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Day 15: Da steppt der Bär. Y’all, I didn’t know this little gem existed. Da steppt der Bär. Literally, “There tap dances the bear.” Meaning, it will be a great party. Also, upon further research I find that ‘steppen’ can mean ‘quilting’, or ‘knitting’. Although I know it means dancing, I’m going to be thinking of a wild party with a quilting bear in the corner because THATs the party I want to know all about!
Day 13: Ja?! It fits so nicely at the end of a sentence. My favorite expression: Jawohl!
Day 12: neugierig: Curious!!
Day 11: der Fuchs. The fox!
Day 10: Verschlimmbessern: to make something worse by trying to fix it. I think we can all relate. I had to look this one up, but it’s going to the front of my memory. I’m positive I’ll use it frequently!
My professorin always said, “DeTour, durch Die Tür.” And that is how I will always remember the gender of the door.
Day 8: Urtier, primordial beast. This was one of my German professorin’s favorite words. She always translated it as ‘monster’, but other definitions are different. Any fluent speakers have any insights?
Day 7: Fischers Fritze fischt frische Fische; Frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritze! Was it’s das?!?
Day 6: der Finger!
Day 5: Rüpelhafte. The bar scene from Inglorious Basterds is a gem. My ear always pinned this word down when Michael Fassbender’s character was scolding a German soldier. Rüpelhafte is translated in the movie as ‘boorish’ but I’ve also found definitions meaning ‘lousy’, ‘bullying’, and ‘bawdy’. It also has a way of rolling off the tongue.
English: I’m pregnant.
French: Oh mon Dieu, congratulations!
German: I am schwanger too!
Finnish: I’m pregánte! And pregananant! And pregonate! And pregnart! And pragnet! *whispers darkly* I’m pregnant with all the babies.
English, French and German: Cool beans, Finnish.
tbh i still can’t understand why anyone would not want to learn other languages. like you can open a book full of once alien-like symbols, and actually know what it’s saying. it’s gotta be one of the best feelings in the world
I love languages. I loved learning them since I was little. Here are some quotes for the people who share the same passion as me. :) Which one is your favourite?
❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞ -Nelson Mandela
❝One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.❞-Frank Smith
❝ Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt. ❞ The limits of my language are the limits of my world. -Ludwig Wittgenstein, German
❝Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.❞ -Sarah Caldwell
❝ Un vocabolario può contenere solo una piccola parte del patrimonio di una lingua.❞ A dictionary can embrace only a small part of the vast tapestry of a language. - Giacomo Leopardi,Italian
❝To have another language is to possess a second soul.❞ -Charlemagne
❝ یک زبان جدید یک زندگی جدید است. ❞ A new language is a new life. -Persian Proverb
❝ Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von seiner eigenen. ❞ Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German
❝You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.❞ -Geoffrey Willans
❝ 学一门语言，就是多一个观察世界的窗户。❞ To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world. -Chinese proverb
❝Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.❞ -Rita Mae Brown
❝ Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem.❞ As many languages you know, as many times you are a human being. -Czech proverb
❝ If you want people to understand you, speak their language. ❞ -African Proverb
❝ Bir dil bir insan, iki dil iki insan. ❞ One who speaks only one language is one person, but one who speaks two languages is two people. -Turkish Proverb
❝ With languages, you are at home anywhere. ❞ - Edward De Waal
❝ Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem. ❞ As many languages you know, as many times you are a human being -Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Czech
❝ Learning a language is to understand other;to form connections ❞ -unknown
❝ Notitia linguarum est prima porta sapientiae ❞ Latin. Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom. - Roger Bacon
❝ Change your language and you change your thoughts. ❞ -Karl Albrecht
❝ Скільки мов ти знаєш, стільки разів ти людина. ❞ How many languages you know, hat many times you are a person. - Pavlo Tychyn, Ukranian
…and don’t forget;
There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all. -Unknown
The thing about being multi-lingual is that it’s not just that you have one language you think in, and then you translate based on what environment you’re in. It’s more like, when you’re speaking another language, you’re almost a different person. You’ve had different experiences speaking those languages and thinking in those languages; those experiences shape who you are in that language, in my experience. So when I’m speaking Japanese, I’m not just speaking Japanese. I’m also thinking and feeling in the Japanese person that I am, who is a little bit different. Well, not different, but stronger in personality in certain aspects more than others, I guess.
Mitski (“More Mitski, please” NUVO interview by Katherine Coplen)
Isn’t it just plain hilarious when you read something in a foreign language and understand it then realise that you don’t even learn that language but you can decode the meaning based on your knowledge of other languages?
new langblr on the block 👋
hey im aron and im a new british langblr ✨ i've been following the langblr community for a while and thought i'd make my own blog just to get some recognition and to help build up my own blog for resources n stuff :) and obviously for the memes too i speak english natively and my main target language is french which i've been learning for maybe 4 years now ?? im at a more basic level in german and im forgetting esperanto more and more every day lol im considering beginning norwegian but other languages that interest me are swedish, irish, swahili and korean. some of the blogs that have inspired me are @scottish-polyglot @sprachtraeume @langsandlit @malteseboy @languageoclock and @norwegian-wool outside of languages i love music, hamilton, youtube and art 🙌 also im not emo that's just my blog lmao -aron x
French Prepositions
and how else they can be used
I don’t know about y’all, but prepositions are the WORST. They hardly ever directly translate between languages and when they do, there are so many exceptions it doesn’t even matter. So, I’ve done some research and I’ll try to make the list as comprehensive as possible :)
OKAY ! So here is the most basic “to and from” list.
But as you know, French is not that easy. You will also see de and à frequently interspersed between verbs and even used as adverbs and adjectives. Below I have listed a few verbs that take these prepositions.
Verbs that require the preposition à
Aider (quelqu'un) à (to help someone to)
S’amuser à (to amuse oneself)
Avoir à (to have to)
Apprendre à (to learn how to)
Avoir de la peine à (to have difficulty)
Commencer à
Continuer à
The preposition à can also be used to indicate place, time, manner or possession
À droite (on the right)
À loisir (at leisure)
À la compagne (in the mountains)
À la française ([in] the french way)
Cette voiture est à toi? (This car is yours?)
Verbs that require the preposition de
S’arreter de
Cesser de
Choisir de
Décider de
Se dépêcher de (to be in a hurry
Essayer de
Finir de
Oublier de
Refuser de
Verbs that can be followed by both
Conseiller à (quelqu’un) de (faire quelque chose)
Défendre à… de
Demander à…de
Dire à… de
Offrir à … de
Permettre à… de
Promettre à… de
Proposer à… de
Suggérer à…de
Hope this helps !!
GLOSS - Global Language Online Support System
This online resource has tons of resources for lots of different languages, and it is totally free!
There are lots of lessons catered to different levels which tailor vocab practice as well as listening and reading comprehension. I would say that the vocabulary and scenarios are generally more geared up towards security/defence and diplomacy, so if you are studying international relations or something geared towards the international sphere, this may be particularly interesting!
Then you can select different types of activities, which you can download onto your computer as MP3s and PDFs. The activities are categorised based on what skill they train. There are reading and vocab activities that help build up knowledge. Although the topics are pretty specific, they are really useful for getting vocab practice in areas that you are not so familiar with!
The activities are diverse and varied, with explanations for answers that were not correct!
There is also a glossary for all the new words, which has an audio file to listen to the pronunciation by a native speaker. This is particularly useful for self study, especially when contact with native speakers is less frequent.
All in all I really rate the website, the resources are a really great compliment to language studies, and although they are kind of ‘old school’ in their approach, they seem really effective!
***The link***
https://gloss.dliflc.edu/
Links to Free French Children’s Books
One of the best ways―if not the best way―to improve your foreign language fluency is reading! Children’s books are the perfect place to start. Below I have linked a handful of free French children’s books from Internet Archive for those of you learning French.
Internet Archive is an online library that provides free access to books, movies, audio files, and other digitized materials. An account is required to view some of the listings, but you can create one for free.
Le bonhomme de pain d'épices (The Gingerbread Man) by Janet Brown
Blanche Neige et les sept nains (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
Hello Kitty: Une surprise pour mama (Hello Kitty: A Surprise for Mom) by Ellen Weiss
La princesse au petit pois (The Princess and the Pea)
Bob l'éponge: Où est Gary? (SpongeBob: Where is Gary?) by David Lewman
Links to PDFs of French Language Books
The Great Gatsby (Gatsby le magnifique)
The Fault in Our Stars (Nos étoiles contraires)
Twilight (Fascination)
New Moon (Tentation)
Eclipse (Hésitation)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter à l'École des Sorciers)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter et la Chambre des Secrets)
The Book Thief (La voleuse de livres)
The Notebook (Les pages de notre amour)
Sense and Sensibility (Le cœur et la raison)
The Little Prince (Le petit prince)
The Girl on the Train (La Fille du train)
Animal Farm (La Ferme des Animaux)
1984 (1984)
Romeo and Juliet (Roméo et Juliette)
Me Before You (Avant toi)
The Secret Garden (Le Jardin mystérieux)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Les hommes qui n'aimaient pas les femmes)
Hunger Games (Hunger Games)
Divergent (Divergent)
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (À tous les garçons que j'ai aimés)
- take an ebook in your target language that you wanna read - convert epub to txt - copy txt into unique wordlist maker (http://caerphoto.com/uwc/) - remove words in the list you already know - maybe focus on keeping the high frequency new words - make this list into flashcard deck badda bing badda boom
I did this with my Turkish copy of Animal Farm and pulled 212 new words for my Quizlet deck
Negations
A
Au grand jamais - never
Aucun-e(s) - none : Je n’en ai vu aucun / I have seen none of them
Aucunement (rare) - by no means
D
Dégun (southern slang) - no one
E
En aucun cas - under no circumstance
En aucune façon - under no circumstance
En aucune manière - under no circumstance
En rien - under no circumstance
G
Goutte - nothing (old, rare) : On n’y voit goutte ici / We can’t see anything
Guère - almost not/nothing (old, rare) : Ce n’est guère plus rapide que le train / This isn’t any faster than the train
J
Jamais - never : Plus jamais ça! / Never again!
Jamais au grand jamais - never ever (dramatic)
Jamais de la vie - never ever
K
Keud (slang), short que ‘que dalle’ (slang for Nothing)
Keutchi (slang)
N
N’ - ne + vowel : Je ne t’aime pas / I don’t love you
Nada - nothing at all : - Did you hear about that? - Nada!
Nan (slang) - nah
Ne - not : Je ne sais pas / I don’t know
Ni - neither/nor : Je n’ai vu ni le chien ni le chat depuis que je suis arrivée / I haven’t seen neither the cat nor the dog since I got here
Niet - nope! (often angry)
Non - no
Non plus - (n)either : Je ne sais pas non plus / I don’t know either
Non plus que
Nul-le - none : Nos jeunes filles à nous sont tellement accomplies, que nulle des filles d’Ève ne peut lutter avec elles ! — (Modeste Mignon, Honoré de Balzac, 1844)
Nulle part - nowhere : Je ne le vois nulle part / I can’t see him anywhere
Nullement - not in any way
O
Ô/oh grand jamais : never ever (dramatic)
P
Pas - not : Je ne sais pas / I don’t know
Pas autrement - not any other way : C’est comme ça et pas autrement
Pas encore - not yet
Pas forcément - not necessarily
Pas plus que
Pas un-e - not one : - Did they offer their help? - Pas un!
Pas un chat - not one cat : Il n’y a pas un chat / There’s no one here
Personne - nobody : Il n’y a personne ici / There’s no one here
Plus : no more - Je ne t’aime plus / I don’t love you anymore
Point - not : Je ne sais point / I don’t know (rare, old)
Q
Que dalle (slang) - nothing : - Did you know about that? - Que dalle!
Que nenni - no (old) : - Are they here yet? - Que nenni!
Que tchi (slang) - nothing
Queude (slang, short for Que dalle) - nothing
R
Rien - nothing : Je ne vois rien / I don’t see anything
Links to PDFs of French Language Books
The Great Gatsby (Gatsby le magnifique)
The Fault in Our Stars (Nos étoiles contraires)
Twilight (Fascination)
New Moon (Tentation)
Eclipse (Hésitation)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter à l'École des Sorciers)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter et la Chambre des Secrets)
The Book Thief (La voleuse de livres)
The Notebook (Les pages de notre amour)
Sense and Sensibility (Le cœur et la raison)
The Little Prince (Le petit prince)
The Girl on the Train (La Fille du train)
Animal Farm (La Ferme des Animaux)
1984 (1984)
Romeo and Juliet (Roméo et Juliette)
Me Before You (Avant toi)
The Secret Garden (Le Jardin mystérieux)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Les hommes qui n'aimaient pas les femmes)
Hunger Games (Hunger Games)
Divergent (Divergent)
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (À tous les garçons que j'ai aimés)
♥French vocabulary : mystery ♥
Le mystère = mystery
mystérieux = mysterious
un secret, une arcane = a secret
cacher, dissimuler = to hide
murmurer, chuchoter = to whisper
un masque = a mask
une mascarade = a masquerade
les ténèbres, l'obscurité = darkness (both nouns are feminine)
un voile = a veil
la poussière = dust
l'éternité = eternity (feminine)
éternel = eternal
un mensonge = a lie
mentir = to lie
le temps = time
une épine = a thorn
un fil = a thread
la magie = magic
un spectre, un fantôme = a ghost
expliquer = to explain
découvrir = to discover
un trésor = a treasure
un conte = a tale
la fumée = smoke
croire = to believe
douter = to doubt
un miroir = a mirror
la vérité = truth
Gucci Campaign (with Ignasi Monreal)
📱📱📱SMS en Français📱📱📱
Here are some shorthand abbreviations of common words in French that you might see or would like to use when texting:
Slt (salut) - Hi
Pk (pourquoi) - why
Bcp (beaucoup) - a lot
Stp (s’il te plâit) - please
Tkt (ne t'inquiète pas) - no worries
à tte (à toute) - see you, bye
Mdr (mort de rire) - lol
Ptdr (pété de rire) - lmao
Dsl (desolée) - sorry
French vocabulary on time, timing, and speeds
Timing of arrival
être à l'heure = to be on time
être ponctuel = to be punctual
être en avance = to be early
être en retard = to be late
être à la bourre = to be running late (familiar)
être pressé = to be in a hurry
l'heure de pointe = rush hour
Earliness/Lateness
tôt = early
tard = late
de bonne heure = early (lit. at a good hour)
sans tarder = at once (lit. without delay)
dès que possible = as soon as possible
Expressions about speed
démarrer sur les chapeaux de roues = to take off like a shot (lit. to set out on the caps of wheels; familiar)
démarrer en trombe = to set out in a whirlwind
y aller mollo = to take it easy/slow (lit. to go about something slowly; familiar)