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Word of the Day
Apr. 21st, 2012 11:57 amIt's Latin for "I learn".
Which means that, every time I pick up my Latin textbook, I'm disco-ing! Hurrah!
*dances, disco-style*
It's Latin for "I learn".
Which means that, every time I pick up my Latin textbook, I'm disco-ing! Hurrah!
*dances, disco-style*
a brief lesson in pronouns
Feb. 22nd, 2012 03:18 pm...and, once again, my colleagues are using complicated words in an attempt to sound professional.
This time it's "whom". Which would be slightly weird even if they were using it correctly. As it is, they're using it in entirely the wrong place, and moving from "slightly weird" to "utterly ridiculous".
Brief revision:
If they're what the sentence is about...
I/thou/he/she/we/you/they/who went to the beach yesterday.
If they're a less important bit of the sentence...
My dog, who was very upset about being given a bath, bit me/thee/him/her/us/you/them/whom.
If they own something...
This is my/thy/his/her/our/your/their/whose cake.
If they own something, but... um... the owner is mentioned after the other bit? Or something? *still gets confused by this* But, anyway...
This rocket launcher is mine/thine/his/hers/ours/yours/theirs/whose.
The useful thing with this is that, if you know one of them, you can do all the others. So, if you know that you could put "me" in the sentence, you should go with "him" instead of "he"...
Why don't they teach this in school anymore?
This time it's "whom". Which would be slightly weird even if they were using it correctly. As it is, they're using it in entirely the wrong place, and moving from "slightly weird" to "utterly ridiculous".
Brief revision:
If they're what the sentence is about...
I/thou/he/she/we/you/they/who went to the beach yesterday.
If they're a less important bit of the sentence...
My dog, who was very upset about being given a bath, bit me/thee/him/her/us/you/them/whom.
If they own something...
This is my/thy/his/her/our/your/their/whose cake.
If they own something, but... um... the owner is mentioned after the other bit? Or something? *still gets confused by this* But, anyway...
This rocket launcher is mine/thine/his/hers/ours/yours/theirs/whose.
The useful thing with this is that, if you know one of them, you can do all the others. So, if you know that you could put "me" in the sentence, you should go with "him" instead of "he"...
Why don't they teach this in school anymore?
Nama saya Mez! ...and that's all I've got
Nov. 16th, 2011 03:04 pmI've been trying to learn Indonesian. It's really, really hard.
I wasn't expecting this. Indonesian's supposed to be comparatively easy - but out of all the languages I've learnt, this is by far the trickiest. Why, you ask? It's the vocab.
The thing is, I'm used to European languages (Sindarin and Auslan being the only non-European languages I've ever really paid attention to). In which...
Apple is Apfel.
Mother is mater.
Intelligent is intelligent.
Bed is Bett.
Even the words that aren't that simple tend to be understandable - like, in Latin, "fur", "ebrius", and "canes" become really easy to remember once you link them to "furtive", "inebriated", and "canine".
Indonesian, on the other hand, while having some of the simplest grammar I've ever encountered, has a vocabulary like nothing I've experienced before. I can understand the concepts - but I can't remember a single sentence.
Apparently I'm really good at weird grammars, as long as I recognise the words...
I wasn't expecting this. Indonesian's supposed to be comparatively easy - but out of all the languages I've learnt, this is by far the trickiest. Why, you ask? It's the vocab.
The thing is, I'm used to European languages (Sindarin and Auslan being the only non-European languages I've ever really paid attention to). In which...
Apple is Apfel.
Mother is mater.
Intelligent is intelligent.
Bed is Bett.
Even the words that aren't that simple tend to be understandable - like, in Latin, "fur", "ebrius", and "canes" become really easy to remember once you link them to "furtive", "inebriated", and "canine".
Indonesian, on the other hand, while having some of the simplest grammar I've ever encountered, has a vocabulary like nothing I've experienced before. I can understand the concepts - but I can't remember a single sentence.
Apparently I'm really good at weird grammars, as long as I recognise the words...
my books dislike each other
Oct. 21st, 2011 07:18 amI have a book on Latin, called Amo, Amas, Amat, and All That. It's a fun and informative look at Latin, and how to speak it. Very enjoyable read.
That is, until the end, when the author starts shaking his fist at all those damn kids on his lawn, and yelling "Back in my day..."
His main argument seems to be:
1) Latin is wonderfully complex and technically challenging (ie: hard).
2) The Cambridge Latin Course makes Latin NOT hard.
3) This means that exams are no longer challenging.
4) The CLC is ruining our nation's Latin, by teaching through cutesy stories rather than good old fashioned grammar tables.
(I especially liked the part when he claimed that the CLC never teaches you about accusatives, or even mentions them.
Attention, grumpy author! Get CLC Book 1. Open to page 21. Note the thorough explanation of accusatives. Now stop talking.)
Now, I am just as inclined as the next snob to bemoan the sad lack of education among modern youth, what with their rock music, and their strange haircuts, and their lack of good old fashioned misery... but I'm not convinced teaching a language through sample conversations is actually responsible for dumbing down the populace. It is, after all, exactly the way that every other foreign language is being taught right now - and there's a reason for that. It works.
Hey, author? Repeat after me: FUN IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY BAD.
That is, until the end, when the author starts shaking his fist at all those damn kids on his lawn, and yelling "Back in my day..."
His main argument seems to be:
1) Latin is wonderfully complex and technically challenging (ie: hard).
2) The Cambridge Latin Course makes Latin NOT hard.
3) This means that exams are no longer challenging.
4) The CLC is ruining our nation's Latin, by teaching through cutesy stories rather than good old fashioned grammar tables.
(I especially liked the part when he claimed that the CLC never teaches you about accusatives, or even mentions them.
Attention, grumpy author! Get CLC Book 1. Open to page 21. Note the thorough explanation of accusatives. Now stop talking.)
Now, I am just as inclined as the next snob to bemoan the sad lack of education among modern youth, what with their rock music, and their strange haircuts, and their lack of good old fashioned misery... but I'm not convinced teaching a language through sample conversations is actually responsible for dumbing down the populace. It is, after all, exactly the way that every other foreign language is being taught right now - and there's a reason for that. It works.
Hey, author? Repeat after me: FUN IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY BAD.
j'ai en peu francais *
Sep. 23rd, 2011 12:45 pm* Yes, I'm aware this is incorrect. That's kinda my point.
First day of Job #2, and guess which of my skills are being used the most?
Editing? Nope. So far, it's just made me wince several times while reading through dreadful powerplant documents.
Engineering? Not really. It's helping me to understand the powerplant documents, but they're not all that tricky, so it's not like I'm having to delve deeply into my memory of uni lectures.
My self-taught French?
...yes. The language I am hopeless at, didn't mention on my CV, can't understand on tv shows, and have completely ignored for the last year or two is, right now, my number one MOST USEFUL SKILL in the workplace.
(So far, I have chatted to the company's French teacher, translated some job references for the HR department, and given fast-language-learning tips to someone who needs to be semi-fluent by October.)
First day of Job #2, and guess which of my skills are being used the most?
Editing? Nope. So far, it's just made me wince several times while reading through dreadful powerplant documents.
Engineering? Not really. It's helping me to understand the powerplant documents, but they're not all that tricky, so it's not like I'm having to delve deeply into my memory of uni lectures.
My self-taught French?
...yes. The language I am hopeless at, didn't mention on my CV, can't understand on tv shows, and have completely ignored for the last year or two is, right now, my number one MOST USEFUL SKILL in the workplace.
(So far, I have chatted to the company's French teacher, translated some job references for the HR department, and given fast-language-learning tips to someone who needs to be semi-fluent by October.)
language matters
Sep. 14th, 2011 08:13 amDear shopping centre:
There is, to my knowledge, no such thing as a "ladie". Therefore, there should not be a selection of shops for "ladie's".
Dear tv newsreader:
I'm having trouble believing that you're about to interview "a couple who have literally been to hell and back".
Dear random internet person:
There is a big difference between "Providing school students, from children to young adults..." and "Providing children to young adults..."
There is, to my knowledge, no such thing as a "ladie". Therefore, there should not be a selection of shops for "ladie's".
Dear tv newsreader:
I'm having trouble believing that you're about to interview "a couple who have literally been to hell and back".
Dear random internet person:
There is a big difference between "Providing school students, from children to young adults..." and "Providing children to young adults..."
Latin is fun!
Aug. 29th, 2011 09:45 amBecause I am a very silly person sometimes, I'd always kinda thought that Latin was a very formal language in which people talked in a really straightlaced way about Matters Of Great Import. After all, Julius Caesar talked in Latin, the Catholic Church writes in Latin, Handel composed songs in Latin - it's clearly a very solemn and serious language, right?
Yeah. Very silly. I know.
This is one of the reasons I'm loving the Cambridge Latin Course: it's opening my mind to the possibilities of this oh-so-fun language. Like this latest bit:
(My first reaction was "Eww! Gross!" My second reaction was "Heh. Cool...")
I'm now starting to wonder if there's a Latin equivalent of farce - sort of a Roman Wodehouse? - and how easy it would be to get my hands on it.
* Translation: "Eutychus was lying on the couch, eating food out of a basket. He was sweating a lot, and wiping his hands in the hair of a slave..."
Not the most fascinating prose, but certainly descriptive.
Yeah. Very silly. I know.
This is one of the reasons I'm loving the Cambridge Latin Course: it's opening my mind to the possibilities of this oh-so-fun language. Like this latest bit:
Eutychus in lecto recumbebat; cibum e canistro gustabat. valde sudabat, et manus in capillis servi tergebat. *
(My first reaction was "Eww! Gross!" My second reaction was "Heh. Cool...")
I'm now starting to wonder if there's a Latin equivalent of farce - sort of a Roman Wodehouse? - and how easy it would be to get my hands on it.
* Translation: "Eutychus was lying on the couch, eating food out of a basket. He was sweating a lot, and wiping his hands in the hair of a slave..."
Not the most fascinating prose, but certainly descriptive.
And in my ongoing quest to learn Latin, I've discovered something new:
CROSSWORD PUZZLES.
They're Latin crosswords, with the clues in English. Extremely fun and good for vocab.
(Ten years ago, if you'd told me I'd end up doing Latin crosswords for fun, I wouldn't have believed a word of it. But I still would have thought it sounded cool.)
CROSSWORD PUZZLES.
They're Latin crosswords, with the clues in English. Extremely fun and good for vocab.
(Ten years ago, if you'd told me I'd end up doing Latin crosswords for fun, I wouldn't have believed a word of it. But I still would have thought it sounded cool.)
How do you refer to people?
Feb. 2nd, 2011 09:33 amJust a poll, because I'm wondering if being in a different country makes a big difference to this...
(Ignore the "dear" if that's not what you'd say - I just put it there because it's the start of a letter.)
Questions? Comments?
(Ignore the "dear" if that's not what you'd say - I just put it there because it's the start of a letter.)
Poll #5814 forms of address
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 29
At work, you're writing a letter to John Smith, whom you've never met. You start...
View Answers
Dear Mr Smith
22 (78.6%)
Dear John Smith
2 (7.1%)
Dear John
1 (3.6%)
Dear Mr John Smith
0 (0.0%)
Dear Sir
3 (10.7%)
At work, you're writing a letter to John Smith, whom you've met several times. You start...
View Answers
Dear Mr Smith
13 (44.8%)
Dear John Smith
2 (6.9%)
Dear John
13 (44.8%)
Dear Mr John Smith
0 (0.0%)
Dear Sir
1 (3.4%)
At work, you're writing an email to John Smith, whom you've never met. You start...
View Answers
Dear Mr Smith
18 (62.1%)
Dear John Smith
1 (3.4%)
Dear John
7 (24.1%)
Dear Mr John Smith
0 (0.0%)
Dear Sir
3 (10.3%)
At work, you're writing an email to John Smith, whom you've met several times. You start...
View Answers
Dear Mr Smith
4 (14.3%)
Dear John Smith
0 (0.0%)
Dear John
23 (82.1%)
Dear Mr John Smith
0 (0.0%)
Dear Sir
1 (3.6%)
It makes a difference if you're...
View Answers
not at work
20 (69.0%)
writing to Jane Smith instead of John
4 (13.8%)
an inferior, a superior, or an equal
18 (62.1%)
trying to be polite
14 (48.3%)
talking to them face-to-face
18 (62.1%)
Questions? Comments?
definitely Quinara's fault
Jan. 19th, 2011 09:13 amThe problem with LJ entries done entirely in Latin is that I'll definitely pause to read them just for the novelty factor.
And I'm curious - so if I discover that someone's written a fanfic based on a textbook, I'll start researching the textbook to find out how on earth that was possible.
And then I'll end up buying expensive Latin textbooks to go with my other expensive Latin textbooks, which is really a waste of money. (Actually, buying any Latin textbooks could technically be considered a waste of money - dead language, and all that - but I'm going to do it anyway.)
As it happens, this particular Latin textbook is absolutely perfect for me.
( some musings on this )
And I'm curious - so if I discover that someone's written a fanfic based on a textbook, I'll start researching the textbook to find out how on earth that was possible.
And then I'll end up buying expensive Latin textbooks to go with my other expensive Latin textbooks, which is really a waste of money. (Actually, buying any Latin textbooks could technically be considered a waste of money - dead language, and all that - but I'm going to do it anyway.)
As it happens, this particular Latin textbook is absolutely perfect for me.
( some musings on this )
(I also remember "cloud" and "community")
Dec. 17th, 2010 10:30 amI need to find ways to practice Auslan.
I learnt a huge amount of it back in 1998, largely so that I could communicate with unexpected Deaf people I happened to come across. And that's fairly pointless if I don't ever practice it and thus end up in the situation I'm in now, where our conversation would be restricted to "man", "woman", "yes", "thanks", "fast", and "tomorrow".
Unfortunately, despite VicDeaf offering tutoring sessions on their website, whenever I try contacting them, they say "Hi! Come and do an eight-week course!" which is not what I want at all.
I'm thinking of checking out a church with deaf services, but does anyone else have suggestions?
I learnt a huge amount of it back in 1998, largely so that I could communicate with unexpected Deaf people I happened to come across. And that's fairly pointless if I don't ever practice it and thus end up in the situation I'm in now, where our conversation would be restricted to "man", "woman", "yes", "thanks", "fast", and "tomorrow".
Unfortunately, despite VicDeaf offering tutoring sessions on their website, whenever I try contacting them, they say "Hi! Come and do an eight-week course!" which is not what I want at all.
I'm thinking of checking out a church with deaf services, but does anyone else have suggestions?
Apparently it's only ever heard of in Australia and New Zealand. (Along with "afternoon tea".)
But seriously? The Brits jolly well invented the morning tea break - do they really not use the term? *is baffled*
(For those who are sadly unfamiliar with our wonderful vernacular: morning tea involves snacks of some kind, eaten at about 10am. It doesn't necessarily involve cups of tea.)
Just been having a big forum discussion about what "sauce" is.
( sauce, ketchup, and too many tomatoes )
(Also, just to stir the pot: America, I don't know where you get your weird naming conventions from, but "marinara" means it comes from the sea. It should have fish in it. The stuff you're mistakenly calling marinara is "napolitana".)
( sauce, ketchup, and too many tomatoes )
(Also, just to stir the pot: America, I don't know where you get your weird naming conventions from, but "marinara" means it comes from the sea. It should have fish in it. The stuff you're mistakenly calling marinara is "napolitana".)
Poll #4504 colour question
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 37
The middle traffic light. Is it:
General Announcement
Sep. 13th, 2005 11:36 amAre you checking my tagged entries?
Everything's cross-posted from here to LJ, these days. But my earlier stuff wasn't.
If you're looking for a tagged entry from my LJ-only days, please look here.
Everything's cross-posted from here to LJ, these days. But my earlier stuff wasn't.
If you're looking for a tagged entry from my LJ-only days, please look here.
