I just wanted to write a quick post and let all of you know that languagegeek.net hasn’t been abandoned, by any means. I just finished up with the end of a semester at university, and was understandably swamped with things to do. I now have some breathing room, and will be back to posting here regularly.
A few things in the works:
- Some free lessons at edufire.com for Language Geek readers. I have 3 coupon codes worth $30 to give out. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it; I’ve considered a contest, but I’m not sure what kind of contest. Ideas certainly welcome; if you have any, throw them in the comments, please.
- A post about global understanding vs. understanding of individual words. Dr. Arguelles’ video on shadowing brought this idea to my attention, and I’ve been ruminating on it.
I’ve also been suffering from wanderlust, and am considering throwing Dutch onto the heap of languages I’m learning. Quick, someone convince me to not do this. 
Do not do this (I mean, Dutch)!
Yeah, don’t (of course you’re going to do it anyway =P)
Santi: Probably.
I’m the last person to try to convince you not to learn Dutch. Such an attempt would come out at “Dutch is a really cool language with such an interesting phonology and morphological history!” Yeah… I’m not good at discouraging such things.
I think if you want to do a quick and easy contest, one idea is to have people post their favorite words (in any language), and explain (briefly) why they’re their favorites. And then you can just subjectively choose amongst those the entries you found most interesting/funny/intriguing/whatever. Of course, that could result in quite a bit of reading on your part if a lot of people enter the contest…. hrm. Anyhoo, just a thought.
Erin, you’re not helping in the Dutch department.
I find it intriguing because with English as my native language and as my German as a relatively high level, I can read bits and pieces of Dutch already. Understanding the spoken language is another matter altogether, however…
Sounds like a good idea about the contest. I’ll consider it.
There’s a Michel Thomas Dutch program out there. Not sure how well it compares to the old courses, but might be a good place to start. Have fun!
Hm, learning Dutch shouldn’t be too hard as it’s easy to find native materials on the internet (http://www.uitzendinggemist.nl for example). Also, if you want to want some speaking practice; I can help you. Oh wait, you DON’T want to learn it? Erm, errr, yeah. Well, just learn it.
You guys aren’t helpful at all, you know that?
I ordered a Prisma Dutch-English dictionary yesterday. *sigh*
Hm, the Prisma dictionaries I know don’t contain examples, just simple translations (often just one or two translations, nothing more). Tell something about it as soon as it arrives.
Will do. They came recommended, and it was much cheaper than the $40 Routledge Dutch-English dictionary. I have it on the way via interlibrary loan to check out, so I can see if I want to drop the money on it.
Do you recommend any dictionary in particular? Dutch-English, of course.
Ok, now we’re waiting for your “i’m learning Dutch” progress updates! (Just kidding)
I prefer the Van Dale dictionaries. They’re pricey but generally worth every penny. You might want to check out if your library has one.
Ramses: Could you point me to a Van Dale Dutch-English dictionary? I tried to find one, but couldn’t figure out their website without translating a bunch of stuff.
Amazon has some (which are incredibly expensive): http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_3_8?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=van+dale+dictionary&x=0&y=0&sprefix=Van+Dale
You can always try http://www.bol.com, although I don’t know if they deliver in the US.