. 😆

Sherlock - his hardest case: the impossible flat hunt

Best part is the rooftop scene.

Sherlock: "Where is the flat you wanted to show me? This is only a rooftop."

Moriarty: "Well you said 1800 cold* it's cold at night here. For 1,8k your client can throw a mattress here on the ground."

Sherlock: "You mad cutthroat. There has to be a affordable flat in this city"

Moriarty: "Omg Holmes in what times do you live? Big City and affordable flat cancel each other out. Like Gottschalk** and retirement"

*cold rent means in germany basic rent. No insurance, utilities, taxes etc.

** Thomas Gottschalk is a german TV presenter who will never retire. Like never ever. 😅

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Bridal fashion from 19th century Finland (x)(x)(x)

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Y a le Washington D.C. et puis y a le Washington de là-bas

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14.12.2023

(4/5)

Uff, vilken bra bok. Igår satt jag i ett köpcentrum medan jag väntade för en vän och läste boken – det var så rörande att jag nästan började gråta där mittemellan folk. Det är bara så skönt att läsa om personernas liv, att känna dem sedan då var barn och läsa om hur de växer, om deras problem och problems lösningar.

Jag var glad att vi fick fortfarande se August och Emelie och deras förhållande. Det finns så många personer i historien nu - barn och barnbarn, syskon och partner. Ibland, om jag vill berätta nån om vad som hände, har jag svårt att förklara förhållanden mellan alla.

Det var intressant att läsa om den ekonomiska depressionen och hur den drabbar alla men speciellt de unga. Hur hopplöst borde framtiden ser ut för dem som har avslutat skolan men inte kunde hitta nåt jobb för många år.

När jag pratade om Minns du den stad (den tredje boken) sa jag att jag är lite rädd för att läsa den här boken och se vad händer med alla under det andra världskriget. Men jag tror det gick okay för alla, ingen svalt, ingen dog pga kriget... Ja det var inte lätt men de klarade sig. Och när boken slutade med fred i Europa var jag extraglad.

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Langblr Reactivation Challenge

Hello everyone! As you may know I've created this challenge to help revive the langblr community. It's a three week challenge designed to get you back into learning languages and (hopefully) give you ideas on how to study and share your knowledge of them. It is completely optional to do, but try to reblog other people's posts if you aren't participating.

The challenge is designed to be done daily, however if you miss a day, you can go back and do it later or continue from where you left off. I do encourage you to do your best to keep up with the challenge though. Tag your posts with #langblr reactivation challenge so that others can find your posts.

If you have any questions, please send me an ask or a message and I'll do my best to answer it.

I'll put the prompts under a read more so this post isn't ridiculously long. Good luck to everyone participating! Remember the best way to promote the langblr revival is by reblogging other people's work.

Week 1

Day 1: Create an introduction post about yourself. What's your name? What languages are you studying? What languages do you hope to study? What do you hope you'll get out of this challenge? Add whatever else you’d like to your introduction post!

Day 2: Write a list of goals you have for your target languages. Make both long term and short term goals. An overall goal could be to have the ability to talk with native speakers with ease and a smaller goal would be to finally learn that difficult grammar point that's been plaguing you for ages. How will you achieve them?

Day 3: Create a list or a Mindmap of vocabulary topics. Start with a broad topic and narrow down to more specific topics. An example could be bedroom - furniture - closet - clothes or travelling - languages - study words - school supplies. Keep a hold of this because you'll use it later to create vocab to study. Some broad topics to start with: house, school, work, travelling, friends and family, nature, city. Feel free to use these or think of your own. Share your mindmap so others can get some ideas if they need it. Here are some mind map creation tools (x) (x) (x).

Day 4: Create a vocab list for one of the topics you created yesterday, if you want to make more, feel free to make as many as you like! Share your list and reblog other people's lists. And most importantly, make sure you study these words!

Day 5: Find a video in your target language and watch it as many times as you need to in order to understand it. Make a post about the video. What was it about? Did you like the video? Was it difficult to understand? Make sure you link the video. Try to write your answers in your target language, but if you can’t that’s okay!

Day 6: Look up 3 idioms in your target language and explain what they mean and how you use them in a sentence (with an example!).

Day 7: Send asks to other langblrs (bonus points if it's in a shared target language!) asking them about whatever (for example, ask how their day was, ask questions about their target languages, or share some of your thoughts with them). If you receive one, answer it! You can ask more than one person and it can be on or off anon.

Week 2

Day 1: Over the next week, create a playlist/playlists of songs in your target language(s), they can either have a specific mood or genre or they can be a collection of songs you've discovered. When you feel like you're done with your playlist, share it so others can find some new songs. If you already have a playlist, you can add songs to it and update it.

Day 2: Write an explanation on a grammar rule in your target language (such as verb tenses, exceptions, word order, etc). Include sentences to show how and when it is used.

Day 3: Either make a vocab list or find a vocab list you like and make sentences using those words. You can make them as long or as short as you like. This is a good way to contextualise vocab words and learn them in context. Share your sentences and highlight the vocab word.

Day 4: Record yourself reading an article, short story, or passage (basically anything written in your target language). Listen to it and see if you can point out any areas you can improve with your speaking and any areas that you're doing well. You can post your recording if you wish.

Day 5: Post at least 2 songs that you like in your target language. Make sure you add a link to them so people can go listen to them.

Day 6: Share a study tip you have. This can range from how you organize your notes to playlists that help you study to apps you use to review. Just something that you find makes studying easier (and more fun).

Day 7: Share with everyone some langblrs you enjoy seeing on your dash, try to put at least 5 people (and make sure you @ them!).

Week 3

Day 1: Remember that playlist you made/are making? Take a song you really like and make a vocab list of words you don't understand, learned from the song, or recognize but don't quite remember. Post so others can see and link the song. If you have extra time and/or want a bit more of a challenge, translate the song as well, either into English or another language.

Day 2: Write about a festival or holiday that is celebrated in a country that speaks your target language. This can be either something you’ve celebrated yourself, have wanted to participate in, or have never heard of before. You can write this in any language you’d like.

Day 3: Make another vocab list from the list you made at the beginning of the challenge. If you are learning two or more languages, make the vocab list in 3 languages (meaning for example: French, German, and English or Japanese, Arabic, and Ukrainian).

Day 4: Find a recipe written in your target language and translate it into your native language (or another language of your choice) or find a recipe in your native language and translate it into your target language. Bonus points if you actually make it (share pictures if you do)!

Day 5: Create a collection of resources you use to study/learn your target language. Add links to them if possible so others can also use them.

Day 6: Create a post explaining a grammar rule that you had/are having difficulties learning. If you’re currently having difficulties, do your best to explain and ask others to help you understand it better. Include example sentences in your explanation.

Day 7: How do you feel at the end of this challenge? Did you meet any goals while doing this? Do you feel more confident in your language abilities? Where do you think you'll go from here? Answer these questions either in your native language or your target language.

Hopefully you guys enjoy/enjoyed this challenge. After you've completed the challenge, I encourage you to continue your studies in your target languages and support others in theirs.

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Ča Ča Ča

Vot mittuine nedäli da päivät tagan, ah Interessannu pina colada da linna Ildu on vie nuori da aigua kumata Jiähine ulgokuori on aigu tuhota

Pien kahtel käil kiini juomizis muga Ča ča ča ča ča ča ča ei En smieti huondestu ku tartun kruuškah muga Ča ča ča ča ča ča ča ei Tahton olla segazin da välly huolis muga Ča ča ča ča ča ča ča ei Da sit jatkan kuni en ni pyzy stuulas muga —

Eräs pina colada on jo tagan, ah Yhtelläh on vie ilve minul vagavu, jeah, jeah, je je jeah Ildu on vie nuori da aigua kumata Jiähine ulgokuori on aigu tuhota Parkiettu kuččuu minuu ku en ni ole lukus, ah Muga ča ča ča olen tulos, ah

Pien kahtel käil kiini juomizis muga Ča ča ča ča ča ča ča ei En smieti huondestu ku tartun kruuškah muga Ča ča ča ča ča ča ča ei Tahton olla segazin da välly huolis muga Ča ča ča ča ča ča ča ei Da sit jatkan kuni en ni pyzy stuulas muga vou

Da lähten pläššimäh Muga ča ča ča Ga en ni varua tädä muailmua a-haa Muga ča ča ča Ku valatan piälegi šampanskoil a-haa

Ča ča ča, vil'čusilmin jo kačon vai Da pagin sammaldau, ku tämä toine puoli minus vallan suau, a-haa Ča ča ča, en ni argen nenga piäze bauhumah En ni, ga nygöi pläšin vai nygöi pläšin vai Da lähten pläššimäh

Muga ča ča ča Ga en ni varua tädä muailmua a-haa Muga ča ča ča Ku valatan piälegi šampanskoil a-haa Muga ča ča ča Ča ča ča ča ča ča ča! Muga ča ča ča Ča ča ča ča ča ča ča! Ča ča ča ča ča ča ča!

Alguperäine pajo: Käärijä — Cha Cha Cha Kiändäi: lyricstranslate.com/liljankukka

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Le calendrier

Les jours

Lundi, from the old French Lunsdi/the Latin Dies lunae, the day of the moon

Mardi, from the Latin Martis dies, the day of Mars, god of war

Mercredi, from the Latin Mercurii dies, the day of Mercury, god of merchants

Jeudi, from the Latin Jovis dies, the day of Jupiter, the king of gods

Vendredi, from the Latin Veneris dies, the day of Venus, goddess of beauty and love

Samedi, from the Latin Sambati dies, the day of the Sabbath

Dimanche, from the old French dïenenche/the Latin Dies Dominicus, the day of the Lord

Les mois

Janvier, from Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings

Février, from the Latin word februarius - purification

Mars (\maʁs\, not /ˈmaʁz/), from Mars, the Roman god of war

Avril, from the Latin word aprilis - opening (of buds)

Mai, from Maius/Maia, the Roman goddess of fertility and growth

Juin \ʒɥɛ̃\, from Junius, the name of the Roman goddess Juno

Juillet (\ʒɥi.jɛ\), from Julius, the name of the Roman general Julius Caesar

Août (\ut\ or \a.ut\), from Augustus, the name of the first Roman emperor

Septembre, from the Latin word september - seventh

Octobre, from the Latin word october - eighth

Novembre, from the Latin word november - ninth

Décembre, from the Latin word december - tenth

Les saisons

L'hiver, from the Old French word hivern + the Latin word hibernus - winter

Le printemps, from the Latin word primus - first

L'été, from the Latin word aestas - summer

L'automne, from the Latin word autumnus - autumn

NB: French days, months and seasons are all masculine and not capitalized.

Movie: Peau d’âne - Jacques Demy, 1970

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i think it would be interesting to have some sort of dynamic like writestreak for language learners on here, where every day a writing prompt is posted and the users respond to keep their streaks and others correct their work. would people be interested in something like that?

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Bah non je l'ai pas fait mdrr mais je le ferai un jour !

Je pense que je vais passer l'examen dalf c1 en mai..... oufff c'est fou

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countdown to C1 exam

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Hi Sheila, are there any resources you would recommend to master French (to a c2 level)? I’m currently b2 but I don’t find that level sufficient as I often have to speak French in a professional setting. Any tips would be much appreciated!

These are the books I used!

I’m a fan of a nice textbook system and these were the ones I used when I needed to take my French up to C2, I passed my DALF with these behind me and I do recommend them to anyone who likes to use an old-fashioned textbook like I do. Alongside these, though, I’d always strongly suggest exposing yourself to lots of different forms of the language, make sure that you listen to podcasts and watch television programmes intended for an educated native audience and begin reading more classic literature and business newspapers, I’d be happy to make my recommendations if you’d like to send me another ask but really, just choose what interests you. At upper-intermediate to advanced levels you really want to be avoiding any materials (aside from textbooks) intended for learners and rather consuming lots of native media, speaking with natives regularly, and preferably also exposing yourself to different accents and dialects and different registers (formal/informal/slang) of speech.

As ever, here is a Mega file of all these resources, as I do believe information ought be free for all.

CLE ‘Progressive’ Series

I like the CLE system, it’s very thorough and I like that it devotes separate books to different aspects of language and acknowledges that the levels don’t always necessarily correlate directly to one another. I’d recommend starting with the lower-level CLE books and then moving onto Assimil before coming back to the higher-level CLEs, there is quite a jump between them which is nicely bridged by Assimil in my opinion. In these textbooks you’ll learn a typical Parisian ‘textbook’ French which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing, you might sound a little false and formal but at least you’ll be understood, they cater very well to the DELF/DALF exam structures and they’re generally an excellent all-round system.

Assimil ‘Using French’

Assimil is old-fashioned, the old ones are truly the best ones and it’s the language system I’ll defend until I die. It’s a very immersive system, the ‘Using French’ textbook is aimed at C1 level students and it wastes no time in easing you in, you’re straight in there and it’s really sink or swim, that’s why I love it so. Although it’s old-fashioned it’s not dry or prescriptive, it belongs to that era of European language learning when immersion and drills were the way to go and I do honestly believe that they were at least half-right; you’ll emerge from Assimil feeling far more confident actually using the language then you would with a more activity-based textbook and that’s why I think it works so well as a bridge between B2/C1 CLE and C1/C2 CLE—it gives you that breath of fresh air from constant ‘fill in the gap’ tasks and instead gives you that opportunity to actually utilise your skills.

‘Initiation à la littérature française’

This is another old book from the Era of Immersion and it’s a little different in that it doesn’t have any accompanying audio, it’s essentially just an old-fashioned reader which introduces progressively more difficult classic French texts. I love a good reader, I think they’re enormously helpful once you reach B2 level and beyond and I always recommend including one in your intermediate/advanced curricula. This one is out of print now but it was published by the ‘Nature Method Institutes’, who pioneered a very active form of language learning, they believed in never providing translations and instead allowing you to work everything out for yourself in the target language (for my fellow Classics students out there—it’s similar to LLPSI), and it’s just generally an extremely useful accompaniment to a good advanced curriculum in that it has you quickly accustomed to reading very complex and often somewhat archaic texts. It’s culturally useful, too; not only will the literature provide you with an insight into classical French thought and tendencies, but the French themselves also love to quote and reference many of the texts included in this little book and so that will give you a wonderful native boost.

‘La nouvelle grammaire en tableaux’ and ‘English Grammar for Students of French’

I’m of the opinion that once one hits that point between intermediate and advanced in one’s target language, one really ought invest in a properly hefty grammar. Bescherelle or Bled are the classic choices but I think that for most language learners, who aren’t necessarily such grammar fanatics, the decidedly more modern and clearly-formatted « Nouvelle grammaire en tableaux » is a wiser choice. It’s very easy to find any part of speech in this book and it explains everything (in French) so clearly, you can really hardly go wrong. One thing I will point out is that the grammar is that of Quebec rather than Continental France, but there’s very little in it and as a non-native speaker, I really shouldn’t worry too much about it.

I also always recommend ‘English Grammar for Students of French’ to any native Anglophone attempting a foreign language; native English speakers are very rarely taught the intimate ins-and-outs of their own language (tell me the last time you heard of a predicative adjective!) and so it can be extraordinarily helpful to have French grammar explained to them in their context of their mother tongue. If you’re not a native English speaker and you learnt the language properly, you can skip this book if you like—but it might prove useful to you, too.

‘French for Business’

Since you mentioned that you’re using French in a professional setting, I’m also recommending this book. It’s quite old and a little outdated but it’s absolutely invaluable for those working in a French office or who use French frequently for business; it’s written entirely in French, and each chapter runs through a fairly lengthy hypothetical business interaction before breaking it down into likely professional tasks you might have to handle, and giving short activities and vocabulary lists. It’s tremendously thorough and I used it to great effect when I was interning in France and Switzerland, a lot of businessmen still have a copy today and I know that several professors at top universities still hand it out to their students before sending them off on their compulsory year abroad. It shows a different aspect of French life and language and I think that it’s quite timeless in a way, you might laugh at the old photographs and the format but practically everything written there still stands today and it’ll likely help a great deal in boosting you in the office.

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after seeing so many language courses that require subscription or any sort of payment i really started to appreciate icelandic online website bc it has 6 icelandic courses from complete beginner to advanced all completely free. and as someone who actually tried it for 3 months i can say that they're great as well. we really need more of this

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醍醐桜

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Semester in SK: Signs in Korea

안녕하세요 여러분! Here is a post about some signage you might see in Korea from my Instagram! While a lot of signs have translations in English and other languages, it’s always good to be familiar with what they say in case they’re written only in Korean. I hope this is helpful! 화이팅!

My masterlist

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