gwendolynlerman

[gwendolynlerman]

Even though I'm not from Catalonia, I got two roses at work today (one not pictured)!

This is also the first year that I've gotten something for Sant Jordi although I'm not even in Spain 😂

Feliç Sant Jordi!🐉🌹✨

Today is the Book Day in Catalonia, and we celebrate it in the most beautiful way, filling the streets with books and red roses, my favorite day of the year for sure!!

#langblr #catalan

[gwendolynlerman]

I'd been stressing myself out doing old practice tests that have 50 questions with a 60 minute time limit, when I stopped to consider that I'm taking the TOCFL CAT. Says the official website:

"The TOCFL Computerized Adaptive Test (Listening and Reading) employs Rasch model of item response theory. The test taker does not need to choose the test level or band when registering for the test. The computer selects the test items based on the test taker’s response to the previous items. Compared with other test formats, CAT takes less test items to precisely evaluate the test takers’ competence, as the item selection is adapted by the test takers’ responses." There are actually only about 35 questions per section. Excellent, I thought to myself. I decided to try the CAT practice test (there's no pausing, so if you want to try make sure you have a couple hours free, it gives you a score immediately at the end. There are traditional and simplified versions!)

It was very difficult. I got a lot of questions that were definitely from Band C, which I did not enjoy! Please leave me in my comfort zone in peace! (If there were actually 50 questions I would have given up and started clicking random answers.) I did get Level 4 (B2) at the end, which was my goal, so I can only hope the practice test is more or less on par with the real one.

However, the real gratifying thing was that looking up the bathroom wall graffiti the other day really paid off because there was a whole listening passage on ketamine.

#langblr #mandarin #resources

[gwendolynlerman]

China’s Autonomous Regions and its Designated Ethnic Minority

#maps #langblr #mandarin

[gwendolynlerman]

The 然's

突然，虽然，忽然. and the other 然's can often get mixed up, so here's a quick explanation of some of the most common ones!

突然 (Túrán): This means suddenly or unexpectedly

居然 (Jūrán): This kind of means suddenly, but more in the sense of "surprisingly" or to suggest disbelief at something that happened.

忽然 (Hūrán): This also means suddenly or unexpectedly, but it has a more stronger connotation.

既然 (Jìrán): This is a conjunction meaning "since" or "now that"

既然the weather is great, let's go out!

既然 you aren't busy, let's go watch a movie.

不然 (Bùrán): This means "otherwise" or "or else";

You should study, 不然 you won't do well on the exam.

虽然 (Suīrán): This means although or even though.

虽然 I'm not good at singing, I still like to go to the karaoke.

当然 (Dāngrán): 当然 means certainly or definitely and can be used as a reply:

Can you help me with A? 当然!

自然 (Zìrán): This can mean nature or naturally.

China's 自然 is very beautiful.

She speaks Chinese 得很自然.

仍然 (Réngrán): This can mean "still" or "yet".

I仍然 haven't read that book.

依然 (Yīrán): Similar to 仍然, this also means still" or "yet" but it's usually used in more formal and literary works, whereas 仍然 is more often used in spoken language.

果然 (Guǒrán): 果然 can be used to mean "indeed" or "as expected"

This movie is 果然 interesting.

竟然 (Jìngrán): This is an adverb used to suggest surprise or something unexpected.

He竟然forgot her birthday.

显然 (Xiǎnrán): This means "clearly" or "obviously".

This soup 显然 hot.

偶然 (Ǒurán): This means "accidentally" or "by chance".

We 偶然 met at the same cafe.

How many other 然's do you know about? Drop a comment!

#langblr #mandarin

[gwendolynlerman]

Oh, wow, Nuria is back!

Nuria, a bright and beautiful lady from Barcelona, studied Russian in Moscow, and, after returning back to Spain, ran a channel on YouTube in Russian just for fun and for language practice.

When Russia attacked Ukraine, Nuria stopped blogging (and, God, I can understand her decision), but a week ago, she resumed posting, and I am very glad that she did. Her challenge is to prove (to self, first of all) that loving a language doesn't mean loving the government of the country where that language is most spoken.

Her videos are extremely inspirational and insightful for Russian learners. Subscribe to her channel if you haven't yet and support her work - I guess, she needs it now more than ever.

#langblr #russian #resources

[gwendolynlerman]

Best Mandarin Comprehensible Input channel on Youtube

This woman has some kind of magical power (aka she's an incredible teacher) ! Even when I don't look at the subtitles and don't know half the words she's using, I can still get a sense of what she's talking about and even understand words in context !! She's doing an incredible job so go check her channel out !

#langblr #mandarin #resources

[gwendolynlerman]

Dialects of Hindi

#langblr #hindi #maps

[gwendolynlerman]

Get attacked!! ✨🌈SEND THIS TO OTHER BLOGGERS YOU THINK ARE WONDERFUL. KEEP THE GAME GOING🌈✨

Thank you, Sophie!! 🥰

#ask

[gwendolynlerman]

Remember to register for and vote in the EU elections!

European elections will take place from 6 to 9 June 2024.

They have a nice overview, click on your coutry for details.

For people in Germany wanting to vote for german candidates, registration is automatic, but remember that your election notification (which you need to vote!) will be sent to your primary residence. If you don't have access to your old primary residence, you need to register the new one until 21 days befor the election and apply for voting, please check the link.

See link for all deadlines to register as a voter

#random #eu #elections

[gwendolynlerman]

hello! do you know of a handy chart or reference for keeping track of which word for uncle/aunt a person would be depending on side of family they're from and relation to you?

Master Chart for Familial Relationships

I HAVE OPTED TO DO THIS INSTEAD OF SLEEP. 

I’m too tired to proofread so if you see a mistake please point them out. Click on them to see the clear pics. 

[Notes:] 

* these are typically northern Chinese terminologies. 

** They use of “a-” in front of  something like “a-die” like “A-Cheng” is regional. From what I understand this is typically a southern Chinese practice.

Bolded = modern & historical times

Highlighted = ONLY used in modern times aka 20th century and afterwards.

Use name = in conversation with someone one younger than you, don’t typically use the relationship term, just call them by their name. The addresses are really used for those older than you as a sign of respect. This is particularly true for modern times.

All uncles and aunts and cousins and brothers and sisters are typically paired with the # they are in the fam [da, er, san, si, wu] (1-5). 

Edit: y’all when i say “paternal” cousins I mean cousins that share your last name, if your cousin doesn’t share your last name, that’s a maternal cousin. 

ADDENDUM: 

OKAY FOR THE COUSINS

The chart was going to get too long, so I tried to short cut and ended up making it more confusing for people.

When I say “paternal” cousins, yes this means cousins on your dad side of the family. But your father’s sisters’ kids, who are technically your paternal cousins, do not share your last name, so don’t use “tang”, use “biao”.

#langblr #mandarin

[gwendolynlerman]

#langblr

[gwendolynlerman]

Well, it's a tie between the three options 🙃

I think I'll go with the order in which options appear in the poll and finish improving the series first. No clue when I'll be done, though...

What posts would you like to see?

Hi! You might have noticed that I haven't posted my own content in a while. I'm working full-time until mid-July (I'm doing a traineeship at the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels!!), so I don't have a lot of free time.

Before that happened, I was improving the country profiles I did for my Discovering the world series because they were not comprehensive at all, but each post takes a lot of time to research and edit and, considering that there are 195+ of them, it will take me a while. I've already finished editing the first post about Afghanistan and I'm halfway done with the second one, but I don't know if it's worthwhile. I'm a perfectionist, so of course I want to finish improving them, but it's honestly a monumental task and I'm lacking the motivation to do it. On the other hand, I don't want to leave it half-done (more like half-started).

I also have several ideas for other post series, so I don't know whether I should start with them or continue editing the countries posts. Even if I decide to continue editing, I would eventually do the other post series after I'm done with Discovering the world.

So I need your input!

[gwendolynlerman]

Important pronunciation note on French:

If you say “plus” and pronounce the S at the end you are describing a quantity that is more as in:

“Il y a plus de chocolat ?” - Is there more chocolate?

However if you pronounce the word plus without the s as in “plu” then the meaning of “plus” changes to no more/not … anymore/no longer as in:

“Il y a plus de chocolat ?” - “Isn’t there any more chocolate?” “Il n’est plus là.” - “He isn’t here anymore/He’s no longer here.”

#langblr #french

[gwendolynlerman]

my Mandarin teacher has been giving us tongue twisters recently to help our pronunciation so I thought I'd share them:

first the classic:

四是四，十是十， 十四是十四， 四十是四十， 他们不是四十四 (sì shì sì , shí shì shí, shí sì shì shí sì, sì shí shì sì shí, tā men bùshì sì shí sì) four is four, ten is ten, fourteen is fourteen, forty is forty, they are not forty-four

and then these two specifically focused on nasal finals:

青青山上一根藤， 青藤底下挂铜铃， 风吹藤动铜铃动， 风停藤停铜铃停 (qīngqīng shān shàng yì gēn téng, qīng téng dǐ xià guà tóng líng, fēng chuī téng dòng tóng líng dòng, fēng tíng téng tíng tóng líng tíng) On a green mountain there is a vine, Under the green vine hang copper bells. The wind blows, the vine moves, the copper bells move. The wind stops, the vine stops, the copper bells stop.

扁担长，板凳宽, 扁担要绑在板凳上， 板凳不让扁担绑在板凳上， 扁担偏要绑在板凳上。 (biǎn dan cháng, bǎn dèng kuān, biǎn dan yào bǎng zài bǎn dèng shàng, bǎn dèng bú ràng biǎn dan bǎng zài bǎn dèng shàng, biǎn dan piān yào bǎng zài bǎn dèng shàng） The bamboo pole is long, and the wooden bench is wide, The bamboo pole wants to be tied to the wooden bench, The wooden bench doesn't let the bamboo pole be tied to it, But the bamboo pole insists on being tied to the wooden bench

#langblr #mandarin

[gwendolynlerman]

with bds calling for an official boycott of eurovision, one of the things they have asked is for “supporters to launch creative, strategic initiatives that can pressure broadcasters to withdraw” and so i encourage all those whose countries are participating in eurovision to find out how to contact your national broadcaster to make a complaint. for those living in countries who dont broadcast eurovision i know u can still send a complaint to the bbc if ur outside the uk for one

this is the message i have been sending, feel free to translate it/use it as a template/improve it/etc:

Dear sir/ma'am,

In 2022, following the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, pressure was applied to the Eurovision Song Contest to bar Russia from competing that year and all years since. It was widely rightfully agreed that the invasion was worthy of strong condemnation and that Russia should be given no avenues to rehabilitate its public image.

In October 2023, the state of Israel began a military campaign against the people of the already occupied Gaza Strip in Palestine. In a disproportionate, atrocious response to the Hamas attack on the 7th of October 2023, Israeli forces have murdered over 30,000 Palestinians and displaced almost 2 million from their homes. Palestinian civilians (journalists and doctors included), entirely unaffiliated with the Hamas party Israel claims to target, have been targeted and killed indiscriminately. Stripped of basic necessities like food, water and electricity by Israel, with intent vocalised by multiple Israeli forces to eliminate Gaza and the Palestinian people, this is no less than a genocide.

Thus Israel, much like Russia, should not be permitted to compete in a contest that has been used repeatedly to maintain its pristine public image while it brutally oppresses Palestine. Especially when it has been charged with genocide explicitly by South Africa, a case that took place in the ICJ, thoroughly elucidating the crimes committed by the Israeli state, a charge agreed upon by several countries and genocide scholars alike.

The BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement has called for a complete boycott of Eurovision by broadcasters, artists and viewers and I ask that the BBC comply with this - abstain from broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest and withdraw this years entry to the contest.

Thank you.

[gwendolynlerman]

I thought it was only the U.S. that separated North and South America 🤔

Also, why is it "Australia" everywhere? It's Oceania!

How many continents exist according to your country?

by geo.facts_

#maps

[gwendolynlerman]

What posts would you like to see?

Hi! You might have noticed that I haven't posted my own content in a while. I'm working full-time until mid-July (I'm doing a traineeship at the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels!!), so I don't have a lot of free time.

Before that happened, I was improving the country profiles I did for my Discovering the world series because they were not comprehensive at all, but each post takes a lot of time to research and edit and, considering that there are 195+ of them, it will take me a while. I've already finished editing the first post about Afghanistan and I'm halfway done with the second one, but I don't know if it's worthwhile. I'm a perfectionist, so of course I want to finish improving them, but it's honestly a monumental task and I'm lacking the motivation to do it. On the other hand, I don't want to leave it half-done (more like half-started).

I also have several ideas for other post series, so I don't know whether I should start with them or continue editing the countries posts. Even if I decide to continue editing, I would eventually do the other post series after I'm done with Discovering the world.

So I need your input!