Anyone learning a 2nd language?

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Kheron
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Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Kheron » Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:55 am

I keep trying to keep myself practicing Irish. It's a beautiful language, and with my mom's side being basically pure irish & not knowing what my dad was with any certainty, it's the only real cultural anchor I have. Plus, I think it'd be cool to help preserve a language the Brits spent 800 years trying to destroy.

I'm almost at my first castle/checkpoint in Duolingo's Irish. Restarted the Memrise course I was using, too, because I took so long a break it was hard to get back into a half finished course I barely remembered.

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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Enigma » Tue Jun 15, 2021 12:46 pm

I was learning French for a while using Rosetta stone (pirated it) and it was actually working. The thing with it is though you HAVE to dedicate time for it and be patient with the fact it's going to tell you the same words over and over again.

What I enjoyed about it:
- It scales with your skill level based on "milestones", so you don't have to worry about it suddenly becoming un-godly difficult
- It uses visual, auditory, and contextual clues to help you figure out words' meaning and proper use
- The end of lesson tests play out as a scenario (For example, the first lesson ends with a turn-based event where you're camping and run across some hikers that ask you for some coffee, making a simulated conversation)
- The lessons generate based on your equipment and, again, your skill level (IE: It won't make you pronounce things if you don't have a mic)

What I didn't like about it:
- For the speaking parts you have to be pretty precise with your pronunciation or sometimes it fails you. This is half good and half bad
- That's honestly it. It just as well could have been my cheap mic.
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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Das Troll » Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:20 pm

I have to take ASL for a degree. That starts in a few months. Not sure how second language-ish ASL is though.

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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Kheron » Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:11 pm

I'd love Rosetta Stone for Irish/Gaeilge. Is it one whole program or the program & language packs? Cus idk if anyone is out here hosting Irish language packs lmao. The visual & auditory combo is so helpful. Memrise has some visuals, but they're just user suggested visuals & text I think. Duolingo occasionally has pictures, but not as often as they should imo.

Those speaking parts would fuck me up. English seems to lack quite a lot of things other languages have, basically every language seems to have some sound in it that's difficult for English speakers to do. I struggle so hard with some of the pronunciations.

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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Kheron » Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:26 pm

Helladamnleet wrote:
Tue Jun 15, 2021 12:46 pm
... The thing with it is though you HAVE to dedicate time for it and be patient with the fact it's going to tell you the same words over and over again. ...
Oh, and yea, I feel ya there. I'm trying to stop fretting about how quickly I learn and moreso my progress in the actual lessons. How many units I've completed, me competing vs the others in my league. Currently have a 9 day streak going again on Duo. Gonna try and make it a month without missing a day. Then just see how long I can go. By the time I hit a 365 day streak, I bet I'd know quite a bit of Irish lol

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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Enigma » Tue Jun 15, 2021 5:15 pm

Kheron wrote:
Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:11 pm
I'd love Rosetta Stone for Irish/Gaeilge. Is it one whole program or the program & language packs? Cus idk if anyone is out here hosting Irish language packs lmao. The visual & auditory combo is so helpful. Memrise has some visuals, but they're just user suggested visuals & text I think. Duolingo occasionally has pictures, but not as often as they should imo.

Those speaking parts would fuck me up. English seems to lack quite a lot of things other languages have, basically every language seems to have some sound in it that's difficult for English speakers to do. I struggle so hard with some of the pronunciations.
Program + language packs. I usually end up getting this one: https://1337x.to/torrent/1461426/Rosett ... Companion/ because it comes with all the packs.
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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Kheron » Tue Jun 15, 2021 5:44 pm

Helladamnleet wrote:
Tue Jun 15, 2021 5:15 pm
Program + language packs. I usually end up getting this one: https://1337x.to/torrent/1461426/Rosett ... Companion/ because it comes with all the packs.
Oh shit, that's quite a list of language packs. Somewhat surprised Irish is there and not Icelandic, isn't there a pretty big push for keeping both alive? With Irish being way closer to a "dead" language if not already technically dead?

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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Enigma » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:10 am

I think something changed about Rosetta Stone after Totale because I've been using that version for several years now and there hasn't been an update. I think they're pushing the Android/iOS platform harder.

Interestingly enough they do have an "Endangered Language Program" that they're using to preserve Native American language, so maybe it's something they COULD do.
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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Kheron » Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:13 am

Android marker would be nice if phone apps had the same functionality as desktop. Duolingo & Memrise both lose features going to mobile. Bet Rosetta stone does, too.

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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Das Troll » Wed Jun 16, 2021 1:42 pm

I grew up with this sort of speaking. Not a second language but sort of a 1.5 language.


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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Enigma » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:12 pm

Kheron wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:13 am
Android marker would be nice if phone apps had the same functionality as desktop. Duolingo & Memrise both lose features going to mobile. Bet Rosetta stone does, too.
See, I get it for like a language tape, or a repeat after me, or maybe even a "Say this phrase in French" sort of situation, but there's definitely things a desktop program is better at.

I forgot another thing Rosetta Stone is cool about: It has you practice WRITING the language as well. Only thing it can't do is teach you how to physically write it long hand, but typing it there.

The thing that sucks about a language like Irish is that I'm betting there isn't a lot of, say, anime or video games translated into Irish. My plan was to play, like, Link to the Past, or Final Fantasy 3 in French and really immerse myself, but that fizzled out
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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Kheron » Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:55 pm

Yea, they do some Irish songs and there's Irish radio, news, and a few TV programs or kids shows, but that's about it.

For the songs, some bands will do Irish versions of popular songs. I think some program also has highschoolers group-sing a popular song once a year, slowly building up a list of Irish version songs

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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Enigma » Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:54 am

Yeah, that's gotta make it difficult. I'd be willing to bet there's probably more than a few Irish books out there though.


Plus there's always the chance of going to Ireland
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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Kheron » Thu Jun 17, 2021 9:18 am

There's some areas of Ireland (albeit shrinking) where Irish is still the day to day, primary use language. It's absolutely one of my goals in life to visit Ireland sometime, and to visit the gaeltachts or whatever those areas are called.

Irish is such a beautiful, song-like language. Fucking hard tho

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Re: Anyone learning a 2nd language?

Post by Enigma » Thu Jun 17, 2021 12:30 pm

Irish women are easily the hottest thing out there too.
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