TAC 2015 - dEhiN

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TAC 2015 - dEhiN

Postby dEhiN » 2015-01-02, 7:44

So here goes, my TAC 2015.

As I mentioned I think I'm going to focus on 4 languages instead of a ton. I still like learning languages in general, and I still want to learn a bit of whatever language I can. But last year, after I started doing 20 languages, I quickly saw the benefit of being at different levels when juggling so many languages. So with this TAC I want to concentrate on improving my current ability in 4 languages and take them to at least an intermediate or advanced level. I will probably continue to learn other languages, including start new ones. But I won't concentrate on them, and if I forget them, I'm not going to worry about it. The same with if I don't get a chance to practice these other languages.

These are my current levels and what I want to get up to:
French - B1 - C1
Portuguese* - A1/2 - B2
Spanish* - A1 - B1
Tamil* - A0.5 (ie, between "I don't know anything" and A1) - B1

Initially I plan to use one specific resource for each language, with a weekly-goal approach. This doesn't mean I won't use other resources. I will continue to use various opportunities to practice my languages (such as Skype language exchanges, Skype UL chats, in-person language exchanges, etc.). And I may even use other study resources for each language. But as far as study goes, the 4 resources I list below will be the main ones I want to use. I hope to actually go through them from beginning to end.

So they are:
French - Teach Yourself Get Started in French (2012 edition) - this is supposed to take me to an A2 level. So all of this should be review for me. But I want to go through this because my French learning has mostly been from in-person language exchanges. Which means that, while in some things I could be at a B1 level, in other things I may be at a much lower level. My hope is that by going through this book I will, in a structured way, learn all that I need to be at an A2 level. Hopefully that won't take me long. After that, I will probably buy the TY Complete French which takes you up to a B2 level.

Portuguese* - Teach Yourself Complete Brazilian Portuguese (2010 edition) - I've never studied Portuguese in a structured way. All of it has been through language exchanges and being in Brazil for a month. Therefore, while I know how to read and write, as well as can speak and understand a lot of things, it will be interesting to actually read through a textbook. At the end I should be at a B2 level.

Spanish* - Teach Yourself Latin American Spanish (1994 edition) - this is a used edition I bought online. I don't have the cds for it, but Spanish pronunciation is quite easy and I don't have difficulty seeing the written form and figuring out the pronunciation. Plus I do have Hispanic friends who can help me if I really can't pronounce something. Since this is an old edition, I don't know if it would take me to a B2 level - the CEFR levels were developed fairly recently. But I assume that should be the case.

Tamil* - I'm going to use a site called தமிழ் பாடநூல் (Thamizh/Tamil Paadanool). (Paadanool = school). As far as I can tell it teaches written Tamil. Since CEFR levels aren't really used for Tamil, I don't know what level I will be after using this site. I'm guessing it will be somewhere between A1 or A2.

*1) I've been learning and will focus on Brazilian Portuguese.
*2) I also will focus on Latin American Spanish. By this I mean, the pronunciation and vocabulary/grammar that's common to Latin American versus Spain.
*3) I would like to focus on Sri Lankan Tamil, and either the Jaffnan or Colomban dialects. But the reality is that there are more learning resources aimed at teaching Indian Tamil. So I will aim for focusing on written Tamil, which means along the way I'll probably pick up various things specific to SL and Indian Tamil (the spoken variants).
Last edited by dEhiN on 2015-08-02, 15:40, edited 4 times in total.
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Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby dEhiN » 2015-01-03, 4:25

The TY Complete BP I ordered came in today, which I'm very happy about. So now I have all the resources I plan to use. I think I'm going to wait until Sunday (which I consider the start of the new week) before deciding on my goals. I'm also thinking of starting with doing 2 languages per week since I have other things on the go.
Native: (en-ca)
Active: (fr)(es)(pt-br)(ta-lk)(mi)(sq)(tl)
Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby vijayjohn » 2015-01-03, 4:56

Just in case you're interested in any other free online resources for Tamil, the ones I seem to have found most useful so far are...well, one that apparently doesn't exist anymore and this.

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby Meera » 2015-01-04, 22:07

Hey David, I like your choice of languages. I am actually having a wanderlust for Portuguese at the moment along with Spanish. :oops: And I love Tamil so much I need to learn it :P
अहिंसा/เจ
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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby dEhiN » 2015-01-04, 22:23

Meera wrote:Hey David, I like your choice of languages.

Merci / obrigado / gracias / நன்றி

I am actually having a wanderlust for Portuguese at the moment along with Spanish. :oops:

Haha...well, I wouldn't recommend doing both at the same time, if you're at the same level - especially if you're a newbie in both. Unless perhaps you did like Latin American Spanish and European Portuguese or vice versa. When I was in Brazil, even though I knew a little bit of Spanish, I had to force myself to forget a lot just to keep straight the Portuguese forms.

And I love Tamil so much I need to learn it :P

Didn't you learn Tamil, or at least go through Colloquial Tamil? I remember you even telling a story of speaking in Tamil with a dentist while you were under (or maybe I'm mixing up that story?)! Well as I learn Tamil, I'll be trying to write stuff here (and maybe in the South Asian languages forum). That should give you a chance to practice what you know.

vijayjohn wrote:Just in case you're interested in any other free online resources for Tamil, the ones I seem to have found most useful so far are...well, one that apparently doesn't exist anymore and this.

ரொம்ப நன்றி தம்பி! The funny thing is that a lot of the resources you've shown me over the past months, I apparently have already found! I go to them, thinking, "oh a new resource, cool!" And then I find that I've bookmarked it already. In fact, you should see my Languages bookmarks folder - it's quite a mess.
Native: (en-ca)
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Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby Meera » 2015-01-04, 22:54

Yes David I finished Colloquial Tamil. I forgot most of it though. :( I wonder if i re-studied it would come back to me or not.
अहिंसा/เจ
Learning: (hi) (ja) (ko) (fr)

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby dEhiN » 2015-01-04, 22:54

I've decided to do French and Portuguese together and then Spanish and Tamil together. I'll start this week with French and Portuguese.

My goals (for the week of Jan 4/15 to Jan 10/15):

Teach Yourself Get Started in French
  • Useful expressions (pp. xvii - xix)
  • Chapter 1 (pp. 2 - 9)

Teach Yourself Complete Brazilian Portuguese
  • All the introductory pages (pp. iii - xxxvi)
  • Chapter 1 (pp. 1 - 13)
Last edited by dEhiN on 2015-01-20, 4:29, edited 2 times in total.
Native: (en-ca)
Active: (fr)(es)(pt-br)(ta-lk)(mi)(sq)(tl)
Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby dEhiN » 2015-01-04, 22:56

Meera wrote:Yes David I finished Colloquial Tamil. I forgot most of it though. :( I wonder if i re-studied it would come back to me or not.

I'm sure it would, eventually. What dialect is Colloquial Tamil based on? I know it teaches Indian Tamil spoken Tamil.
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Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby Meera » 2015-01-04, 23:11

dEhiN wrote:
Meera wrote:Yes David I finished Colloquial Tamil. I forgot most of it though. :( I wonder if i re-studied it would come back to me or not.

I'm sure it would, eventually. What dialect is Colloquial Tamil based on? I know it teaches Indian Tamil spoken Tamil.


It is Chennai Tamil. The book doesn't teach a lot but I can't really complain considering there is nothing really good out there for Tamil lol I guess it isnt too bad it doesn't teach the script well though. and the dialouges are all like five sentences :lol:
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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby dEhiN » 2015-01-06, 4:13

Je suis heureux, j'ai fini mes lectures et buts pour français. En fait, c'était très facile. Mais la revue était bonne pour moi. Je trouve que je pense encore en anglais et traduire en français. A cause de ce (=because of this?) parfois je n'ai pas la confiance ce que j'ai écrit est correcte. Especialement c'est le cas avec longues phrases.

I always found it a bit annoying with TY to have to listen to the audio at every new section. But I found a way to do it that works for me. And since I own the book, I found myself writing the answers to the questions. I actually saw this helping me - even though the questions were really easy, I probably could've just thought of the answers in my head, and the first chapter was on greetings which I learned several years ago(!), it was still good to remind myself and force myself to think in and use French.

My goals (for the week of Jan 4/15 to Jan 10/15):

Teach Yourself Get Started in French
  • Useful expressions (pp. xvii - xix)
  • Chapter 1 (pp. 2 - 9)

Teach Yourself Complete Brazilian Portuguese
  • All the introductory pages (pp. iii - xxxvi)
  • Chapter 1 (pp. 1 - 13)
Last edited by dEhiN on 2015-01-20, 4:29, edited 3 times in total.
Native: (en-ca)
Active: (fr)(es)(pt-br)(ta-lk)(mi)(sq)(tl)
Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby Dormouse559 » 2015-01-06, 4:44

dEhiN wrote:Je suis heureux, j'ai fini mes lectures et mes buts pour le français. En fait, c'était très facile. Mais la revue révision était bonne pour moi. Je trouve que je pense encore en anglais et traduis en français. A cause de ce ça (=because of this?) parfois je n'ai pas la confiance que ce que j'ai écrit est correcte. Especialement C'est surtout le cas avec les longues phrases longues.
Félicitations pour avoir atteint tes buts. :partyhat:
N'hésite pas à corriger mes erreurs.

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby dEhiN » 2015-01-06, 5:08

Dormouse559 wrote:
dEhiN wrote:Je suis heureux, j'ai fini mes lectures et mes buts pour le français. En fait, c'était très facile. Mais la revue révision était bonne pour moi. Je trouve que je pense encore en anglais et traduis en français. A cause de ce ça (=because of this?) parfois je n'ai pas la confiance que ce que j'ai écrit est correcte. Especialement C'est surtout le cas avec les longues phrases longues.
Félicitations pour avoir atteint tes buts. :partyhat:

Merci beaucoup! Et aussi merci pour toutes les corrections! Quelle est la différence entre "spécialement" et "surtout"? (J'ai écrit "especialement" mais le mot j'ai pensé était "spécialement").
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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby Dormouse559 » 2015-01-06, 5:15

dEhiN wrote:Merci beaucoup! Et aussi merci pour toutes les corrections! Quelle est la différence entre "spécialement" et "surtout"? (J'ai écrit "especialement", mais le mot auquel je pensais était "spécialement").
Hum, je ne vois pas beaucoup de différence entre eux dans ce contexte. Mais j'ai l'impression que "surtout" est plus commun. De toute façon, n'oublie pas que "spécialement" suit le verbe conjugué.
N'hésite pas à corriger mes erreurs.

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby dEhiN » 2015-01-06, 5:18

Dormouse559 wrote:Hum, je ne vois pas beaucoup de différence entre eux dans ce contexte. Mais j'ai l'impression que "surtout" est plus commun. De toute façon, n'oublie pas que "spécialement" suit le verbe conjugué.

Vraiment?! C'est bon à savoir! (Ok, so that's a direct translation of the English phrase "good to know", but I don't even know if it works in French. I've never seen it!)
Native: (en-ca)
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Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby Dormouse559 » 2015-01-06, 5:26

dEhiN wrote:Vraiment?! C'est bon à savoir! (Ok, so that's a direct translation of the English phrase "good to know", but I don't even know if it works in French. I've never seen it!)
I've never seen it either. :) My resources say "c'est bon à savoir" is correct. But if you want to say "it's good to know that …" you should put "il est bon de savoir que …"
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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby dEhiN » 2015-01-06, 5:30

Dormouse559 wrote:
dEhiN wrote:Vraiment?! C'est bon à savoir! (Ok, so that's a direct translation of the English phrase "good to know", but I don't even know if it works in French. I've never seen it!)
I've never seen it either. :) My resources say "c'est bon à savoir" is correct. But if you want to say "it's good to know that …" you should put "il est bon de savoir que …"

But what about as an interjection? Could I respond to a piece of information/correction with "il est bon de savoir (ça)" or something similar? Or is no such interjection used in French?
Native: (en-ca)
Active: (fr)(es)(pt-br)(ta-lk)(mi)(sq)(tl)
Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby Dormouse559 » 2015-01-06, 5:41

I'd say "C'est bon à savoir" or "Il est bon de savoir ça". The first sentence uses what's called the "passive infinitive", which is "à [infinitif]". That means that a certain argument - "ce" in this case - is also the object of the infinitive. The second sentence uses the normal active infinitive, so the object - "ça" - goes directly after it; since the sentence still needs a subject, "il" is used as a dummy pronoun.
N'hésite pas à corriger mes erreurs.

Koko

Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby Koko » 2015-01-06, 6:14

Dormouse559 wrote:The first sentence uses what's called the "passive infinitive", which is "à [infinitif]".

Hmm, I wonder if the same could be used in italian "È buon da saper(e)."

What's funny is that "a <infinitivo>" in italian is just a regular infinitive. "Di" is also used and "per" has an interchangeable active/passive use.

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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby Dormouse559 » 2015-01-06, 6:39

"à [infinitif]" also has a non-passive use in French, but only as part of a larger verb phrase, "J'apprends à manger" (I learn to eat), for example.
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Re: TAC 2015 - dEhiN (français, português, español, தமிழ்)

Postby dEhiN » 2015-01-06, 19:24

Dormouse559 wrote:"à [infinitif]" also has a non-passive use in French, but only as part of a larger verb phrase, "J'apprends à manger" (I learn to eat), for example.

Actually, I'm used to the non-passive use. In fact, I had thought the use in "c'est bon à savoir" was equivalent to in "j'apprends à manger".

On a separate but related note, is there a rule for when to use a preposition before an infinitive in a larger verb phrase, and if using one, which preposition? I've seen infinitives following a conjugated verb directly, with the preposition à and I think with the preposition de. And to this day I guess and hope for the best :D.
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Active: (fr)(es)(pt-br)(ta-lk)(mi)(sq)(tl)
Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)


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