Trellum
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Posts posted by Trellum
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I actually started using Memrise since Monday again.I used it many months earlier, but the vocab I was learning was so hard that I gave up.
Now I'm learning grammar on Memrise instead, and now I like it much better that way."Smeer" can have different meanings.
The verb "smeren" means "to spread". Just think like spreading Nutella over your sandwich.
The noun "smeer" is more like the yellow things here (warning: don't watch if you just ate): http://www.kno.nl/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Oor-uitspuiten-400x349.png"Laten prikken" literally means "to let them sting you" (verb), might be a (medical) injection or a bee sting, but seeing you used "laten" (to let (it happen)), I doubt it's the bee sting one.
Edit:
"Smeer" can also be used as a slang word: "SMEER JE WEG", which means "GET THE FUCK AWAY".
But you shouldn't take too much attention on that one.
Oh I see, I was a bit confused about ''smeer'' because my fiance's explanation wasn't as satisfactory as yours (his English is not so good, sadly). Thanks, the laten prikken thing I saw it in my course was something medical, something about getting blood drawn, but I can't help to think in English
Oh by the way, the pharse with ''smeer'' was like this: smeer zalf op je gezicht''. It sounded so odd to me! Is that normal dutch? Thanks a lot for the help You clarified a lot things, and ugh, I had no idea smeer could also mean that ear wax, lol. Context! I have noticed how important context is in dutch -
Definitely online!
One-on-one lessons on Skype, Google Play Music, YouTube, Anki flash cards (the sync part is online), Memrise, OneNote (again, syncing notes is online), Google Docs, Google Calendar, those are the tools I use most with language learning.
Let's be honest, there's not much left you can't do online any more.
Obviously not everything is possible online, you can't brush your own teeth online for example.I personally love the online approach, I learnt English online when I was 15-16 years old. I did it all on my own online, if it wasn't for the internet I am sure i'd not be speaking English right now. I have no idea how that happened, I wasn't even planing to learn English, I just had a genuine desire to communicate with English speakers and be able to understand what I read online. I never got too far with languages offline, I wanted to learn German when I was younger (11 or 12), but didn't despite I had the books to do so. Mostly because learning things offline is not as immersing as learning things online
I love all the resources we have online! Are you using Memrise very often? Also, since you are a native dutch speaker... can you tell me what does the word 'smeer'' exactly means? Google Translates doesn't help that much. What about ''laten prikken''? I really appreciate the help! Some dutch words are so confusing! o_O
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Hello everyone! My name is Jorge Solis. I think this can depend on your own ability to learn a new language. For instance, people who learn at a higher rate when they read alone could benefit from an online course. However, someone who might need the extra explanation from a teacher or a professor might want to stick with a traditional course. Like I said before, this depends greatly on the student's own ability to learn in general.
Yes, learning online with no help or guidance (if you are the kind of person who doesn't like to use paid courses) is very hard. I know because I went down that route when was younger with Norwegian and other languages. I've seen people fail so miserably when taking a course at a local school, but i think those who failed had no real motivation to learn said language. Sadly most teachers don't know how to motivate their students and make their classes more immersing and fun.... instead of turning them into tedious chores.
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Sorry, I was on my phone when I last replied.I didn't see this one.
Clearing it a bit up:
1. "Wat" means "what", but it's also used for "some" or "something".
Neem wat geld mee. → Take some money with you.
Wil je wat eten? = Wil je iets eten? → Do you want something to eat?
Note that I used different colours to mark a word-by-word translation.2. Ik heb je een tijd niet gezien. → I did not see you for a while.
Note that the Dutch use many different verbs for what Anglophones would use "to do" or "to be".
Like "Ik zit op school" → "I am at school", which literally means "I sit on the school".3. Houd daar rekening mee. → Keep that in mind.
This one is not word-by-word translatable though.
"Don't forget that" would be "Niet vergeten" or "Vergeet dat niet".That was really useful, too bad you weren't around when I was still confused about the use of wat in that kind of sentences
I'm no longer confused , but it took me a while to get used to the fact wat can be used in that way too. I just wanted to share what my biggest problems were with the language at first Thanks a lot for using different colors, I think a lot people will find this useful. I no longer have trouble with sentences like those (I'm starting to get used to it, but the first months it was such a huge shock.As for number 3, I didn't remember what the exact meaning was, but thanks for clarifying. This would make a great reference to anyone who is just starting learning dutch from 0, specially those who have just started with the Inburgering cursus and have no idea! Oh and yes, I am starting to read more about those verbs! Like worden, zitten, staan, etc. So many rules! But I will look into that later
I plan to work on grammar right after I'm done with my inburgering exam. Thanks for the excellent reply, that is what I call a truly helpful post. -
Indeed active listening is the key. Listening passively will get you nowhere. Your ears have to be alert and your brain has to be fired up. You have to make your mind remember stuff. Talking on Skype is also a very wonderful idea for Spanish interactions. However I am on the introvert side of life and I tend to be very careful and wary of people. I will have to brave up and look more into skyping.
I understand that
I honestly dislike the idea of practicing dutch with people via Skype, I am introvert, and lately i just don't feel like practicing via Skype. But you can find some really awesome places where you can get a really great study plan and you can even practice your pronunciation. You could try places like: http://www.spanishpod101.com/ I used the dutch version, and let me tell you it's awesome. They have tools to help you compare your pronunciation of different words to the pronunciation of a native! I'm sure the Spanish version does as well. It's amazing! Perfect for us introverts -
Thank you. The thing is, it all came naturally to me, because I was brought up in those different environments. Would I have lived only in 1 country all my life, I would not have been able to learn and master these languages for sure. Especially German. And yeah, my mother is Hungarian and my dad is Romanian, so I already had a two language upbringing since I was a kid. That was definitely a huge bonus for me.
I'm hope that if I ever have children they have a similar upbringing as well
I thought that expecting them to know Dutch, Spanish and English would be too much, but now I do think it's possible I will definitely aim to my kids being trilingual, I thought it was so ambitious and kinda overwhelming for a kid, but after reading about your own experience, it doesn't sound so unreal! -
Dutch is like German, but simplified I guess.
Polish has some of the best tongue twisters in all of Europe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlOoSsfU6cMAwesome, I'm curious.. how come polish and dutch are both your mother tongues? Did you learn dutch as a child? I've met a lot dutch speaking poles in the Netherlands, hard working people
Very! It must be amazing to know those two languages so well! They are so different from each other Kudos to you! -
Hmmm didn´t show everything, I was wondering how do you deal with it yourself? I think in the Netherlands they speak more English than in here, that´s not good for learning:(
Well, it's hard
Most dutch people in the Netherlands speak English, and as soon as they notice you are not a native dutch speaker they switch to English asap most of the time D: Basically I allow myself to acquire it as naturally as I’m able to. Yes, I try to understand all grammar, that is basic because we need to find rules and patterns, but if Dutch is similar to German you know that for us, these languages imply also to think very different while talking, and that, I’ m afraid will take years. Understanding a text sometimes feels like doing a puzzle, sounds familiar?:) …ok, this verb belongs to this sentence…mmm and 20 words later, ops, wait a moment, it is actually saying the opposite since there is a negation…but wait, is she who likes him or he who likes her, and after 3 pronouns altogether one after the other where you don’t know who is who and for whom and because of what, oh oh, wait, there is a lost particle here, two letters that don’t mean anything…let’s see in the dictionary…mmm nothing, what is thatttttt??? and just before you are about to give up….oh! wait, that actually belongs to the verb 35 words before that changes completely the meaning of the whole piece!! This is what it looks sometimes German to me, an indecipherable code with morphologic rules that seem to have been thought just to make us go mad. But all jokes aside, somehow I got to like this language more and more, it feels like kind of an architectural piece of art, I can imagine that someone who masters it, can express himself with such an accuracy and variety.
I´m going 3 hours per day to German language lectures, play local radio one hour most of the days, even if I don´t get much, as a background helps my year. Also, force myself to deal with doctors and elemental burocracy (next step, dealing it on the phone:)) Make visual / coloured notes with gender of nouns. Talk often with someone that doesn´t know English and has the patience to adjust his speech to you, you learn so much from those key people. I also help here and there friends that have a lower level of German than I do, helps a lot too. But, just like you, shame on us that we do not practice with our partners...I mean language:))
You seem to be doing better than me, but yes, let me tell you I have had those same problems with Dutch. You know what is the worst about dutch? It's all about context. Most words have several meaning depending on the context, which can be super confusing, since in spanish is not really like that (most of the time a word has one meaning, sometimes even two and rarely 3, right?) But in dutch... well, I've seen words that have 10 different meanings depending on the contexts and words used, place in the sentence and so on. When I first say this phrase: ''Wil je wat eten?''. What about that ''wat''? I was so confused, my fiance doesn't seem to have a strong English so you can imagine... I panicked when I saw this: ''Ik heb je een tijd niet gezien''. So different from English o_O I'm ok with those phrases... but phrases with more verbs and how some words invert word order even more are a nightmare still o_O There are sentences that make no sense to me at all yet: ''Hou daar rekening mee'' That is supposed to mean something like: don't forget that.
Have you checked this site: http://www.germanpod101.com/ I checked the dutch version and let me tell you I think they offer a great study plan. I plan to play for the membership once I am done with my exam. By the way.... what language do you use when let's say... take note on things like vocab? I personally use English because it seems easier for me to do so (because I use it daily anyway and Spanish can be a bit tricky when trying to find the right translation). God help us D:
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You basically use the standard vegetable fare for soups, like celery, carrots and parsley root. Then you add the cow stomach meat, bones for cooking, and let the whole thing cook for at least 2 hours. After that, you add an egg and sour cream mixture to it, and season it well with salt and pepper, along with crushed garlic. Then you add something to make it sour, to taste. That`s about it.
Wow... two hours to get that cow stomach tender? I am guessing you guys use an express pot, because once I tried to use a normal pot and that cow stomach took hours to get tender! Ever since i use the express pot, you lose some flavour to it, but it's ok, because with the other pot it takes an eternity. Thanks for sharing
I'm sure that soup is delicious! -
I've found some really useful resources that might come in handy for people getting ready for the basisexamen inburgering (A1). Most of them give you a clue of what you will see in the actual exam, but I must admit I'm not sure if all those exercises (in that modality) are present in the real exam.
The naar Nederland practice exams: http://www.naarnederland.nl/en/category/voorbeeldexamens
Perfect to get ready for the KNS: http://toetskns.nl/
Ad Appel material (reading): http://adappel.nl/lesmateriaal-2/
Taalspot: http://www.taalspot.nl/
My favorite one: https://basisexameninburgering.nl/
I hope someone finds those useful! I might post more later
UPDATE: It's confirmed, Mr. Thijsebaard himself told me (via e-mail) the real exam contains the same exercises as the ones seen in the practice exams (the modality - not the actual questions). The exam was completey revamped back in December 2014!! So yes, its structure and content has changed. THANK GOD!!!!
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Sounds nice though:)) I´m still A2 because I had a daughter soon after arriving here and the first year I couldn´t do much more but to take care of her. And yes, it is hard and the worst part for me is precisely that crazy sentence order they make with verbs at the end and so on, I didn´t know Dutch was the same, but it makes sense somehow. My fault is that I speak with my husband in English and not in German, but we can´t help it. Does it happen the same to you, or you speak Dutch with him?
Oh my.... I WISH we spoke dutch!!! But we can't!!! My dutch is hardly level A1, so we fall into the same trap. Plus the main problem is that he is too lazy to correct me when needed, so we end up speaking English. But I know we should speak dutch, we always say we will, but we end up speaking English again. I had no idea German had an odd word order as well! What a nightmare! I loathe dutch sentences with more than 2 verbs D: What are you using to improve your German right now? Maybe we can exchange some tips, since both languages are so similar
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It's no secret I am currently getting ready for the basisexamen inburgering. I hadn't discussed this openly before because for several reasons
I have so many questions regarding to the exam in itself, because I have heard so many things from people who have taken it one or two years ago, but it seems they have changed the way they conduct those exams. It seems they no longer use computers and now they use humans to check the student's answers. I'm also not sure, but it seems they removed the ''nazeggen'' sections as well as the 'verhaal'' one as well, but I actually need to check if that it's true.I have already checked the practice exams: http://www.naarnederland.nl/en/category/voorbeeldexamens and those sections no longer seem to be part of the speaking exam. Does anyone know if this is a fact? Someone who has taken this exam in the last 6 months? I'm starting to get nervous! I was told all i have to do i memorize all I have learnt from the language pack we bought ''Naar Nederland'' and I should be fine.
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Something special about my language, and that I specially noticed once I got in touch with other languages is that we, in Spain, make too much use of swearing words. It is a pity and really shameful. Also found differences between Latin-American Spanish and European one. I have to admit that I was amazed how they tend to use much broader range of vocabulary in countries like Mexico than in my motherland, like they have much more respect and love for their own language than we Spaniards do, generally speaking.
In mexico they do the exact same and it's irritating as heck. Don't feel bad, we Mexicans are as ''disrespectful'' to the Spanish language as the Spaniards
You'd should see how most people there communicates. I feel so irritated at older men using words like ''guey'' and so on. I did the other day while eating at a small restaurant. You should see the way teens communicate, both written and oral form. Don't forget you guys started ''La Real Academia Española'' -
Oh là là Trellum, guess what... love basically, my husband is German. I´m from Barcelona, but still (except the weather), I like it here. And you in the Netherlands? I´ve heard some Dutch on tv and looks sooo hard!
Actually I bring my keyword here also because I don´t get used to the fact Germans have 2 letters switched (the z in the place of the w, it says qzerty actually) and I´m used to type fast and without looking.Same here
My future husband is actually Dutch. I wasn't elated over the idea of living in the Netherlands, specially after all those awful things I heard about the country, its health care, language, and its people, but here I am So what's your German level now? A1? B2? I've heard German it's quite tough, but at least you don't have to deal with an odd word order? I like a capital letter is used for each noun though, that is cool I wanted to learn German when I was younger, but I had no access to the internet back then (I was 11 years old or maybe 10) so I didn't get too far -
If it was me i'd pick Norwegian. It's s easy to learn ,specially for an English speaker
After you are done with it (after one year or less) you can learn Japanese I've been dreaming of learning Norwegian for such a long time! Norway it's such an awesome country <3 Plus you do have Scandinavian friends You have nothing to lose, I bet you will end up mastering it in one year or less if you choose it. -
I was about ten years old when I started to become interested in learning new languages. I learned English as my first second language. It took me about a year to fully be able to have conversations in English. I vividly remember that the first time I knew I could speak English fluently was the first time I dreamed in English! What do you guys think? Was it like this for you too? Did you have a different experience?
I didn't start having dreams in English ( not that I can remember) until I was into the 5 or 6 year mark
I think even now most of my dreams are in Spanish. I'm not so sure though, I don't pay so much attention to the language I speak in my dreams or maybe I do but I just can't fully remember o_O Sorry, today is one of those days my brain doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me. Foggy brain day -
It happens everywhere, believe me. It happens in my native Mexico and when they make grammar, punctuation and orthographic mistakes they go big most of the time. I'm talking about epic mistakes, but they try to cover it up by saying it's on purpose (young people and not so young people avoid using good grammar and punctuation). They are changing the Spanish language completely... or should I say ruining it? It happens everywhere, I wish our mistakes were as small as yours guys... a simple ''your so pretty!'' compared to a: ''k royo kbron?'' doesn't look so bad.
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What is the easiest language to learn as a native English speaker? I have heard that Dutch is one of the best because it is the most similar to English.
I know that learning any language is far from easy, that it takes dedication and work. But I am curious to know what language is either the closest to English or is similar enough to make it easier to learn.
Don't be fooled... Dutch can be a real nightmare for most people to learn, but if we compare... yes, Dutch is easier to learn for a native English speaker than for a Spanish speaker who doesn't speak English. The hardest part about dutch is with no doubt word order, after that comes knowing the definite article for each noun, etc. Word order in dutch is really tough and it might be so confusing more most people, simple sentences like: ''Ik moet Nederlands studeren'' are a piece of pie, but sentences like this: '' In ons huis gaan we lekkere dingen koken'' and that's not even a complex sentence at all! It does make sense to me now, but when I was just starting it didn't at all :/ If you are a native English speakers you'd be better off learning Norwegian or Swedish. Those are perfect for an English speaker.
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Trellum, you just love to talk about food, don't you ? :=))))
Hehehe, I do! I actually love to talk about food in every language, soon I might be talking about it in Dutch too
I found an excellent wordbook at the Action last year, it's supposed to be for dutch speakers who are trying to learn Spanish. Lot's word terms, I plan to create my own Memrise ''course'' with it By the way, I actually made that beef soup yesterday, and it was wonderful! NEVER use an express pot to make any kind of meat-based soup! Ever! If you want a flavorful soup you need to throw the cold meat in the water and let it boil slowly. Our lovely "ñ", I live in Germany and I need to bring the Spanish keyword with me. Even though it is not my language, I will comment something special about German. The order in which Germans say numbers let us foreigners with this face :/ when trying to find out how much did the supermarket cashier told us to pay:)
How did you end up in Germany? I'm just curious
I'm very interested in hearing about the journey of other native Spanish speakers living abroad. By the way, I am also taking my Spanish laptop with me. I plan to keep on practicing my Spanish in the Netherlands. If I don't i know I might lose some words and my good orthography (I've a serious neurological problem). -
That's a lot of money for health care! That's really scary but then again, I also live in a place where it's surrounded by water, so I'm also in the same boat as you. We even have a mall in here that is above sea water. Really! They just buried sands and rocks under it to be able to build the mall above water.
That's sad. There's nothing more irritating than being with people who have nothing good to say. Gossiping is for people who have nothing better to do. I know as people here tend to gossip so much too, and they're mostly people who have no jobs.:/
Oh wow, salmon is very delicious. It is also kind of expensive here and we are in a country surrounded by waters, lol. But at least, there's a good side to living there. How about fruits and vegetables, are they cheap there?
You can find some really good offers
But to be honest? I prefer the fruit from my country... mangoes looks so nice and yellow, but wait and see until you start eating it, so bad! It looked so nice, but it tasted awful. I was later explained that the fruit there won't ever taste the way they do in Mexico, because well, their weather s bad most of the time (another thing I don't like from that place - it's windy like hell almost all year round! so no hair down no hair done at all, lol). But I do like the Hema (a store) they sell a lot nice things there for an ok price. Hehehe, I'm trying to find as many positive things as possible before I move -
That sounds delicious lol! No, we actually eat Menudo normally even if there is no occasion. It is just a bit tedious to cook as it has a lot of ingredients. I can't see the picture of corn though.:( Anyway, what are chickpeas? This is the first that I have actually known the term. We just use normal peas in cooking. It's Paella that we eat on occasions only, I love the seafood version of it.:)
Oh, you know? Lately I eat menudo once a week at a place nearby
I used to make my own for special occasions so we could all eat, but it's so tedious! Cow stomach takes so long to cook! Chickpeas are garbanzo beans, I will be making beef soup and I will add chickpeas to it:Chickpeas are those round things you see in the picture, they taste much better than they look
We use them in many soups. -
That's very interesting, Trellum! Can you believe that we too have a similar dish here in Botswana?! We use either cow or goat's stomach, except our recipe is very basic and not nearly as colourful as yours. I must say bar the awful smell as it's being cooked, it actually taste really rather good LOL The garlic thing is a very good idea, because I imagine it'll wipe out all bad smells hehe
Yes, it's amazing, many people who smell it when it cooking think it must be the grossest thing ever, but when it's done... gosh, it's heavenly! Specially the way they serve it here, but not everyone can get it right. How do you guys prepare yours?
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Those are very encouraging words, for sure. I'll look upon you as my very own personal cheerleader LOL Well done on standing up to your condition, and refusing to let it keep you down. It's truly commendable and we could all learn a thing or two from you
Thank you, I just try to do my best with what I have
I don't want this to define who I am or what I can do, you know? I know my mind is not what it used to be before (I will never be the same), but I really want to prove I can do this to myself (plus I really have no choice but to pass that test D: ). I think I will make it My main enemy right now is laziness. -
Thank you to you too, Trellum! I sure hope to pick up both my French and Italian where I left off in the near future. The only problem is that Italian is not as easily accessible as french here. But hey, I guess that's what modern technology is for, right? These days there really is no real excuse for not learning anything, including foreign languages. I mean, with all the online resources, including some very good free ones, we can all take advantage of and exploit all these resources made available to us to realise our aspirations. I'm glad that you succeeded in teaching yourself English up to the point where you are. It's amazing
Have you tried Memrise? If not, I really recommend it to you, don't waste your time with Duolingo if you ever go back to french or Italian, it only confuses you more. With Memrise you can create your own word lists! It's awesome!
I plan to learn a lot words using it (7 weeks away from my test) then I'll start using a paid site, so after one year I might be fluent in dutch (then I iwll be ready for the last exam! yaaay!) But if you want to continue teaching yourself Italian and french, you can't miss verbix! It's so useful too Just get yourself a nice course, I recommend you the Larousse series, their grammar books are very nice, very well put and not too thick, just perfect. Hehe you made me laugh with the description of your (future) mother in law LOL I know people like that, but I'm sure she means no harm. She probably thinks she knows it all by virtue of being older. The best thing to do is what you do, plus just entertain her and let her think she's in the right LOL
Oh... she is a nightmare, believe me, lol. But I try to tolerate her the best I can (she and her husband did something awful and never apologized), it's ok, before going to the Netherlands I had read about dutch people being peculiar
I am not the kind of person who believes everything she reads, but let's say I am now a believer, I learnt this the hard way, I always try not to talk with her much, she turns even a small comment into a debate war Hehehe, god help me D: !!
Oh by the way, the pharse with ''smeer'' was like this: smeer zalf op je gezicht''. It sounded so odd to me! Is that normal dutch? Thanks a lot for the help 
You clarified a lot things, and ugh, I had no idea smeer could also mean that ear wax, lol. Context! I have noticed how important context is in dutch 
I love all the resources we have online! Are you using Memrise very often? 
I'm no longer confused , but it took me a while to get used to the fact wat can be used in that way too. I just wanted to share what my biggest problems were with the language at first 
I am not the kind of person who believes everything she reads, but let's say I am now a believer, I learnt this the hard way, I always try not to talk with her much, she turns even a small comment into a debate war 
Hehehe, god help me D: !!
What's special about your language ?
in Language Learning
Posted · Edited by Trellum
We call it the ''Ñ'' letter, which is also pronounced as ''eñe'', I have noticed most English speakers trying to learn Spanish have trouble with the pronunciation of this letter. That and rolling our ''Rrrr''. And yes, the Ñ is Spaniard
Apparently a lot languages have borrowed it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ñ