This Is My Reading Journal For 2021! I Really Wanted To Get Back Into Reading This Year, So I Thought

Korean Self-Love Quotes/Proverbs & Life Lessons

남의 떡이 더 커보인다.

Literal Translation: The other person’s rice cake is bigger than yours

Meaning: don’t compare yourself or your life with someone else’s

Life Lesson:

Especially on social media, you only see the parts that other people choose to show - the highlights, but not the behind the scenes. You’re life is not better or worse than another persons. The grass always looks greener on the other side, but you never know what that person is going through behind the scenes. Don’t try to trade your life in for another person’s just because of how things appear on the outside.

Vocab from proverb:

남 - another person, stranger

의 - possessive particle (‘s)

떡 - rice cake

더 - more

크다 - big

아/어 보이다 - to look, appear, seem

엎질러진 물이다

Literal Translation: It is spilled water.

Meaning: There is no use in crying over spilled milk.

Life Lesson:

A lot of things in life aren’t worth crying over, especially if it’s something that happened in the past. The past is the past and we have to learn to let go of the past. If you dwell on your failures, your shortcomings, your embarrassing moments, or any other terrible things you may have experienced in the past - It will keep you from living in the present. You Can Not Change The Past - no matter how much you think about it, so there’s no use “crying” over it. Don’t let the past determine who you are today. Whenever you catch yourself worrying too much about a past occurrence, tell yourself, “It already happened and I can’t control that, but I can control what I do today”.

Vocab from proverb:

엎질러지다 - to spill

물 - water

똥이 무서워서 피하니? 더러워서 피하지.

Literal Translation: you don’t avoid poop, because it’s scary. You avoid poop because it’s dirty.

Meaning: you should avoid certain things and people in your life, not because you are scared, but because it will disrupt your peace and happiness.

Life Lesson:

If at all possible try to remove or minimize contact with toxic people in your life - even if that just means distancing yourself from them mentally. Also avoid overtly negative and toxic situations whenever you can, because it can improve your mental health and overall happiness. Holding on to grudges, anger, sadness, etc. can also be harmful to your mental health - It may be hard to hear but some things you have to let go of. For yourself and your peace of mind. Forgive yourself of any past mistakes or failures and allow yourself to move forward.

Vocab from proverb:

똥 - poop

무섭다 - be scared of

아/어/해서 - because

피하다 - to avoid

니? - informal question ending

더럽다 - to be dirty

지 - shortened form of 지요 / 죠

(when speaker confirms something they thought the listener already knew)

말을 냇가에 끌고 갈 수는 있어도 억지로 물을 먹일 수는 없다

Literal Translation: You can lead a horse and go to a stream, but you can’t make it drink water through its own will

Meaning: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink

Life Lesson:

You can’t force someone to do something that they don’t want to do. You can’t change someone who isn’t willing to change. You can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. There are many ways to say it, but the overall message is the same.

On the opposite side of the coin, It’s a great idea to be open and willing to positive changes and to growth. In life you want to always be growing and not static - unless your perfect (which no one is). Sometimes we may feel static and like we are going no where no matter how hard we try to move. In those cases, either you need to make a change and do something a bit different or you are moving forward but it’s just so slowly that you don’t notice it - taking a step back and looking at your situation objectively can sometimes help.

Vocab from proverb:

말 - horse

냇가 - stream (of water)

끌다 - to lead

고 - and

가다 - to go

ㄹ 수 있다 - can do

아/어도 - even if

억지 - force

(으)로 - by (explain methods)

억지로 - by force

물 - water

먹이다 - to feed, make eat/drink

ㄹ 수(는) 없다 - can’t

(the 는 adds emphasis)

That's all for this post! Which proverb is your favorite?

Late anniversary present for myself.

Gotta love a new TTMIK book.

It like a diary/planner.

Challenge for next month I think

Linguistics and Language Podcasts

Looking for podcasts about language and linguistics? Here’s a comprehensive list with descriptions! I’ve also mentioned if shows have transcripts. If there are any I missed, let me know!

Linguistics

Lingthusiasm A podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne (that’s me!). Main episodes every third Thursday of every month, with a second bonus episode on Patreon. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Talk the Talk Every week Daniel, Ben, and Kylie cover the news in linguistics and tackle a particular topic.

The Vocal Fries Every episode Carrie Gillon & Megan Figueroa tackle linguistic discrimination in relation to a particular group. (Transcripts for some episodes)

En Clair A podcast about forensic linguistics from Dr Claire Hardaker at Lancaster University. Episodes released monthly, with a range of topics from criminal cases to literary fraud. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Accentricity From Sadie Durkacz Ryan, a lecturer in sociolinguistics at Glasgow University. Season one has six episodes.

Field Notes Martha Tsutsui Billins interviews linguists about their linguistic fieldwork.

Language

The Allusionist Stories about language and the people who use it, from Helen Zaltzman (Transcripts for all episodes) (my review)

Grammar Girl Episodes are rarely longer than 15 minutes, but they’re full of tips about English grammar and style for professional writing, and more! (Transcripts for all episodes).

The World in Words From PRI, The World in Words has been delivering wonderful interview-drive stories about language and life since 2008.

Conlangery Particularly for those with an interest in constructed languages, they also have episodes that focus on specific natural languages, or linguistic phenomena. 

Subtext a podcast about the linguistics of online dating.

Canguro English a podcast about language for people learning languages.

English

History of English Meticulously researched, professionally produced and engaging content on the history of English. I have already reviewed it three times (episodes 1-4, episodes 5-79, bonus episodes).

Lexicon Valley Hosted by John McWhorter, with a focus on English.

That’s What They Say Every week linguist Anne Curzan joins Rebecca Kruth on Michigan public radio for a five minute piece on a quirk of English language.

A Way With Words A talk-back format show on the history of English words, cryptic crosswords and slang.

Dictionaries

Word For Word From Macquarie dictionary, with a focus on Australian English.

Fiat Lex A podcast about making dictionaries from Kory Stamper & Steve Kleinedler.

Words/etymology

Word Bomb Hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta explore one explosive word per week, using particular words for a deep dive into linguistic and social issues.

Words for Granted In each episode Ray Belli explores the history of a common English word in around fifteen minutes.

Very Bad Words A podcast about swearing and our cultural relationship to it.

Lexitecture Ryan, a Canadian, and Amy, a Scot share their chosen word each episode.

Wordy Wordpecker Short weekly episodes from Rachel Lopez, charting the stories of English words.

Animology Vegan blogger Colleen Patrick Goudreau uses her love of animals as a starting point for exploring animal-related etymologies.

Translation

Speaking of Translation A monthly podcast from Eve Bodeux & Corinne McKay.

LangFM Stories of people from the world of language, including interpreters, translators, dialect coaches and many more.

Troublesome Terps The podcast about the things that keep interpreters up at night.

Back catalogues and Odds & Ends

There are also a number of podcasts that have only a few episodes, are no longer being made, or are very academic in their focus:

Language Creation Society Podcast (8 episodes, 2009-2011)

Given Names (four part radio series from 2015, all about names. My review)

Speculative Grammarian Podcast (from the magazine of the same name, about 50 episodes from Dec 2009-Jan 2017)

Linguistics Podcast (on YouTube, around 20 episodes in 2013 introducing basic linguistic concepts)

Evolving English: Linguistics at the Library (8 episodes 2018), from the British Library.

How Brands are Build (season 1 of this show focuses on brand naming)

The Endless Knot is not strictly a language podcast, but they often include word histories, fans of the Lingthusiasm colour episode may find their colour series particularly interesting

Word of Mouth (BBC 4, also available as a podcast)

LingLab (very occasionally updated podcast from graduate students in the Sociolinguistics program at NC State University)

Silly Linguistics (ad hoc episode posting, but episode 7 is an interview with Kevin Stroud for History of English fans)

WACC Podcast (guest lectures at Warwick Applied Linguistics)

Sage Language and Linguistics

Let’s Talk Talk

Queer Linguistics has a couple of episodes, with a bit of classroom vibe

GradLings An occasionally-updated podcast for linguistics students at any stage of study, to share their stories and experiences. 

This is a completely revised listing from March 2019, with some sporadic updates. I’m always excited to be able to add more podcasts to the list, so if you know of any linguistics/language podcasts not here, please let me know! (I usually wait until a show has at least 3 episodes before I add it to the list)

Here are some podcasts for those of you that learn or speak Spanish.  Many you can find on  iTunes, on Android using Castbox, or on their own websites/RSS feed. Other podcasts: Arabic| French | German | Italian| Russian| Ukrainian| Eurasia

Language Learning

Accelerated Spanish

Coffee Break Spanish

Discover Spanish

Language Transfer: Complete Spanish

Learn Spanish Daily Podcast

Learning Spanish for Beginners 

Light Speed Spanish

Medical Spanish Podcast

Notes in Spanish: Beginner

Notes in Spanish: Intermediate

Notes in Spanish: Advanced

One Minute Spanish

One Minute Latin American Spanish

Real Deal Spanish

Spanish by Choice: Transcripts here.

SpanishPod101

Spanish - SurvivalPhrases

Speak Spanish with Maria Fernandez

Beginner-Advanced Listening

Advanced Spanish with Spanish Obsessed

Español Automático: Includes transcripts.

Españolistos

Hablemos Español (Mexico)

La Casa Rojas: Transcripts can be bought.

Learn Argentinian Spanish

My Spanish Podcasts

News in Slow Spanish (Spain):  Includes transcripts.

News in Slow Spanish (Latin America): Includes transcripts.

Notes in Spanish: Gold: Transcripts can be bought.

Podcast en Spanish

Spanishpodcast: Includes transcripts.

SpanishPodcast.net: Includes transcripts.

Show Time Spanish

Unlimited Spanish: Includes transcripts.

Spanish Only

00 Podcast: Movies

Al Filo de la Realidad: Occult, UFO’s, pseudoscience.

Campamento Krypton: Pop culture.

CienciaEs: Science podcasts

Cultura, contracultura, y recontracultura: Culture.

Economía para la Ciudadanía: Economics.

El Amor Después : Relationships and love.

Engadget: Technology.

Es Salud: Health.

Es una Trampa: Star Wars

Fallo de sistema: Sci-fi, comics, movies.

Gameover: Video games.

Histocast: History

Juego de Tronos : Game of Thrones.

La Papa: Answers to unique questions.

La  Parroquia: Humor.

La Rosa de los Vientos: Mystery

Lo-Fi: Relationships.

Melomania: Classical music.

Memorias de un Tambor: Spanish history.

Nadie sabe nada: Humor.

Negá Todo : X-files

Nunca Ayudes a Nadie: Productivity

Oh My LOL: Humor

Radio Ambulante: Like This American Life

Radioshock: Random interesting topics.

SBS Radio: News

Señaladores: Literature.

Sexopolis: Sex & sexuality.

Siglo 21: Music.

Son y sabor: Music

Terror Y Nada Más: Horror.

Verne y Wells Ciencia Ficción: Sci-fi and stories.

Argentina Podcastera: Several interesting podcasts from Argentina.

iVoox: Several podcasts can be found here.

Radio Nacional: Several podcasts from Colombia.

RTVE: Several podcasts from Spain that you narrow by category.

You can find waaay more podcasts in Spanish simply by going through Spanish radio stations. I’ve seen podcasts for Pokemon, poetry, geology, and beer. You’re bound to find something you like :D

Apps for learning Kanji

Japanese kanji study - 漢字学習  

This app is great for learning kanji. You will learn the meaning, reading, different vocabulary, sentences, and my favorite feature of all: stroke order! You can also take a quiz by using this app (^_-)

 Take note that if you want to access all JLPT level, you have to purchase it. The price is cheaper compared to buying books (but I think it depends on country. Here in the Philippines, Kanji practice books are expensive.) 

NHK Japanese - Easy learner 

I use this app to practice my reading skills . It contains articles that are easy to read and understand. You can set your article to show 振りがな (ふりがな - kana over kanji to indicate pronunciation). When you click the kanji, it will show its meaning

You can play the audio, so you can imitate the pronunciation of each word. You can also download the article to read/listen offline.

NHK News Reader

Another app that I use to practice my reading skills, but this contains difficult article.

The same as the previous app, you can set it to show furigana, and you can click the kanji to read its meaning

Takaboto: Japanese Dictionary This is an offline dictionary. I really love this app because you can also learn each kanji used on the word, and also their stroke order.

I always use this app whenever I use the previous NHK app. This helps me to understand the meaning more. 

You can also learn how the word can be used on sentence by clicking the phrase tab.

I hope this will help for those who plan to study Kanji. 

You’ve day dreamed enough about wanting that lifestyle. Now it’s time to make some moves.

not only langblr music resources

people irl often ask me where the heck i find the music i listen to, so i figured i might as well make a handy resource masterpost!

Radio Garden: Listen to radio stations all over the world. You can save your favourite stations, explore radio playlists, and search for stations in specific countries or cities. Love this one. You can download the app (android and apple) or listen via your preferred browser.

Radiooooo: Lets you choose a country, a decade, and a 'genre' (slow, fast, or weird) to listen to. You can download the app (android and apple) or listen via your preferred browser.

Every Noise At Once: Sounds overwhelming - and tbh it can be. For this reason I personally prefer to look at 'Genres by Country', although there are many other interesting playlists to look at, such as 'We Built This City On' or 'The Sounds of Places'. You can find more if you scroll all the way to the bottom. Unfortunately, due to the layoff of the creator of this site, some features are not available anymore. This website is entirely based on Spotify.

Charts: Charts can be tricky if you're looking for music in a specific language due to the insufferable dominance of music in english in uh a lot of countries. It is nevertheless worth checking them out. Spotify charts or Top 40 Charts are your places to go.

Tunefind: Heard a song in a film or tv show that you enjoy but can't find it in the credits? This is the website for you! I use it when shazam fails me or when I'm at the cinema and can't use it or w/e. The songs sometimes come with a description of the corresponding scene for easy checking. Just very handy to have on hand.

Local events: Check for concerts etc. in your area. I know this is not an option for everyone for a bunch of reasons, but if it is for you, visiting local concerts can be a gold mine. I got like ten whole new songs in spanish and one in rapanui from one event I went to (it was like a culture fest with singing, dancing, and poetry). Also listening to live music just connects you differently to the art imo.

Friends & Acquaintances: Last but not least; sometimes my nosiness beats my social anxiety and I simply ask people what they like to listen to. If I'm being extra confident, I ask if they listen to music in languages other than english. Go forth and ask people about their music, go go go!!

Messy study tip: Study with a blank piece of paper near you so you can jot down concepts you need to investiagte further/go back to. It helps you remember to review them later as you go through practice, but it stops you from distracting yourself everytime you find a concept you need to review.

↳ 18.11.11.

made my first journal-themed insta post! 

insta: ry_annotations

Japanese Reading Resources for Absolute Beginners

A question I encounter often is "How much Japanese should I study before I can begin reading in Japanese?"

From my experience as a learner and reader myself and from managing a Japanese book club for other learners I can honestly say that you can start way earlier than you probably think!

There are many resources that only require knowing hiragana. Those texts usually teach vocabulary through pictures and only use basic grammar.

Some are even simpler than that: The Japan Foundation's Hiragana Books are great for those, who are still remembering hiragana characters. Every short book introduces only 1-2 new characters, so it's a great reading exercise for those who've just started.

The free graded reader 「どうぞ、どうも」 by the NPO Tagengo Tadoku only uses the words 「どうぞ」 and 「どうも」 to write an entire story. Again, this makes for a great exercise in reading hiragana and understanding context. Another "level 0" recommendation by the same NPO would definitely be 「しろい？くろい？」. This book uses the full range of hiragana characters but the grammar is simple and all used vocabulary is illustrated.

Another site with great resources for absolute beginners is Nihongo Tadoku Dōjō. If you have memorized both hiragana and katakana and know how the particles を and で work you will be able to read this text about stationary (ぶんぼうぐ) and understand everything by looking at the pictures!

The resources linked so far can all be accessed completely free on the linked websites. If you have the money to spare, please also have a look at the box 「スタート」 from the series reberubetsu nihongo tadoku raiburarī published by the NPO Tagengo Tadoku and ASK (affiliate link). This box includes 8 little books in very simple Japanese.

All these texts for absolute beginners will get you started reading in Japanese with very little knowledge of characters and vocabulary.

Reading in Japanese is a skill that requires practice. But once you get used to it, it can be such a valuable tool to reinforce new vocabulary and grammar. So please don't wait until you're "ready" before you start reading - start early at your own level!