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The Daltaí Boards » Archive: 2005- » 2006 (January-February) » Archive through February 15, 2006 » Reading Comprehension - where to start? « Previous Next »

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Sgm
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Username: Sgm

Post Number: 14
Registered: 02-2006


Posted on Thursday, February 09, 2006 - 11:00 am:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

A chairde,

I'm in a bit of a delemma here... I started learning Irish more than 4 years ago (with the material I could get here in Germany). It was always my intention to be able to read and understand at a basic level what is going on even if I don't fully undestand the grammatical features (like when to use what preposition with what verb to mean that-and-that), because as I can recall, I didn't do anything different in English.
When I was in Ireland 2 years ago, I bought Fiche Blian and Harry Potter agus An Órchloch. The first because it's a "classic" (and it was cheap :-)), the latter because I thought it would be easier to understand something I've already read and could always go back to the "original" if it was too difficult...

What do you think? Is it, actually, better to read something in the original (that even a 'native speaker' wrote) or something that is not original but easy to understand and maybe even written for learners?

Do you have other suggestions? (I was also thinking of short stories in an easy-to-understand style.) What are your experiences?

Opinions highly appriciated.

Le meas,
Stefan

FRC - Fáilte Roimh Cheartúcháin

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Robert (Unregistered Guest)
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Posted on Thursday, February 09, 2006 - 01:12 pm:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

Maybe for reading comprehension, you could focus on what the grammar is communicating, the difference between some thing like na cait and na cat is of import.

I dont want to say grammar is all, but it is a factor. Understabnding corpuscles might be useful: ag + X woudl be a verbal noun, so you know smethign is happening 'ag rith'. Other prepositions tell of (in pure terms) spatial relations 'ar bhord' etc They are then made more abstract for communication 'as seirbhis'.

Thinking of sentances as VSO might help

D'fhéach (VErb) Sean (Subject) cat (Object)

I dunno, maybe a whole raft of patterns might help some people, ohers not

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Dennis
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Username: Dennis

Post Number: 999
Registered: 02-2005


Posted on Thursday, February 09, 2006 - 02:03 pm:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

quote:

Is it, actually, better to read something in the original (that even a 'native speaker' wrote) or something that is not original but easy to understand and maybe even written for learners?

There's no harm at all in reading Harry Potter in Irish. It's a very good translation. Actually I just did the same thing with the second volume in the series, but in Spanish. I'm going to Mexico next week and wanted to kick-start my dormant Spanish. Reading Harry Potter y la cámara secreta was perfect! It had been long enough ago that I read it in English that rereading it felt fresh, and I could fill in the meaning of words that I didn't know from context, without breaking stride by pulling out a dictionary.

Ognuno sta solo sul cuor della terra
trafitto da un raggio di sole:
ed è subito sera. -- Salvatore Quasimodo

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Sgm
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Username: Sgm

Post Number: 15
Registered: 02-2006


Posted on Thursday, February 09, 2006 - 04:34 pm:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

to Robert,
thanks for your advice!
quote:

you could focus on what the grammar is communicating

sometimes I've the feeling I'm so concentrated on grammar that my clear senses are switched off, you know what I mean? I think I digged my way through grammar and still there're all those things you forget - as with every language, I suppose...
I think I can differanciate between the functions of e.g. na cait and na gcat ... my problem is often the linking of all the terms to one utterance that makes sense...

to Dennis,
quote:

...Harry Potter in Irish. It's a very good translation.

Well, that's good to know - I suppose, I just have to force myself not to always look words up in the dictionary then, hm? I'm such a damn perfectionist... I have to stop that... ;-)

Le meas,
Stefan

FRC - Fáilte Roimh Cheartúcháin

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Max
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Username: Max

Post Number: 343
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 05:06 am:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

>> I suppose, I just have to force myself not to always look words up in the dictionary then, hm? I'm such a damn perfectionist... I have to stop that... ;-)

Why not?

That's what I do when I read literature, even in French (though I hardly ever read in French)...

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Sgm
Member
Username: Sgm

Post Number: 16
Registered: 02-2006


Posted on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 10:00 am:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

quote:

Why not?

well, isn't that the way to learn new vocabulary??? :-)

I think it's something different in your mother tongue ... of course there are a few german words I don't know but the overall message is received, because the rest of the text is clear and grammatically as well as semantically understood --- because I grew up with it ... hm?

Okay, I try to be better ;-) *I'm not a perfectionist, I'm not a perfectionist, I'm not...*

Le meas,
Stefan

FRC - Fáilte Roimh Cheartúcháin



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