sean-wanders

[sean-wanders]

Tips to learn a new language

The 75 most common words make up 40% of occurrences The 200 most common words make up 50% of occurrences The 524 most common words make up 60% of occurrences The 1257 most common words make up 70% of occurrences The 2925 most common words make up 80% of occurrences The 7444 most common words make up 90% of occurrences The 13374 most common words make up 95% of occurrences The 25508 most common words make up 99% of occurrences

(Source: 5 Steps to Speak a New Language by Hung Quang Pham)

This article has an excellent summary on how to rapidly learn a new language within 90 days.

We can begin with studying the first 600 words. Of course chucking is an effective way to memorize words readily. Here’s a list to translate into the language you desire to learn that Derek Roger suggested! :)

EXPRESSIONS OF POLITENESS (about 50 expressions)      

‘Yes’ and ‘no’: yes, no, absolutely, no way, exactly.    

Question words: when? where? how? how much? how many? why? what? who? which? whose?    

Apologizing: excuse me, sorry to interrupt, well now, I’m afraid so, I’m afraid not.    

Meeting and parting: good morning, good afternoon, good evening, hello, goodbye, cheers, see you later, pleased to meet you, nice to have met.    

Interjections: please, thank you, don’t mention it, sorry, it’ll be done, I agree, congratulations, thank heavens, nonsense.    

NOUNS (about 120 words)

Time: morning, afternoon, evening, night; Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; spring, summer, autumn, winter; time, occasion, minute, half-hour, hour, day, week, month, year.    

People: family, relative, mother, father, son, daughter, sister, brother, husband, wife; colleague, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend; people, person, human being, man, woman, lady, gentleman, boy, girl, child.    

Objects: address, bag, book, car, clothes, key, letter (=to post), light (=lamp), money, name, newspaper, pen, pencil, picture, suitcase, thing, ticket.    

Places: place, world, country, town, street, road, school, shop, house, apartment, room, ground; Britain, name of the foreign country, British town-names, foreign town-names.    

Abstract: accident, beginning, change, color, damage, fun, half, help, joke, journey, language, English, name of the foreign language, letter (of alphabet), life, love, mistake, news, page, pain, part, question, reason, sort, surprise, way (=method), weather, work.    

Other: hand, foot, head, eye, mouth, voice; the left, the right; the top, the bottom, the side; air, water, sun, bread, food, paper, noise.    

PREPOSITIONS (about 40 words)    

General: of, to, at, for, from, in, on.    

Logical: about, according-to, except, like, against, with, without, by, despite, instead of.    

Space: into, out of, outside, towards, away from, behind, in front of, beside, next to, between, above, on top of, below, under, underneath, near to, a long way from, through.    

Time: after, ago, before, during, since, until.    

DETERMINERS (about 80 words)  

Articles and numbers: a, the; nos. 0–20; nos. 30–100; nos. 200–1000; last, next, 1st–12th.    

Demonstrative: this, that.    

Possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.    

Quantifiers: all, some, no, any, many, much, more, less, a few, several, whole, a little, a lot of.    

Comparators: both, neither, each, every, other, another, same, different, such.    

ADJECTIVES (about 80 words)    

Color: black, blue, green, red, white, yellow.    

Evaluative: bad, good, terrible; important, urgent, necessary; possible, impossible; right, wrong, true.    

General: big, little, small, heavy; high, low; hot, cold, warm; easy, difficult; cheap, expensive; clean, dirty; beautiful, funny (=comical), funny (=odd), usual, common (=shared), nice, pretty, wonderful; boring, interesting, dangerous, safe; short, tall, long; new, old; calm, clear, dry; fast, slow; finished, free, full, light (=not dark), open, quiet, ready, strong.    

Personal: afraid, alone, angry, certain, cheerful, dead, famous, glad, happy, ill, kind, married, pleased, sorry, stupid, surprised, tired, well, worried, young.    

VERBS (about 100 words)    

arrive, ask, be, be able to, become, begin, believe, borrow, bring, buy, can, change, check, collect, come, continue, cry, do, drop, eat, fall, feel, find, finish, forget, give, going to, have, have to, hear, help, hold, hope, hurt (oneself), hurt (someone else), keep, know, laugh, learn, leave, lend, let (=allow), lie down, like, listen, live (=be alive), live (=reside), look (at), look for, lose, love, make, may (=permission), may (=possibility), mean, meet, must, need, obtain, open, ought to, pay, play, put, read, remember, say, see, sell, send, should, show, shut, sing, sleep, speak, stand, stay, stop, suggest, take, talk, teach, think, travel, try, understand, use, used to, wait for, walk, want, watch, will, work (=operate), work (=toil), worry, would, write.    

PRONOUNS (about 40 words)

Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, one; myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.    

Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.    

Demonstrative: this, that.    

Universal: everyone, everybody, everything, each, both, all, one, another.

Indefinite: someone, somebody, something, some, a few, a little, more, less; anyone, anybody, anything, any, either, much, many.    

Negative: no-one, nobody, nothing, none, neither.    

ADVERBS (about 60 words)

Place: here, there, above, over, below, in front, behind, nearby, a long way away, inside, outside, to the right, to the left, somewhere, anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, home, upstairs, downstairs.    

Time: now, soon, immediately, quickly, finally, again, once, for a long time, today, generally, sometimes, always, often, before, after, early, late, never, not yet, still, already, then (=at that time), then (=next), yesterday, tomorrow, tonight.    

Quantifiers: a little, about (=approximately), almost, at least, completely, very, enough, exactly, just, not, too much, more, less.    

Manner: also, especially, gradually, of course, only, otherwise, perhaps, probably, quite, so, then (=therefore), too (=also), unfortunately, very much, well.    

CONJUNCTIONS (about 30 words)

Coordinating: and, but, or; as, than, like.    

Time & Place: when, while, before, after, since (=time), until; where.    

Manner & Logic: how, why, because, since (=because), although, if; what, who, whom, whose, which, that.   

[sean-wanders]

[sean-wanders]

Foreign Language Example Sentence Sites

Linguee This website is honestly the bomb.com. You can input almost any word/phrase/etc (even rather rare/unusual ones) and it will spit out web-searched example sentences with both the original content and the translated version. A real powerhouse of a website. I’m under the impression that the French <–> English platform is the most established.

Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

PurpleCulture Can find you a wide variety of words and sometimes short phrases as well. Gives you the pinyin of the sentence (color-coded by tones) and allows you to click on each individual word to redirect you to its dictionary if you don’t understand the character.

Languages: Mandarin Chinese

Tatoeba You can search up example sentences contributed by users, which are in turn translated by users into multiple different languages. Probably the most versatile of these websites.

Languages: The majority of the world’s most widely-spoken languages

Forvo Not an example sentence site, but I think this one is definitely worth throwing on here. You can search for an individual word in your target language, and native speakers post audio examples of them speaking it. Really great for getting the hang of pronunciation in general and also getting used to the way people pronounce words in the real world.

Languages: The majority of the world’s most widely-spoken languages

If you know of any other sites, it would be awesome if you could add them below!! 😊

[sean-wanders]

Writing AU’s

A tavern fight breaks out so your character(s) steal all the breadsticks and leave.

Vampires have taken over the city, but to much of everyones surprise they actually made it better.

Rain begins to beat against the cabin as the fire crackles in the background. Everyone looks at each other and realizes, where is the dog?

In a crowded supermarket your character(s) cannot help but feel like there is something a little off. They turn around and see a unicorn, but the suspicious thing is the price the market is asking for those bananas.

In the depths of the sea hides mer-people and they only come out every full moon. This full moon has a special meaning to them and this happens to be the first time in hundreds of years that mer-people and humans run into each other.

A werewolf stumbles upon a rave. The people at the rave do not question that there is a werewolf as they have been there too long and would believe anything at this point. The werewolf is confused as to why the humans aren’t afraid of them. However, they get the chance to show off their sick dance moves so they stay a while.

Zombies have taken over the planet, but much to your relief, there are no more bills to pay. Naturally you are a lot happier and things keep getting better when you find a dog because you couldn’t have a pet where you were renting.

In an empty wasteland amongst the sand and ravenous hills, there is a building. A building covered in greenery from top to bottom. Music can be heard along with voices. Your character(s) decide to investigate.

[sean-wanders]

the signs as french sayings

aries: “chien qui aboie ne mord pas.” barking dogs seldom bite.

taurus: “quand il pleut, il verse.” when it rains it pours.

gemini: “il faut laisser aller le monde comme il va.” we must let the world go as it is.

cancer: “bon coeur ne peut mentir.” the heart sees farther than the head.

leo: “à coeur vaillant rien d’impossible.” nothing is impossible for a willing heart.

virgo: “il faut reculer pour mieux sauter.” one must step back to take a good leap.

libra: “il n’y a qu’un bonheur dans la vie, c’est d’aimer et d’être aimé.” there is only one happiness in life; to love and be loved.

scorpio: “la nuit porte conseil.” the night brings advice.

sagittarius: “après la pluie, le beau temps.” after rain comes sunshine.

capricorn: “il n’y a pas plus sourd que celui qui ne veut pas entendre.” no one is as deaf as the one who does not want to listen.

aquarius: “c'est l'exception qui confirme la règle.” it’s the exception that proves the rule.

pisces: “la foi est la moitié de la bataille.” faith is half the battle.

[sean-wanders]

“Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.”

— Robert Holden

[sean-wanders]

D&D was invented to trick gay people into doing math

[sean-wanders]

me, a sensible boy, feeling a tickle: just your leg hair, calm down

caveman brain: it is so many spiders

[sean-wanders]

I have $24 to last me til Friday, what should I buy with it?

[sean-wanders]

A linguistics major walks into a bar

“Can I get əəəəəə……. “

[sean-wanders]

So I found this cool website for learning ancient languages

go wild

[sean-wanders]

reblog and make a wish! this was removed from tumbrl due to “violating one or more of Tumblr’s Community Guidelines”, but since my wish came true the first time, I’m putting it back. :)

[sean-wanders]

Any advice in outlining? Because I want to start a longer piece of fiction with multiple parts and I know the best way to do that is by outlining. However with every bit of my writing is usually improv, with very little detailed planning. So how do I actually do it?

Outlining for Pansters.

Longer fiction benefits greatly from planning, but not every writer works best (or prefers) to form a detailed outline ahead of time. Here’s a few tips, tricks, and things to remember when you want an outline without bogging down your natural mode of writing.

1. Know everyone’s goals. 

The foundation of every good story is a character with a goal. Make a list of:

All the things your protagonist wants to achieve.

All the things that can be taken away from them.

All the things that would majorly distress them.

These should be personal. Most characters will objected to the universe ending: it’s your job to figure out why this particular character does so. 

2. Know all available (worthwhile) directions the story can take.

Make more lists!

In what ways might the world/setting change to take the protagonist out of their comfort zone?

What/who might stop the protagonist from achieving their goals?

What really bad things could foreseeably happen in this world/setting?(Which of these bad things align with the list of things that would distress the protagonist?)

3. Have some semblance of a climax.

Based on the worst foreseeable directions the story might go, what might the end result of the conflict look like? Is there a Highest Level of Conflict the story will eventually approach if everything bad that can happen to the protagonist, does? Who or what causes that conflict, and how will your protagonist need to approach it if they want a chance at success?

4. Make it awesome.

Don’t forget to jot down any really cool ideas you have for scenes, dialogue, settings, actions, characters, etc, (so long as they work within the foundation you’ve formed for this story.)

You never have to use them, but they’ll be there for you it you hit a roadblock or your memory fails you. 

At this point, you can pick which of your options you really like, and start creating individual plot points and arcs made of the steps your protagonist is taking to get through the bad things that are happening to them, and into the climax, and from there work through the nitty gritty of the individual scenes. 

Or you can end the initial outlining process here, dive in, and let the story naturally choose which of the directions you’ve brainstormed it wants to take you!

5. Pro-tip: Fill in any holes in your outline as you go.

If you don’t have a chapter-by-chapter outline when you start your rough draft, jot one down as you write. This will help immensely when it comes time to revise, rewrite, and smooth out all the lumps in the plot.

Remember to include in this outline any important plot points, changes in relationships, reveals of information, and character developments.

Click here for a detailed look at Bryn’s personal outlining method.

Note: This post is in no way meant to imply that pansters need to develop an outline in order to write good books, nor that this is the only way to do it. This is simply a nice method to begin an outline with, which will give a solid foundation even if you chose not to make any commitments.

[sean-wanders]

to anyone learning mandarin chinese

and they’re trying to get their tones right so they don’t awkwardly say something rude, i’m using this link and it is amazing. it has the letters in a pinyin chart and it gives you audio for the 4 tones. it’s honestly gold for a language learner . shoutout to @aspoonfuloflanguage for informing me of this link.

[sean-wanders]

Happy Pride Month! 🌈

[sean-wanders]

German Sex Vocabulary {NSFW obvs}

Inspired by @languagesandshootingstars ’s Finnish sex vocabulary list!

Sex (m) - Sex

Geschlechtsverkehr (m) - Sexual intercourse

beischlafen - To have sexual intercourse

Beischlaf (m) - Sexual intercourse (not used often)

miteinander schlafen; schlafen mit - To have sex; sleep with

kopulieren - To copulate

Sex haben - To have sex

Liebe machen - To make love

jemanden flachlegen - To shag someone (lit. To lay someone flat)

vögeln - To shag (capitalization is important here, ex. ‘Ich bin gut zu vögeln’ means ‘I’m a good fuck’ but ‘ich bin gut zu Vögeln’ means ‘I am good to birds’)

ficken (vulgar) - To fuck

rummachen - To make out

küssen - To kiss

kuscheln - To cuddle

Striptease (m) - Striptease

Ejakulation (f) - Ejaculation

ejakulieren - To ejaculate

abspritzen (slang) - To ejaculate

kommen - To cum

Erektion (f) - Erection

Latte (f) - Boner

Morgenlatte (f) - Morning wood

Penis (m) - Penis

Schwanz (m) - Dick

blasen - To blow

befriedigen - To satisfy

jemanden oral befriedigen (formal-ish) - To satisfy someone orally

Selbstbefriedigung (f) - Masturbation

sich selbst befriedigen - To pleasure oneself

onanieren; masturbieren - To masturbate

sich einen runterholen (slang) - To masturbate; jack off

oral - Oral

anal - Anal

Vagina (f) - Vagina

Muschi (f) - Pussy

lecken - To eat out

fingern - To finger

feucht - wet

Blümchensex (m) - Vanilla sex

Gummi (m); Kondom (n) - Condom

Geburtenkontrolle (f) - Birth control

Antibabypille (f) - Birth control pill

Geschützter Sex (m) - Protected sex

Safer Sex (m) - Safe sex

Vorspiel (n) - Foreplay

schmutzig reden - To talk dirty

geil - Horny

erregen - To arouse

erregt - Turned on; Aroused

Wollust (f) - Lust

Liebe (f) - Love

Jungfrau (f) - Virgin

Unterwäsche (f) - Underwear; Lingerie

Damenunterwäsche (f) - (women’s) Lingerie

Reizwäsche (f) - (very sexy 😏) Lingerie

intim - Intimate

Dreier (m) - Threesome

Orgie (f) - Orgy

Gruppensex (m) - Group sex

Thank you to my sexy German friend @historyandlanguages for helping out a lot with this list!

[sean-wanders]

yall know so much about astrology