This week, I seemed to make progress more rapidly than last week. I met with my language partner for the first time last Friday, and it was tons of fun. I feel like I made a lot of progress with him and was able to really activate the language. I started making flashcards to help me review the vocabulary I have learned. This seems to be a good tactic because it allows me to move faster because I know I can always use my flashcards to remember words I have learned.
I also attended the Zulu language for the first time last week. This was also a great deal of fun, but I felt a little embarrassed because my Zulu knowledge is so limited compared to everyone else. I still managed to pick up a fair amount of what was going on, and I learned several new words, so I still felt proud about that. I'm trying not to let the competition aspect of things discourage me (like we talked about in class), so I tried to take it very lightly. This tactic seemed to work because I still had fun and wasn't too worried about my limited proficiency. That said, I worked very hard to learn as much as I could, so I can participate more fully in future language tables.
I feel pretty good about where I am now with the language this week. This week, I plan to cement what I learned with my language partner and at the language table and then continue with my language plan.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
Zulu Beginnings
Well, I've begun my Zulu language learning in full force. So far, I have mainly focused on pronunciation, spelling, and learning basic pleasantries and introductions. I forgot how difficult it is to learn a new language from scratch! The key so far seems to be repetition, repetition, repetition. I have been using a combination of online language courses with recordings and my Zulu book, Teach Yourself Zulu, to begin my language learning. I have repeated the dialogues in each of the lessons at least 10 times so far. Eish! But it has paid off because many of the greetings now roll off my tongue rather quickly. It's nice to see that progress. I plan to review these basics today and then start onto my lesson plan for this week either tomorrow or Wednesday. If I remember correctly, I start my first grammar topics this week, so that should be exciting!
It has been quite difficult to work on Zulu pronunciation because I do not have access to a ton of resources. Zulu is very difficult to pronounce because it has many, many sounds that do not exist in English. Thankfully, I found one or two videos that explain how to pronounce clicks, and my Zulu book describes some of the other difficult sounds. So now, I think it's mostly practice, practice, practice. I plan to attend the Zulu language table this Wednesday, so hopefully that will help me improve my pronunciation and listening. I have also arranged to meet the Zulu language TA, Bongani, once a week on Fridays to practice speaking and listening. I'm excited for our first meeting this week!
I think that's all for now. Tune in next week for more updates!
It has been quite difficult to work on Zulu pronunciation because I do not have access to a ton of resources. Zulu is very difficult to pronounce because it has many, many sounds that do not exist in English. Thankfully, I found one or two videos that explain how to pronounce clicks, and my Zulu book describes some of the other difficult sounds. So now, I think it's mostly practice, practice, practice. I plan to attend the Zulu language table this Wednesday, so hopefully that will help me improve my pronunciation and listening. I have also arranged to meet the Zulu language TA, Bongani, once a week on Fridays to practice speaking and listening. I'm excited for our first meeting this week!
I think that's all for now. Tune in next week for more updates!
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
My Journey with Zulu begins...
Hello Dear Readers,
My name is Erik. I am a Master's student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an avid language enthusiast. I have studied a whole host of different languages, ranging from French to Yoruba (a language of Nigeria). I have a soft spot in my heart for African languages and cultures, and in this blog, I hope to take you through my process of learning an African language that is totally new to me: Zulu.
Zulu is one of the eleven (yes, eleven!) official languages of South Africa. It is classified as a Bantu language, so it shares similarities with other Bantu languages, like Swahili or Chichewa (the language of Malawi). It is in fact the 2nd most widely spoken Bantu language and the most widely spoken home language in South Africa, spoken by about 24% of the population.
Some of you may be asking... "Why on earth did this guy decide to learn Zulu?" Good question! It's actually a strange sort of story. I spent the past year of my life working as an economic consultant in Malawi (interesting experience, maybe more on that later). Due to its proximity to South Africa, Malawi absorbs a great deal of pop culture from South Africa, including music, fashion, and dance. It seems like every time I liked something in Malawi, someone would say that it came from "South." Hearing this, I began to develop a very keen interest in the culture of South Africa and started spending my time watching South African music videos and looking up South African fashion.
The story with Zulu starts at the verrry end of my time in Malawi: on my flight home actually. My itinerary had me with a long layover in Johannesburg airport. As I was waiting for my next flight (approximately 5 hours!), I walked around the airport, looked in some of the shops, and chatted with various people. Every so often, I would hear people chatting in a language that I could not identify. To my ears, it sounded absolutely beautiful and had a very interesting ring to it (probably because of the many click sounds). I immediately decided that I needed to learn this language. And after a little research, I found out that it was Zulu. And that's where the story begins.
After that time, I decided to do some research on careers that would fit my skill set in South Africa, and it just so happens that there are a number of consulting companies operating there that are looking for skill sets similar to mine. Seemed like a perfect fit!
So, now my plan is to develop a good working proficiency in Zulu, so that I can eventually move to South Africa for some time, get a job there, and integrate into the culture. Seems like an exciting prospect, no?
My name is Erik. I am a Master's student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an avid language enthusiast. I have studied a whole host of different languages, ranging from French to Yoruba (a language of Nigeria). I have a soft spot in my heart for African languages and cultures, and in this blog, I hope to take you through my process of learning an African language that is totally new to me: Zulu.
Zulu is one of the eleven (yes, eleven!) official languages of South Africa. It is classified as a Bantu language, so it shares similarities with other Bantu languages, like Swahili or Chichewa (the language of Malawi). It is in fact the 2nd most widely spoken Bantu language and the most widely spoken home language in South Africa, spoken by about 24% of the population.
Some of you may be asking... "Why on earth did this guy decide to learn Zulu?" Good question! It's actually a strange sort of story. I spent the past year of my life working as an economic consultant in Malawi (interesting experience, maybe more on that later). Due to its proximity to South Africa, Malawi absorbs a great deal of pop culture from South Africa, including music, fashion, and dance. It seems like every time I liked something in Malawi, someone would say that it came from "South." Hearing this, I began to develop a very keen interest in the culture of South Africa and started spending my time watching South African music videos and looking up South African fashion.
The story with Zulu starts at the verrry end of my time in Malawi: on my flight home actually. My itinerary had me with a long layover in Johannesburg airport. As I was waiting for my next flight (approximately 5 hours!), I walked around the airport, looked in some of the shops, and chatted with various people. Every so often, I would hear people chatting in a language that I could not identify. To my ears, it sounded absolutely beautiful and had a very interesting ring to it (probably because of the many click sounds). I immediately decided that I needed to learn this language. And after a little research, I found out that it was Zulu. And that's where the story begins.
After that time, I decided to do some research on careers that would fit my skill set in South Africa, and it just so happens that there are a number of consulting companies operating there that are looking for skill sets similar to mine. Seemed like a perfect fit!
So, now my plan is to develop a good working proficiency in Zulu, so that I can eventually move to South Africa for some time, get a job there, and integrate into the culture. Seems like an exciting prospect, no?
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