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May 17, 2011 | French

In Praise of Independent Bookstores

I have neglected independent bookstores in favor of Barnes & Noble, and I feel guilty.

I am still on a quest to locate French books in New York. It is not easy. Yes, you can check them out of Haskell Library at the French Institute Alliance Française—but what if you want to buy…

May 23, 2011 | French

New York City, en Français

Reading about New York and its evolution, in French.

Over the past week I have been spending time reading about New York City from the point of view of French writers.  It’s been going fabulously. Books are highly portable and can go anywhere. I Took a French…

May 31, 2011 | French

French Class Closes

I enjoy the pleasant last days of French and tremble (just a bit) as Polish approaches.

My focus during the last week of French was on the history book I mentioned previously, Histoire de New York, a survey of the city’s history in French, by François Weil. As I read along, I found it…

June 1, 2011 | Polish

Polish Begins!

I start this language already knowing a whopping 15 words.

Today was the start of my Polish studies. One place I expect to visit a number of times in the coming months is Greenpoint, a heavily Polish neighborhood in Brooklyn. I’m afraid I didn’t know/remember this…

June 4, 2011 | Polish

Polish Nouns: Kind of Scary

Polish has seven cases, and I am frightened.

This morning I went to a Rosetta Stone event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Columbus Circle. What a view! New York As Seen from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel The purpose of the event was to announce their new TOTALe…

June 5, 2011 | Polish

More Fun with Polish Declensions

I chase down mutating adjectives.

The book Polish Verbs & Essentials of Grammar by Oscar E. Swan begins with this: “The Polish language belongs to the Slavic group of Indo-European languages. It is most closely allied with Slovak and Czech, with many features in common…

June 11, 2011 | Polish

Counting in Polish

Polish math mystifies.

As I mentioned in a previous entry, on a trip to Poland as a small child I learned 15 words of Polish, including the numbers up to 10. Eleven days into my Polish studies, that basic starting knowledge is still coming in…

June 18, 2011 | Polish

When Consonants Attack!

Polish sometimes looks to me as though it is suffering a vowel shortage.

When I start a new language, I typically “like” a bunch of pages on Facebook relevant to it. Today on my Facebook news feed, I came across this news-story excerpt entitled “W sondażu Gallupa Obama przegrywa z kandydatem…

June 20, 2011 | Polish

Grammar-Book Shopping in Greenpoint

I am foiled in my shopping expedition, but I have fun anyway.

Today I went to Greenpoint, where there are Polish bookstores, in search of another grammar book, this time with grammar exercises. Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn A Presumably Polish Restaurant I enjoyed a lovely walk down Manhattan Avenue, starting at the…

June 24, 2011 | Polish

Nothing Like a Good Old-Fashioned Grammar Book

I am doing hard-core grammar again, and I feel better.

It is such a relief to have, once again, a good old-fashioned grammar book, complete with exercises. I am referring to the one I bought a few days ago, Basic Polish by Dana Bielec. I need all the help I…