redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
2023-02-02 08:03 pm

Duolingo German

I am putting Duolingo French aside for now, and (re)starting German. I'd forgotten how much shorter the early units of Duolingo are (in terms of both the length and the number of lessons, not just "this lesson is easier").

Also, I found myself using French instead of German forms earlier, specifically "est" instead of "ist." This on top of my fingers sometimes producing Spanish or sort-of-Spanish instead of French ("porque" instead of "pourquoi").

Sometimes it's seemed that I have one mental slot for "language other than English." Several years ago, I noticed that I was thinking of Spanish rather than French words when I'd just gotten to Montreal, and then needed a few days to switch back when I returned to New York. I didn't need Spanish in New York, but it's on signs and billboards and posters about subway service changes, and I will read words that are in front of me, useful or interesting or not.
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
2020-07-18 09:15 pm
Entry tags:

I still remember some Spanish

Specifically, I still remember enough Spanish to read a news article on sfgate.com.

The main site is in English, but they have links to a couple of dozen stories under "more coronavirus news," and there are usually a few in Spanish. Mostly those are also provided in English, and a lot of them are sports-related, but today there's ,"IsraelĂ­es protestan por repuesta a crisis causada por virus" "Israelis protesting response to crisis caused by virus", and I was curious enough to follow the link. (The protests were about the economic effects of COVID-19, and how they're hurting independent workers and small businesses.)

I could have googled and found something in English, but decided to try out my high school Spanish, and am pleased that it's still good enough for this. Reading things in Spanish may even help me retain/refresh my knowledge of the language.