Hey guys,
Recently I've been thinking about trying to (re)learn Albanian and got to wondering about the optimal way or 'method' of learning any language (If there exists some general rule that is).
If by miracle any of you know the best way to learn Albanian hit me up please.
Also what are your respective experiences with learning languages? How long did it take? How did you do it? etc...
Not to imply you can ever completely learn a language.
Oi come on you utter cucks. (I like this new word 'cucks'. It's so fresh!)
What the fuck OP. I was going to post a thread like this. I, also trying to learn Albanian and I'm dead serious
Thanks
I learnt Russian to the point where I could read its literature while occasionally checking words in about a year. Been two years now and I can read stuff like Chekhov without much trouble, Dostoevsky is still arduous as hell, but I can tell what's going on even if I am missing out on a lot.
I just bought a grammar book and read it through a few times and started reading short stories, looking up words i didn't know. It isn't very complicated it's just a matter of putting in a few hours every day, and sticking with it.
I found the entire thing genuinely fun so it didn't feel like work.
Should mention I am really not fluent though, just able to read stuff in it. Like when I see the word I know what it means but if I had to think of it myself I probably couldn't, for all but the most common ones and some poetic terms that every poet ever uses so you remember them
Well slit my nipple and call me Maurice what the fuck man. Why are you learning Albanian? I'm only learning it because I was actually born and lived there for fives but I've completely forgotten it over here in the UK. Makes it awkward being at family gatherings when we go back to visit. I'm pretty sure they all think of me as a halfwit but little do they know that I'm actually a very special boy indeed.
Thanks man. I suppose I should just throw my head at it a little and see what gives. No need to over complicate.
Learning a language is a seriously time consuming thing. Albanian is completely useless so even if you have Albanian family it's probably better to just disown them.
I have Albanian gf and don't want to just be a mute during conversations. If I can accidently learn Japanese through anime then I could do it with Albanian. I just can't find any media with English subs.
Yeah I've thought about doing so actually but I'm not really someone who should be having any sort of grander intellectual ambitions. I mean I just did an IQ test and got 93! There goes all my plans.
Same guy u responded to here too. Tbh the language is interesting for its uniqueness and I do take a vain pride in just knowing something as random as Albanian.
Well isn't that nice. And how do the cavemen in her family take to you?
I wouldn't go that far, their very agreeable for a super conservative family. I get the impression their more liberal then other Albanians but still conservative at last compared to Americans. It's endearing almost, you don't see people true to their culture and shit anymore even if the culture could backwards in some aspect. Jokes aside their cool peeps
Funny you should say that cause recently my sister has been harping on about Albanian being an 'isolate' language whatever that means.
What I mean to say they take to me fine. If I was a bum most definitely not.
Yeah I'm no linguist but that's supposedly quite true. That alone made me interested enough to learn it besides gf senpai. Also their is a lot of similarities with Spanish like bathroom being bano which I thought was cool. I suppose by my language I don't want fluency just to understand and speak it a little.
It's good to hear that there are some of us chilling out a little. Most of the Albanian families I know still 'lock up their daughters' so to speak. Hell I'm not looking forward to ruckus that will be caused in my own family when my sister inevitably refuses any offered arrangements and most likely ends up with a non Albanian.
But you are right about trying to maintain some level of connection with your original culture. In fact that's why I want to properly learn the language again. I felt kind of guilty for having turned my nose up at it so many years like an ungrateful arrogant westernised shit.
I find the locking up of women not a bad idea but it only works in Albania not America. I hear sad tales of women that live in America that was locked up till they were in their late 20s and early 30s. Sometimes not even college and definitely no going out or having any guy friends. Then they turn around and ask them why are they so fat ugly and not married. Meanwhile for 30 years they say don't talk to men and their surprised they don't take care of themselves. But those are really strict, a lot are becoming more chill for sure. The social network of courting Albanian guys matched up to Albanian women doesn't exist here so why keep following that I dunno. This is very cathartic thamks. Meanwhile I'm Spanish don't even know Spanish so look who's talking about learning languages
Yea I don't have any particular moral preference for between the two systems. People will be generally happy in either but with the mixing of the two you get some unfortunate casualties you know.
I'm also deeply saddened to say that my sister appears to be headed in that direction. I don't know what to do about it. She doesn't know what to do about it. None of us really like to think about it. It feels like all our lives our frozen until the problem is finally faced and I have absolutely no clue what could come after. I just it doesn't end in a whimper and my sister just get pushed into whatever through desperation.
does she have any aspirations? Nursing, writing, or accounting or what have u. She should concentrate on that and shouldn't budge that that's her priority in life right now to get her shit together before she gets matched. Meanwhile she finds a dude who isn't a deadbeat and can make a good living. That's all they want really. I'm going to medical school and that I'm sure gives me some points. Also I know what I am suggesting for your sister isn't what Albanian women are supposed to do....somehow have t find the line to tell them suck it up and deal with it. God knows your kids and her kids won't have that strict lifestyle so all that shit will be gone in a generation anyway.
I think me and UK Albanian should just get a room.
Uhhh falemenderit for this thread
She dropped out of a History Degree. Her life has kind of stalled since then and she's been having mental health problems. I think everyone in my family does, including me, but that's another story. So yeah it's all looking pretty bleak all round. I think I need to pick up the courage to round everyone up and tell them what's what. Some day.
No problemo. Thank you for the chat. Do you have thoughts about learning Spanish?
I'm Spanish so I could learn it in a heart beat. I can read and understand most things but I just can't speak. I have to pick up the grammar, watch Spanish dragon ball z, and talk to my family more. It could happen but I'm way more interested in japanese or Albanian. However I should just bite the bulletd I'm halfway their con espanol. Before your sister can ever even think about marriage she has to settle her shit. Maybe get into teaching via history, get a real career.
Know any Albanian authors or Classic movies or television shows to watch/read?
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She has thought about doing some sort of history/psychology combination course and working in the psychiatric field. I'm not sure how fruitful that would be but It seems like a purpose if anything. Thanks for your advice.
With regards to films and books I can't really help you very much. My parents were super secluded northern mountain Albanians and they were really hardly educated really. Though I can recommend one film and one book. 'The Forgiveness of Blood' is a film by (American?) director Joshua Marston and it's about the life of a teenager during and his unwilling participation in a blood feud. Basically after the communist regime collapsed people were weary and bereft of government and in certain regions people adopted local laws based on an ancient code of ethics practised by the mountain folk called The Kanun and these included some pretty gruesome customs like blood feuds.
The only real Albanian author I know of is Ismail Kadare and I think 'The General of the Dead Army' is supposed to be his best work. I haven't read it obviously.
Good night friend will check on that book, good luck on your family. You may see me in /int/ in any balk thread or Albanian thread learning your ways. God speed
Peace to you my man.
I really like this painting
It's beautiful isn't it?