Week 2: Understanding Lingual Differences
Comparing Languages
With our initial start in learning Italian and Dutch, Chloé and I began feeling a little more confident in tackling two completely new languages. However, we soon learned that the introductions will be the easiest part of learning any language and that our confidence was perhaps a little misplaced. I personally figured that after learning a couple of languages to moderate proficiency, tackling a third and a fourth would be much easier due to my familiarity with learning new languages. While there was some truth to this, as I was able to identify patterns within each language much faster, I still found myself struggling to become accustomed to the different syntax and rhythm of each language.
While Italian shares some similarities with French, a language I am familiar with, and Dutch is a language that I have become used to seeing written and spoken, actually learning these languages requires a different comprehension that varies depending on the language. At the same time, I find myself very proud of the progress we have made in two weeks, by finishing basic introductions and learning verb and sentence structure in two languages. We have also continued learning more vocabulary and understanding different grammatical standards, such as how different verb tenses are formed and how the masculine and feminine forms of word modifiers and endings differ.
As such, I see considerable progress towards our goals from the first week. We have continued to build upon our vocabulary and learned different grammatical guidelines. Next week, we are going to continue improve our conversational skills and connecting the languages to their cultural component through immersing ourselves in music and other forms of media. As a result, at this point in this project, I do not have any questions and can clearly see how we’re going to proceed.
I continue to be excited to see what the next day and week brings when it comes to learning Italian and Dutch. I also have been researching both pop songs in Italian and Dutch as well as other cinematic content in order to build a better cultural understanding surrounding these languages. It is really interesting to learn the role that languages play in establishing cultural context. Overall, I am excited about learning Italian and Dutch and how they compare to what I already know about languages.
Italian Flag
Dutch Flag (For the Netherlands)
I could definitely hear the confidence in the first conversations you had with Chloe. They sounded great! I'm so glad to hear that you are looking at Italian/Dutch cultural components. Have you come across any films or songs that you particularly like? I'd love to hear another conversation uploaded!
ReplyDeleteWe both really enjoyed Italian pop music through famous artists such as Mahmood and for Dutch, we have become more interested in the cultural culinary palate.
DeleteI love how ambitious this project is! Language learning with a buddy sounds like a great idea. My dad really likes to learn languages and he told me about an app called News in Slow Italian that you might look for. (I don't know if they have Dutch, but you could check.)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much and it sounds like a great app.
DeleteIt is terrific that you and Chloe have someone to practice with. I have been trying to learn Italian using Duolingo - I find myself becoming fairly good at reading and understanding spoken language (at least with the limited vocab I have so far), but it is more challenging to compose sentences with appropriate syntax and making sure the endings are appropriate for the situation.
ReplyDeleteHow are you learning the languages? Are you using a program?
What similarities do you find between Dutch and Italian? I took German in school (with has some similarities with Dutch) and I noticed that the words for window in Italian and German are similar (finestra and fenster). What connection have you seen? (I have also noted the similarity between Italian and the Latin roots for words I use in science.)
When we are learning the languages, we use a combination of credible books and websites. Recently, we have started finding well-made YouTube channels to be very helpful as well.
DeleteBetween Dutch and Italian, we have found that certain verbs either had similar pronunciations or spellings such as klarinet in Dutch compared to clarinetto in Italian. However, we definitely found more similarities between Dutch and English and Italian and Spanish and French. For example, in Dutch, “was” is also used similarly to how it is in English and in Italian, “pensare,” a verb that means to think, is similar to the French verb penser of the same definition.
I have noticed certain Latin roots as well, although to a much lesser degree, presumably due to my unfamiliarity with that language.