Trans.Lingual

I might have bought some books… 🙈
A friend suggest I try my hand at some Hebrew young adult fiction. recommended the first two, and then I got excited by the titles of the others… so here’s to 2024, the year of the Israeli and Hebrew-language novel.
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קניתי אולי כמה ספרים… 🙈
חבר הנציע לי לנסות לקרוא ספרות לנוער. ומיקה המליצה שני הספרים הראשונים, ואז התרגשתי מהשמות של האחרים. אז… לחי 2024, שנת הרומן הישראלי והעברי
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I spent much of January traveling, being sick, and moving. I have studied, but I didn’t get to post my 2023 language study totals. So, here they are. 239 hours! I’m quite proud of myself, and certainly not surprised at some of these results.

I have a lot of plans (not all of which are public yet) for 2024, including new-ish languages, weekly study time goals, and lots of iTalki lessons, and hopefully some travel. So, let’s go!
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November was a very productive month!
I started a major new project that involves multiple new languages and the return to a couple of previously-studied languages. For now, they remain a secret… but I’m very excited to see where this all goes!
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October has been a hard month mentally and emotionally; so, I’m proud of how much studying I still managed to get done. And obviously, we see where my priority has been.
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September was a busy month for me. I chanted Torah and co-led multiple services during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I also started teaching at our synagogue’s religious school again. So, there was a lot of meetings, rehearsals, and general prep throughout the month that kept me from studying. In spite of that, I’m very happy with the work I did get done (and the notable focus on Hebrew).

Here’s to a better New (Jewish) Year and lots more studying (and prep for rabbinical school next year 😉)!
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My mom got me a great birthday present this year 📖😍
(“Phonology and Morphology of Biblical” by Joshua Blau)
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Let the side quest begin!

I’ve spent most of the summer really focusing on Hebrew, Danish, and Polish (with a few Qazaq lessons thrown in for good measure). And over the past month, Lithuania as an important place in modern European Jewish history has been on my mind. Plus, Lithuania is home to historic pagan and nature-worshipping traditions that continue in the form of love and reverence for nature even among Lithuanians today.

Also, I’ve never studied a Baltic language! All that time in Indo-European linguistics, and I never once picked up a book on Lithuanian, Latvian, Old Prussian, etc.

So, I thought… it’s about time!
Eime! Let’s go! 🇱🇹
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July was a busy month with a lot of learning. Hebrew was definitely my priority, but my month of Danish definitely took some time!
I’m happy with how much studying I got done. And I’m also happy with where I am with languages and priorities. Here’s to another month of learning!
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I really fell off the wagon with my studying in March, April, and May. I was struggling with depression and some life stuff. June, however, was my uptick, as I started studying more (even if it was only Duolingo) and taking some lessons again.

I’m hoping this continues. I’m really trying to buckle down on my Hebrew. My Hebrew and Qazaq lessons are continuing in July, and hopefully Polish too. I’ve decided to replace my Russian with Ukrainian (just Duolingo for now); and I’m starting a 6-week Hindi class soon. Also, I’m picking Danish back up with some friends.

So, I’m excited to see how the rest of the summer goes. Let’s do it!
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Apparently I forgot to post this at the beginning of the month here…
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February Study Log
This is the most language study I’ve gotten done in a month in a long time. I really have to credit
for being a great Zoom parallel study partner. 📚
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Det er kommet! En ny bog, og denne for at lære dansk!
My Danish book has arrived and I am excited to start studying Danish more seriously!
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New Book Alert!
Well, these are old books that I had printed and bound. It’s rare to find a Telugu textbook and this Urdu book is much more my speed! I’m excited to explore both of these languages more! 🤓📚
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I’m always hesitant to make New Year’s language-learning goals. So, this year I’m trying to be more reasonable and talk through what I’m interested and what is reasonable. These aren’t “goals” per se; but a January 2023 language-learning check-in. Either way, I’m looking forward to so much this year. Let me know what you think!
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I’ve been taking me time the past week or 2, but I did get some studying done in December…
But, here’s to a new year. New languages. New Goals.

November was a busy month; I quit a job, moved, interviewed for different jobs, and prepped to start a new one. So, I’m very happy I go so much studying done still. I’m also grateful that I was able explore a number of languages to help me figure out how I want to move forward with my studies in the new year. 📖
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I did a lot of studying this month and made much progress in , but I didn’t accomplish any of my set goals, except having an iTalki Italian lesson.

I’m hesitant to make goals for November as I’ll be moving, but I want to keep this momentum I have with , reading in & , and exploring . I do, however, want to get back to some active work with , relearn fidäl, and start on .

I’ve also been thinking a lot about prepping my return to and (?) (and maybe ?), and starting on and (and/or ?) in the new year.

Language-learning is a never-ending journey. It’s a process. There are highs and lows and ebbs and flows. So, goals accomplished or not, we move forward and take the adventure is it comes!
Andiamo! Asambe! Allons-y! ¡Vamos! יאללה‫!‬

I thought it might be a good idea to make some goals for this month, both to keep me accountable for , and to stay on track for other goals I have for improving my and maintaining my and (my impromptu )… oh, and to get back at !
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È arrivato! Time to get serious about this Challenge! Andiamo!
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Sometimes I have to remind myself that we go through ebbs and flows. My life have been busy in other ways (more active at the synagogue, falling in love, moving in together, prep for a new job, a Talmud class). So, I have not been able to study as much as I used to. Moreover, some of my study has not been consistently tracked (my Secret Summer Language™ is something I study at work with a colleague where I don't have my cell phone to track). So, in the past 2 months (May/June) I've done less study than I did in April... and that's ok. We have to be kind and patient with ourselves and let life happen. Don't beat yourself up over "not doing enough."

All my books have been unpacked, mostly language books. Here they are, from Albanian to Zazaki. The unlabeled section (in the middle) is just language books. Also not pictures is my growing collection of Milan Kundera translations. If you have a question about what languages and books are here, just ask! 📚
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And the HP translation collection continues to grow: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Czech 🇨🇿 📚
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With recommendations from .thereader and another friend, I went out and got some new books. Here we go! 加油! 📚
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My April Studying 📖
Not quite as much as I should be doing with vocab every day and more regular study. But I’m happy with it nonetheless.
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Trans.Lingual updated their website address.

Say hello to the next several months of my life… 📚
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9 more (documented) hours of study than last month. I’d say it’s more focused, but since I document types of study separately, it’s still the same languages, just fewer methods.
Moving forward, my plan is to focus on improving my Persian and Hebrew (pushing from B2 in to C1), reading more in Arabic, and continuing to study Polish, Greek, and Turkish.
I might actually be settling into a rhythm (and a consistent focus). 🤓📚
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February was a busy month; so, I did a lot of audio courses and just made time for formal classes mostly. But, it feels like a good start…
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Trans.Lingual updated their business hours.

New Book! - “Colloquial Palestinian Arabic”
I imagine much of this will be review for me, as I was originally taught amiyya by a Palestinian woman and I lived with a Palestinian family in Jordan. However, there are always new things to learn, and I’m hoping this book also shares any features that are specific to Gazan dialect. يللا Yallah!
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