Tag: language learning

a cute study abroad story from my history teacher

basadaenlaesperanzaLeave a comment

leahrning:

so his friend goes to Germany to study abroad for 3 months, right? and she’s studied German in school, but she certainly isn’t fluent, and she never put a ton of effort into it, just a normal amount. And when she gets to Germany, her host family doesn’t speak English. at all. not a word. two adults and four children and none of them are speaking english. it’s absolute hell to get by, she’s constantly gesturing and enunciating and having to speak perfect German (they weren’t very good at understanding her unless it was perfect) and it’s three tiring months of nonstop German action. and on the last day they’re sitting at the dinner table and the father turns to her and says in wonderfully fluent english, “so I’d say your German’s improved quite a bit since you got here.”

Free Indigenous Language Learning Apps

basadaenlaesperanzaLeave a comment

vivalatinamerica:

It is believed that Spanish or Portuguese are most important languages of Latinidad. However, there are millions of people that speak many indigenous languages throughout Latin
America. Spanish and Portuguese languages are one
thing that unites most of Latin America, but those languages were imposed on the region through European colonization. It’s one reason some Mexican writers have
rejected Spanish to write in indigenous languages.

There are some apps that can can be used to help you learn some
indigenous languages of Latin America. Unfortunately, there aren’t many, but here are a few resources:

1. Náhuatl – With an estimated 1.5 million speakers, Náhuatl is the most commonly spoken indigenous language in Mexico.

2. Mixtec – The Mixtec languages belong to the Otomanguean language family of
Mexico and they are spoken by over half a million people, and can include up to 50 different dialects.

3. Quechua –
Quechua is one of the most widely spoken indigenous languages in the
Americas and encompasses many different dialects. The Quechua people primarily live in the Andes and highland regions of South America and include nearly 8 million people.

  • Habla Quechua by PromPerú: available on iOS and Android
    (available in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish)

4. Purépecha –
The Purépecha or Tarascans are a group of indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of Michoacán, Mexico. The languages is spoken by a quarter-million people.

5. Jopará (Guaraní) – Jopará is a dialect of the Guaraní indigenous language and is spoken in Paraguay. The majority of Paraguayans speak some form of this dialect, as it is a mixture of Guaraní and Spanish loan words.

More helpful apps:

1. SimiDic by El Instituto de Lenguas Y Literaturas Andinas-Amazónicas (ILLA) – an interactive app for Aymara, Quechua, and Guaraní: available on Android

2. Instituto de
Investigación de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP) – the IIAP has created apps for learning indigenous languages from the Amazon region of Peru and Brazil. Though these apps are geared for children, they are helpful for beginning to familiarize yourself with the languages: available on Android (Spanish only)

After doing extensive research, these were the only free apps I was able to find, but if you know of any other free apps for learning indigenous languages of Latin America, please add on!