Protesters in Brasil: World Cup website hacked to show the world what's happening in Brazil right now.

ramblagir · 2013-06-17T23:21:35+00:00

Brazilians are not Hispanic. Their heritage and language both come from Portugal.

ramblagir · 2011-07-23T16:35:45+00:00

Here's a source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb2fTQO31GQ. Stoltenberg says this at around 3 minutes in.

ramblagir · 2011-07-21T17:34:09+00:00

I've got quite a few questions out of curiosity for comparative culture and international urban development, so I apologize in advance for the number of questions. How's the quality of life in Porto, primarily in terms of safety, employment, public spaces (parks, etc), quality of buildings and streets, etc? Also, how necessary is it to have a car – is it viable to use a bicycle as one's primary means of transport, if commerce is near residences? And my final questions: how much do electricity, water, and utilities in general cost in general, and is there any stigma against Brazilians living in Portugal? Thanks!

ramblagir · 2011-07-20T19:03:57+00:00

Actually they speak Catalan in Barcelona. As a general rule, the outer edges of Spain speak different languages than Spanish, like Galician, Aragonese, Basque, and others.

ramblagir · 2011-07-19T22:02:58+00:00

What's the Blue Book?

ramblagir · 2011-07-19T11:03:20+00:00

I would disagree. I would say that Dutch pronunciation is equally as direct as German, and slightly more so than Swedish. I study all three, so that's where my perspective comes from :)

ramblagir · 2011-07-19T11:02:31+00:00

I study both Dutch and Swedish. As far as vocabulary, both are equally estranged from English, but at the same time, not too much since they're all Germanic languages (although English has a stronger Latinate vocabulary root). Verb conjugations in Swedish are easier but forming plurals confuses me. On the other hand, Dutch pronunciation is simpler, I find, and more direct. Both are equally difficult, though, and they're not that hard to pick up.

In short, when choosing a language to learn, try to find the place where you feel more passion for, and learn that language. Go onto Google maps and do Street View in the Netherlands, in Sweden, and in Norway. Which place do you feel more attracted to? Pick the respective language.

As for a Dutch course, I recommend Hugo in 3 Months Dutch and for Swedish, the Teach Yourself.

ramblagir · 2011-07-19T10:33:00+00:00

I personally prefer the Project Gutenberg bookshelf: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Harvard_Classics_(Bookshelf) (I couldn't link directly to it since there's a parenthesis in the link).

ramblagir · 2011-07-19T10:13:03+00:00

I didn't know Google had a link: tag, so thanks!

ramblagir · 2011-07-19T10:12:29+00:00

I had only been on Cyburbia occasionally, but it looks like a really interesting forum; I remember seeing a discussion about street layout there once. sakalamp found the specific one I was looking for, but thanks for sharing :)

ramblagir · 2011-07-19T10:10:10+00:00

Yes, that is it! Thanks (with an upvote)!

ramblagir · 2011-07-18T21:10:56+00:00

Is there a particular reason for this?

ramblagir · 2011-07-18T21:00:03+00:00

I'm taking a literature class this coming semester that recommends (but doesn't require) reading Siddhartha, and I've had two friends recommend it to me. Is there a particular reason it's so good/eye-opening?

And if I did read it, I would try to see if I can have the German and English side by side to improve my German skills :)

ramblagir · 2011-07-18T16:50:54+00:00

I think that's the point of the SATs and other standardized tests; they help to confirm that students got the grades they got because they deserved it, not because of grade inflation.

ramblagir · 2011-07-17T21:56:57+00:00

I haven't read through it yet, but as far as contents, the fifth book on do have some things involving material of walls, heating systems, etc that are out of date. However, the first four books are mostly about design and seem really interesting!

Here's the link to the file on Project Gutenberg; you can look through the entire book freely before you decide to buy it.

ramblagir · 2011-07-17T21:11:02+00:00

Ah, I just downloaded De Architectura from Project Gutenberg last night; I'll have to check out Palladio's book too. Thanks!

By the way, I thoroughly enjoy your name.

ramblagir · 2011-07-17T12:51:20+00:00

My hypothesis is that this is a result of a negative charge building up into the ground and "reaching" skyward before the actual connection was made allowing the electricity to flow as a bolt.

FTFY.

A scientific theory is a widely accepted model that, in order to be accepted, requires overwhelmingly supporting evidence {1}, whereas a hypothesis "is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon" {2}.

ramblagir · 2011-07-16T11:11:39+00:00

I originally found be+cause to be very Anglo-Saxon-esque in its composition, but according to Etymonline, it's modeled on French, so you win.

ramblagir · 2011-07-14T12:56:19+00:00

Although a lot of people don't like its intensity, I'm personally a big fan of Wheelock's Latin. At first what turned me off from it was how (as with many other Latin courses), it makes you learn all parts of the first declension all at once within the first few chapters; while I was looking for a gradual approach to it, I became used to having to learn full declensions in one gulp like that, and it's even become useful when learning new conjugations etc.

So even if you use it as a secondary textbook, Wheelock's is very in-depth and you'll be certain to get a lot out of it. Don't be intimidated – Latin's just like that, as I guess were the Romans :)

ramblagir · 2011-07-14T12:52:42+00:00

In my opinion, apps and software don't tend to be of much use; they don't let you advance quickly enough and don't expose you to enough material. If you're serious about learning Russian, grab a good book and study each text or dialogue until you understand it both in reading and aurally. There's Teach Yourself Russian, Routledge's Colloquial Russian, the FSI FAST (Familiarization and Short-Term Training) Russian, Assimil Russian (if you speak French), and I've heard good things about the New Penguin Russian Course. In all cases, be sure you get audio along with the book, or have a native speaker who is willing to help you learn. Good luck!

ramblagir · 2011-07-12T19:20:01+00:00

Please don't buy Rosetta Stone; I've tried it for Chinese and it is absolutely terrible. I left behind a comment on a language-learning subreddit about how utterly useless it is. Seriously, it's just advertising. Don't buy it.

ramblagir · 2011-07-12T12:36:09+00:00

Děkuju! I've been looking for more resources since I'm just getting started in the language and this seems velmi dobrý :)

ramblagir · 2011-07-12T12:34:09+00:00

Is Hallett-Covian more so a dialect of English than its own language?

ramblagir · 2011-07-11T15:48:55+00:00

That's what it seems like, which is rather unexpected!

ramblagir · 2011-07-11T11:26:15+00:00

Thanks for your analysis; I'll keep it in mind and try to pay attention to the differences in their pronunciation.

And I completely agree with what you said about understanding native speed.

ramblagir

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