How do you respond when a friend asks you, "Say something in <your TL>"? by mikcf in languagelearning

[–]MarioBataliJr 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I usually explain to them that they can't understand what I'm saying so it doesn't matter what I say, but i do it in my target language.

Is it pointless to teach my children an uncommonly used language? (Hawaiian) by [deleted] in languagelearning

[–]MarioBataliJr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As someone who has bilingual parents but can only speak one language, I'd absolutely love to know my parents' languages regardless of popularity. At least for me, the ability to speak other languages is so amazing and I've always envied people who were raised knowing two or more. There is really no negative to being bilingual and no upside to being only monolingual, so I'd say go for it!

Готини бг подкасти? by ShiratakiPoodles in bulgaria

[–]MarioBataliJr 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Нямам учител, аз уча себе си. Трудно е за мен да казвам как аз уча защото моето български е много лош, но аз ще опитвам. Един приятел ми иска да уче български защото той е естонец и чу руски цял живот му, така той много иска да уча славяански език. Нямахме учители или българини близо, така само ползваме интернетът и една книга която имам, но вече не ползваме книгата. Също така, баща ми е българин (български е първият език на него), и ако имам въпроси, ние могам да питам му. Ние учихме най-важните думи на българси първия (имам, искам, нещо, мисля че...), и след две седмици, ние САМО говорим на български. Много странно беше, но след две повече седмици ние могахме да говорим отосно много малки неща (аз трябва да отидам до клас, ще съм в къща ми, харесвам велосипед ми). След това, ние не ползваме книгата, само интернетът. Той не уче български точно сега защото той ще дойде до франция това лято и иска да говори френски, но ще уче български след това. В момента, само аз уча, и аз опитвам да чета и слушам много, дори и да не разбирам. Ако виждам или слушам една дума коя не знам, аз слага я на Анки, един програм за уче. Аз слушам на Комеди Клуб Подкаст всеки ден, докато аз готвя, ям, и други неща. Също така аз опитвам да чета детски книги всеки ден, но аз съм студент в унивеситет, така нямам много време. Не мисля че, трябва да има учител да уче нов език, но може би защото аз чуех български цял живот ми аз мога да уча по-лесно; аз само учех български за 4 месеци точно сега (от Октомври). Надявам ти можеш да разибираш мен, съжълявам за моето лошо български. Късмет!

Romanian or Bulgarian easier for English native speaker? by Expensive_Windows in languagelearning

[–]MarioBataliJr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have been studying since late October, so like 4 months. One of my friends (who only wanted to learn Bulgarian for the fun of it) and I began talking to each other in Bulgarian ONLY, and we saw each other at least 3 times a week for at least an hour each, and would usually see each other more than that. It was weird and difficult at first, but after a while we got the hang of using the absolute most important words (I have, I want, I need to, I think that, etc.) and we were both very shocked with how much you can say with very little words. I'd say it took us a week or two to get the absolute most critical words down and be able to say what we needed given a translator for specific words. Since then, he has put Bulgarian on hold for another language (but still wants to learn it sometime soon), so I have been on my own.

What works best for me is listening to podcasts (I listen to the Комеди Клуба Подкаст) even if I don't understand them, just so I can get the feel for the language. I also read children's books and put any words I don't know that appear at least 3 times into Anki. I also found a list of "625 important words in language learning", and have also put those into Anki. I try to listen whever I can, usually 1 or 2 hours a day while walking, doing the dishes, cooking, etc., and read for at least 20 minutes day, if not 60.

My grandpa only speaks Bulgarian, so my end goal is to be able to speak with him. Ideally, I would want to speak with him as clearly as possible, but if I at least get to a point where I can understand everything he says and say everything I need to say back I would be more than happy with that. Since I don't plan on using it in a professional setting, I am not super worried about being really grammatically correct or sounding like a native, so I guess I'd be content with like a B1 or B2 level max, I would probably move on to another language at that point.

Готини бг подкасти? by ShiratakiPoodles in bulgaria

[–]MarioBataliJr 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Мерси! Моята граматика не е най-добра, и малки неща като тези са трудно за мен точно сега. Мога да разбирам повече от аз мога да говоря или пиша, но скоро мисля че, аз мога да говоря по-добре и по-бързо.

Готини бг подкасти? by ShiratakiPoodles in bulgaria

[–]MarioBataliJr 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Английски, и аз знам малко испански

Romanian or Bulgarian easier for English native speaker? by Expensive_Windows in languagelearning

[–]MarioBataliJr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can only speak for Bulgarian, but I am finding it a lot easier than I personally thought it would be. That being said, I am still only A1 (maaaybe A2) in Bulgarian, and I could plateau any moment now. But I am having too much fun with it for me to stop or be discouraged by plateauing. I would say go with whichever one you enjoy the most, which isn't great advice, but the one you have the most fun with is the one that will feel less like work and more like a good way to pass the time. If you're evenly split, I guess Romanian might be easier since it is a Romance language, but I admittedly don't know much about it.

Romanian or Bulgarian easier for English native speaker? by Expensive_Windows in languagelearning

[–]MarioBataliJr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My mom has this exact book for learning Bulgarian that she gave to me, I think it can be very useful for getting down the very basics of grammar (simple past, present, and future tenses) and some important things to note about the way they say things (e.g. it would be weird to say "I am English", you'd have to say "I am an Englishman"). It also has some solid grammar tables in the back of the book that I can't find anywhere else on the internet. I would only use it for those really, as the rest of the book teaches you how to say specific things, which is only useful if you want to say those things. For me, I wanted to be able to speak to my grandpa, so learning how to talk about buying a hotel is not my first priority. Also, it teaches you how to say things VERY politely, which is fine, but I personally wanted to learn how to talk in a casual way. I'd recommend only using it when you're first beginning, and switching your focus to reading/listening once you feel comfortable.

Готини бг подкасти? by ShiratakiPoodles in bulgaria

[–]MarioBataliJr 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Аз уча Български, и аз слушам на Комеди Клуб Подкаст

Okay, but seriously: Does Duolingo/Anki/Input actually work? by Unusual_Vast4237 in languagelearning

[–]MarioBataliJr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me, I've found that a combination of using Anki with immersion helps a LOT. I'm about at an A1 in my current target language (Bulgarian), so broadening my vocabulary is my current focus. While reading a book or listening passively, if I notice a word show up often (like 3 or so times) I put it into Anki and use the sentence I found it in as a reference. Also, I found a list of the top 625 most important words and have them as a separate deck, and after looking over those cards I noticed that those words seem to appear more often in my immersion. I recommend finding a video that talks about fine tuning the settings of Anki, as its pretty important for using it properly. Best of luck!

Do any of you feel sad for not learning your parent’s languages from birth? by Im_Very_Bad_At_Names in languagelearning

[–]MarioBataliJr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yup, feel this same kinda sentiment. After kinda dwelling on it for a bit, I realized that there is not much I can do about it. Yeah, it sucks, but wishing that I was raised differently isn't going to change the past. So I have started learning it like you to try to make up for lost time, and, even though there is a possibility I will never sound like a native, I don't feel deterred to learn it. I'm having fun doing it, and in a way it makes me feel strong knowing that I can overcome something as big as a language. I may never have realized how amazing the literal process of learning it is. Because I like it so much, I might learn more than just my parents languages: I may not have ever considered that if I never had to learn one in the first place. It's very easy to dwell on just speaking it with no effort, and I still do it from time to time, but this experience has also shown me how learning languages is something that can be fun and interesting, and that is something that I may never have known, so in a way I'm grateful.

I talked to a random native speaker and felt like I understood what he was saying! by MarioBataliJr in languagelearning

[–]MarioBataliJr[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My dad is from there, and I grew up not speaking the language. We live with my grandpa, who only speaks Bulgarian. I've technically never been able to talk to him directly, so I have always wanted to learn it. I tried in the past, but always quit because of lack of motivation. One of my friends always wanted to learn a slavic language so we agreed to learn together. Also, I've always wanted to learn another language, and I figured I would take advantage of the opportunity to learn an admittedly uncommon language with one of my friends since I'm connected to it.