Berengaria’s Comments (group member since Nov 11, 2021)

Berengaria’s comments from the Language Learners and Polyglots group.

Sportyrod wrote: "“I’m working from home at the moment” is the norm now."

"Outdoor free viewing area"....that sounds good! I'll use that now. Thank Brandon on behalf of me and my students. Okay, now I know how to translate "Home Office" into English. Cool. This is what happens when you don't live in an English speaking country for decades! :-)

And you watch out for kissa, kista, kyssa and kassa! 🇸🇪🐀

Sportyrod wrote:
There must be some german lan..."

It's the using of English to sound cool with little regard to what those words actually mean or how they are used in English. Fairly typical for "modern" German, so not exactly a quirk of the language itself but more a quirk of Germans.

So what do people in Australia say to describe when they have to work from home due to the pandemic? Just "I'm working from home now?" and what would you say to describe watching a sporting event outside on a big screen?

Paul wrote: "Berengaria wrote: "Peter wrote: "My favourite in this category is "public viewing", which in Germany denotes a broad..."

And "home office"! I've been told it's "remote working" in proper English.
..."

Great, thanks! How would you use "home office" in a sentence, then?

Germans say :"due to the pandemic, I'm doing home office" or "my employer requires me to work in home office".

This doesn't mean working in an office room you have in your home -- most people don't have that -- but doing their work on their own computer and then sending it to the company.

Peter wrote: "My favourite in this category is "public viewing", which in Germany denotes a broad..."

And "home office"! I've been told it's "remote working" in proper English.

Hey English speakers who live in English-speaking countries! Would you say "public viewing" for a sports event shown on an open-air screen or that you are doing "home office" work if you are working from home due to the pandemic?

Let us know what the REAL English is, please!

Paul wrote: "Berengaria wrote: "Sportyrod wrote: "Epic fail. I was reading a short story "

Absolutely, Paul. I always go over false friends with my students because they're so tricky. Especially new words created to sound like English, which aren't, or aren't really.

Example: "cell phone" in German is "Handy". Because it fits in your hand! The word looks like English and is English, but with a completely different meaning...which most Germans don't know. This was a totally created false friend.

Even more fun are the half-false friends. That is, those that DO mean the same things some of the time, but not other times.

Example: German "Perl".

If you are talking about the jewellery item that comes from oysters, then Perl = pearl.

But if you're talking about anything else, Perl = bead.

German says "pearls of sweat" and "wooden pearls" when we'd say 'beads'. Beads of sweat and wooden beads.

Language is really interesting! (And full of pitfalls like these)

Sportyrod wrote: "Epic fail. I was reading a short story "


😅 Yes, I have! I messed up kissa (to pee) and kiss some years ago when I started learning Swedish. Can't remember the context, but it got funny when I figured out my mistake and stopped rolling my eyes and slapping my own forehead.

Not a fail at all, really. This just means you're starting to have typical language learner experiences, Rod. Congratulations! *pats you on back*

I just finished up that story -- and it's weird even if you know the word. Kista is, btw, a pan-Germanic word and very similar in the whole language family.

Swedish: kista
Icelandic: kista
German: Kiste
Dutch: kist
English chest (just exchange the ch for a k)

Dave wrote: "I'm making progress on my Spanish A2 easy reader. It's been many years since my Spanish classes so it's a bit slow.
But the story is actually fairly good so far."

Yay! Very glad to hear the story is good, Dave. That's important for re-reading and consolidation at the end.👏

Just wanted to say, my first French goal book is GREAT!

It's a sci-fi dystopian novel that was published in 1982 but takes place in 2015, and is set in what I would guess to be a fantasy Luxembourg or Elsass (unsure how you spell that area of France next to Germany where Strasbourg is).

Just super writing and with the exception of technical terms about diving, fairly easy to read for the B2 in French crowd. I'm not having much trouble understanding and I'm not using a dictionary. Ugly cover, but great story.

Sportyrod wrote: "I downloaded the free part of the Memrise app but couldn’t find the link. I haven’t written down any new vocabulary. I think I will do that for my Indonesian books as I need to improve that languag..."

Try this: https://app.memrise.com/course/612172...

A time target would be a good idea!

Paul wrote: "
Are you making your own vocabulary list..."

You can still see & copy the format: target language: native language. Easy to put over into Spanish for your own course.

But you're the only one in Spanish. Rod's reading in Swedish and me in Icelandic. We're a 3-lang book club! (ain't that cool?)

Paul wrote: "Berengaria wrote: "Paul wrote: "Berengaria wrote: "Do you have a way to learn vocab? Anki, Memrise or Quizlet, for example?"

Are you making your own vocabulary lists for subsequent study based on ..."

Sure! I've published it. It's called "Olly's Short Story Icelandic". If you go to all the Icelandic courses and search for it, it should be there...maybe now, maybe in a few hours. I don't know how fast Memrise updates.

Paul wrote: "Berengaria wrote: "Do you have a way to learn vocab? Anki, Memrise or Quizlet, for example?"

Are you making your own vocabulary lists for subsequent study based on the stories?"

Yes. I write down all (important) unknown words and then add them to a self-created course on Memrise so I can practice/learn them regularly. That's also what slows down my advancement in the book somewhat: entering in all the vocab on Memrise.

Sportyrod wrote: "
I just finished story four. The vocabulary is getting harder but I was able to guess their meanings fairly well. Are the Short Stories in…reader...readers rereading the chapter after seeing the vocabulary at the end? "

I've wanted to but you guys KEEP ZOOMING AHEAD!!! 😱😬😂

Seriously, it's been more important to me to keep up with both you and Paul for our ad hoc reading group than re-read, but I've been trying to go back and look over most of the chapters.

My vocab level isn't as high as you guys', so it's harder going over in the Icelandic department. There are always about 10-15 words a chapter I can't guess and aren't in the notes even if I can follow the story.

Should finish story 4 tonight. Question: who would choose to get whisked back to a pirate enclave like that? Only the suicidal!


Started my first French goal novel: La mélancolie des sirènes par trente mètres de fond At about page 30 now and it's REALLY good. Don't know all the words because I don't scuba dive, but the writing and images are fantastic. Hope it continues like this!

Rebecca (pagescollective) wrote: "I finished [book:Billie B. Es Muy Curiosa- Billie B. Brown: ."

Yay! Congratulations!👏 Excellent to hear that the books were at your level and fun!

Do you have a way to learn vocab? Anki, Memrise or Quizlet, for example? I always find it's good to learn some words out of Book 1 because Book 2+ often contains those same words, so you're ahead of the game.

Sportyrod wrote: "I just finished story three."

Congrats on placing in the tournament! That's super! 🎾 🍰🥂

I've just finished the 3rd story as well and am re-reading. I was expecting a chapter 4 like with the first story but then....end. I'm not sure I got all the details of the two kings' machinations, so hopefully that'll clear up on the re-read.

Re: vocab: I agree, I'm noticing I really need to learn the words out of the previous story before going on.

Sportyrod wrote: "Well done Berengaria! Seems like you picked a good option. I’m a bit behind in my reading as I’m in a tennis tournament at the moment."

GOOD LUCK, Rod! Now that Djokovic is out of the way, there's nothing to stop you! 🤞😉

Paul wrote: "To those concerned or disappointed about misogynistic female stereotypes in Richard Olly's, SHORT STORIES IN ..., I'm pleased to discover that the fourth story, a somewhat more challenging sci-fi s..."

Shock! Horror! 😂 Thanks for the heads-up, Paul. Looking forward to it. It does seem as if the stories are getting incrementally more difficult.

Just completed my first goal book for Dutch! Yay! 1 down, 4 more to go.

I've always thought that "bodice rippers" had potential for learners -- clear plot, clear motivations, no difficult vocab, many adjectives and adverbs, fast pacing -- but have never tested the theory myself because I despise romances.

I'd heard of Barbara Cartland and how wretched her romances are, so when I found a copy of one of hers called "Blue-Eyed Witch" in Dutch (Voorgoed betoverd: Forever Enchanted) in a give-away box I thought -- perfect opportunity!

And, I'd say the theory is correct. This type of book is excellent for language development. Written on about the mid-B1 level and as far as story goes, a VERY good easy reader far better in plot and character than any I've ever read!

Not that Dame Cartland intended that...😂

Dave wrote: "Starting my first book in Spanish..."

Woo hoo!👏 Let us know how it goes!

Paul wrote: "I really HATE the literary past tense. What sick-minded historical French grammarian ever decided that something like that was necessary "

*Warning: language teacher & hobbyist info coming in*

Blame Latin! They started it and now all the Romance languages have the two literary past tenses.👍

We still have the remnant of it in English that we got from Latin/French.

When we start a story, we oft paint the backdrop to our tale in past progressive: "I was walking on the beach when" or "When we were travelling around Spain last year..." That sets the scene for the action, which we then switch to simple past to tell.

Romance langs just continue this initial scene setting / action sequence switch up throughout the story. We quit early, but essentially, we use the same pattern. Display backdrop, then send actors out to act.

What gets me is the subjunctive! Cool concept, annoying to learn.


Agatha Christie is great practice in any language. I'm sure you won't have any problems handling the level!