Language learning thread
- Thread starter QuintessentialBM
- Start date
Best way for me to remember is to see it on the app, book, etc and write it down. I use an (erasable) whiteboard until I've completely remembered it and can spout it without assistance.
these people are fools@phcitywarrior an update sir.... or are you too busy getting bakassi for that ?
I actually posted an update in the other language thread the "Official One". Been making some good progress on all fronts. Bakassi can wait, it's not running anywhere.
My reading comprehension in French has improved dramatically. I can read a newspaper (Le Figaro or Le Monde for example) and get the main gist of the article. I may not understand the minute nuances in tone or style or even pick up all the words, but I'll understand. For example, an article may read in French something like
"The Catalonians want independence to assert their own autonomy and spread their national culture within their defined region. They want to control their economic activity and have gone to the streets to protest their case"
I would more so understand it as
"The Catalonians want to be free. They want to control themselves and their culture. They want to run their own businesses and they have been protesting".
While both sentences are essentially the same thing, the second sentence misses some keywords that qualify the plight of the Catalonians e.g. 'economic activity, autonomy, national culture, defined region' etc. Both correct, but the first is more comprehensive.
I think with more readings I'll improve there. Right now I try to read an article and highlight every word I don't know and log it. Then I'll study the log at the end of my study session. Eventually over time I've been broadening my vocab.
My listening comprehension has come probably the furthest along even though my reading comprehension is the strongest (and writing by association). I'm using 'News in Slow French' which has current news stories with a written transcript. The news is played at slow, medium and fast (close to native) paces. The transcript allows me pin point some of the silent pronunciations and liaisons that can make French (and I imagine Portuguese) tough. I layer this with France 24 and RFI news. News gives me an insight to the language at an educated but not stuffy level. It's a very good base as it's modern, but not too casual and not too 'highbrow'. What I am kind of struggling with is idiomatic phrases in French.
I'm at a point where I can make out words and some simple phrases here and there on news. I'm not quite at the level of full paragraphs etc. I think to take it to the next level I'll need to delve deeply into grammar. French is context rich but vocab poor. A sentence can be structured in like 3 or 4 different ways but have the same meaning.
My spoken French is what's lagging behind the most (as is expected) I just haven't been able to find a good rhythm of people to speak with regularly. I'm good with certain phrases in certain situations. For example:
I play football/soccer every Saturday in DC with some guys. We have a good number of French, Senegalese, Cameroonian and Ivorian guys that come to play. From them I've picked up some phrases when it relates to soccer e.g."pass the ball to my left/right", "slow down", "Quick! play/take the shot first time" etc. I'm getting better with introductions and little chit chat here and there. I can ask questions pretty well and can even respond pretty well to some few things. I'm getting better at understanding first time rather than 'translating' to English in my head.
I think I need like 6 months in a Francophone country to really cement my language skills. I'm looking to possibly intern in Francophone West Africa in the coming years. Still getting my foot wet with Corporate America and establishing a base before taking that next big jump.
That's kind of where I'm at right now. When I head to Nigeria this December I'm planning on getting a ticket to either Cote d'Ivoire or Senegal. I'm leaning Cote d'Ivoire because Abidjan is one of the best French speaking cities in all of Africa and their businesses are booming right now. They have one of the busiest ports in all of Africa right now. I just gotta get on ground and see what's going on. Too much opportunity for me to be here sitting idle.
In 10 years Africa will be immense and those who were asleep will wonder how it happened. People are sowing the seeds now to reap later. Even it's something as little as taking some extra cash and just buying some land and fencing it off, it's better than nothing.
Example: My cousin in Nigeria started a small fish hatchery. I partnered with him and I've been sending $500-$750 to him monthly and a few weeks back the business broke even. It's still a relatively small operation but the good thing is that the cost to operate is quite low and the potential returns we can get once we scale should be very interesting. Thinking of acquiring more land to expand the hatchery and then bigger pools for the fish. Ideally we'd also like to start manufacturing our own fish feed for our own operations but also for B2B. Still all very early stage. The vision is grow from Nigeria to the greater West African region in multiple agribusiness product lines.
Anyway, long winded post but that's my progress and why I'm pushing for this French heavy. If only there were more Lusophone countries then I'd push for Portuguese as well. Angola is the only real powerhouse in Africa and while Brazil has a huge market, West Africa is just way more accessible right now. Possibly in the future.
Will say this, my French study will dial back in a bit. Will soon start studying for the GMAT for business school. Hopefully 4-5 months of rigorous study will prep me well. Get a good score and I'm good with that score for 5 years.
Anyway man, that's me right now.
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Congrats breh
I've been saying more blacks should learn French
Your motivations behind learning French are business orientated, I dig that despite my own prejudices towards
EVERYTHING francophone related.
My motivations are slightly more hedonistic and intrinsic. I can't speak much for that side of
the equator ...as I much prefer southern countries (SA/Angola/Zambia/Zim/Mozambique/Botswana)
After Portuguese ...Mandarin and Swahili are up next though
That Brazilain bundha huh
I don't have that much experience with Southern Africa. Actually on my list of places to travel. Need to understand Africa from all angles.
Question, why the disdain for Francophone?
Mandarin is definitely gonna be very very helpful. Swahili is cool but all the countries that speak it also speak English.
Honestly for me I'd be good with English, Igbo (my mother tongue), Yoruba, French and Portuguese (and Spanish due to similarities with Portuguese). That'd be a wrap for me.
That Brazilain bundha huh
I don't have that much experience with Southern Africa. Actually on my list of places to travel. Need to understand Africa from all angles.
Question, why the disdain for Francophone?
Mandarin is definitely gonna be very very helpful. Swahili is cool but all the countries that speak it also speak English.
Honestly for me I'd be good with English, Igbo (my mother tongue), Yoruba, French and Portuguese (and Spanish due to similarities with Portuguese). That'd be a wrap for me.
Is it that obvious ?
Nah i like the culture, climate and languageFrance is the only colonial power to force it's ex colonies to bank there
while claiming reparations from them plus you saw what they did to Thomas Sankara
Add my own anecdotal dealings with Congo n!ggas and french people.
It's always almost adversarial when it comes to the frog-eaters ...
I'd rather be in the company of brits than frenchies any day
Is it that obvious ?
France is the only colonial power to force it's ex colonies to bank there
while claiming reparations from them plus you saw what they did to Thomas Sankara
Add my own anecdotal dealings with Congo n!ggas and french people.
It's always almost adversarial when it comes to the frog-eaters ...
I'd rather be in the company of brits than frenchies any day
Yea France has it's former colonies in a vice grip.
-CFA is pegged to the Euro.
-France holds I think 50% of the reserved of 14 former colonies
- A whole bunch of other things that I can list.
-There is some false info floating around but the story is the same.
It's no wonder that the countries with the most potential are all Anglophone e.g. Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia etc.
One thing I do like about Nigeria is that even if my West Africa plan doesnt pop like I'd like it to, Nigeria is still a large market.
Yeah. I'll probably never visit France or Paris ...despite it's proximity.
I'm noticing I can understand Angolan Portuguese as well....it just sounds faster and more Russian to me
I actually understood this entire conversation brehs @Yehuda @horse. kills @Dip
Both enslaved and oppressed my ancestors soIs it that obvious ?
France is the only colonial power to force it's ex colonies to bank there
while claiming reparations from them plus you saw what they did to Thomas Sankara
Add my own anecdotal dealings with Congo n!ggas and french people.
It's always almost adversarial when it comes to the frog-eaters ...
I'd rather be in the company of brits than frenchies any day
Yeah. I'll probably never visit France or Paris ...despite it's proximity.
I'm noticing I can understand Angolan Portuguese as well....it just sounds faster and more Russian to me
I actually understood this entire conversation brehs @Yehuda @horse. kills @Dip
breh as much as i love the notifications, my plans to learn Portuguese have been put on indefinite hold
I'm noticing I can understand Angolan Portuguese as well....it just sounds faster and more Russian to me
I actually understood this entire conversation brehs @Yehuda @horse. kills @Dip
I feel like I understand my Mozambican inlaws better than some of my own cousins.
Off topic but it's always funny to me to see how much Angolans/Cape Verdeans know of Brazilian culture.
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dennis roadman
nuclear war in my bag
Yeah. I'll probably never visit France or Paris ...despite it's proximity.
I'm noticing I can understand Angolan Portuguese as well....it just sounds faster and more Russian to me
I actually understood this entire conversation brehs @Yehuda @horse. kills @Dip
angolans are obviously not as easy to understand as brazilians but they are easier to understand than euros. i find the same with francophone africans and european french, maybe it's related to local languages in certain african regions?
angolans are the brazilians of africa tho, i fukk with them heavy on a personal level