Accents & Alphabets: Intro to Language & Linguistics
Taught by j soma
Soma was born in the South, is what someone from the North would say. See more @dangerscarf
Recent Activity
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j soma posted a link to Learn Hangul (the Korean alphabet)!
You get dropped into the middle of a Hangul-learning game, which more
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j soma posted a link to International Dialects of English Archive
Tons of mp3s of speakers from various areas of Americamore
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j soma posted Thai alphabet practice sheets
Oh my god these are insane. Granted, it doesn't mean much if you don'tmore
This is an old class! Enjoy the notes, and check out the current courses.
Whether you're interested in learning languages in general or just have a burning curiosity about this whole "communicating" thing, this class is going to be wicked.
Don't rat me out, but we're going to be breezing by a large amount of what makes linguistics work and going straight to the sexy bits. Where did language come from, and how do they 'die'? How do kids pick it up so easily, while learning a new language as an adult is practically an exercise in futility?
We'll trek through the jungle of sounds different languages use, and give you a framework to understand how those zillion incomprehensible sounds can be put into neat understandable boxes. And accents! Those are pretty obviously interesting.
I love writing systems, and we're going to learn a ton. I apologize in advance for training you to hate faux Russian fonts, and for demystifying the signs in Koreatown. You'll learn why Chinese is the most difficult language to learn, but we might do well enough to get you primed to understand the 'secret' menus at restaurants.
But what about now? Languages are changing all of the time, and it's better to know why and how than to sit around in an armchair complaining about it. Strunk and White's The Elements of Style will be on display, as well people who insist on correcting your grammar.
Notes & Posts
Transletteration: Cross-alphabet typing is XOPOWO
You know and I both know that Russians write crazy. Wackymore
Thai alphabet practice sheets
Oh my god these are insane. Granted, it doesn't mean much if you don'tmore
May Classes Open for Registration
Pictures
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Links
International Dialects of English Archive
Tons of mp3s of speakers from various areas of America reading passages. It's great to look at IPA transcriptions of accents (IS IT REALLY?), but really being able to listen to them is straight up wicked. It also cures what ails you when you're homesick for your back-home patois.
Learn Hangul (the Korean alphabet)!
You get dropped into the middle of a Hangul-learning game, which seems insane, but after 5 minutes you're well on your way to being about to read those crazy signs in Koreatown. 김치! 고추장! All those foodstuffs and more will soon be at your beck and call!
