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College
Posted On: Nov 12, 2009 20:54:49 GMT -5
Post by Youngster Joey on Nov 12, 2009 20:54:49 GMT -5
I'm taking Spanish and Classical Greek at the moment in addition to Latin. I've also taken French and Japanese in the past, but neither one for more than a year (and they were both eons ago, in elementary and junior high school respectively). I like Latin the best so far, though I really like Greek, too. If you're on the fence at all about Greek, I say go for it. You won't regret it. (I'm kind of sad that Greek doesn't have the ablative case though I really like the ablative case for some reason...) I definitely want to take more languages in college, though I'm not sure which ones. I definitely do want to take up Modern Greek. Might go for Arabic, too. Perhaps you might double-major? btw, what Latin book did you use? (I presume you're probably at the point now where you're reading actual Latin texts rather than textbooks). I hope you've had the pleasure of using Cambridge Latin textbooks. It's not every day that you get foreign language textbooks where the majority of texts you have to translate are about people getting drunk, murdering each other, getting burnt alive by Mount Vesuvius, getting beat up by robbers, and that sort of thing. God, I love those books.
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para
Oracle Knight
I have better things to do, like studying.
Posts: 152
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College
Posted On: Nov 13, 2009 16:25:43 GMT -5
Post by para on Nov 13, 2009 16:25:43 GMT -5
I'm mostly on the fence about Ancient Greek because the only option I have for taking it is summer school, and taking both in one summer will be too expensive for my parents' sanity.
I definitely can double major. I can see going to law school after getting a Bachelor's Degree in International Relations, but I can also see earning a PhD in Linguistics too. I want to explore the two topics more fully during summer school before I make the decision. Still, this topic has been making me think more about this and I really like the idea of doing lab and field work regarding languages better than debating controversial topics in international law.
Regarding my Latin texts, I'm still using a textbook because I'm in Latin 1. It's a budget option, unfortunately: Ecce Romani. Our teacher is awesome, though. He even once said, "Be sure to take notes when I explain things because I explain everything better than the book does." He's awesome XD The class stops using the textbook and begins to translate Vergil's Aeneid starting in Latin 3, which precedes the final class: AP Latin Vergil. I'm not really sure what text we use for that, but it's specifically designed for AP and only includes the lines of the books that are tested.
By the way, my state's virtual school actually offers Chinese I and II. I've really only used online school for boring graduation requirements so far, but I'll probably ask my guidance counselor about taking it. If it's too much for me (most likely not), then I can drop the class within the first few weeks without my dropping the course showing up on my transcript, so there's really nothing to lose. The classes will take my GPA down a little because they're not honors (my district weights grades based on difficulty of courses), but I don't really care because my weighted GPA is a solid 4.5 at the moment.
By the way, any reasons why you're interested in how people learn languages? I haven't really thought of anything other than the general field of linguistics.
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College
Posted On: Nov 13, 2009 17:44:14 GMT -5
Post by Youngster Joey on Nov 13, 2009 17:44:14 GMT -5
Ah, I've heard of Ecce Romani, though I've never read it. One of the authors of my Ancient Greek textbook authored the book. My Latin teacher says the same thing about Cambridge Latin, actually. He likes them well enough, but he thinks the way the book introduces the cases and declensions is stupid and not in a logical order. Consequently, we learned the neuter waaaaaaaaaaaay before the book introduced it.
Chinese, huh. They offer that at my school, though I didn't take it for some reason. I wouldn't mind trying it, though I'm afraid I might mess the tones up. I imagine learning how to speak through an online program would be tough.
Eh, I don't really have any particular reason other than it's a combined version of my two main passions. I've always been interested in language period, but I've also always been fascinated by psychology, both developmental and abnormal. Through my pursuit of more information on psychological issues, I've read a ton about autism and feral children, both of which often display an impaired or absent ability to acquire language. The research that has gone into both fields for language development really just piqued my interest (one can't deny the fact that there is a critical window period during which a person can learn a first language lest they be damned to permanently stunted language ability forever is not at least a little fascinating? And dear god, I feel like that is a horrible sentence that would make my English teacher cry). Language is so integral to human functioning that it would be a crime not to unlock some of its secrets.
What attracted you to languages and linguistics?
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para
Oracle Knight
I have better things to do, like studying.
Posts: 152
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College
Posted On: Nov 13, 2009 18:38:53 GMT -5
Post by para on Nov 13, 2009 18:38:53 GMT -5
What attracted you to languages and linguistics? Difficult questions to answer. I had been strong at math throughout elementary and middle school. I also ended up learning orthographical changes in the Spanish language (like using hizo rather than hico when conjugating hacer to preserve the Z sound) outside school because that was hardly covered, nor was it fully explained in the class. Then I began to look at the orthographic changes in French (which made my family expect me to learn it) and Italian, particularly how the letter G works in the Indo-European languages. When I learned that languages and logical mathematics could be combined into linguistics, I thought it would be perfect to study. Ah, neuter. We've just reached the chapter about that, though the teacher is drilling the third declension into our heads so we can immediately name it all off. There were some tricky third declension nouns like civis to learn; I didn't expect the genitive to be exactly the same as the nominative. By the way, are you interested in this? I'm just curious since I have no idea how I'll be able to participate due to the testing locations and would love to spread the word of it. How did you manage to get away with taking so many foreign languages at once? I had to fight my guidance counselor to be allowed to take Latin 1, Latin 2, Spanish 3, and Spanish 4 all in the same year (out of eight total slots I have each year). By the way, any reasons why you took Greek? I don't think you've ever mentioned taking it any previous years in high school, so I'm curious regarding our decision. On the topic of college admissions, the college board has released the test's orientation for November 7.I got the blue book test on Saturday. I am now positive that I've pulverized the writing section because the only writing part that I did poorly on was section 4, which was the experimental writing section. YES!
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College
Posted On: Nov 13, 2009 19:37:13 GMT -5
Post by Youngster Joey on Nov 13, 2009 19:37:13 GMT -5
Weird, I never thought math would be paired with language. The two fields, it seems, are more often considered opposites than a pair, so I give you kudos for combining the two. Personally, I'm kinda meh at math. I do alright for myself, but I don't enjoy it. I've never heard of it, but it sounds interesting I think I'm going to be in Italy in March, though. No idea what I'm doing in February. I'll have to check it out and see if I can try my hand at it. Eh, I didn't really have to fight anyone for it even though my school normally discourages taking on more than one foreign language. In my case, they didn't have any reservations that I could juggle them all given my aptitude and passion for language. All I really had to do was tell them I wanted to take the courses and they let me do my thing. Incidentally, how are you able to take Latin 1 and 2 (or Spanish 3 and 4, for that matter) at the same time? Are they semester courses? At my school, each level is a year-round course, but I know of other schools where a level is a semester. Greek? Eh, I don't know, it was kind of on a whim. My Latin teacher was a Classics major in college and was recruited by one of my classmates (who, incidentally, is dead-set on going to Georgetown) to teach her Ancient Greek as an independent study. I wanted to take another language, so I joined about a week after school started. Colleges might look it as pointless that I randomly took up Greek in my senior year, but hey, whatever, I'm having fun doing it. Ah, SATs... I love the writing section, sans the essay. I get such a kick out of the "what's wrong with this sentence" sections. I just don't like how you have to write a perfect essay in order to get a perfect score even if you get all the MC correct :/ Have you tried your hand at the ACT? A lot of people at my school like it better because they feel it's easier. I don't think either test is particularly harder or easier than the other.
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feder
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College
Posted On: Nov 13, 2009 21:26:44 GMT -5
Post by feder on Nov 13, 2009 21:26:44 GMT -5
I already graduated from college. I went to a local college and lived at home. It sucked at the time, but now I'm graduated and without debt while most of my friends are still paying off college. It's a good feeling to be debt free.
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College
Posted On: Nov 13, 2009 21:54:00 GMT -5
Post by Cleo the Fangirl on Nov 13, 2009 21:54:00 GMT -5
......the building for the college i wanna get into...is so..pretty..
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College
Posted On: Nov 13, 2009 22:11:29 GMT -5
Post by littledemonfang on Nov 13, 2009 22:11:29 GMT -5
Personally, I'm always cold unless it's 70 degrees or warmer, so I'm looking at colleges in D.C. and below in the East and California in the West. You guys? I'm attending University of Guelph Ontario to become a videogame programmer. The temperature ranges around 0 to 10 degrees. (A few days ago we got hail...and rain...and snow...and sunshine...it was a freaky day) The student who lives in the room next to me loves the greek and latin language and can read both.
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pemdas
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There's no taste like home!!
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College
Posted On: Nov 13, 2009 23:02:55 GMT -5
Post by pemdas on Nov 13, 2009 23:02:55 GMT -5
I already graduated from college. I went to a local college and lived at home. It sucked at the time, but now I'm graduated and without debt while most of my friends are still paying off college. It's a good feeling to be debt free. Wow...what did you do to be debt free? Or did you get a ton of stuff from the gov?! I've got a lot of debt already and try not to regret ever going to that expensive art college.... -_-
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feder
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Pyro
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College
Posted On: Nov 14, 2009 7:40:12 GMT -5
Post by feder on Nov 14, 2009 7:40:12 GMT -5
I already graduated from college. I went to a local college and lived at home. It sucked at the time, but now I'm graduated and without debt while most of my friends are still paying off college. It's a good feeling to be debt free. Wow...what did you do to be debt free? Or did you get a ton of stuff from the gov?! I've got a lot of debt already and try not to regret ever going to that expensive art college.... -_- I didn't qualify for government aid because of my parents' income. Well, my parents helped me with gas money and book fees, but I had to pay for college myself. I only had to pay 2-3,000 a semester, so it averaged anywhere from 4-6,000 a year. I worked all during college, and my last two years I worked three jobs. I also lived at home and commuted to school daily, which saved me from paying ridiculous dorm fees. I actually ended up having 3,000 of savings in my bank by the end of it.
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para
Oracle Knight
I have better things to do, like studying.
Posts: 152
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College
Posted On: Nov 14, 2009 9:57:55 GMT -5
Post by para on Nov 14, 2009 9:57:55 GMT -5
Incidentally, how are you able to take Latin 1 and 2 (or Spanish 3 and 4, for that matter) at the same time? Are they semester courses? At my school, each level is a year-round course, but I know of other schools where a level is a semester. Ah, SATs... I love the writing section, sans the essay. I get such a kick out of the "what's wrong with this sentence" sections. I just don't like how you have to write a perfect essay in order to get a perfect score even if you get all the MC correct :/ Have you tried your hand at the ACT? A lot of people at my school like it better because they feel it's easier. I don't think either test is particularly harder or easier than the other. Yes, my school uses the semester system. I love it. I adore the writing section, I had even been hoping for the experimental section to be writing before I took the SAT. I get a laugh out of the questions, most of which are easy. The terribly written student essay at the end of one of the writing sections is so bad that it's hilarious. I personally am not worrying about the essay. It's probably worth a ten out of twelve because I had a strong argument, though I my first example was superfluous and I didn't add enough detail to my second example. Honestly, though, it was still adequately supported. I'm honestly glad that the essay is at the beginning because I moved slower and slower towards the end of the test (not much of a problem because I'm slowest at reading, and those sections came first in my test) and had to rush a little in section 10. Writing an essay when I was that fatigued would not have been fun. ACT? I actually took it in 7th grade for a talent identification program but I didn't do very well. Honestly, I'm surprised that I actually scored just below what's recommended to be ready for college, but I guess it doesn't matter: I didn't qualify for recognition because I performed so porrly that time. I chose the SAT to take because I was more familiar with its set up (because I did some PSAT practices) and I had more time to prepare for it (the November SAT was the absolute last date to take it to have your scores posted for one of the summer school programs I wish to apply to. The last ACT date was in October, in contrast.). Clero, that building honestly looks rather dull and ugly. Just check out University of Chicago's totally awesome Gothic Rockefeller Hall:
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College
Posted On: Nov 14, 2009 20:34:37 GMT -5
Post by Youngster Joey on Nov 14, 2009 20:34:37 GMT -5
Incidentally, how are you able to take Latin 1 and 2 (or Spanish 3 and 4, for that matter) at the same time? Are they semester courses? At my school, each level is a year-round course, but I know of other schools where a level is a semester. Ah, SATs... I love the writing section, sans the essay. I get such a kick out of the "what's wrong with this sentence" sections. I just don't like how you have to write a perfect essay in order to get a perfect score even if you get all the MC correct :/ Have you tried your hand at the ACT? A lot of people at my school like it better because they feel it's easier. I don't think either test is particularly harder or easier than the other. Yes, my school uses the semester system. I love it. How does it work, exactly? Do you do a typical high school's year's work in a semester with only 4 classes per semester, or something else? I could understand fighting to take 2 languages if there are only 4 classes per semester. Otherwise, I don't see what the deal about taking 2 languages would be. I think it'd be a blast to be a scorer of SAT essays. I mean, just think of the crap those guys must have to read sometimes. My AP English teacher used to be a scorer for the AP Exam, and on Friday he brought in some examples of crap essays he'd seen. And maaaaaaan, they were bad. What sort of programs are you doing, exactly? Might you be doing the program for gifted youth at Johns Hopkins University (the name escapes me at the moment)? I've read a bit about that one, and it sounds pretty interesting. I wouldn't deem either one ugly; architecture is all very much up to personal opinion :S Speaking of University of Chicago, my father went there for business school
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College
Posted On: Nov 15, 2009 0:20:37 GMT -5
Post by Cleo the Fangirl on Nov 15, 2009 0:20:37 GMT -5
Clero, that building honestly looks rather dull and ugly. Just check out University of Chicago's totally awesome Gothic Rockefeller Hall: Well jeez, SORRY >_> I live in the PHILIPPINES, so I don't think i'll be able to go there. Excuse me for living in a third world country. sorry for liking a dull and ugly building. It's just that it's a good school. I'm sorry, i'll go have them paint it metallic pink if you want. I think THAT'S not dull. >_> (sorry if i have offended anyone ELSE)
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feder
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College
Posted On: Nov 15, 2009 7:41:54 GMT -5
Post by feder on Nov 15, 2009 7:41:54 GMT -5
Clero, that building honestly looks rather dull and ugly. Just check out University of Chicago's totally awesome Gothic Rockefeller Hall: Well jeez, SORRY >_> I live in the PHILIPPINES, so I don't think i'll be able to go there. Excuse me for living in a third world country. sorry for liking a dull and ugly building. It's just that it's a good school. I'm sorry, i'll go have them paint it metallic pink if you want. I think THAT'S not dull. >_> (sorry if i have offended anyone ELSE) .....I thought it looked cool.
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para
Oracle Knight
I have better things to do, like studying.
Posts: 152
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College
Posted On: Nov 15, 2009 14:29:44 GMT -5
Post by para on Nov 15, 2009 14:29:44 GMT -5
Cleo, I shared an opinion. You don't have to take offense to it. I look at a college's aesthetics as well as everything else. It's not a big deal and please don't be so rude.
Polonius, I'll PM you shortly about the Talent Search stuff because I don't want to divulge too much information here.
You pretty much nailed it about the semester system. We have 4 classes in one semester and have two semesters in a year. I'm pretty sure that I'll be fine after freshman year because I'll only take Spanish 5 and Latin 3 and AP Latin in 10th grade. I'm pretty sure the guidance counselor won't fight me on that because it's recommended to take foreign languages without breaks and AP classes ALWAYS are in the second semester have preparation preparation courses in the first semester at my school. That means I can't take Latin 3 without AP Latin Vergil.
Grading SAT essays would be awesome. It's too bad that only high school English teachers can do that, and I don't want to spend my life teaching pubescents to get a crack out of bad essays. Seriously, I took a small look after I had finished the essay at other students showed someone who was only on the first page with just a minute left. Man, I would have killed to ridicule that piece of work. My brother once got a grading sheet for the AP English Language 2003 exam from his teacher, who I presume once graded essays for the College Board. A ridiculous sentence is "Reward the writers for what they do well."
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