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#i'm also doing german WHICH I USED TO BE GOOD AT but now my pronunciation istotally fucked lmao
namelessrammgirl · 5 days
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I want to share a small joy that happened today ~
So today I went back to the place where I'm originally from because my stepdad had his birthday on Thursday so today we went out for lunch and had a small party.
Before going to lunch we stopped in the city were I went to middle and high school for an aperitif and I accompanied my mom to retrieve the cake in a small bakery. She specifically wanted me to go with her because the owner of the bakery is my favourite German teacher ever! And my mum discovered this by simply talking to her one day and the owner happened to say that she taught for some years in my high school around the time when I was a student... And yes, I recognized her immediately!!
She's from Hamburg and she used to be our conversation teacher alongside our regular grammar teacher and I absolutely adored her. And I will never forget her because she gave me the best compliment ever, when I was in my first year of high school: that my pronunciation, grammar and speaking skills were so good I could be left in Berlin and easily blend in with the locals... As a testimony of just how much I loved (and still do!) German and how much passion I put into learning it... Unfortunately (for me) she decided to change careers between my second and third year, and she opened the bakery almost seven years ago now.
So most probably she didn't recognize specifically who I am, it's been 15 years after all, but she was super kind and she asked me a few things in German and I tried answering at the best of my abilities. She said my pronunciation is still quite good which made me almost cry!! And she also offered me to come back if I want and we could once again speak a bit in German together... I was on the moon guys, not only I do feel a bit more confident in my German but I feel so inspired to start seriously studying it again 🖤❤️✨
I'll be forever grateful for her. Those are definitely the best teachers: those who see your passion and try their best to keep it going 🖤❤️✨
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car1no-xx · 1 year
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Pedri x Swedish reader where she teaches him the basics of Swedish like:
Jag älskar dig = I love you
Hej jag heter = Hello my name is
And some more (use google translate for more lol)
He later scores against Sweden in a match and doesn't celebrate but instead says "jag älskar dig" to the camera and it's all over social media. And it's just puré fluff
You don't have to do this if u don't want to lol, I just haven't seen a y/n from my country, she's either English, Spanish and I once saw a German one, but yeah I don't have to write it, anyways you are really good at writing :)
Älskling (Pedri x Swedish reader)
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In which a self-care, takeout night turns into a Swedish lesson with your boyfriend.
Warnings: none
A/N: This is so cute. I love Sweden and hope you enjoy this short fic because I definitely enjoyed writing it xx
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The two of you sat cross-legged on the couch, cartons of takeout noodles in front of you. It also didn't take much convincing for Pedri to don a face mask with you. A self-care night, talking about everything and nothing all at once. You had moved to Barcelona a few years ago for work, and although you missed home, Pedri was also your new home.
"Amor, it's not like it's rocket science. Hej jag heter Pedri. Just repeat after me," you giggled, taking another bite of your takeout noodles. "Hej jag heter Pedri," you repeated slowly. My name is Pedri.
"Okay fine," he playfully rolled his eyes. "H-h-hej jag..."
"That's good. Keep going!"
"H-h-heter?" He looked at you, seeking your approval. You burst out into laughter; his pronunciation was fine, but it was the concentrated look on his face that made you amused. He knew how important it was to you for him to know at least some things in your native tongue. It was the effort that counted. That was one of the biggest reasons you loved Pedri. What was important to you, was clearly important to him, too. God only knows you wanted a relationship full of love and laughter like this for so long. Someone who loved you and accepted you for who you were - fully, and without reservations.
"Okay, now try this. Hur mår du?" How are you?
"Hur...what? Okay, just give me a second," he said, grabbing his phone from the coffee table beside you. Typing something into his phone, he then lifted his phone up to his ear. You stared at him with a puzzled look on your face.
"Jag älskar dig, älskling." I love you, darling.
"Did you just Google translate that?" The biggest smile lit up your face.
"I did. But I'm basically fluent now. And I meant what I - well, rather, what Google translate - said." He pulled you into a hug and placed a kiss on your forehead through his face mask.
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five good things
I figure it's probably time for one of these; haven't done one in a while.
The migration of our file storage to Sharepoint at job number one is finally over, HOORAY. It seems to have gone fairly well, but the whole process was much more complicated than it needed to be and the communication/instructions was pretty dire throughout. But it's done and now I can stop masterminding that and go back to cataloguing my files at last.
I'm in the process of organising my catalogue database at job number two, also at last - I started transferring my predecessor's Word lists into it in about 2016 and once everything was in I started categorising everything in about 2020; the categorising is now done, and I'm working through the categories straightening everything out and assigning them numbers so that eventually if it goes into a proper database (it's in Excel at the moment as a convenient holder for the data, but I want to get it into the database at job number one as it would be so much easier to use). And it is DEEPLY satisfying. Everything is finally starting to make sense.
I've been after a pair of purple Doc Martens for most of the year - I got a pair of 'vegan' patent ones from ebay but they are bizarrely narrow and I can't wear them, even in one size up (I usually have no problem at all with Docs, they're always true to size for me but these are awful), and I've been keeping a saved search for the non-vegan blackcurrant 'lamper' ones from a few years ago but they seem quite rare and so far haven't come up in my size. And then last week one of my saved searches came up with a pair of 'purplish blue' glitter ones, in my size (it is a miracle) and they are the perfect shade of purple. I'm picky with my purples, I much prefer the blue-toned shades to the pink-toned ones, and these are just right. I love them so much!
I've finished both my Yuletide assignment (which went in a direction I was definitely not expecting XD ) and a treat for an old friend, so all I need to do is post them and that's that off my plate.
I'm really enjoying this year's English course - it's level 2, after I did the level 3 course first, and it's much easier, more sociolinguistics based, although I think I'm overthinking the assignments because I'm used to working at level 3 now. It's really interesting, so far we've had stuff about the history and spread of English, accents and pronunciation and how to use the Oxford English Dictionary, and for my first assignment I got - dear lord - 100%. Unheard of. I think I had 100% for one of the assignments on the beginner's German course, but I had an unfair advantage on that one because I'd retained a lot of my A-level German from thirty years ago. I actually rather struggled with this assignment (overthinking things, I think, but I found it quite complex) and wasn't expecting to have done nearly that well, so that was very satisfying.
I have one more week of work and then I'm taking three weeks off for Christmas to recharge, study, work on my WIPs with any luck, and just generally chill out. The parents are coming to us for Christmas Day, which will be nice, and they're staying at the pub (it's also a hotel) so we're going to have dinner there with them on Christmas Eve and then have them to ours for Christmas Day. Which means I'm going to have to dig out the decorations and lights, which I wasn't quite sure I was going to bother to do this year, but I think it'll do me good. Light everything as bright as possible and stick two fingers up at the darkness, is my general philosophy at this time of year. :D
I'm doing okay at the moment, I think - I don't usually do very well with winter, but this year seems to be easier than usual somehow. Let's see how I feel come January...
We're greatly enjoying the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials - Ten and Donna were always our favourites, and it's been so great to see Fourteen being able to go back and resolve Donna's storyline. We rewatched their series and then kept going, because although we did give each new Doctor a try, we never really got on with them because we'd loved Ten so much so we've not actually watched a full series since Ten and Donna; and we're enjoying them now we've a) got a bit of distance, and b) got Ten back as Fourteen, I think XD I'm not very fond of Amy, but Rory is lovely and we've recently 'met' Mark Williams as his dad and he's just wonderful. :D
I'm knitting myself a poncho to wear for work as I bought one a few weeks ago and have been greatly enjoying swishing around in it so I thought I'd make myself another one; it's a bigger project than most of the ones I've done before but so far it's going okay and I'm having fun with it.
As always, if you like this format do feel free to take it and run with it - not compulsory to stick to five (I rarely do) but if you can manage to get up to five it's quite therapeutic, I find. The good things can be as big or as small as you like, much like that 'daily delight' thing that's been going round this year.
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neowinestainedress · 11 months
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rebs!! within europe, which country would you say have many polyglots?
i personally think it's italy bc i think people there understand 2/3 other languages beyond intermediate level? do you think italy provides solid language-learning system in schools (compared to your european counterparts)?
This is longer than I expected, I had many complaints to do lmao
Honestly, I have no idea... I think Italy sucks when it comes to teaching languages. I learned English by myself because in elementary school the English teacher was never the same and every year we basically did the same things over and over again. In middle school I had better teachers but I didn't have a base so I struggled a lot and one direction and tv series saved my ass. In high school we do grammar for the first two years and then the other three are just literature, so if you're fluent, you're fine, but if you're not, it's going to be hell. (Probably it depends on the professor too, mine was pretty strict and I found her funny and iconic only because I was good, but some of my friends that weren't fluent hated her a lot, and they were right)
We only do another language in middle school (either French or Spanish). I learned French but yeah... The professors were terrible, I only had a good one in the second year but it wasn't enough. I mean, I was better at French than English back then, but I hated it so much I almost completely lost all my knowledge after.
After middle school, if you want to study languages there's the "linguistic high school" but from what I know it's not like it's much better, especially for languages like German or Chinese.
In Italy there are some regions that have other official languages like French, German, and Albanian (don't know if it's official, but a lot of small countries in the east-south speak it).
I just think Italians are slick and most of the time speak with their bodies, and when it comes to understanding others we are not like French (sorry not sorry) and even if the pronunciation is not perfect we just think about getting to the point. Also, quoting that tweet that was popular saying "Portuguese, Spanish and Italian speakers understanding each other without speaking the same language" it's true. We have the same roots so for survival needs I think we can communicate pretty well, and at least understand what we're saying. Still, I don't think many of us are fluent in more than another language. But probably I'm thinking too much about the older generation, idk the younger ones seem to be more interested in languages, I think the Universities that involve languages are the most popular rn, so this could change in the next few years? But we are also a very old country (many old people and no newborns) so I don't think I'm wrong for now.
I would say Switzerland is the most polyglot because they speak Italian, French and German but it's based on the cantons, so I'm not sure they speak more languages in a single one. The other one is probably Germany. They seem like the most open-minded and also very global, but I don't know much about the school system.
In conclusion, I think that the Italian school system is just really hard and puts students under a lot of stress without making them accomplish a lot, and that involves languages too. I wish I was the only one, but if you ask young people where they learned English, 80% of them will answer like I did, on their own, with music, movies, and fanfictions... that tells you everything about how the system teaches languages. Also, I think that the ones speaking more languages are the mixed couples children (I'm one, but for reasons, my Spanish is hanging on a thin line) and the second generations' children that speak Italian, their parent's language, and one or two that they learn later on. But white Italians? Either they're passionate about it or they don't care. This is also why I talked about being open-minded, unfortunately, Italy is going through a very bad fascist turn of events again and foreign languages are seen as threats, the prime minister wants to fine people for using English words when they speak, and that's all from 1925. Not saying that if you don't speak other languages you're fascist, but that's another factor to consider when you analyze the way people act when it comes to the topic, you simply might not be good at that (just like some people are not good at math, or art and so on) but that doesn't give you the right to push foreign languages down or mock them, or treat people that spend time learning a new one as if they're stupid.
So what I'm thinking is, in the new generation there's a lot of us speaking more than 2/3 languages but I think at least 70% is because those are already the mother tongues (so Italian because they were born and raised here and then the one they speak with the family) the rest is taught at school but only if you want to learn them. Considering the oldest generation makes up most of this country, I still think we're losing compared to other places in Europe.
This turned into a rant, and you just learned to never ask me anything ever again I'M SO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME
Also, can you explain why you think we're almost fluent in 2/3 languages? I'm curious to know why it looks like this on the outside.
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meichenxi · 1 year
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Hello!! Tell me what you think about Polish 😊
hiiiiii karo!!!
SO. I am fairly ignorant about Slavic languages in general - I have never learnt any and I don't have imminent plans to.
given that I know relatively little - let me go on wikipedia and RATE POLISH for typological features I PERSONALLY find very sexy.
(for legal reasons, all languages have intrinsic value, this is just for fun, and I know very little about polish. my opinions hold no weight and that's ~just fine~)
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'characterised by a high degree of inflection, and has relatively free word order' >>>>> VERY sexy objectively speaking, cases are sexy, the ability to put random words in random places to mean slightly different things is very sexy 10/10 would go home with probably
'dominant arrangement is subject-verb-object' >>> hmm very averagely Indo-European, 5/10
'frequent dropping of subject pronouns' >>>> this means I assume that if there's relatively free word order that the verb endings are distinct enough. I'm assuming there is NOT the same tolerance for ambiguity as in chinese (lmao) so this bodes well!!! all cool people hate obligatory subject pronouns, so 11/10
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'vowel alternations which cause vowel changes in some words depending on whether the syllable is closed or open...' >>>> EXCELLENT FUCKING. YESSS. no further comments 9/10
'consonant changes....now produce a number of different changes depending on which consonant is involved' >>>>> Ohhhhhhhh we love a good bit of fossilised grammar from a previous stage in the language!!!!! conservatively going to go for 100/10
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'it retains seven cases' >>>>> YESSSSSSSSSSS *sicko meme* haha....yess......1000000/10
'singular and plural; it used to have dual' >>>>> very indo-european, points for effort, like the synchronically irregular plural but COULD 5/10
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'there are three cases that always have the same ending in the plural, regardless of gender or declension class' >>>>> you better keep a fucking EYE on that syncretism!!! we don't want your nouns going the way of the old english!!!
dative plural -om!!!!!! instrumental plura -ami or -mil!!!!!! hello my old indo-european friends!!!! so good to see a familiar face in my time of need!!!!! loses two points for predictability, but 8/10 for those nostalgic proto-indo-european vibes
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oh I am So intrigued by this. a THREE WAY animacy distinction??? but only in the masculine???? what, and I cannot stress this enough, the fuck. and for EVERY plural to collapse into a generic non-personal-masculine category and be exactly the same (te)!!!!! also hiiii to neuter nominative and accusative being the same, waving at my other little indo-european friends across the table <3
(after spending time doing Weird indo-european languages like scottish gaelic i.e. ones that really don't....do typical indo-european things, and then languages like chinese....it is so immensely comforting to look at an inflection table of a language I have never studied in a language FAMLY I have never studied and go...hm. that looks familiar.)
I'm also very intrigued by the nom. plural masculine personal demonstrative 'ci'. I don't know enough about polish orthography + phonology to know but...is this an expected pronunciation change? like is it because of the vowel / palatalisation? how would 'ti' be pronounced? or is this properly suppletive?? (i.e. is it a word that originally came from a different source and has sort of Snuck its way in?) if so YES ALL my homies love suppletion
Absolutely 100000/10, and this is ONLY nominative and accusative. what a stonker of an ability to inflect!!! I am SO curious!!
this is getting SPICY!
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'emotionally charged nicknames' >>>> this is even better than the german 'some rivers'. 16/10 polish can have that point.
but also I'm going to take away some points for predictability. oh?? your masculine nouns end in a consonant??? you can KNOW that? boring 4/10
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.....I take it back. it's pure chaos. 16/10 once again.
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Ok, it's FAR too late for me to unpack all of these delicious animacy treats, but....my gosh!!!!! I think this has to be my favourite thing so far. I LOVE animacy, and the personal / animate distinction here is fascinating to me. the idea of elevating objects to animate that have something to do with human activity / beloved objects is fairly common with what I know of animacy in general.
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'it is common for personal masculine nouns to change gender to inanimate to create semantic neologisms' >>> OHHHHH this is EXTREMELY cool and makes total sense. an editor = not a person, but a thing that edits = becomes inanimate to showcase that difference in meaning. EXCUSE ME 5000000/10, extremely cool.
------
that's it for now - thank you Karo and thank you Polish for this wild ad wonderful cornucopia of delights!! I am not likely to learn it soon, but I may spend some more time pouring over the wiki page. the stuff about animacy is FASCINATING.
thank you!!!
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jeglaerenorsk · 2 years
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Hey peeps ☺️ I want to hear your thoughts on LANGUAGES!
I really like Hebrew, Italian and Greek.
But none of them are useful for my day to day life or spare time. So I want advice.
I am pregnant, I know some Swedish, Danish and Arabic(only oral Arabic), when I started this blog I was decent level of travel Spanish and could read news in Spanish.
I have family who speak French and Spanish but together we speak Norwegian & English.
Quite a few of my friends do speak Arabic so the baby will definitely hear Arabic a lot but also Arabic mixed with different languages.
English baby will learn naturally at school and just life. Norwegian too. We learn a third language when we are 13 and can pick between Spanish, French and German (and some schools have more languages too to pick from).
But I'm thinking I want to give my baby best possible beginning of language learning. I have been raised around languages from all over world and even though I don't speak many languages fluent, I understand many words from many different languages and it has meant a lot.
French is smart language to pick but I personally struggle so much with pronunciation and I'm the opposite of a Francophone 😅 and people I know who speak it are often very arrogant, that they are better because they know French which I don't like. But it gives many school and work opportunities and can be good for travel too, especially Africa and France.
Spanish, this will be easy for me to atleast participate in teaching. But I only have family who I see maybe 4 times a year that speaks it around me. And traveling to South America is not very likely financially for me with the baby so then it means Spain and I don't know if it's worth it... I don't see it as a language in my country that will help my baby for work or education. Only for entertainment and vacation.
Then it's Arabic, I think I definitely will teach my baby it because it's good to know when spoken, only risk is of course understanding when someone talks bad. It can be good for work and daily life because baby will know many who speak it and in most of Europe you will now be able to find someone who speaks it if you are lost.
Chinese (mandarin). If I'm thinking of the future then of course I believe Chinese is maybe smartest language to learn. But I don't have friends or someone close from China. And I'm not very into their cuisine. It's a very different culture from mine and way of thinking but again, China is the future, it will prepare my baby for the future to learn their culture and language. On the other hand, I will not have money to go to China and I don't know anyone who could help to practice the language.
Russian is also a language I like and internationally and some part of the country it's useful. But not for education. And it's difficult to find people where we live, to practice with because it's not practical where we live. And it's not likely to travel much there either.
I want my baby to learn another way to read and write other than the Latin scripture. But Greek and Hebrew are not useful for work (like of course it depends what kind of work but if it's about the future and not history then I believe it's not useful)-but I do enjoy music from there and enjoy listening to their language. Italian is good for travel and Greek is good for travel, but again, it's only in their respective countries its spoken, it doesn't create many opportunities 😓. So I want help and advice.
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xovvo · 11 months
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Ok, I have The Itch™ to create some English Words That Never Existed Despite Sounding English for my campaign, and I've had Tumblr eat this post three times, so we are speedrunning it.
First, you'll need equipment:
A Linguistic History of English, Volume I: From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic by Don Ringe.
A Linguistic History of English, Volume II: The Development of Old English by Don Ringe and Ann Taylor.
A Source of Proto-Indo-European roots or words. I use Wiktionary bc I'm a scrub.
If you don't have the money or library access to get either, both volumes of Don Ringe's Linguistic History of English are available on LibGen.
Great. Now we need to cover: What the fuck is Proto-Indo-European?, What the fuck is Indo-European ablaut?, What the fuck are these damn numbered 'h's?, how the fuck do you pronounce a 'ǵ'?
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed protolanguage from which a shit load of languages spoken all across Eurasia (before Colonialism proper) and was likely spoken six-thousand years ago on the steppe north of the Caucasaus, between modern Ukraine and Kazakhstan. It spread so far so fast that we have loanwords from Tocharian in Old Chinese. How many languages? here's an incomplete cladogram:
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How far, how fast?
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That far, that fast.
Next: Indo-European Ablaut. PIE had a system of vowel gradation that it would use to decline nouns into other cases, throw verbs into other tense or mood. The fundamental vowel of PIE is short "e", which can ablaut to nothing or to "o". It can also be lengthened. The typical ablaut for PIE is e-Ø-o. However, we often find 'a', 'ā', 'o' ans 'ṓ'. where we don't expect.
That's where Laryngeal Theory comes in! because of the screwy vowels, certain vowels popping in and out of existence, and miscellaneous unexpected consonant changes, linguists created a model that posits three laryngeal phonemes in PIE: h₁, h₂, and h₃. Their exact pronunciation is impossible to reconstruct, but we do know that they existed and the broad place of articulation due to vowel coloring effects. The first of the laryngeals is h₁, which appeared to be neutral, causing no vowel shifts when in contact with /e/, and only lengthens the vowel when following him; this one was very likely to just be "plain" ol' /h/. The next laryngeal, h₂, is decidedly not neutral and colors every /e/ to /a/ and /ē/ to /ā/; the pronunciation for this one could be the uvular fricative /χ/, or the pharyngeal fricatives /ħ/ or /ʕ/. Because of it's o-coloring effects, h₃ is often assumed to be labial; good candidates for the pronunciation on the ground , likely voiced labialized velar fricative [ɣʷ], with a syllabic allophone [ɵ], i.e. a close-mid central rounded vowel.Kümmel instead suggests [ʁ]. In cases where the exact nature of the phoneme cannot be determined, 'H' is used to denote the presence of an indeterminant laryngeal (seen a lot between "o"s, IIRC the PIE genitive plural ending is *-oHom, because we have two valid reconstructions from different lines, one as *-oh₁om, the other as *-oh₃om; since h₁ doesn't affect vowel quality and h₃ is o-coloring and is between two "o"s, either have the same effect in this position). Laryngeals are cool and PIE's daughters do cool things with them! The last thing we need to cover to get caught up enough to jump into just doin' some wordin' is explaining what the fuck is up with PIE's consonants. See, PIE has three series of obstruent consonants (sometimes called "plosive" or "stop" consonants---all three names refer to the manner of articulation: the tongue or lips completely occlude the oral cavity, preventing air from the lungs from escaping, allowing pressure to build before release), termed voiceless, voiced, and voiced aspirated. And that seems really straight forward! You have your [ p, t, k ], your [ b, d, g ] and your [ bʰ, dʰ, gʰ ] which is the same as the prior set but with a little puff of air after/during articulation! Except. That's wrong. In two big ways.
The first way is that that's not all the obstruents! PIE has a series of three "dorsal" consonants, of uncertain place of articulation. Traditionally, the dorsals consist of palatal, velar, and labiovelar consonants in each of the three consonant series: [ ḱ́, k, kʷ ], [ ǵ, g, ǵʷ ], and [ ǵʰ, gʰ, ǵʷʰ]. It's worse than that, though! See, we posited the existence of the palatal series because of the Centum-Satem Isogloss, where having these three sorts of "dorsal" consonants explained this split: "centum" languages merged the "palatal" and "plain" series, leaving the labiovelars distinct, whereas the "satem" languages merged the "plain" and labiovelar series together, leaving the "palatals" distinct, which were then assibilated (made into sibilant fricatives like /s/ or /ʃ/ or sibilant affricates like /ts/ or /tʃ/). We figured the palatal series had to be, well, palatal---because we already have a lot of living languages that take velar consonants to sibilant fricatives/affricates when palatized (Like English and nearly every Romance language).
But it's wrong! Like, much ink has been spilled over their actual realizations, but the consensus is that the palatal series weren't palatal. Not even palatized. What they were pronounced as isn't settled. One that I particularly like is that the "palatal" series were plain velar stops, the "plain" velars were actually uvular, and the labiovelars could have been either, giving us the dorsal series: [ k, q, kʷ/qʷ ], [ g, G, gʷ/Gʷ ], [ gʰ, Gʰ, gʷʰ/Gʷʰ]. This isn't agreed upon, but if h₃ is the labialized uvular fricative /χʷ/, then it would be weird to not have any uvulars anywhere else. But this isn't widely accepted, and since all my sources stick to the traditional orthography, so shall I. The second way the PIE consonant series is wrong is that there's good evidence that the voiceless, voiced, voiced aspirate labels are wildly incorrect. One big thing is that while /bʰ/ is common, /b/ is vanishingly rare. Which is weird! usually if you lose a labial, it's /p/, and if you lose a voiced obstruent in general, it's /g/. Others get into more technical reasons that I don't quite get. One popular reconstruction re-labels the series, voiceless remains voiceless, but voiced aspirate is relabels as (plain) voiced, and voiced as voiced glottalized. This has the really neat (for our purposes) effect of making Grimms law make more sense, as the "plain" voiced and voiceless stops become their respective fricatives, while the glottalized consonants become voiceless stops. Unfortunately this isn't widely accepted/used, and since all my sources will be using the traditional orthography, so will I. But keep it in mind!
And that's everything, I think? Next post we'll think of what kind of words we want to coin, what roots we want to work with, and what suffixes we will append to them before, and go through our first round of sound changes!
See you then!
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neednottoneed · 1 year
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19, 24, 26, 28 :)
19. the veggie you dislike the most?
don't care much for the texture of raw spinach (cooked is fine!) i'm also not a huge bell pepper fan.
24. which do you find yourself using, american or british english?
american mainly, since i am, though i prefer the british spelling of 'grey' and the german pronunciation of 'paprika' :D
26. how's your spice tolerance
medium to high. i fall into the category of white southern american who buys hot sauce names like 'colon cleanser' (which is in my fridge right now.) the spicier the better, though my gut doesn't care for it.
28. last meal on earth?
a really fucking good steak with cheesy potatoes.
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smouldring · 2 years
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also not to go off on a tangent but people saying godfrey's accent stood out / was bad pissed me off. first and foremost the man is cornish and i'm not here for accent bigotry yes i see some people on youtube i know you're from central england you can't escape me 🔪 second of all it hits upon one of my favorite linguistic trends which is outer, rural regions of britain (the island) retaining old, old ass accents and dialects. like not to bring up a movie i'm wholeheartedly not a fan of but the gr/een kn/ight had us in the first half hour with the modification se/an ha/rris was doing to his voice, which sounded to my ear to be more 'authentically' saxon ( not anglo-saxon, not german saxon either, but the historical in-between on britain; it's a long story and more personal preference of myself and some other historians because anglo-saxon is a later invention ) - ending up with more rhotic r's and short, forward pronunciation that we now associate with american english. some people apparently read this as godfrey's accent being 'bad' and i'm like. it is music to my ears. he sounds so good. it harks back to an old version of the arthurian myths that, while not welsh, still has a wonderful, long-standing tradition that we don't often see discussed or brought up at all in popular media; perfect for a king.
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17, 44, 54, 55, 56,
hope you have a nice christmas eve <3<3<3
Thanks karo! This is a nice christmas present
17. Who would be your ideal partner?
Omg i'm wayyy too single to answer this. I want someone who is nice and preferably a bit introverted like me. That guy i met at a bar some months ago who friended me on facebook is a strong contender but i'm too shy to write first...
44. Do you have a strong accent?
Lol that's a tough question. I'll answer it language by language. German: i speak hochdeutsch, but i can mimick enough accents to annoy my friends and family from those respective regions. French: whatever the french version of hochdeutsch is. My pronunciation is the type of french you learn in school. Danish: i speak normal danish not like those jylland weirdos (joke). English: american accent. I would say that i have a really good pronunciation for a non-native speaker. But i can also do a lot of british, australian, and new zealand accents.
54. Are you a clean or messy person?
I'm a clean person at heart. Not in practise. I try to maintain a certain level of cleanliness but i'm also the type of person to not put things back in their place bc i'm lazy
55. Most used phrase?
I recently rediscovered my favorite childhood german youtuber and he and his friend have a podcast whare they often use the phrase "die piss' ich" so yeah. Not sure i'm using it in the right context because i have never heard it anywhere else. But saying it brings me immeasurable joy.
Also i picked up the phrase "it compromises the structural integrity of..." somewhere and now every time something doesn't go my way i purposefully use it in the wrong context? Like if i haven't boiled enough water for my wärmflasche i'll think "this really compromised the structural integrity of my coziness" do not ask me why i don't know
Also "du zahlst gleich mit deinem leben du bastard" which is from my own post and i also don't say it out loud but i think about it every time i have a customer who pays with cash.
56. Most used word?
I use "wa" and "gel" a lot as a joke to annoy my berlin/southern german friends. Also every time i pass molly's cage i go "Molly! :D" so that probably also deserves to be on this list
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tehuti88-art · 7 days
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3/22/24: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Sergeant Major Revell (no first name ever given), with peaked cap (top drawing) and with garrison cap (bottom drawing). He's a largely undeveloped character from the previous reboot; pretty much all I know of him is he's antagonistic toward Camo and Drake for some unexplained reason, and seems mentally unstable. Lots of room for development. There'll be more about him later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se.
Regarding his design, I decided he's a Great War veteran, so gave him some signs of that--facial scars and a prosthetic ear. His eyes are a weird yellowy color and I wanted to give him an unusual fur pattern featuring dark contrasting colors, originally planned to be gold with a black muzzle, but I thought he'd look too much like a German shepherd.
TUMBLR EDIT: Sgt. Maj. Revell appears in the 2002 character list of the first reboot as such:
REVELL: Sergeant-major; Camo's main source of opposition in starting the Trench Rats battalion. Cynical and confrontational; may also be somewhat unbalanced, with his sometimes bizarre behavior. Detests Sgt. Evans for helping Camo out, and takes out his anger on his subordinates. Has been accused of more unsavory acts, which have not been substantiated. Most of the soldiers try to avoid him, not always with success. Appears in prequel
Revell was mainly intended as an obstacle to the creation of the Trench Rats, on the American side. He's the primary reason Gunnery Sgt. Evans ends up having to grant an uneasy favor for Sgt. Irene Beaudry to obtain her support with Maj. Dupries and other higher-ups. Evans, Beaudry, Dupries, and Revell, who appear only in the first part of the first story arc, Genesis (which, weirdly, is the storyline presented second), and MAYBE make a brief appearance at the very end of Reunion or a small appearance in Ultima Thule--meaning they hardly appear in the story as a whole--were thus never really developed. I lost interest in them. Welp, time to dust them all off.
I just went and did a search of a piece of early (undated, likely pre-2000) writing of mine, The Trench Rats: The Beginning, which was an unfinished early version of Genesis, as I thought it made brief reference to Evans and Dupries and their roles, though I don't recall ever writing about Revell. The text actually makes no mention of them, so, I won't include any here. EDIT--ahaha, oh, WAIT. I just now found a major character change! Dupries IS in the text...just that he's named DEVRIES. Somewhere along the way, his name changed! I have no explanation for this, aside from maybe I didn't like the ambiguous pronunciation of "DeVries" (I mistakenly thought it was French--turns out it's Dutch--so in the text I say most people pronounce it "Devree," which appears to be incorrect), so I dumbed it down. I already have a Dupries family in my Manitou Island fiction, so maybe I'll end up changing it back to DeVries. Could use some more Dutch representation in my work. Anyway, he's the only one of these four to be included in the text, and I still won't excerpt any here as it adds nothing to this entry plus it's ferkin' stupid. I apparently never got around to writing about Evans, Beaudry, or Revell, not even in an unnamed fashion. ("DeVries" interacts with a few other unnamed officers in the text but none quite fit Revell's description, and the two sergeants are completely absent.) So, okey-doke, my source texts are now exhausted, so here we go.
Obviously, early on I intended Revell to be mentally unhinged in some way. I'm thinking he could be sort of an American counterpart of the French Champere, who in this newest reboot is suffering from some sort of religious delusions which have made him rather fanatical and influence his decisions. Difference is, Champere genuinely believes he's doing good, and ultimately he aids the Trench Rats, though he's pretty contentious at first and his actions are often contradictory and indecipherable; whereas Revell is just downright spiteful and malicious. He seems to have no moral guidelines, however bizarre, driving his behavior. He is mean and hateful and driven to sabotage everything Sgt. Camo and Cpl. Drake do. As for WHY this is, or what specifically motivates him...I don't know that yet. If he's truly mentally ill, he doesn't even need a reason. That doesn't make for dramatic plot, though, so I'll assume he has a reason, he just hasn't told me what it is yet.
One particular line has stuck in my head; Revell privately corners Drake and in a very soft but grating voice, says right into his face, "Make no mistake. I can put you into the ground...and no one would ever find you." What is the context, exactly, of this quote? I don't know. I can't even say with certainty whether Revell is antisemitic or not, though even if he is, I don't believe that's his primary motivation, as he despises Camo--and by extension, Evans and possibly Dupries--too. For some reason, he does not want the idea of the Trench Rats battalion to go forward, so this involves attempting to intimidate Drake (who is rattled, yet tries brushing it off).
I just mentioned Revell despising Evans "by extension," meaning he's just a secondary target of Revell's hatred, yet this is a possible theory. What if Evans is actually the source, and Camo, Drake, and their plans for the battalion are instead the focus of Revell's hatred by extension...? Meaning I'd need to determine the cause of the rift between Revell and Evans, not between Revell and the Trench Rats. Interesting possibilities here--a homophobic angle, perhaps? Especially given the old character list's reference to unsubstantiated "unsavory acts." I seem to recall that this comment was intended to be sexual in nature, though it was purposely kept vague, and as Evans's orientation was unknown at the time, that could not have been related in any way. So it was something else probably involving women, or children. (Urgh...yeah.) The characters have developed since then, so Evans is a potential target. OR...Evans possibly KNOWS about said "unsavory acts"...and that could be the source of Revell's hatred. Evans might have been an unsuccessful whistleblower of a sort and is forced to continue working in association with Revell afterward despite the obvious conflicts (similar to how PFC Klemper's and Sgt. Lange's units continue working alongside each other for a time following Lange's attempted assault of Klemper), and Revell's reaction is to try to tank the entire Trench Rats plan which Evans supports.
SO...as you can see...lots of undeveloped potential here.
...I just had to step away for about an hour, and new possibilities have arisen. Revell is a Great War veteran, and may be vaguely familiar with Camo from there, though it's uncertain. Here's a possibility that at least some "unsavory acts" could date back to that time--perhaps Revell is a war criminal. He suffered serious injuries, which I believed as recently as yesterday were related to combat; he has scars on his face, and lost most of an ear, resulting in a prosthetic (unlike Papillon's, it's one much more based on the types of prosthetics and plastic surgery used on survivors of WWI, see HERE for what I mean, also there's an artificial hand there that's pretty nifty in light of my earlier entry about Harrier and Papillon). It could be possible, I suppose, however, that he only claims combat caused these injuries, and maybe he was involved in something more sinister. I do think his experiences in the war helped unhinge him, but if he indeed committed any sort of shady acts it's likely he was just "off" from the start, sort of like Ernst Dannecker. Dannecker has a weird habit of engaging in sexually suggestive dominating gestures toward other males without being gay himself...here's a description from Josef Diamant to Gret Dannecker in an adult WIP, warning that it's a tad objectionable but it's the tamest way to explain it:
"He did other things though, too. A couple of weeks after he came to the barracks--ja, that's how long he waited, before striking again. He was good at holding out, at being patient. I was painting the wall. Not far from where I'd cowered away from him. A few of the others said they saw him walking toward me and knew something bad was coming but nobody said anything, because nobody else wanted to end up where I was. I didn't even hear him coming--he walks...walked...perfectly silently whenever he wanted to. In those shiny, shiny boots. No idea how he did that. I had no idea he was there either until he shoved me against the wall and pressed close. His mouth was right at my ear. 'Guten Tag, Jew,' he said. His breath smelled like cinnamon...so odd. 'You're doing pretty light work today,' he said. 'I thought you were better suited for hard work?' And he...shoved his hips against me." Diamant grimaced. "'I can give you hard work,' he said...grinding against me...and then he just stepped back. 'You missed a spot,' he said, and he gave that little laugh, like he did when he fired his gun at my head, and he walked away. That was all. I stepped back and there was paint on my clothes." He fiddled his fingers between his knees. "I honestly thought...thought he was going to do more. Do worse. Right there in the open and nobody would do or say anything. Of course, I was wrong. Your stepfather was many things but he wasn't eine Schwuchtel. He...had other ways of getting his point across."
Dannecker later forces Diamant and the camp kapo, Isaak Schindel, into a humiliating situation where again Diamant expects him to get off on it, yet he doesn't, it's purely a power/control thing meant to break them. It's possible Revell could share some similar traits (witness his threat toward Drake), though again, I'm unsure. It's also possible that Evans somehow digs up evidence of things Revell did in the war and this could incite Revell's wrath toward him and the Trench Rats. Potential!
One more detail I wanted to get out of the way. Revell isn't a screaming, shouting madman type. He almost always delivers his threats in a soft, understated manner, without needing to raise his (naturally rough/gravelly) voice. This trait comes back to Camo's mind later on in Germany when he comes face to face again with Capt. Otto Himmel. (I say "again," as Camo first encountered Himmel when the latter was a teenager fighting in the Great War, then a second time just after arriving in enemy territory during the current war.) Himmel's throat was cut in a botched attempt on his life, and as a result, he can't raise his voice above a hoarse murmur; usually he just whispers when he speaks. Many people aren't aware of this as he keeps his collar buttoned tight to cover the scar, so his whispery voice is often considered merely a behavioral quirk. (This is never properly explained in the imaginary animated version I mentioned in Turquoise's entry, where Himmel is misrepresented as a purely evil guy and is nicknamed something like the Whispering Captain.) When Camo first hears him speak, it reminds him of Revell, and it prompts an almost visceral reaction; he later on gains a much better reason to detest Himmel (i. e., Anna Julian), but the reminder of another person he despised ensures that he dislikes Himmel from the start.
AND...that there is currently all I really have to say regarding Revell. He's an antagonist whose motivations--and mental state--aren't certain just yet, but you can see I already have some tentative ideas. As time goes on perhaps things will become clearer.
[Revell 2024 [‎Friday, ‎March ‎22, ‎2024, ‏‎12:05:04 AM]]
[Revell 2 2024 [‎Friday, ‎March ‎22, ‎2024, ‏‎12:05:24 AM]]
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servin-up-surveys · 11 months
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survey #147
Have you ever drawn or painted a self-portrait? Painted, yes, but only because it was an art class assignment.
Do you know anyone in a relationship with someone who’s old enough to be their parent? It's possible, idk.
Do you know any narcissists? I sure do.
When was the last time you spoke to someone in a different language? I read a quote on the screen while watching Dark (it's German) with Girt because he wanted to know how it was properly read. I tend to fuck up on pronunciation a lot myself because I overthink it and for some weird reason I've never figured out am also just very awkward about speaking a language not everyone here understands, but I did pretty damn good that time, lol.
When was the last time you took a picture with your pet(s)? With a pet, it's been a hot minute. I just don't like taking photos featuring myself.
Which shade of foundation do you usually buy? I don't wear foundation, even in the extremely rare occasion I put any sort of makeup on.
Have you ever dreamt of someone you barely know? Yes actually, those are so weird.
What would you consider your defining feature? Well, I'm pretty sure people are gonna notice my weight first.
You kiss: boys or girls? Boys and girls and everything inbetween.
What you wish your living situation was: Girt and I in our own place with the pets.
One color you’d never paint your walls: A bright yellow, for one.
A (normal, not manure etc.) scent you don’t like: Gasoline, tar, freshly cut grass.
One kind of alcohol you won’t drink: I will never, ever, ever put beer in my mouth because of my dad.
An actor you think has no business acting? I don't know shit about acting, don't ask me.
A food you won’t eat: Beans is one that people tend to not get at all, like I can't chew or swallow them.
An animal that scares you: Centipedes, especially big ones. They're very cool visually, but way too fast and their bites are legendary.
What’s the stinkiest pet you’ve ever had? Well Teddy and his diaper towards the end of his life, when he had UTIs non-stop. Have you also smelled a cat's litterbox? Especially when it's in your BEDROOM? God help Roman's shits sometimes.
Have you ever seen one of your friends get arrested? No, that'd be upsetting.
Do you put sprinkles on anything? No, I hate sprinkles.
How do you like your steak? Medium well.
Long hair on guys: yes or no? YES I fucking LOVE long hair on guys
Bring anyone dead back to life, who would it be? Steve Irwin.
How many siblings does your mom have? Three.
Have you ever met a mainstream band? I've never met a band, period.
Would you ever meet someone you met online? I've done it before and there are some more I would meet, even want to meet.
Is your last name extremely common? I mean, I don't think extremely common, but it's certainly not rare.
Would you feel funny if you kissed somebody of the same sex? No, it didn't even feel funny the first time I did it after living the vast majority of my life thinking I was straight.
What’s something you can cook or bake like a pro? lol nothing
Would you rather donate time, blood, or money? Probably time.
What’s a pretty bird? All owls. Such beautiful, majestic animals.
Besides sleeping, what do you do in bed? I used to do literally everything in bed for years, I lived in it and it caused the muscle atrophy in my legs, but thank GOD I finally stay out of it as much as I can. Now I really just sometimes read or do ✨couple things✨ in it.
Is the last person you called attractive? I think my mom's very pretty, but I'm definitely not attracted to her, that'd be problematic.
What does your name mean? "Of Britain." So boring, lol.
Do you know how many people your best friend has had sex with? Yes.
Is the last person you kissed mad at you? No.
Do you believe teenagers can be in love and stay in love? Absolutely.
If you have a Facebook, when was the last time you changed your profile picture? It's been quite a while.
Are you a stoner? No.
What is the last gift you received and from who? Haha Girt ordered it back in like, October, but within the past week it got here: a Mira plush that Konami released that I casually shared on Facebook just because it was super cute and Girt decided to buy it immediately, lol. She's an adorable shiba inu with a headset that originates from a joke ending in Silent Hill 2 where she's behind all of it at a big desk with tons of buttons and levers, and it became a trend in the game after that.
What is your state’s minimum wage? $7.25/h, proven unlivable <3
Is there anyone that you’re mad at right now? No.
Do you feel like different alcohols have different effects on you? Not that I've noticed.
Did you change anything on your Facebook page today? No, I seldom do.
How many significant others have you had in your WHOLE life? Only three that were even remotely significant.
Have you ever purchased condoms? I didn't.
Let’s say you had a baby with the last person you kissed? Not in our foreseeable future, it'd break my heart but I'd abort it because we are not ready for that and there's already an insane overabundance of children that need parents. Also going through a traumatic experience like pregnancy would be for me (I have a wildly strong phobia of it), getting it out, and then not keeping it would ruin me, I know it would.
Do you have someone you can spill your heart out to? Mom, Girt, Mazzy, and Tez I'm all comfortable doing that with.
Your ex shows up randomly at your house, what do you say? None of them know where I live, soooo that would be concerning.
Is there a person that you would do absolutely anything and everything for? No; I wouldn't kill someone just because my mom asked me to.
Does sex mean love? Definitely not for everyone, but I would only do it with someone I love.
What was the last thing you posted on Instagram? A picture of the Mira plush I mentioned earlier.
Do you consider yourself a nature person? Absolutely, but I wish I could spend more time in it. Hyperhidrosis is NOT fun and dehydrates you so fast with severity like mine, and plus my legs still have healing to do before I can be outside without a place to sit nearby.
Will you keep your last name when you get married? No.
Do you like fish or chicken more? Chicken, I don't like fish.
What scares you more: snakes or spiders? Out of the two, a spider is more likely to scare me. I love snakes, but I'd obviously be alarmed if I like, suddenly noticed a rattlesnake beside me. I'm still getting comfortable with spiders, though of course my FAVORITE spiders are the ones everyone's scared of haha, tarantulas. I'm more scared of things like funnelwebs, the smaller guys that have bites that will kill the shit outta you real fuckin fast.
Do you think that texting on a date is rude? Unless it's an important text, yes, especially early on when you're getting to know each other.
What’s your favorite memory with your last ex? Showing up at her house on her birthday when she had no idea whatsoever it was happening. Parents brought her into their room as a distraction for me to go into hers and just sit at her desk; her face lit the fuck up when she saw me, and it definitely hurts to remember, because that was genuine joy. I don't regret ending our friendship (it was already over), but I regret how I went about it.
What is the oldest online account that you still use? Uh probably my primary deviantART. Or Facebook? idk
Have you ever had Christmas carolers come to your house and sing for you? No, I'd absolutely hate that.
What country does your favorite band hail from? Ozzy's from Britain, Rammstein are from Germany.
What’s the worst thing about being male/female (whichever you are)? The prejudice that comes with having a uterus, add on that the government is super into controlling YOUR fucking body part.
What is your favorite documentary? The Meerkats from 2008, everything about it is fucking beautiful, I consider it a favorite movie beside TLK.
Who crosses your mind the most? Girt.
Ever got stitches? Yes, in my chin when I fell right on it and got a concussion, and then after my cyst removal surgery.
If Hogwarts was a real school would you attend? Because it would celebrate the work of a raging transphobe, hell no. This woman has LITERALLY said that it's her fucking income that is enough validation for her, I'm not engaging in a damn thing related to her.
Do you like fireworks? They're pretty, but I'm against their usage because of how often the remains just turn into litter, they're a fire hazard, and above all they can be a trauma trigger to people and even kill small animals with how fucking scared they get.
Is respect given or earned with you? I give everyone a baseline level of respect which will grow or shrink depending on you.
Are you any good with Photoshop? I think I'm decent, but I am absolutely no pro, there's tons of stuff idk how to do.
The political spectrum. Where do you fall? Somewhere on the left, idk my exact label.
Do you use a top sheet? No, they annoy me more than anything.
Do you know what any of your close friends did yesterday afternoon? Girt's my best friend, and Mom and I went with him and his family to lunch at Red Robin for Mother's Day. Neither of us had ever been there before, and I was really impressed, but way more than anything I just liked being together as a family, I don't see his enough, and I even got to meet his best childhood friend finally.
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dragon-kazansky · 3 years
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Yes, sir! | Niki Lauda
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Professor Lauda AU! 👨‍🏫
Gender neutral reader
Dedicated to @lieutenantn and @scuttle-buttle 💕
Again, still learning German, so I apologise if anything is wrong. I'm doing my best 🥺
[Previous chapter] - [Next chapter]
Part 4
You had ignored all of Katie's attempts to contact you about German flirtation. You got back to your home after that meeting and got started on the literature catch up you needed to do.
You arrived to your languages class on time, assignment ready to go. You take your seat, sending to ignore your Professor who stands at the front waiting for his students to arrive.
You don't even notice how his eyes follow you to your seat.
The class soon fills up. Only then do you look up at your Professor, at which point he has moved his gaze away from you.
You are non the wiser to his gaze.
"Are you all ready?" He asks, eyes flcikwringnto every student in the room. You manage to keep it cool for those few seconds they land on you.
He steps down from the front and takes a seat along the front row, only a few seats away from you.
You keep your eyes forward.
"Who is going first?" He asks, keeping his head up, looking right ahead. No one makes a move. He waits.
You would go, but you can't will yourself to move. Another student gets up and makes their way to the front. They look nervous as they glance up at the Professor.
He sits and he listens.
The student gets through their assignment with very little messing up, just a few mispronounciations. Lauda just gives them a 'good, sit back down,' and says nothing else.
A few more students take their turns. He barely praises them, correcting everything that is wrong. He looks far from impressed by what he has seen so far, but then again, you're all new to the language.
Surely he must know that.
"Next!" He calls out.
You look around. Time to bite the bullet and get it over with. You stand from your seat. His eyes flicker over to your movement. He watches you as you make your way up front.
You do everything you can not to look at him.
You just about see him shift in his seat as you take a deep breath. You focus on anything except him because you will forget everything the moment you acknowledge him watching you.
He waits eagerly, not that anyone can tell. From what he saw in your notebook, he was rather impressed.
"Hallo. Ich heiße Y/N. Ich bin ein schüler. Ich mag sprachen und bücher. Ich höre gerne musik und zeit mit meinen freunden verbringen. Danke fürs zuhören."
You stand there awkwardly. You had written much more down in your notebook, but you didn't want to be speaking for too long. You still had a long way to go before you were confident in this language.
Niki sits there with the tiniest of smiles pulling at his lips. You had kept it simple, he knew there was more you could have said, he recalls some of what was in your notebook, but he was pretty impressed.
"Work on your pronunciation and you'd sound like a native. Well done. I am impressed."
You bite your bottom lip nervously. This was the first time he had said he was impressed.
You sit back down, keeping your gaze from him. Yet, he would glance at you every so often while he listened to others.
You were going to be his best student, he just knew it.
When everyone had done their presentation he stood up and stood back in front of everyone again.
"Not the worst German I have ever heard. I'm surprised so many of you did so well after just two classes. Now that I know you all a little better, we may have some ground to stand on. I know exactly what levels you are at right now, so be proud of yourselves, you're all worthy of being in my classroom."
Everyone smiles and congratulates each other quietly.
Lauda checks his watch.
"Class dismissed. You may leave. I hope to see you all as eager to learn from here on out."
Students rise from their seats, gathering their things. Just as you get up to go, Lauda stops you by leaning against your desk. You look up to see him looking at you.
"May I have a word?"
You nod. He waits for the other students to filter our before addressing you.
"I am impressed."
"Danke, sir."
He smiles.
"Keep this up and you'll go far in my class. Though, I must ask, why did you leave out so much of your assignment?"
You shift awkwardly on your feet, gripping your bag a little tighter.
"Everyone else's presentations were quote short. I felt I may have put too much effort into my work. I didn't want to come off as an over achiever or anything."
He looks at your curiously. You wonder what he's trying to find with you.
"Please, do not hold back on me. I feel you may have more talent than many of my other students. I want to hear you express yourself in my class. Let me see how much you're willing to learn."
You smile softly.
"Alright. Thank you, sir."
He nods and pushes off your desk. He gestures with his hand that he's letting you go now. You thank him once more before making your leave.
Niki watches you go.
He sighs as the door closes behind you. He was very impressed indeed.
You walk outside with a smile on your face. However, it drops when Katie approaches you. You make to turn around and speed walk the other way, but she catches up quickly.
"Wait!"
You sigh and slow down.
"How was German?"
"It went well. He was impressed."
"Ooo, maybe he fancies you too," she laughs.
You roll your eyes and keep on walking.
"Before you ask, no, I still don't know how to flirt in German. I can't help you."
"I wasn't going to! But if you could learn that quickly, hit me up, yeah?"
"Why don't you research how to flirt in German? Also, why would flirting be the first thing you think they would teach us?" You ask, smiling.
"I don't know! Maybe Professor Lauda wants to jump your bones, but first he wants to sweep you off your feet with flirty comments," she winks at you.
You shake your head.
"You're so weird. Whatever fantasy is playing in your head, it's not happening."
"It could!"
"Well, it's not. If you'll excuse me, I need to eat now."
Katie doesn't leave your side.
"Will you buy me a burrito or something? I'm starving!"
You roll your eyes and agree.
Your friends could get so carried away sometimes.
@lieutenantn @scuttle-buttle @rumblelibrary @zemosimp05 @hb8301 @celtic-witch-bitch @somethingthatsaysbubbles @lorna-d-m @anteroom-of-death @belle82devart @vverliebt @alltimebandsexual666 @charistory @mischief-siriusly-managed @thatoneartgalsstuff @mssennimatilda @hannahbal-the-fannibal @apparrio
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Dutch Tim AU???? 👀
Might I get to know more? 👉👈
(Als always, batc.est shippers dni <3 i hate yall)
OK SO
Honestly I have completely forgotten how I got here, but I'm just gonna assume it's bc I love Tim and am Dutch so I just got the galaxy brain idea to combine them. I actually made this meme a while ago fagshfkghk
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So yes this au was just born of me wanting to put an aspect of myself onto one of my favourite characters (looks at my glasses Jason fic)
Yes the Tim in this is trans and autistic like my usual stuff
Basically Tim's mom is Dutch and he grows up in the Netherlands for most of his childhood and moves to the US with his dad after she dies at... around 12 or 13 probably.
The Bats still exists btw, though I thiiiink this is a Jason lives and a "Lotsa Bad Stuff Gets Yoten" au so there's that. I haven't hashed out the details of how Tim joins the family he just Does dw abt it
The important stuff is of course the shenanigans
Oh before I get into that, I gave Tim a Dutch last name!! De Vogel, which means the bird because I think I'm funny. So now he's Tim Drake de Vogel-Wayne aka Tim Bird Bird
This got really long so I put it under a read more yw to all followers who don't care about this au you already have to see enough of my bullshit
Poor Timmy's last name is always butchered 😔
Except Dick, because Dick speaks a little Dutch ("Dick you are my new favourite brother" "i only pronounced the g right" "exactly")
We Dutch are passionate about our G
Damian can also pronounce it right. Tim nearly cries
Tim: Dick and Damian are the only valid fucking people in this family
Duke: but-
Tim: come back when you can pronounce verschrikkelijk
(Translation: horrible, though it's more about the g sound rather than the meaning) (ch makes a g sound in Dutch. Don't ask)
SPEAKING OF PRONUNCIATION
Tim rages when people dare pronounce Van Gogh wrong
He looks like this:
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Jason: so this burglar seems to be obsessed with van go
Tim: van gogh
Jason: what?
Tim: it's pronounced van gogh you fuck
Jason: how are you making that sound with your throat
Tim fucks with his siblings using Dutch
Tim: wat zijn jullie aan het lullen
His sibs: what
Tim: ah. Wrong language. I said what are you talking about?
(Translation: technically it says "what are you dicking". Lullen is talking bullshit)
Jason being an annoying shit:
Tim: krijg de pest
Jason: what
Tim: I said shut up
(Translation: get the plague)
Here he was pretending he mixed up his languages but that actually happens a lot (trust me i would know)
Tim, walking into the kitchen: goedemorgen, nog iets interessants gebeurd terwijl ik sliep? Heeft Damian een nieuwe hond ofzo, ik kwam een chihuahua tegen die we volgens mij eerder niet hadden
Bruce:
Tim: nou je hoeft me niet te negeren hoor
Bruce: Tim...
Tim:
Tim: FUCK WRONG LANGUAGE
(Translation: Good morning, anything interesting happen while i was asleep? Does Damian have a new dog or something, I came across a chihuahua I'm pretty sure we didnt have before
(Well you don't gotta ignore me)
When English Hard, Tim and Dick will sit together and talk in a mix of languages
Tim speaks Dutch, English, German, French and Latin bc I speak those languages (ok not fluent in the last 3 and especially not German but Dutch and German is close enough that we can kind of understand each other)
I don't have any specifc language headcanons for Dick, but he knows the basics of a lot of languages including Dutch so he and Tim can communicate a-ok when not using English
Bruce: hey tim-
Tim: ich spreche pas anglais vandaag
(Translation: I don't speak English today, in a horrid combination of German, French, and Dutch)
Dick, sticking his head in Tims room: hey tim bruce said- what are you doing?
Tim, hanging from the curtains and watching a YouTube video upside down: studying
Dick: with a spanish video? For Latin?
Tim: yeah?
Dick: you dont even speak Spanish
This is a self callout. I have done this exact thing (minus the curtains)
Tim usually swears in English because a lot of Dutch swears are English
Though when he's really mad he says godverdomme (god damn me, aka the radder version of god damn it)
Yes I do that <3
Jason: the Netherlands?
Tim: Holland.
Jason: oh, like Amsterdam?
Tim: I'm disowning you as my brother.
Ok I'm getting real tired now but I have more!! Ask me about ice skating or bicycles or HEMA!! I love talking about my aus/fics
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mcrmadness · 2 years
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This is a post about die ärzte but also about my German skills.
So, there is this pretty fascinating thing I have realized since my German skills have gotten better. Right now my language level is somewhere around B2 - I don't know where my actual language level is but this result I keep getting in all online language tests usually (often it's B2.1 I get).
But what's fascinating is that I have noticed that I am sometimes able to understand dä, especially Farin, better than even native Germans. I have more than twice explained to a German what Farin says in something because they didn't understand/catch it but I for some reason did understand. Also sometimes people, native Germans, write in the tags of my posts that they have no clue what Farin says somewhere and I'm like "???" cos I had no problems with understanding him, again. I still struggle with understanding what Bela says most of the time because he just keeps mumbling so much, but Farin's articulation is so good that it's easy to understand. (About Rod I don't know yet, he speaks so rarely, but I'd say I understand him more than Bela but not sure if as much as I understand Farin.)
I'm wondering if it's the speed of Farin's speech that causes problems to people because it did for me too, but it no longer seems to be a problem for me. I myself am not a fast talker but my younger sister is, so I have got used to sometimes being the only one in the house who can interpret her, so maybe same if happening with Farin when he speaks fast but just uses enough words I already know? And also I'm pretty sure my possible ADHD affects this because in general I am able to notice and see fast-paced things more often than others, e.g. I really enjoy movies or series where a lot is going on because it keeps me stimulated enough. So maybe that affects my hearing abilities too, even if I have auditory processing problems sometimes, too. Altho, on my case it's always attention related and not that I wouldn't be able to understand audio. It's just that I can't focus, and I cannot remember (almost) anything I just heard if I don't see the text with my eyes too.
Of course one major thing probably is that I've mainly been exposed to the Berlin dialect because I literally only watch dä interviews, all day every day. My own accent in German is probably very Finnish (idk, I don't really speak German ever?) but I gotta say that some things I already pronounce the way Farin and Bela do, too. I usually don't even notice it, I just remember once doing some talking exercises on some website and comparing my pronunciation to the exercise's audio and realizing that the vowel sounds are not actually done the way I do them, and that I do them like they are in Berlinerisch. So maybe I just have watched so many dä interviews that I'm more familiar with their dialects than I'm with standard German or other German dialects, and therefore can sometimes understand them almost better than native Germans do. Interesting.
Also I make it sound like I would actually understand German really well but I don't. It depends on everything so much and I'd say I usually understand about 70-90% of what I hear but sometimes way less if the audio is bad. Which is often is with older dä videos, which again is probably another reason for why I'm able to understand them more or less cos I've got used to those low-quality audios.
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awed-frog · 4 years
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Hi! If it's okay, I'd like to ask you a language-related question, since you have plenty experience with them. I'm currently studying second language learning in one of my subjects, and there's plenty discussion about age as a factor, and I'm kinda wondering if at age 22 I'm able to properly learn a language - I'm having much less success with German than with English back in the day. What's your personal experience with age and languages?
Hi! First of all, congrats on learning your third (?) language, that’s amazing! 
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I’m not sure I can help you properly because I’m not up to date with the latest research in brain development/aging and language learning, but as for my personal experience, here goes:
The main problem with languages is that they take frequent and consistent study - daily if possible, but minimum once a week - if you want any results at all. This is not one of those things you can ignore for weeks or months and then magically solve with a 12-hour study marathon. That’s one reason why younger people tend to be better at learning languages: because they’re forced to. Most schools will schedule two lessons a week, and set worksheets, tests and exams on a regular basis. Even so, many kids are average at best (for various reasons), so the idea that children have supernatural abilities to learn languages is a bit of a myth. What is true is that, as you age, a) your ability to perceive unfamiliar sounds dims, b) your memory worsens and mostly c) you can’t devote yourself single-handedly to something because you have a job, a family, poor mental or physical health, not enough money for those 4/h a week with a teacher you’d probably need and so on and so forth. 
Point a) there’s nothing you can do about. Babies absorb all sounds, but they quickly get more interested in those of their native language. If you’re learning a language as an adult, it’s likely there will be sounds in it you won’t be able to reproduce - in fact, it’s possible you won’t even hear the difference between two or three distinct sounds. Personally, I had zero trouble with French sounds, for instance, because I started to learn French when I was very young, while it took me some time and a very detailed map of the inside of my mouth to even hear the difference between the two Russian ‘i’s (и and ы).  
(Then again, pronunciation is the least of your worries. ‘Sounding like a native’ is useless and highly overrated.)
Point b) you can work on. We underestimate how important this is, but we do need a lot of stimulation to prevent mental decline and lower the risk of developing cognitive diseases as we age. The good news is that anything goes: reading, crossword puzzles, language learning, playing music, learning poetry by heart - the key thing is forcing your brain to maintain what connections it has and create and forge new ones.
Point c) obviously is complicated, as life is not completely under our control. Many adults are not good at language learning simply because they don’t have the necessary time to pour into it, while teens are often forced to spend time on their language learning - or face bad grades. Still, if it matters to you for any reason, you can do your best to make it a priority.
On the whole, what I found myself is that effective language learning is a combination of four things: 
how well you understand grammar
how good your memory is
how consistent you are with your studying
how motivated you are in wanting to learn that language.
As I had the good luck of having very good teachers when it came to general grammatical structures and I generally remember stuff easily, my main problems have always been point 3 and 4. I find it very hard to stick to a schedule because I’m one of those ‘Well, I didn’t start studying at 8 and now it’s 8:04, better watch TV because the whole day is ruined anyway’ people and my enthusiasm for the languages I learned has been very uneven. With Latin, for instance, I had great results even if I don’t love the culture because I was super-consistent (we were assigned a study buddy and mine was a real pain in the ass, forced me to work on vocabulary with her every. single. day.). English and German I was forced to learn for work-related reasons, so I studied a lot, but I have zero affinity with German, which means my level is nowhere near where it should be considering the amount of time I spent on it. With French I started very young, and yes, that’s one instance of getting a language ‘for free’, but then again, it’s also very close to my own. Ancient Greek - I only studied for exams, the most absurd grammar I’ve ever seen, very poor results even if I studied it for a total of nine years and started reasonably young. Now I’m starting a new language and I’m almost forty, but I don’t see an obvious difference compared to when I was studying a new language at twelve. The only challenge is finding two uninterrupted hours every week to go through a lesson - and the fact that I’m on my own, so no endless role-playing about where the station is and what do you want for lunch. But other than that, no - everything is the same.
Obviously I don’t know what’s going on in your life, but at 22 you’re basically a baby! A legity fat-little-fists, burp-on-your-shoulder BABY!
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Man, when I was 22 I knew only one language sort of well and still made tons of mistake (because I’d learned literary French, so negotiating a supermarket was always a struggle). If I’m understanding this right, you’re in uni, which means you’ll have lots of things to do on top of learning German! Going to class, study for your ‘regular’ subjects, managing a social life, chores and housework and possibly a job, fretting about the end of the world...I think it’s perfectly normal you’re finding it harder to learn a language now than when you were 14 or so. You simply have a lot more going on. Also, German is one of those language very few people actually click with and/or are enthusiastic about. Many of us just have to learn it, and we sort of do, and that’s it. Just be patient and consistent and find a way to love it (if you don’t atm), and you will improve.
(And remember: you may feel old now, or like it’s too late to start some things, but a human life is a lot longer than we give it credit for. Keep working on your German, and by the time you’re my age, it’s a language you’ll have practiced for almost twenty years! And same goes with anything else - baking, yoga, watercolours - is it too late to start at 30, at 40, at 50? Well - start meditating at 50, for instance, and you’ll be a grandma who’s meditated for 20 or 30 years! In fact, your grandchildren won’t even remember a time you weren’t a serene old turtle sitting one hour every morning on your favourite pillow, eyes closed, entire galaxies slowly dancing around your brain. So whatever you want to do - just do it, start today, and find a way to stick with it if it brings you joy.)
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