Taking advantage of the fact I now have more free time than the last couple of years, I thought it could be a good idea to start a new thread here. My work at the oyster farm will start by late April, which gives me the opportunity to devote myself to language learning and the preparing of the growing season in my new small garden.
Unsurprisingly, the main focus of my studies will be Persian. My plan is simple and includes watching more Iranian movies and TV series, which is something I had neglected previously. Conversation skills will be taken care of by talking to my Persian-speaking acquaintances on a daily basis. I do not really have a specific goal in mind other than enjoying the process of learning more about the culture(s) of Iran and refining my knowledge of the language.
Noteworthy is also my renewed interest for Tajiki. I have been working on and off for a translation agency since November and the tasks that were assigned to me consisted in translating official legal and business related documents issued in Tajikistan into French. This job has literally opened my eyes to the social and political realities of the country and it has allowed me to cast a glance on the linguistic intricacies of the region as well.
Now, incidentally, it turned out one of the documents that were submitted to me was actually written in Uzbek - it was in the Cyrillic script. I have to say that this definitely piqued my interest and as such, I felt I had to get more familiar with how Uzbek and Tajiki influenced each other. One thing leading to another, I eventually put my hands on a digital copy of Andras Bodrogligeti’s Modern Literary Uzbek: A Manual for Intensive Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced Courses.
It is a very thorough, and dare I say old-fashioned text. As suggested by the title of the book, it is an introduction to the written language and as such, it is rather light on conversational skills. However, it does a very good job of teaching the grammar and the vocabulary of standard literary Uzbek. Each unit is made up of a long vocabulary list, a detailed grammar section, a reading practice text, two translation exercises and a composition.
There’s also a small practical conversation section at the end of each unit. No dialogues but several expressions and idioms one can be expected to need for daily conversations. Those are actually quite good and interesting, too. I have only completed the first four units of volume I so far but can already say stuff like « What the hell is this? » (Bu nima balo?) or « Things don't look good! » (Ish pachava).
I love how a copious amount of proverbs and idioms are introduced in each lesson, too. So far my favourite one is a nursery rhyme that is typically recited while serving tea: « Birinchi loy / Ikkinchi moy / Uchinchi Choy » (which translates as: « The first is mud / The second is oil / The third is tea »).
Modern Literary Uzbek is choke-full of information so it should keep me busy for a while. I’ll start studying Unit 5 later today and I’ll update this thread tomorrow.
Xo’p, hozirgacha xayr! (« Alright, goodbye for now! »).