More Uncommon Topics For Vocab Lists In Your Target Language:

I've been learning Spanish recently and I can't stress enough how frustrated I get everytime an irregular verb is irregular

It’s crazy when you start thinking about how ancient many common names are. I’ve known 15+ people named John. My ancestors 100 years ago would have known 15+ people named John. My ancestors 1,000 years ago would have known 15+ people named John. I’ve known several dudes named Marcus, someone in 100 BC probably knew a few too. The name Alexander is over 3,000 years old.

SEMANTIC CHANGES IN ENGLISH

Awful – Literally "full of awe", originally meant "inspiring wonder (or fear)", hence "impressive". In contemporary usage, the word means "extremely bad".

Awesome – Literally "awe-inducing", originally meant "inspiring wonder (or fear)", hence "impressive". In contemporary usage, the word means "extremely good".

Terrible – Originally meant "inspiring terror", shifted to indicate anything spectacular, then to something spectacularly bad.

Terrific – Originally meant "inspiring terror", shifted to indicate anything spectacular, then to something spectacularly good.[1]

Nice – Originally meant "foolish, ignorant, frivolous, senseless". from Old French nice (12c.) meaning "careless, clumsy; weak; poor, needy; simple, stupid, silly, foolish", from Latin nescius ("ignorant or unaware"). Literally "not-knowing", from ne- "not" (from PIE root *ne- "not") + stem of scire "to know" (compare with science). "The sense development has been extraordinary, even for an adj". [Weekley] -- from "timid, faint-hearted" (pre-1300); to "fussy, fastidious" (late 14c.); to "dainty, delicate" (c. 1400); to "precise, careful" (1500s, preserved in such terms as a nice distinction and nice and early); to "agreeable, delightful" (1769); to "kind, thoughtful" (1830).

Naïf or Naïve – Initially meant "natural, primitive, or native" . From French naïf, literally "native", the masculine form of the French word, but used in English without reference to gender. As a noun, "natural, artless, naive person", first attested 1893, from French, where Old French naif also meant "native inhabitant; simpleton, natural fool".

Demagogue – Originally meant "a popular leader". It is from the Greek dēmagōgós "leader of the people", from dēmos "people" + agōgós "leading, guiding". Now the word has strong connotations of a politician who panders to emotions and prejudice.

Egregious – Originally described something that was remarkably good (as in Theorema Egregium). The word is from the Latin egregius "illustrious, select", literally, "standing out from the flock", which is from ex—"out of" + greg—(grex) "flock". Now it means something that is remarkably bad or flagrant.

Gay – Originally meant (13th century) "lighthearted", "joyous" or (14th century) "bright and showy", it also came to mean "happy"; it acquired connotations of immorality as early as 1637, either sexual e.g., gay woman "prostitute", gay man "womaniser", gay house "brothel", or otherwise, e.g., gay dog "over-indulgent man" and gay deceiver "deceitful and lecherous". In the United States by 1897 the expression gay cat referred to a hobo, especially a younger hobo in the company of an older one; by 1935, it was used in prison slang for a homosexual boy; and by 1951, and clipped to gay, referred to homosexuals. George Chauncey, in his book Gay New York, would put this shift as early as the late 19th century among a certain "in crowd", knowledgeable of gay night-life. In the modern day, it is most often used to refer to homosexuals, at first among themselves and then in society at large, with a neutral connotation; or as a derogatory synonym for "silly", "dumb", or "boring".[2]

Guy – Guy Fawkes was the alleged leader of a plot to blow up the English Houses of Parliament on 5 November 1605. The day was made a holiday, Guy Fawkes Day, commemorated by parading and burning a ragged manikin of Fawkes, known as a Guy. This led to the use of the word guy as a term for any "person of grotesque appearance" and then by the late 1800s—especially in the United States—for "any man", as in, e.g., "Some guy called for you". Over the 20th century, guy has replaced fellow in the U.S., and, under the influence of American popular culture, has been gradually replacing fellow, bloke, chap and other such words throughout the rest of the English-speaking world. In the plural, it can refer to a mixture of genders (e.g., "Come on, you guys!" could be directed to a group of mixed gender instead of only men).

Silvio Pasqualini Bolzano inglese ripetizioni English insegnante teacher

words for when your characters ______

Agree

accede, acceptance, accord, acknowledgment, acquiescence, align, avowal, bear, cohere, compromise, consent, contract, draft, enlist, give in/give up, go along/go along with, grant, negotiate, unanimous, yield

Deny

abjure, abuse, affront, attack, backstab, bad-mouth, belie, blacken, blemish, confront, curse, darn, defamation, defile, demur, denigrate, detract, dig, disclaim, discountenance, disgrace, disown, disparagement, downplay, explode, flout, fulminate, gainsay, gird, invective, jeer, lament, lecture, malign, minimize, mouth, needle, oppose, protest, put down, put-down, rebuff, refute, remonstrate, renunciation, run down, satirize, scold, show up, sit-in, slander, smear, snap, snub, squeal, sully, swearing, taunt, tirade, turn, underestimate, vituperation, write off, yammer

Explain

account for, admit, apprise, cite, clarify, come clean, concede, confirm, corroborate, defense, demonstrate, dilate, elucidate, enlighten, evidence, expand, explicate, gloss, illustrate, itemize, let on, palliate, plea, prove, recite, simplify, speak out/speak up, spell out, translator, warrant

Fabricate

aspersion, belie, disprove, profane

Inform

acknowledge, address, advertise, allow, allusion, apprise, bare, betrayal, blab, breathe, briefing, broadcast, chronicle, clue, come out with, confession, convey, debunk, define, detail, dictate, divulge, expose, feature, furnish, give, gossip, hint, intimate, issue, lecture, newscaster, orate, out of the closet, pass, post, proclaim, promulgate, publication, publish, release, reveal, show up, speak, spill, squeal, talk, tip, uncover, unveil, weatherperson, whisper

Instruct

bar, educate, prescribe

Persuade

advance, argument, bend, budge, carry, coerce, convince, discourage, draw, drum up, elicit, entice, forward, goad, hammer away/hammer into, induce, influence, invite, lobby, motivate, negotiation, pitch, prevail upon/prevail on, prompt, reason, spur, sway, urge, win/win over

Promise

assurance, avow, commitment, ensure, go back/go back on, oath, portend, vouch, warrant, word

Suggest

advice, advocate, ask, come up with, connote, drum into, exhort, fish for, get at, guide, imply, insinuate, moralize, move, nomination, pontificate, preach, propose, recommend, urge

Praise

accent, acclamation, accredit, adulation, apotheosis, applause, benediction, bless, champion, citation, commend, compliment, congratulations, credit, dedicate, deify, elevate, endorse, eulogize, exalt, extol, flatter, flattery, glorify, homage, laud, lionize, obsequy, plaudits, puff, salute, thanks, tribute, worship

Warn

admonish, alert, caution, caveat, defy, enjoin, exhortation, foreboding, foretell, page, remind, warning

NOTE

The above are concepts classified according to subject and usage. It not only helps writers and thinkers to organize their ideas but leads them from those very ideas to the words that can best express them.

It was, in part, created to turn an idea into a specific word. By linking together the main entries that share similar concepts, the index makes possible creative semantic connections between words in our language, stimulating thought and broadening vocabulary. Writing Resources PDFs

Source ⚜ Writing Basics & Refreshers ⚜ On Vocabulary

You know what I think is really cool about language (English in this case)? It’s the way you can express “I don’t know” without opening your mouth. All you have to do is hum a low note, a high note, then another lower note. The same goes for yes and no. Does anyone know what this is called?

You need to be looking for sewing and drawing tutorials in Spanish, to watch baking tutorials in Russian or read the wikipedia article about the insect you've just discovered on your balcony in German ! You cannot watch Peppa pig in your target language forever.

Will knowing how to say "aiguille à tricoter" in French be useful for your exam ? Probably not, but who cares ? You're listening to spoken French AND you're learning a manual skill !

Youtube is full of wonderful tutorials in many languages, everything is there just waiting for you ...

And why stop at manual skills ? Philosophy ? History ? Astrology ? Hop hop hop, in your target language ! Want to learn something about Egypt ? The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has a coursera course on it.

"But I won't understand anything" I personally prefer to understand 20% of a lecture about a sacred temple in the middle of the desert than understand 60% of the most boring standard "what do you like to eat for breakfast" textbook learning material.

Halito! Chahtawordoftheday sia!

(Hi! I am Chahtawordoftheday!)

Each new generation is responsible for proliferating their stories. I created this blog because, as a Native, this is hard to do alone. Want to brush up on Chahta anumpa (The Choctaw language) with me? Then this is the blog for you! Look forward to daily vocab, reposted lessons of the day from The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's website, and a spotlight on Native art/resources.

Speaking of which, here are my favorite Chahta language learning resources:

Here is an online dictionary-makes it easy to check for words/definitions every day! (I know I do)

The Choctaw Dictionary - Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Here is another site I find myself on often-if you are a IPA nerd like I am then you will love this phonic! (and even if you are not, it can still help your understanding of Choctaw words when written vs spoken)

Choctaw Pronunciation Guide, Alphabet and Phonology

Here is the home language page on the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's site-Look here for common phrases, the lesson of the day, and for who to contact in order to request translations!

Language - Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

This page on the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's website offers multiple options for language-including virtual, in person, and self-directed! I personally recommend self-directed, especially if you are family with Canvas, registration for this course is the easiest and quickest!

Choctaw Language Classes - Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Here is The University of Oklahoma's Choctaw Language Course Catalogue

CHOC-Choctaw < University of Oklahoma

Here is the r/Choctaw Reddit page-an eclectic and lovely place to reach out to your community as well as look for information

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

If there are any resources you like me to highlight, please let me know! Feel free to tag me in simple posts you'd like translations too, like a picture of a cat (katos) or a snake (sinti), request subjects for the word of the day, and to otherwise dm me! I can't wait to go on this journey with you!

Chi pisa la chike, yakoke! (goodbye and thank you!)

People might wonder why I love etymology so much and the reason is simple — our everyday language is full of poetry. The English word "clue"? It comes from a Middle English word for "a ball of yarn", "clewe", which is a reference to the myth about Theseus and the Labyrinth. The Czech word "potkat" — "to meet"? The "tkat" part actually comes from "tkát" — to weave. To meet someone is literally to get interwoven with someone in Czech. How am I supposed to not love this?

Broo learning a more obscure language is so hard because there is both so little and so much to work off of. Like I’m trying to figure out where to start with Tibetan, I can barely find any resources due to so much Chinese imperialism within Tibet making Tibetan as a language rare as hell, and each time I think I start to figure out the bare bone basics, I find something that opens more questions than answers. Like what the fuck is a post-postscript? Or a postscript for that matter? And are they different from the standard Tibetan alphabet? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT ALPHABETS?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS, ENGLISH?!

i sometimes envision learners of hungarian as a second language encountering the word község and reading it with a zs like no that's obviously a z s you doofus why havent you memorised each word's individual etymology yet