Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

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Synalepha
Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2019-12-15, 8:52

I've learned over the years that it's pretty much useless for me to write orderly lists of target languages and related goals since I never respect them. Ideally, I'd like to focus on Ladin, Hebrew and Indonesian but I might change idea in three weeks or three months and that's ok, I've learned to not stress myself out over consistency anymore and just go with the flow.

So this is going to be a place where I write my thoughts and prayers on my life, linguistically speaking, mind you. I'm not sure whether to call it a log, since my understanding of the word is that it's still something kind of orderly and regular, nor a diary since that's supposed to be on a daily basis or almost. I like the phrase "stream of consciousness" even though, for the literature nerds reading this, I know mine is probably not going to be a real (Joyce style) stream of consciousness.

Also, native English speakers. Don't be shy. Please do correct my mistakes or give me tips on how to sound more native-like. I'd appreciate it so much.

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2019-12-15, 19:48

This is what has been going on in my linguistic life for the last months:

I decided to get back to studying Ladin in kind of a serious way, I would also like to take a certificate at some point in time (probably distant). Now, I don't know why of all the Romance languages I studied, I want to keep studying the smallest, most useless one. I don't know if it's because it's part of my heritage, if it's a sort of narcisism of the minorities or if I really find it the most interesting, I guess I'll never know. As for the other Romance languages I know, I would love to read some work in all of them but I have no intention of formally studying their grammar anymore.

Hebrew: it's been the usual on-and-off study. It seems it's getting easier after many years and it seems these days you can find niqqud everywhere (like on morphix and google translate) while it was not the case when I started.

Indonesian has probably the most interesting story. I was roaming around in a book-store in search of a good German grammar when suddenly I found an Indonesian grammar by my favorite publishing house when it comes to language books (Hoepli). For many years I had been curious to study Indonesian for the usual stupid reason, that is: it's said to be an "easy" language, and although I don't believe in easy languages anymore, I thought it would be nice to study something with little inflectional morphology (I guess that's the right expression but maybe not), so here I am, studying it, and I have to say I didn't imagine that the lexycon could match my aesthetic tastes so much, from the little I've studied so far, it's almost on par with Hebrew or even better. I just wish it used the Javanese script which is so astoundingly beautiful.

Finally, I'm trying to get more seriously into linguistics. In the last days I've gone through an elementary syntax book, at this stage it's quite fun, but I'm a sucker for anything with lines connecting stuff together, that's why I also love graph theory and combinatorics. One of the main reasons that I'm trying to study linguistics more seriously is because I'd like to read the 1400-page magnum opus Grammatica dell'Italiano Antico (Grammar of Old Italian) which is a serious work of linguistics (not just a reference gammar) describing the Italian of the XIII and XIV century (with data gathered from thousands of manuscripts).

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2019-12-20, 17:24

Here's a (probably incomplete) list of nature-related words that I've learned in the last year more or less:

(as it's often the case, many of these have multiple names, so I just picked my favorite one in order not to get the list too crowded)

Italian - English

ANIMALS AND ANIMAL-RELATED THINGS

saguino - tamarin
uistitì - marmoset
saimiri - squirrel monkey
colobus - colobus
siamango - siamang
cercopiteco verde - vervet
malmignatta - Mediterranean black widow
ragno violino - Mediterranean recluse spider
tonchio - weevil
onisco - pill woodlouse
opilione - harvestman
gerride - water strider
tipula - crane fly
crisopa - lacewing fly
pipilo - towhee
pigidio - telson
ghiandaia azzurra americana - bluejay
moscone della carne - blowfly
panopea - geoduck
avvoltoio - US: buzzard
poiana - UK: buzzard
egitalide - bushtit
ape legnaiola - carpenter bee
cardellino - goldfinch
halibut - halibut
zibellino - sable
planaria - planaria
tardigrade - tardigrade
opistosoma - opisthosoma
prosoma - prosoma
attero - wingless (referred to insects)
sauro - sorrel (referred to horses)
roano - roan (referred to horses)
egretta - egret
gracchio bronzato - grackle
fiutola - hummingbird hawk-moth
migliarino di palude - junco
ossiuro - pinworm
antrostomo - whippoorwill
succiacapre - European nightjar

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2019-12-23, 9:39

PLANTS, FUNGI, ALGAE AND RELATED STUFF

centocchio comune - chickweed
volvaria vischiosa - rose-gilled grisette
fungo dell'olivo - jack-o'-lantern mushroom
mazza di tamburo - parasol mushroom
? - toyon
tifa - cattail
bugola - bugle
erba cipollina - chive
verbena - vervain
gramigna rossa - wiregrass
acetosella - sorrel
laminaria - kelp
ambrosia - ragweed
acanto - acanthus / bear's breeches
(radice a) fittone - taproot
assafetida - asaf(o)etida
brassica - brassica
amaranto - amaranth
achillea millefoglie - yarrow
infiorescenza - inflorescence
cardo - thistle / cardoon
scorzabianca - salsify
ippocastano dell'Ohio - buckeye
digitale - foxglove
galio - galium /bedstraw
ginco - maidenhair tree
cespuglio di creosoto - greasewood
capelvenere - maidenhair fern
succiamele - broomrape
legno santo - holywood lignum-vitae (guaiacum sanctum L.)
lignum vitae - roughback lignum-vitae (guaiacum officinalis L.)
bardana maggiore - greater burdock / lappa
fico delle pagode - sacred fig
pino grigio - digger pine
pino nero - black pine
sorgo - sorghum
scarpetta di Venere / pianella della Madonna - lady's-slipper orchid
stoppia - stubble
sarmento - sarment
ceanoto - ceanothus / buckbrush
madia - tarweed
tussock (formazione botanica) - tussock
mirtillo rosso - lingonberry
? - sticky monkey-flower
galla della quercia - oak gall
(frutto dell') albero del pane - breadfruit
senecione comune - groundsel / old-man-in-the-spring
flogo - phlox
farro - emmer
lino - flax
amanita muscaria - flybane
calendula - marigold
Last edited by Synalepha on 2019-12-23, 17:39, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-23, 15:59

Great lists! I like making and learning lists like these, too.
Calendula is marigold with an i, not a y.

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2019-12-23, 17:41

Linguaphile wrote:Great lists! I like making and learning lists like these, too.
Calendula is marigold with an i, not a y.


Thanks :)

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2019-12-23, 19:47

LANDFORMS AND LANDSCAPES

nevaio - névé
circo - cwm / cirque / corrie
piana tidale - mudflat
nunatak - nunatak
chaparral - chaparral
pianoro - plateau
affioramento (roccioso) - (rocky) outcrop
arête - arête
torbiera - bog
cariceto - fen
sfagneto - raised bog
golena - floodplain
pocosin - pocosin
costiera - slope of a mountain which is not rugged
battuta (di un fiume) - part of a riverbank where the water flows more strongly
canneto - canebrake

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Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby vijayjohn » 2019-12-29, 7:19

Synalepha wrote:I've learned over the years that it's pretty much useless for me to write orderly lists of target languages and related goals since I never respect them. Ideally, I'd like to focus on Ladin, Hebrew and Indonesian but I might change idea in three weeks or three months and that's ok, I've learned to not stress myself out over consistency anymore and just go with the flow.

I'd say "change my mind."

I myself have been finding it impossible to keep up with my TAC like I used to. :para: When you have a full-time job, there's just no time to do anything else. Currently, I'm technically unemployed, but I do start (unpaid) training for a new job in about a month. Even when I didn't have a job lined up, well, I felt like I should be doing whatever I can to get one (or at least doing something other than just posting on UniLang). :| I don't have to rely on languages anymore as much as I used to to manage my anxiety.

That being said, lately, what I've been doing for the most part is just reading all of my language books just because I started feeling guilty all of a sudden for not having read them yet. :P
Also, native English speakers. Don't be shy. Please do correct my mistakes or give me tips on how to sound more native-like. I'd appreciate it so much.

For me personally, at least, what prevents me from making corrections is largely the fact that I don't know how native speakers' opinions differ regarding grammaticality.

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2019-12-29, 19:44

vijayjohn wrote:I'd say "change my mind."


Oh yeah, that's blatantly an Italian calque (cambiare idea).

vijayjohn wrote:For me personally, at least, what prevents me from making corrections is largely the fact that I don't know how native speakers' opinions differ regarding grammaticality.


Better sound from Texas than completely ungrammatical so don't worry about that. :P

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2020-01-01, 12:47

Hebrew

- I've discovered pealim which is a godsend for anyone struggling with Hebrew conjugations. There's also the app version of it but it costs 10 euros which - app-wise - is on the expensive side IMO, but I'm left wondering what marvelous features it might treasure for the price of 10 euros.

- I've also discovered forvo which is another godsend.

- I've bought one of the few novels I could find in Hebrew on Amazon. It appears to be a love story but when it comes to reading in foreign languages (especially those which I'm actively learning) I really don't care about the content, I just care about the language.

Linguistics

- I've bought the book on syntax suggested to me by vijay. The kindle version cost 25 euros instead of the 80 euros of the paper edition. The book seems great so far, so thanks again vijay!

- I'm also reading "Sintassi Elementare" by Caterina Donati, it's way less in-depth but it's ok for a beginner.

- Finally, I'm reading "Course in General Linguistics" by Saussure. I'd say I'm reading this out of historical curiosity more than anything else.

Other linguistics books I have and would like to read probably:

- "The Rhaeto-Romance Languages" by P. Beninca and J. Haiman: I remember linguoboy mentioning it some years ago. It's the attempt to disprove that there's such a thing as the Rhaeto-Romance branch of the Romance languages. Me being a Ladin-speaker, I'm very interested in the topic, intellectually speaking that is. I'm not emotionally invested in it though. At the end of the day I couldn't care less whether Romansh, Ladin and Friulian are more closely related to one another than other Romance languages.

- "Languages of the World" by A. Pereltsvaig: I ditched this book at around halfway through. The style was a bit too dry for me but I might give it a second chance.

- "Language and Problems of Knowledge" by Noam Chomsky: I've found out that my sister - a philosophy major - has this book and, I don't know, it seems kind of interesting. Has anyone on here read it?

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2020-01-01, 18:25

Also, I've found a polyglot channel which I actually enjoy. Maybe it's because we seem to share a fetish for notebooks. :lol: Although, TBH, sometimes I get secondhand anxiety from all the languages that she's trying to learn.

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2020-01-01, 18:28

Oh I forgot

vijayjohn wrote:That being said, lately, what I've been doing for the most part is just reading all of my language books just because I started feeling guilty all of a sudden for not having read them yet. :P


This is so relatable, but I usually try to re-sell them rather than read them lol.

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2020-01-01, 18:52

Synalepha wrote: Maybe it's because we seem to share a fetish for notebooks.


On this note, here are my notebooks:

My English one

rsz_img_20200101_184040.jpg
rsz_1img_20200101_184010.jpg
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Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2020-01-01, 18:54

My multilingual (minus English) one

rsz_img_20200101_184113.jpg

rsz_img_20200101_184152.jpg
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Last edited by Synalepha on 2020-01-01, 18:59, edited 1 time in total.

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2020-01-01, 18:56

I'm also trying to practice some calligraphy

rsz_img_20200101_184209.jpg
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Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Linguaphile » 2020-01-01, 19:25

Synalepha wrote:My multilingual (minus English) one

rsz_img_20200101_184113.jpg
rsz_img_20200101_184152.jpg

Nice! That's quite similar to what I do too, except that yours are much prettier than mine. I tend to use cheap steno books like the one pictured below, using the left-hand column for the new word (and its base form if what I've written down originally is not the base form) and the right-hand column for its meaning.

Image

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Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Antea » 2020-01-01, 20:54

Synalepha wrote:I'm also trying to practice some calligraphy


Obviously your Hebrew calligraphy is much more artistic than mine :yep:

Synalepha

Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Synalepha » 2020-01-01, 22:20

Linguaphile wrote:Nice! That's quite similar to what I do too, except that yours are much prettier than mine.


I tend to be somewhat of an aestheticist when it comes to notebooks :p

Antea wrote:
Synalepha wrote:I'm also trying to practice some calligraphy


Obviously your Hebrew calligraphy is much more artistic than mine :yep:


Thanks! :) Btw, I used a calligraphy pen for that so I don't think the comparison would be fair. And I can have a very bad handwriting too, see here:

rsz_img_20200101_184134.jpg
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Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby vijayjohn » 2020-01-02, 5:35

Synalepha wrote:Oh I forgot

vijayjohn wrote:That being said, lately, what I've been doing for the most part is just reading all of my language books just because I started feeling guilty all of a sudden for not having read them yet. :P


This is so relatable, but I usually try to re-sell them rather than read them lol.

It's funny that you say that because normally, I couldn't imagine reselling them...but now that I've started getting into reading so many of them, I'm starting to feel like I could start doing that. I even told my dad he could sell some of my books off, but he refused because he has better ways of making money and considers my book collection a treasure. :P

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Re: Synalepha's linguistic stream of consciousness

Postby Luís » 2020-01-02, 9:39

Synalepha wrote:- I've discovered pealim which is a godsend for anyone struggling with Hebrew conjugations. There's also the app version of it but it costs 10 euros which - app-wise - is on the expensive side IMO, but I'm left wondering what marvelous features it might treasure for the price of 10 euros.


I really like that site, but I didn't know they had an app.

Hey, software developers need to eat too. I don't understand why people don't have an issue with spending 25 euros on a book but then think 10 euros is too much for a piece of software. I bought the iOS version of Anki some years ago (which was like 20 euros or something) but since I use it everyday, it was definitely worth the price. So, I guess it all comes down to how much you use it.
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