Well, that's me watched the last couple of episodes of Ros na Rún, so I'll be down to just the two a week from here on in. I noticed another instance of "le" (with) appearing when the subtitles said something in English using the past for a situation continuing to the present (you know, "I've been living here for five years", "I haven't done that in ages" etc) so I rewound to try to hear what verb construction they used. I couldn't make it out. I'm going to focus my conscious studies on the verb system for the time being -- it's the thing that I seem to have most trouble with.
Right, there's a documentary about the harmonica on the TG4 site, so I'm off to watch that now.
Friday 3 February 2012
Thursday 2 February 2012
Progress so far
Enough whining. I may not be taking the class, but as I said, I'm learning the language anyway.
So, since the new year I haven't really done much to get started with the language (I'm pretty certain I was already ahead of the guys who will still be taking the class anyway, so getting any further ahead risked making the class boring).
So anyway, less than a week ago, I started watching Ros Na Rún again, spurred on by a mention Teango made of it on my main language blog (Lingua Frankly).
Now when I was watching this before, I did pick up a reasonable number of things -- either structures that are similar to something in Scottish Gaelic, or things that use similar words in a different way.
So I was familiar with things like "Tá mé [taw]" (I don't know the proper spelling of that last word) -- similar to "Tha mi taghta" (that's quite a Uist thing in Scottish Gaelic). I even spotted the use of "le" (with) to explain how long you've been doing something -- it's something that's getting less common in SG, but it's slán (healthy) in Irish.
I also recognise a few things that aren't exactly like Scottish Gaelic from previous false starts: "Tá brón orm", for example, which is completely different from the Scottish Gaelic for "I'm sorry" ("tha mi duilich"), but uses a structure which exists for other purposes in SG.
I've watched over 2 hours of the programme in just a few days, but I'll be running out soon (it's only on twice a week, about 25 minutes a time). Anyway, there's plenty more stuff out there I can watch.
(Oh, but the irony! Ros na Rún is set in the Connemara Gaeltacht, and it's the Connemara dialect that they're teaching in the college.)
So, since the new year I haven't really done much to get started with the language (I'm pretty certain I was already ahead of the guys who will still be taking the class anyway, so getting any further ahead risked making the class boring).
So anyway, less than a week ago, I started watching Ros Na Rún again, spurred on by a mention Teango made of it on my main language blog (Lingua Frankly).
Now when I was watching this before, I did pick up a reasonable number of things -- either structures that are similar to something in Scottish Gaelic, or things that use similar words in a different way.
So I was familiar with things like "Tá mé [taw]" (I don't know the proper spelling of that last word) -- similar to "Tha mi taghta" (that's quite a Uist thing in Scottish Gaelic). I even spotted the use of "le" (with) to explain how long you've been doing something -- it's something that's getting less common in SG, but it's slán (healthy) in Irish.
I also recognise a few things that aren't exactly like Scottish Gaelic from previous false starts: "Tá brón orm", for example, which is completely different from the Scottish Gaelic for "I'm sorry" ("tha mi duilich"), but uses a structure which exists for other purposes in SG.
I've watched over 2 hours of the programme in just a few days, but I'll be running out soon (it's only on twice a week, about 25 minutes a time). Anyway, there's plenty more stuff out there I can watch.
(Oh, but the irony! Ros na Rún is set in the Connemara Gaeltacht, and it's the Connemara dialect that they're teaching in the college.)
That seems to be that.
As I didn't know whether the college was going to be able to sort out the timetable, I went through the system again searching for other courses I might take, and I found a course in anatomy and physiology that I could follow as a distance course.
I haven't managed to register on it yet, as the so-called self-registration system requires a code that you've got to get of the course teachers.
So after getting in touch with the other college and getting information (although without managing to actually enroll), my college got back to me with a revised timetable, but a timetable that the teacher didn't like and didn't think was good for the students.
So I'll do the anatomy then -- no point causing other people grief, and I've been wanting to do some anatomy for a long time anyway.
The fun part, though, is the sheer disbelief of some people -- it's not really what you expect from someone who speaks and studies multiple languages. Dropping a language course for anatomy? Superficially not my style. But then again, I'm supposed to be a polymath, so it's high time I got a new discipline under my belt anyway!
(This doesn't mean I won't be learning Irish - part of me quite likes the idea of going up to the teacher at the end of the year and having a conversation in Irish, pointing out that I would have been fine even with the reduced contact hours. However, that's might not be enough to motivate me, and I've got plenty of things to be getting on with this year, and so I won't be able to let Irish get in the way. So I'll give it a go, but I won't be under the same pressure from deadlines so it might not go quite as well. We shall see.)
I haven't managed to register on it yet, as the so-called self-registration system requires a code that you've got to get of the course teachers.
So after getting in touch with the other college and getting information (although without managing to actually enroll), my college got back to me with a revised timetable, but a timetable that the teacher didn't like and didn't think was good for the students.
So I'll do the anatomy then -- no point causing other people grief, and I've been wanting to do some anatomy for a long time anyway.
The fun part, though, is the sheer disbelief of some people -- it's not really what you expect from someone who speaks and studies multiple languages. Dropping a language course for anatomy? Superficially not my style. But then again, I'm supposed to be a polymath, so it's high time I got a new discipline under my belt anyway!
(This doesn't mean I won't be learning Irish - part of me quite likes the idea of going up to the teacher at the end of the year and having a conversation in Irish, pointing out that I would have been fine even with the reduced contact hours. However, that's might not be enough to motivate me, and I've got plenty of things to be getting on with this year, and so I won't be able to let Irish get in the way. So I'll give it a go, but I won't be under the same pressure from deadlines so it might not go quite as well. We shall see.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)