tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.comments2023-07-24T03:55:02.978-07:00Greg's ReflectionsGreg Hullenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16720604327299886491noreply@blogger.comBlogger187125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-38918132367522094082017-09-09T01:17:00.775-07:002017-09-09T01:17:00.775-07:00I think I have found the meaning of "cummigli...I think I have found the meaning of "cummigliava" on the English wiktionary.<br /><br />https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cummigghiari<br /><br />It's a very comprehensive dictionary for virtually every important language in the world (including conlangs). Right now I am using it to get the pronunciation (IPA) of brazilian words (along with forvo), and their Etymology. As for the meaning and to see some usage of a word, sometimes I also go to the Portuguese Wiktionary (or to the corresponding wiktionary for words of another language). It's also really useful to know what languages a random word belongs to.Carlos López Möllshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18370412683057014513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-55054604212810917622017-08-16T05:51:13.532-07:002017-08-16T05:51:13.532-07:00Thanks much. I am going to work my bottom up now u...Thanks much. I am going to work my bottom up now until its all GOLD. then strengthen bar. what if I have some weak ones up top manana. do I redo those then go back to the last??? <br />Gerardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05432830504568524871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-33853908588924159592017-07-26T21:55:05.136-07:002017-07-26T21:55:05.136-07:00I'm glad it still works! And I'm very glad...I'm glad it still works! And I'm very glad it worked for you.Greg Hullenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16720604327299886491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-68724062419596265312017-07-26T12:26:01.478-07:002017-07-26T12:26:01.478-07:00I seriously almost gave up on duolingo. I took pri...I seriously almost gave up on duolingo. I took pride in my gold lessons but every time i tried to move forward to the next lesson, a few more past gold were now not. I felt compelled to complete those first and in the end i was stalled. <br /><br />Thank you so much for this post as it's the only reason why i started up again.<br /><br />I muscled through a day of getting full gold again (only about half of the full japanese course) and then did as suggested with 2 strengthening lessons and at least one new lesson. Now i only ever have maybe one non gold while most of the time it's just the new lessons needing attention. <br /><br />Seriously dude, Thank you!AKJacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06979497644507605050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-87303438785947007482017-07-06T10:40:08.504-07:002017-07-06T10:40:08.504-07:00I appreciate the vote of confidence. :-)I appreciate the vote of confidence. :-)Greg Hullenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16720604327299886491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-31977415178935130322017-07-06T08:22:56.640-07:002017-07-06T08:22:56.640-07:00I think your approach is fully justifiable and rea...I think your approach is fully justifiable and reasonable, and, besides, the genitive case in modern German is actually more a possessive case; very few verbs use genitive arguments.<br />Daniel N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14585410511935134909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-87191141426058752722017-06-09T22:25:30.756-07:002017-06-09T22:25:30.756-07:00Super helpful. Thank you. I fell into the "St...Super helpful. Thank you. I fell into the "Strengthen skills" trap; silly me for trusting DuoLingo's UI. The ongoing debacle that is Strengthen Skills makes me wary of DuoLingo. But they're free and I respect their purpose.Geoff Homhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363984481631613707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-8869342914113262382017-05-11T15:35:48.981-07:002017-05-11T15:35:48.981-07:00Extremely helpful. Thank you for taking the time t...Extremely helpful. Thank you for taking the time to share the information. I was becoming quite dispirited with the 'unwinding' of my skills, which I believed to be solid. Now I understand what is happening and what you suggest, I am feeling purposeful and directed. Thank you again. Happy learning.healiganshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10782349202080022662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-24571556229394343362017-03-15T08:08:41.376-07:002017-03-15T08:08:41.376-07:00Thanks; this article is really useful. My Spanish ...Thanks; this article is really useful. My Spanish tree is full and I re-guild every day and it does feel under control. However I can't get above 19% fluency no matter how I try. I wondered if it is because I can't type the accents over letters when I'm using my mobile. Duolingo gives me a tick but grumbles about this and I don't know what effect it has. Rhubarbia DeVilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06260904704526719627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-78873211364297511082017-03-14T16:02:49.148-07:002017-03-14T16:02:49.148-07:00Dear Greg, I was going to ask for your preferred F...Dear Greg, I was going to ask for your preferred French references but I see that you already published that as well :) So the only thing left for me to do is to thank you very much for this series of posts! <br /><br />I was curious about buying a Kindle and doing some "real" reading (thinking that it would be a lot easier with the help of in-place dictionary, translation, etc.) and your posts convinced me that this is the way to go. Thank you again. Cheers, h.HL2.exehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09492623463045125691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-30271606684420073712017-02-24T14:27:50.299-08:002017-02-24T14:27:50.299-08:00Hi all, well I've regilded my tree yet again (...Hi all, well I've regilded my tree yet again (Italian from English), a few weeks ago. This is the third time, ie. the second re-gild. Wasn't hard this time, I seem to have learned much of the grammar & vocab fairly well and can race through it. This time the tree is decaying very slowly, only a lesson every few days. But maybe I re-gilded so quickly that it's all at the same level, and it's all going to decay in a huge bang ! I think I've reached the level now where DL can't help me much, although it's a small motivation to keep it gold. I need conversation now, I'm running a conversation group in Meetup, and Skyping with my old exchange student in Ancona, and still going to my regular classes, and I might try a lesson from the tutors on iTalki. CIao.Greg Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16300145368145342058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-10079350561070578592016-12-05T08:49:01.682-08:002016-12-05T08:49:01.682-08:00I'm doing the challenge in habitica :) thanks ...I'm doing the challenge in habitica :) thanks for this post. Very helpful.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09198938899913019513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-40505588979651446332016-11-04T09:21:21.465-07:002016-11-04T09:21:21.465-07:00English has residual dative and genitive for prono...English has residual dative and genitive for pronouns of place: here / hither / hence; where / whither / whence; there / thither / thence. Of course, those forms are old-fashioned and falling out of use.Tres Seaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05897198137800537660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-63535958599531731362016-11-02T19:41:44.864-07:002016-11-02T19:41:44.864-07:00In the case of ¿Quién tiene una carta? The answer ...In the case of ¿Quién tiene una carta? The answer should be "la tengo" meaning yo la tengo. The "la" replaces the direct object carta. This is an example of replacing a direct object with the direct object pronoun. We don't respond with lo tengo, that would be incorrect. SOY YOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161134248143123001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-23626326076274218782016-10-29T06:31:07.141-07:002016-10-29T06:31:07.141-07:00Wonderful post Greg H. Thank you.Wonderful post Greg H. Thank you.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05401900846063877172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-60742183257022156922016-10-26T10:41:03.589-07:002016-10-26T10:41:03.589-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03053437556718095097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-81742451072013450752016-10-14T11:58:49.762-07:002016-10-14T11:58:49.762-07:00I made a list of all the references I use to learn...I made a list of all the <a href="http://gregreflects.blogspot.com/p/references.html" rel="nofollow">references I use to learn foreign languages.</a> I haven't updated it for a year, but these things don't change very quickly.Greg Hullenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16720604327299886491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-73547397966052191122016-10-14T00:50:04.851-07:002016-10-14T00:50:04.851-07:00I want to read Italian books on my Kindle app usin...I want to read Italian books on my Kindle app using my iPad. Which monolingual and bi-lingual dictionaries would you recommend?<br /><br /><br />Thanks.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02628626696937554573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-73825806862704256152016-10-09T08:10:16.883-07:002016-10-09T08:10:16.883-07:00An interesting article.
Has anyone tested whether ...An interesting article.<br />Has anyone tested whether there is a difference in the persistence of strengthening via the app or via the website? My perception is that using the web, skill-specific strengthening exercises maintains a skill at gold longer than doing the equivalent on the app? I certainly _feel_ as if I've put more effort in (more typing full answers, rather than just drag and dropping words, or choosing pairs), and it seems as though things are staying gilded longer.Kagshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02401680278313528483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-4806091029710311982016-10-04T14:11:56.970-07:002016-10-04T14:11:56.970-07:00One of the folks in my Gruppo di Lettura came up w...One of the folks in my Gruppo di Lettura came up with this book as something to read and we started on it. Several people dropped out and, in fact, the originator and I are the only ones still going at it.<br /><br />However, there's hope! I just found a resource - a dictionary of "Camilleri language." It's published by vigata.org, which is the "official" Camilleri fan club, and translates a large number of his special words to standard Italian. Still not a book for a beginner however.<br /><br />Anyway, the dictionary is here: http://www.vigata.org/dizionario/camilleri_linguaggio.htmlCharliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10103313133746754788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-46283641215511303692016-10-04T11:57:27.639-07:002016-10-04T11:57:27.639-07:00Very good post! Thank you!Very good post! Thank you!Rafael Marchioli Bernardeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14220101384240656694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-22795529022765116152016-10-03T08:29:59.452-07:002016-10-03T08:29:59.452-07:00I just reviewed the CEFR materials carefully and t...I just reviewed the CEFR materials carefully and translated them into simpler language. Bravo for finding movies easy! I'm the other way around. I can read novels in four languages, but movies only work for me in English. I can get the gist of a Spanish movie, but it's not much fun. (Obviously this is a place I should invest some time and effort.) But my conversation is good enough that when I was in Spain this summer, locals would quickly abandon attempts to speak to me in English. <br /><br />If you don't live immersed in a language, I think you're likely to wind up "lopsided" in favor of reading. If you participate in online forums (as many students of English do), you can end up lopsided in favor of reading and writing. If you live in a place like Japan, where the writing system is challenging, it's easy to end up lopsided in favor of conversation. Odds are, almost all students of foreign languages end up lopsided for one reason or another.<br /><br />Being good enough across the board to earn that C1 certification is really hard. Perhaps one of the big value-adds of certification is that it forces you to face up to the areas where you need work.Greg Hullenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16720604327299886491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-15152180065788070342016-10-03T00:50:12.411-07:002016-10-03T00:50:12.411-07:00Hi Greg, really appreciated your post, and found m...Hi Greg, really appreciated your post, and found myself re-evaluating my honest level in my languages. Would you be able to clarify the movie watching bit of it, though? Where do you get your standards for "Can watch movies without too much difficulty." for C1? I'm in the C1 level for German right now, but haven't tested yet. I find movies extremely easy to understand, without any difficulty. My bigger challenge is the reading/writing at a true C1 level. <br /><br />Have you done any research into lopsided language learners, who for instance learned speaking/listening at advanced levels but whose reading/writing is not up to par?Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07593172198486676106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-33184883802723492592016-09-06T09:35:26.553-07:002016-09-06T09:35:26.553-07:00Many thanks, Greg, for taking the time to write su...Many thanks, Greg, for taking the time to write such an informative blog. Very helpful and has kept me encouraged.DownhamChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09563949998790981564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8116153.post-40037637788343703022016-09-01T16:28:52.774-07:002016-09-01T16:28:52.774-07:00For an Italian reference grammar, I really like Mo...For an Italian reference grammar, I really like <i>Modern Italian Grammar: a Practical Guide</i> by Anna Proudfoot and Francesco Cardo. It has some great chapters like "Expressing Emotions: Hope, Fear, Doubt" and "Expressing a Condition or Hypothesis" An added advantage of this one is the free download at www.cla.unipr.it/includes/filedownload.asp?sFile=grammatica.pdf&sSection=msg<br /><br />For French, the thing to have when I was in college was <i>Le Petit Grevisse</i>. You should be able to find a copy, either printed or as a pdf. I have one printed in the 70s that I used in school as well as an updated copy I bought in Paris a few years back. It's written in French of course, but that's part of the fun. As you might guess from the name, there's also a Big Grevisse, a grammar of about 1600 pages, which you probably don't want.Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10103313133746754788noreply@blogger.com