Language-learners' chat

Cherryfudge

I’m back from a trip to Venice and I’ve come to the conclusion the researchers for the early stages of Duolingo’s Italian came here before me and based their list of animals on Murano glassware.

I assure you I saw glass versions of la balena (whale), il ragno (spider), il gatto (cat), il cane (dog), il delfino (dolphin), il pinguino (penguin), il pollo (chicken), la mucca (cow), il toro (bull), la mosca (fly), la formica (ant) and gli elefanti (the elephants). Il topo (mouse) and orso (bear) were missing from the glassware, possibly substituted with some black flamingos.

Here’s a picture to prove it. I loved Venice: a mere 3 months’ study of Italian really did make a difference to the experience.

Cherryfudge

How's everyone doing? I got very excited the other day, watching 'Long lost family' where someone went to Italy and the subtitles were in Italian. I could actually pick out phrases I understood!

For those using Duolingo, they've just put a list of hints for holiday language-learning on the blog. Thought it might come in useful, especially for those who are on the road but don't want to lose impetus.

My own little hint, if you feel 'wrong' practising say, French in Spain, just swap languages on Duo for the duration. Tap the flag at the top left of the screen (on a mobile, I don't know how it works on laptops) to select an alternative. It won't affect the learning streak: it counts any lesson regardless which language it's in, but your ear will tune in to locals so you will get a little bit of a head start. (That's roughly how I got into Italian).

Keiths_Mum

Cherryfudge said:

How's everyone doing? I got very excited the other day, watching 'Long lost family' where someone went to Italy and the subtitles were in Italian. I could actually pick out phrases I understood!

For those using Duolingo, they've just put a list of hints for holiday language-learning on the blog. Thought it might come in useful, especially for those who are on the road but don't want to lose impetus.

My own little hint, if you feel 'wrong' practising say, French in Spain, just swap languages on Duo for the duration. Tap the flag at the top left of the screen (on a mobile, I don't know how it works on laptops) to select an alternative. It won't affect the learning streak: it counts any lesson regardless which language it's in, but your ear will tune in to locals so you will get a little bit of a head start. (That's roughly how I got into Italian).

Ah, I didn't think of that. I recently went to Mauritius and struggled to do a lesson a day to keep my streak. I also thought swapping to French might become to confusing with them both being Latin languages and some words are very similar. Also I still consider myself a 'new learner' even though I'm 8 months in.

I've also found I'm picking up text and spoken italian from TV, although I think there are a lot of dialects. I'm hoping to go to Sardinia later in the year and my other half is expecting me to be fluent by then, I'll be happy if I can ask for the bathroom in Italian!

Cherryfudge

I find the interface between French and Italian is confusing, too. I try to make a sentence in Italian and am pleased with myself, then realise it only sounds complete because I've stuck a French word in!

We were watching an episode of 'Long lost families' where they go to Italy, recently. I was delighted to recognise a few phrases, though I couldn't understand some of it at all. It did encourage me to press on though.

Cherryfudge

I'm back into French at the moment, there was an overwhelming amount of new words in Italian and I was getting confused. I think they need to drip them in rather than throw everything at us. There would have been time if the programme hadn't fixated on libri for so many lessons...

Anyway, an odd thing happened with the French. A couple of evenings ago we had a power cut lasting about eight hours, which is enough to have a bit of an impact, but nothing dire.

The next day, what did Duo come up with?

'Sans électricité, tout était plus difficile' ('Without electricity, everything was more difficult').

Keiths_Mum

Cherryfudge said:

I'm back into French at the moment, there was an overwhelming amount of new words in Italian and I was getting confused. I think they need to drip them in rather than throw everything at us. There would have been time if the programme hadn't fixated on libri for so many lessons...

Anyway, an odd thing happened with the French. A couple of evenings ago we had a power cut lasting about eight hours, which is enough to have a bit of an impact, but nothing dire.

The next day, what did Duo come up with?

'Sans électricité, tout était plus difficile' ('Without electricity, everything was more difficult').

That's Google spying on you, picking up words, telling Duolingo what you're up to, lol

Well I'm still learning Italian, but have started learning Welsh. I looked up what ancient Britons would have spoken before Germanic languages and it would have been similar to Welsh apparently. Now compared to Italian Welsh is much harder, hardly any vowels, looks totally different to how it sounds, but I do find the words easier to pronounce (maybe there's a bit of Celt in me!), which is not always the case with Italian.

In addition to this as I am no longer going to Sardinia (this year), but am now going to Rhodes, so with this in mind I have started to learn Greek. This is much harder than both Welsh and Italian, there is more than one alphabet and none of them look like the English alphabet, so there's that. 

Also my worry about mixing them up hasn't happened, maybe because they are all so different.

I know what you mean about the Italian, I find I am coasting along doing really well and then I come across a really difficult lesson or Unit, it's almost like if you're doing well it tries to make it harder for you. I also find it sometimes throws really random difficult words in without warning or easing you in.

Cherryfudge

Keiths_Mum said:

compared to Italian Welsh is much harder, hardly any vowels, looks totally different to how it sounds, but I do find the words easier to pronounce (maybe there's a bit of Celt in me!), which is not always the case with Italian.

Whereas Italian sometimes seems to be mostly vowels!  

That's an impressive lot of languages t be learning all at once. I hope it goes well, and you have a wonderful time in Rhodes.

I have a friend who's learning Welsh. She comes from Wales and reckons the Duolingo version has aspects of both northern and southern Welsh, which she finds confusing.

Keiths_Mum

Also some of the words you learn early on are really random and not useful.

When I had architect come up in Italian, I thought ok, well its an occupation I guess, although there were probably some more useful ones I should have learned sooner.

Now it's come up in the Greek and I'm in the really early stages of learning it.

I honestly can't think of a situation where I'm going to need conversational Italian or Greek to ask for an architect.

Cherryfudge

I thought the same about knowing the Italian for a shark, @Keiths_Mum. Oh, and being taught to say there is a snake in my boots.

Cherryfudge

Today's mad Duolingo translation:

I'm lending you my mouse. I'm lending you it for a week.