Accomplishments & Goals
Dec. 16th, 2009 11:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkStudying period is going well, I think. Apart from the fact that I haven't dragged myself to edit my history essay in earnest yet, I managed finish the rough draft of my other final essay (2500 word limit hit, oh yeah) and went through most of the Chemistry practice exams, even if I didn't finish all of the questions (they're MONSTROUSLY long questions).
Also did a bit of catching up on German. Sheesh, this neglect-and-binge method is really not ideal, but I sometimes suffer from motivation issues, especially now that finals are nearly upon us. I'm hoping that I can see it through to the end, not only because I've already passed the halfway point, but also because my seminar professor, who is quite nice, is a professor of German, and though I don't think I can take any of her classes again, I guess I'd like to study German by myself as some sort of substitution/tribute.
Here are some of my future plans (yes, more counting eggs before they hatch, but I can always dream):
Knowing German would definitely speed up the rate at which one can learn Dutch and/or Norwegian/Swedish/Danish, so I will look into those languages later. Plus, I now think Dutch seems like a fun language.
And then Russian, because I would like a foothold in the Slavic languages. I admit to being fascinated by the fact that the Slavic languages seem so similar and yet so different.
Finnish is a language that I keep flirting with, and then putting back aside to concentrate on more immediate concerns. I don't know when I'll get around to it, but I will, at some point, even if it's just studying the grammar and staring at the exotic-ness of the language.
Erm...I think that's "it." Hope that I won't get distracted by any others; these are enough on my plate.
Oh yes, and I guess I should emphasize again (to whom...?), but I'm not trying to become fluent in these languages, per se. There's something incredibly fun about the learning process itself (at least, for those people who have picked it up as a hobby). My friend suggested me to go into linguistics, but (1) there's no linguistics major here, except for one that you design yourself; and (2) I looked at several books on linguistics, and they seemed incredibly dry to me. What I'm intrigued by is comparative philology--studying the similarities and differences between languages. Too bad there's no such academic field anymore.
Also did a bit of catching up on German. Sheesh, this neglect-and-binge method is really not ideal, but I sometimes suffer from motivation issues, especially now that finals are nearly upon us. I'm hoping that I can see it through to the end, not only because I've already passed the halfway point, but also because my seminar professor, who is quite nice, is a professor of German, and though I don't think I can take any of her classes again, I guess I'd like to study German by myself as some sort of substitution/tribute.
Here are some of my future plans (yes, more counting eggs before they hatch, but I can always dream):
Knowing German would definitely speed up the rate at which one can learn Dutch and/or Norwegian/Swedish/Danish, so I will look into those languages later. Plus, I now think Dutch seems like a fun language.
And then Russian, because I would like a foothold in the Slavic languages. I admit to being fascinated by the fact that the Slavic languages seem so similar and yet so different.
Finnish is a language that I keep flirting with, and then putting back aside to concentrate on more immediate concerns. I don't know when I'll get around to it, but I will, at some point, even if it's just studying the grammar and staring at the exotic-ness of the language.
Erm...I think that's "it." Hope that I won't get distracted by any others; these are enough on my plate.
Oh yes, and I guess I should emphasize again (to whom...?), but I'm not trying to become fluent in these languages, per se. There's something incredibly fun about the learning process itself (at least, for those people who have picked it up as a hobby). My friend suggested me to go into linguistics, but (1) there's no linguistics major here, except for one that you design yourself; and (2) I looked at several books on linguistics, and they seemed incredibly dry to me. What I'm intrigued by is comparative philology--studying the similarities and differences between languages. Too bad there's no such academic field anymore.
