languages

LANGUAGES I'M STUDYING

the most important thing to consider when making language learning goals is if there’s the possibility of maintaining the level you’ve just reached after months of hard work. Did I just state the obvious? Sometimes I forget that- I revise a huge stack of [insert random language here] vocab flashcards and then I abandon the whole language for months, à la The Sims binge play. I hate that. So, on this goals list I promise myself I won’t write useless goals that will only make me waste my time.

☐ find a Mandarin speaking friend who lives in my same city to hang out and practice the language
☐ C1 in Mandarin in January ’22
☐ A2 in Japanese in June ’22
☐ find a Japanese speaking friend? maybe my aunt’s friend?
☑ sneak into my uni’s Arabic lessons and see what’s up

13/OCT/21 I did it and it’s super nice! The professor seems so sweet. In our uni we have some lessons with professors that speak our language and with native ones— a girl told me the native ones don’t record their lessons which means I won’t be able to ever see them, because the whole arabic course scheduled the lessons either while I’m having some other lessons or anyway when I’m on break. But I guess that’s ok because I don’t think I’d have the time/energy to go through all those videos. I’ll keep you updated!
☐ improve my French vocab (problem: who to revise it with?)
☐ improve my Chinese writing skills and calligraphy, deadline: Dec ’21

there is no doubt that learning the English language made me become the person I am today, and sort of "saved" me- I know, it's kind of a big statement to make lol, but the English internet has been my main source of comfort for years, before meeting my bestest friend; I met her on tumblr, she's from London and me, her and her sister have been inseparable ever since :'-) they (and their parents as well!) are the best people I know and I can't believe how lucky I got to meet them

it didn't only "save" me psychologically, but also academically: I adored English grammar (might not look like it lmao) and English literature in school, and I was able to get good grades even if my energy was way below 0.

I started seriously studying Chinese at the beginning of 2018. I already knew the basics, which made me confident enough to raise my hand in class and try to answer the professors’ questions. Since then, studying Chinese has always helped me calm down, regain focus, feel refreshed and even made me feel proud. I’m not the best of the class but I’m doing good, and I’m determined not to let my problematic competitive mindset ruin this for me.
I’ve decided to write my bio in Chinese and to use it here and there on this blog, hopefully it doesn’t look like I’m boasting!

French........me and French have a complicated relationship, lol. Technically, I’d love to be amazing at it. I started learning it when I was 11, in middle school, and I used to hate it, haha. I think I don’t like Romance languages because they’re too close to my native language; several things seem so similar, yet are in fact pretty different and it confuses me. I also don’t particularly like France (if you’re French pls forgive me)— I mean, the places I’ve been to, aka Paris and random villages. That being said, I still want to visit new places in France and I’m determined to reach the C1 level (not C2 because that’s just not realistic lol).

sooo.. yeah! I changed my uni degree which means I’ll start learning Japanese in September. I’m very excited but also scared and anxious. I wrote a list of pros and cons:

pros: I love the language, the culture, the literature, how the country looks and their cuisine. Oh and also their products and their general aesthetics (zen, minimalistic, traditional but also the Akihabara type). I think it’s kind of a useful language, and I think it might be somewhat easy for me to integrate in/understand their culture.

cons: too many people study it, too many people are obsessed with Japan (no prob there BUT—>) there are too many weaboos, what if they think I’m one? I also feel like there might be too many tourists/foreigner students in Japan and I don’t wanna bother the locals.

Yeah. I'm putting Spanish here just because. I mean, I actually studied it and everything, but I never really liked it. I just had to study it in high school, lol. The culture and literature part, on the other hand, were great. So yeah, there you go. These are all the languages I've studied so far.

12/OCT/21: I started my C1/HSK5 course. It was brutal. The teacher is absolutely delightful and I’m a dirty goblin who doesn’t remember how to describe
hobbies. UUGHHKGJHK

27/SEPT/21: Officially started Japanese on this glorious day! It was nice but also the professor said it is practically impossible for us (undergrad) to score a place in the Japanese erasmus program, because you need a solid basis of the language first. I assumed they had uni courses in English for erasmus students like in every other uni I’ve heard of :( oh well. The rest of the lesson was cool!

12/JUL/21: spent the last semester on a conversation and consolidation course. My final grade is 86/100. The whole exam was oral and I was so nervous and I messed up the first part, bless the teacher for helping me chill out and giving me a hand. The rest of it was fine, I think my main errors were the one I made at the start and the fact I didn’t talk about a topic long enough. I’m looking forward for my C1 course, starting in September! When I first started Mandarin I honestly didn’t think I was going to get this far! I’m very happy

of MAR/21: trying to watch French YT videos every day, trying to read a book in French (White Oleander, so I already know what's going on in case I feel lost).. really need to pick this language up again

of 2/FEB/21: yesterday I had my B2 exam, today they sent us the grades: 84/100. Honestly I was hoping for something better, but at least I passed. I personally believe my problem is the listening/talking part, but I can't see the corrections yet, so I can't be sure. I really want to do better.

of DEC/20: My uni's language test determined me as a C2, but I think I still have some work to do to reach the native level, so plz excuse my errors thanks :-)

LANGUAGES I HOPE TO STUDY ONE DAY

TIGRINYA

Tigrinya is one of the most fascinating languages I’ve ever encountered. As far as I know, it’s spoken in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the reason why I want to learn it is mainly because of Eritrea. I’ve never been there, but my country, ehm, c*lonised Eritrea, which means there are several Eritrean restaurants in my city, and even a sort of mini “Eritrea Town”. I’ve always adored their typical foods and loved how their language sounds and looks. One of my biggest dreams is to visit the country as a volunteer, and be able to learn even more about their culture.
As for now.. I have a grammar book, but no actual progresses have been made yet.

ARABIC

I just think it’s a stunning language. It sounds and looks marvellous. Tbh if the amount of dialects and different cultures doesn’t scare me when it comes to Chinese, it does with Arabic. I also find it way harder than Mandarin, which is the main reason why I haven’t started properly studying it. We’ll see how it goes, but I truly want to learn it one day

WELSH

Basically, my first love. The only reason why I've delayed studying it for such a long time is because it can't be a priority- a girl has to pay her rent

WENZHOUNESE

a great percentage of my city’s Chinese citizens are the grandsons and grand-grandsons of Wenzhounese immigrants, so I feel like it would be cool to learn it. And also it’s the hardest dialect of all China, called the “Devil’s dialect”, so how COOL is that?! It’s like knowing a whole new language, and I’m all for that

HEBREW

never know what to write here. It's too long and too personal. sorry for being boring

LIS

It means "Italian Sign Language". I feel like it would be a great way to contribute to society as I believe not many able-bodied people know it. Plus, it just looks stunning

RUSSIAN

I don’t particularly care about Russian, I just want it on my cv and occasionally get jealous when I hear people speaking it

JAPANESE

[[STARTED!]]

If everything goes as planned, I'll start studying it in September ('21). I've always loved Japanese culture, but the amount of weeaboos attracted by it has always been kind of a deterrent to me (lamest reason why, I know).