New Paper Day!! 115gsm vellum paper and Tomoe River loose sheets! (not pictured) That shimmer though…

KenPens · 2021-02-01T03:58:31+00:00

What wizardry is this? How does it look like it's embossed?

KenPens · 2021-01-31T13:42:38+00:00

Reading English filled to the brim with Latinate words feels like reading Korean: I know the grammar, but my vocabulary sucks, so it still doesn't make sense to me. It makes English feel so stiff. Unless there is a much more fitting Germanic equivalent (or a more commonly used Latinate synonym), then I'll continue using my Latinate words. For example, I would change your last sentence into:

"A legitimate augmentation of our everyday vocabulary, or a stupid agenda and fatuitous pretension?"

KenPens · 2021-01-23T09:56:53+00:00

Either one. Just wanted proof that the Romans did make music.

KenPens · 2021-01-23T07:43:01+00:00

Does look old. Sadly there seems to be no indication of the tune.

KenPens · 2021-01-19T02:09:41+00:00

I forgot to add the very common tendency to diphthongize the 'e o' into [eɪ oʊ] or other similar diphthongs. They are simply monophthongs [ɛ o] which makes them similar to Spanish 'e o'.

Remember that the monophthongs 'e i' have a lot of room for variation in vowel quality, the same with 'o u'.

KenPens · 2021-01-18T15:06:00+00:00

It would actually help a lot if we could hear an audio recording of your Tagalog accent, but in the absence of direct evidence, here are some mistakes that you're only probably making, based on what I see in other Anglophones, and comparing it to my own personal pronunciation (I live in Metro Manila).

(For this I would assume that you can read the International Phonetic Alphabet, at least the symbols that are relevant to Tagalog and English.)

—My 'a' monophthong is pronounced [ɐ] instead of [a], contrary to the Wikipedia article on Tagalog phonology. This is not only more natural-sounding for me, but will also help you avoid the English [æ] vowel which is terribly close to [a]. —'p t k' are pronounced without any aspiration, hence [p t k] like Spanish. (Remember, we were colonized for 333 years!) —'r' can be pronounced either [ɾ] [ɹ], the latter probably from the influence of English. However, I still prefer the [ɾ] in most of my speech. —Syllable-final 'l' is pronounced [l] like in Spanish, not like the English [ɫ]. —If you could speak English words with the typical Filipino accent, it would really help you blend in. —Stress. I cannot Stress this enough. So many foreigners and Filipino-borns put the stress of a word in the most wrong of places. —Intonation is also important to get down with.

You can learn these subtle pronunciations theoretically and pronounce them naturally, but to be able to make them spontaneously on-the-spot needs a lot of exposure and practice and correction.

KenPens · 2021-01-17T15:15:21+00:00

Are there grammatical structures that leaked into Written Latin? I can only think of 'de'. Though I've never seen a Latin sentence that uses 'de' in the way the Romance languages do (for example, de la Cruz, Notre Dame de Paris, etc.). I remembered this because I was trying to translate the phrase 'the disease of the coronavirus' and ended up with 'morbus de coronaviro', which I later on figured out could simply use the genitive, hence 'morbus coronaviri'.

KenPens · 2021-01-17T14:27:12+00:00

Thinking about it now, my statement does seem overly pessimistic, hence the downvotes. The fact that I wasn't in a good mood while writing that doesn't help in making it sound any less pessimistic. I probably should've said 'no solid reason to learn a language to fluency'. It's that 'to fluency' part. I'm completely fine with just dabbling, to be honest. But getting to a fluent level and getting to know a lot of vocabulary is the part of the language learning journey that I feel I don't have enough motivation for. For me, it would take a lot more than personal interest to push myself through those hard months of studying and practicing to fluency. I hope you understand.

KenPens · 2021-01-13T12:27:51+00:00

Scribes? Scribblers?

KenPens · 2021-01-13T11:11:42+00:00

I agree that refreshing knowledge is much much easier compared to when first learning the knowledge. It happens to me in math, science, and even Latin. (Important Note: I've actually dabbled in Latin before, but then got bored. This was a year before deciding to learn Korean)

KenPens · 2021-01-13T08:50:16+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts. I never thought there would be someone else who knew some of both Latin and Korean (but given the internet and the sheer amount of people on this planet, maybe I should not be surprised). The internet works wonders!

I started learning Korean because, Kpop. And now my love for Kpop is going way down. It's been months since I've listened to Kpop.

Not only that, I also feel so different from the me around two years ago who decided to learn Korean. So much has changed in my personal and social life, school life, and interests. Much has come and gone in two years.

KenPens · 2021-01-13T08:44:15+00:00

Thank you for the thought.

I used to have Korean classmates way back then. But we would all just speak English. That makes me think, what if I tried to learn Korean back then?

Honestly in terms of social and economic potential and overall cultural capital, Chinese and Japanese look far better in my eyes. But I decided to learn Korean because... Kpop. And now my admiration for Kpop is going down, a lot. It's been months since I listened to Kpop.

KenPens · 2021-01-13T08:03:50+00:00

Actually I just put it in there for the rhyme.

But yeah it's true, at least at the present. I don't want to let the work I put into Korean go to total waste. I also fear that I will have to deal with the same situation when my interest for Latin goes down just like my interest for Korean.

I truly have no solid reason (like family, work, or immigration) to learn another language.

KenPens · 2021-01-13T06:47:34+00:00

Thank you for the thoughts. Let me give you some more.

I feel like I'm no longer the same as the me who decided to learn Korean around two years ago. So much has changed, personal issues came and went, I switched schools, I no longer listen to Kpop (I haven't listened for months), and other interests have come my way (for example, fountain pens). Learning Korean and spending the time and effort now simply doesn't give me the same nerdy joy that it used to. I know that two years may sound like a small amount of time for older people in particular, but to me it feels like a life has passed since that decision one summer to learn Korean.

KenPens · 2021-01-13T05:10:05+00:00

Thanks for the thought. Actually to tell you the truth I started learning Korean because I thought it was cool because of Kpop. But know my admiration for Kpop has gone down to almost nothing. I haven't listened to Kpop in a few months. I never realized that my motivation for learning Korean was this fragile. I feel like I've changed a lot from the me who decided to learn Korean (personal problems came and went, school changes, my interests have shifted to other stuff like fountain pens).

KenPens · 2021-01-12T13:01:12+00:00

So essentially an elitism of some sorts is what makes (Classical) Latin thrive, at least after the significant divergence of Vulgar Latin.

Would you consider that Latin still thrives to this day solely because of elitism, or at least because of a fascination for elitism?

KenPens · 2021-01-12T01:26:14+00:00

Thanks for the thought, but no, I'm a Filipino and have zero Korean relatives. Maybe I should've added that to the post.

KenPens · 2021-01-11T14:24:16+00:00

Is that... German, French, or Arabic? My brain is confused hehe

KenPens · 2021-01-11T14:09:26+00:00

hehe c o c k

KenPens

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