I fell in love with Lithuanian.
Ever since @ikll’s fateful tweet about the I kinda like language website revamp, I’ve been studying Lithuanian non-stop. Up until now, I’ve finished Introduction to Lithuanian I & II & III and lesson 1-26 of Lithuanian Basics.
What the heck is Lithuanian?
It’s the language of Lithuania and a Baltic language, with about 3 million speakers around the globe. Its only relative is Latvian.
Why the heck are you learning it?
Why the heck do you play Angry Birds? Because you’re bored on the toilet, of course!
Alright, what does it even look like?
Take a look at the first paragraph of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Lithuanian. For me personally, it sounds like a fabulous combination of Russian and Spanish.
Haris Poteris buvo tikrai nepaprastas vaikas. Vien dėl to, kad labiau už viską pasaulyje nekentė vasaros atostogų. Be to, nuoširdžiai troško daryti namų darbus, tačiau turėdavo tuo užsiimti slapčia, nakties tamsoje.
(As of right now, I recognize about five words in that paragraph. Future Nina, please return after one year and laugh at me)
What have you learned so far?
Apart from the general sentence structure and some basic vocabulary, I’ve learned how to conjugate verbs in all three categories in the present and the future tense, the accusative case endings and agreement in gender (it has two genders).
What’s the next step?
- finish Lithuanian Basics course on I kinda like language (there are 44 lessons in total)
- find a regular Teach Yourself kinda textbook and finish it
- read the Harry Potter series in Lithuanian
- use it to insult unsuspecting people in public
- tweet “poop” in Lithuanian just because I can
Actually, I might just do the last step tomorrow. Good night!