When thinking about languages to learn, I often ponder about what I wanted to achieve from the journey, and what I wanted to use the language for. Languages are designed to communicate -- verbally or in print and writing, relying on the utterances or graphemes transmitted by the sender or speaker, to be decoded by … Continue reading The biggest mistake I make when learning languages
speaking
Word Bites — Is Japan “Nihon” or “Nippon”? Or both?
Described by the West as "The Land of the Rising Sun", the country of Japan is known to us English speakers as, well, Japan. In Japanese, this name is written as the kanji ๆฅๆฌ, but carry two commonly used pronunciations, "Nihon" and "Nippon". We see and hear both forms across Japanese media and maybe some … Continue reading Word Bites — Is Japan “Nihon” or “Nippon”? Or both?
Word Bites — Why do some people say “this here” instead of “this”?
In some videos, movies, or films, you may have heard some characters or people use the phrase "this here (something)" or "that there (something)", probably to portray a more country or old-style atmosphere. However, occasionally, I have heard instances where phrases like this are spoken in perhaps some places in America. So this got me … Continue reading Word Bites — Why do some people say “this here” instead of “this”?
Speaking Japanese — The Interchangeability of /s/ and /h/
It is said that, before the Second World War, there were curious differences in the writings on signboards of pawnshops, which seemed to differ based on the prefecture one was in. If you were in Tokyo, you might see ใใใกใใ (shichiya). But if you were in the Kansai region, particularly Osaka, you might see ใใฒใกใใ … Continue reading Speaking Japanese — The Interchangeability of /s/ and /h/
Speaking Japanese — The Four Kana (Yotsugana)
If you have learnt Japanese, you most likely have been introduced to how it is spoken in Tokyo, or to a lesser extent, Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, or any Kansai variant. However, there are some kana sounds that may or may not sound different based on the prefecture you are in. These four, ใฅ, ใ, ใ, … Continue reading Speaking Japanese — The Four Kana (Yotsugana)
Speaking Japanese — Understanding Aidzuchi
Verbal communication brings out a lot of colour in a language, way beyond the confines of the materials upon which the language is recorded in. Everyday expressions, slang terms, and other kinds of word variants can be picked up through speaking and listening in a conversational context. Very often, when listening to Japanese conversations, or … Continue reading Speaking Japanese — Understanding Aidzuchi
Speaking Japanese — What Exactly is Rendaku?
When learning Japanese, you would have encountered several patterns in speech. For example, while a person in Japanese is ไบบ (ใฒใจ, hito), the plural may be ไบบใ (ใฒใจใณใจ, hitobito). In a rather similar fashion, time is ๆ (ใจใ, toki), while sometimes is ๆใ (ใจใใฉใ, tokidoki). You may be asking, what is the pattern here? Notice … Continue reading Speaking Japanese — What Exactly is Rendaku?
Japanese Speech Contest 2020/21 (ๆฅๆฌ่ชในใใผใใณใณใในใ 2020/21) — The translation
As scheduled, here is my translation of what I wrote, under the guidance of my Japanese language tutor, for the script used in the Japanese Speech Contest submission entry! I included the original Japanese text at the top, followed by the English translation, to make referrals to the original script a bit easier. ใทใณใฌใใผใซใฎๆถๆป ๅฑๆฉ่จ่ชใฎๅพฉ่ใผใฏใชในใฟใณ่ช Language … Continue reading Japanese Speech Contest 2020/21 (ๆฅๆฌ่ชในใใผใใณใณใในใ 2020/21) — The translation
Japanese Speech Contest 2020/21 (ๆฅๆฌ่ชในใใผใใณใณใในใ 2020/21) — The script
ไป้ฑใฎๆ็จฟใฏๅฐใ็ฐใชใใๅปๅนดใฎ12ๆใซ่ฑๅฝๆฅๆฌ่ชๆ่ฒๅญฆไผใฎๆฅๆฌ่ชในใใผใใณใณใในใใซๅๅ ใใใใจใซๆฑบใใใๆฑบๅๅคงไผใซ้ธ่ใใใชใใฃใใใใใฎ็ต้จใงๆธใๆนใ่ฉฑใๆนใชใฉ่ฒใ ใชใ่บซใซใคใใใจๆใใใใใงใฏใๆธใใๅฐๆฌใใใฎใตใคใใงใทใงใขใใใใ่ชๅทฑ็ดนไปใๅฝขๅผ็ใช่กจ็พใชใฉใฎๅใฃใใจใใใใใใใๅ ๅฎนใจใใฆใใใฆใไฟใใใใ่ฑ่ชใฎ็ฟป่จณใฏๆฐดๆๆฅใซๅบใใใ This week's post will be a little different. Last December, I decided to take part in the Japanese Speech Contest held by the British Association for Teaching Japanese. While I was not shortlisted for the finals day, I think that through this experience, I learnt a lot of stuff, from writing to speaking and … Continue reading Japanese Speech Contest 2020/21 (ๆฅๆฌ่ชในใใผใใณใณใในใ 2020/21) — The script
๐๐ป Method ๐๐ป Review โ The Language Learning Challenges
If you have used social media as part of your language learning processes, or you are in language learning interest groups, you might have encountered various challenges that try to push you to speak or write in your target language. This includes the Lingua Franca Challenge, the 30-Day Record Yourself Challenge, and the 30 Day … Continue reading ๐๐ป Method ๐๐ป Review โ The Language Learning Challenges
๐๐ปMethod ๐๐ป Review โ Teach Yourself Enjoy Language Series
Teach Yourself has a diverse set of language courses for various learners of various proficiencies, from the Get Started series for absolute beginners to the Enjoy series for learners who want to perfect their various skills in their target language. Last year, we covered the main series of Teach Yourself language coursebooks, the Complete series, … Continue reading ๐๐ปMethod ๐๐ป Review โ Teach Yourself Enjoy Language Series
๐๐ปMethod ๐๐ป Review โ Routledge’s Colloquial Series
Like Teach Yourself, Routledge is also another powerhouse of language coursebooks, primarily through the Colloquial Series of Multimedia Language Courses, containing courses for at least 40-50 languages. Audio is available through CDs, or through external downloads. Alongside these courses, Routledge also has several Grammar series, and courses focused on the grammar side of things compared … Continue reading ๐๐ปMethod ๐๐ป Review โ Routledge’s Colloquial Series
A Journey in Arabic (MSA)
It has been 10 years since I started learning Arabic, but never quite got to writing a full-length reflection on this journey thus far. I feel that it is time to share my experiences on the learning process, and the various challenges I encountered along the way. December 2009. I had only just completed my … Continue reading A Journey in Arabic (MSA)
๐๐ป Method ๐๐ป Review — Teach Yourself Complete Series
In this review, we will take a look at the various publications in the language learning industry, particularly the self-instruction book giant Teach Yourself. From languages to quantum mechanics, Teach Yourself has an extremely wide spread of subjects, but this being a language learning site, we will be reviewing the Complete, Get Talking, Get Started, … Continue reading ๐๐ป Method ๐๐ป Review — Teach Yourself Complete Series
๐๐ป Method ๐๐ป Review — Duolingo
"No, you are an apple" "I am a horse" Most people who use Duolingo in their language learning journeys probably have encountered sentences like this, and wondered, how does this even make sense, or how does this even help me? Duolingo is one of the most widely-used applications that aid in learning foreign languages, released … Continue reading ๐๐ป Method ๐๐ป Review — Duolingo
The Language Closet 