[slowly working on this]
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Aryssawunder - Radiant Silver - Tumblr Blog
OMG THIS HAS FIXED MY ENTIRE LIFE I’M SCREAMING I’VE WATCHED THIS SO MANY TIMES
IF YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I’M GONNA LISTEN TO YOU EXPLAINING TO ME ALL THE DIFFERENT REGIONAL ACCENTS/DIALECTS OF YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE AND SHOWING ME THE EXACT LINGUISTIC DIFFERENCES TO RELATED LANGUAGES then you are absolutely right make yourself comfortable i’ll just bring the popcorn and then we can proceed
New piece, hope you like it! xo Lang
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My NEW book Memories is now available via Amazon, BN.com + The Book Depository and bookstores worldwide.
A faster way to start learning a language
You can get to the point where you can express yourself in a language by learning basic grammar and just 200 words.
My test for being able to express myself is: Can I keep a diary in this language? Can I talk about what I did today and my opinions on just about any subject?
Too often, people who have been learning a language for months or even years say “no.” However, in my experience, it’s possible after learning just basic grammar and the 200 most useful words. If you wanted to go fast and learn 20 words a day (the default rate of Anki), then you could learn 200 words in a week and a half. (In my experience, learning basic grammar doesn’t take as long as learning the words, so the total time could be three weeks. However, I didn’t teach myself my first foreign language, so I can’t speak to that case — if you’re teaching yourself your first, kudos, and let me know how long the grammar takes!)
The key is that you have to learn the right 200 words. When I was teaching myself languages before, I could never find a good answer to the question: What words should I learn first? If you use Duolingo, they’ll start by teaching you words like “apple”, which aren’t very useful. I spent a lot of time writing and talking in order to determine which 200 words would let you express the most. I think I finally got it. But don’t take my word for it — see this demonstration.
I personally tested this method out with Esperanto and French and I’m now able to keep a diary in both languages, writing about anything that happened in my day and any thought that crosses my mind.
To be clear: 200 words won’t make you fluent, but they’ll allow you to express yourself, and it’s a lot easier to keep improving from there. Feel free to adapt the method based on what works for you. Here are the steps:
If your language uses a non-Latin alphabet, learn the alphabet.
Learn basic grammar
Learn ~200 basic words
Practice writing (This method is introvert friendly! You don’t have to talk to strangers if you don’t want to. But at this stage you can also practice by speaking, if you prefer.)
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Also, please send me your feedback! I’d love to know if this works for you or if it doesn’t. I welcome all comments, criticism, and suggestions for improvement. And if you think this guide could help other people, please consider reblogging it. :)
Additional notes:
To be able to express yourself with 200 words, you’ll need to be able to rephrase things: e.g. “she comforted him” = “she caused that he felt better”. Even if it’s hard for you to rephrase things this way, the 200 basic words are a great starting vocabulary list.
This is the order in which I usually learn an alphabetic language: basic writing and speaking, reading, listening, advanced writing and speaking. Being able to express yourself doesn’t mean that you’ll immediately be able to listen to the language and understand it, because native speakers may speak fast and use a wider vocabulary (though hopefully they’ll slow down and simplify for you in a conversation). But it’s a lot easier to keep improving from a point where you have basic writing and speaking skills than from one where you don’t.
How the signs want to raise their kids
Aries: Sports games, movie marathons, actual marathons, out to eat at the “cool” places, let’s them have coffee before most parents, shows them the wild side of childhood in a safe yet cool fashion sometimes the kids won’t even know there are rules.. When in fact there are. Aries is the cool parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Libra Taurus: Dress up, homemade hot cocoa, showing them how to build ikea furniture, serious talks over comedy shows, watches them grow with doe eyes and always wants them to do their best. Taurus is the soft parent, you’ll hardly ever hear them yell. Most compatible parenting partner: Pisces Gemini: Made up stories in bed, turning the house into a jungle gym, getting them into hard rock when they are 3, using intimate objects as toys, lots of random outings to new places, giving them the gift of wise and well thought out advice. Gemini is the playful parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Leo Cancer: Talking about your day every night before bed, playing in the park, sunhats and beaches, taking them to work with you, singing them to sleep with a lullaby, giving them a pendent as their first present so they can have it for life. Cancer is the sentimental parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Capricorn Leo: Morning stretches, nacho nights, teaching them how to make the perfect cup of tea, shopping trips, letting them drive for the very first time, teaching them how to woo the ladies/men, Leo is the passionate parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Gemini Virgo: Picking flowers, small town living, fresh food all the time, packing their lunches, leaving them sweet notes, talking about the magic of Christmas time, buying them their very own mug. Virgo is the gentle parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Scorpio Libra: Letting them help paint the wall, arts and crafts that get incredibly sticky, homemade rice krispy treats, teaching them all about the dos and donts of fashion, inside jokes, picking them up and throwing them in the air, kissing all over their face even when they are teenagers. Libra is the expressive parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Aries Scorpio: Staying quiet and letting them choose, showing them how to lead the way, taking them to small concerts and slowly getting them to go to bigger concerts, raising them with tons of different types of music so they can make their own choice, giving them secret supportive loving smiles when they aren’t looking, tough love. Scorpio is the adaptable parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Virgo
Sagittarius: Giving them stability, letting them paint their room any color they want, taking them out on their first motorcycle ride, little vacations here and there, showing them how to stand up on their own, comedy. Sagittarius is the vibrant parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Aquarius Capricorn: To do lists, expectations, high hopes, lots of encouragement, rewards, morning pancakes, teaching them how to use a computer, playing video games at midnight, tons of adorable selfies together, photo albums filled to the brim. Capricorn is the encouraging parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Cancer Aquarius: Flying kites, making ice cream at home, taking them out to new and weird places, art shows, riding buses and trains so they can learn the system, tea and cookies while talking about how their day was, lectures if they do something wrong never ever lets them get away with it. Aquarius is the tough but badass parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Sagittarius Pisces: Writes stories with them, always helps with homework, goes to trampoline places often, loves to just take them on drives, plays music while they cook together, cooking classes, always wants them to go the extra mile, gives them the utmost belief and seriously never ever gives up on their kid. Pisces is the strong parent. Most compatible parenting partner: Taurus
sometimes I imagine disappearing one sunday. I imagine kissing my friends the night before, having fun. I have thousands of things to do next week and plans. no one suspects a thing. I imagine being the same as always. then my phone dies and no one can reach me. it’s sunday late morning and everyone is confused. guessing why I haven’t called back. all my stuff are gone from my bedroom. my phone number deactivated. I am nowhere to be found. five months laters and everyone knows my name. the same picture of my face on newspapers and tv screens. I look familiar to everyone. it’s been months. five years later someone is still wondering
Mother says there are locked rooms inside all women; kitchen of lust, / bedroom of grief, bathroom of apathy. / Sometimes, the men – they come with keys, / and sometimes, the men – they come with hammers.
Warsan Shire, from “The House,” Her Blue Body (via zelo)