When I was in in 7th Grade, my grandfather bought me a guitar. It was an inexpensive guitar but it was great to learn on. I got some chord charts
http://www.mmissary.com/guitar~1.gif
http://www.guitargearheads.com/modules/tinycontent/content/chordchart.gif
and started to learn music theory.
One amazing thing is that so many songs can be sung and accompanied on a guitar with just three chords. The chord chart also show some other chords that can be thrown in.
Of course, there are songs that deviate from the standard three chords, but they are easy after the basic structure is learned.
Every generation needs a very simple song to start playing. My generation had Louie, Louie.
Maybe I can get some suggestions as to what is an easy popular song to start with so one feels good about what they are doing.
After learning, I used to seek out some friends and we would play some songs imagining we were in a rock and roll band. Secret Agent Man was a good one to start with.
Later when I was a Junior in High School, I used to lead the songs any church group that I went to. This was the real acid test since you have to perform. I got feedback that I was pretty good.
(Sometimes I would also lead songs with the piano, it was harder)
Then, the ultimate. I was in a Rock and Roll band when I was in college. We called ourselves, "John 3:16" I was the lead guitarist. I also sang some lead and back-up vocals. I also played bass on a few tunes when our bassplayer played his flute.
We had a few concerts in churches and in a coffee house called, "The Catacombs"
We even had some original tunes like, "Man can't live on bread alone"
Later, I did some solo concerts. Sometimes I would ad lib on stage making things up as I went along. That was fun. My solo concert was actually me leading some songs and then performing some of my original material.
There I was in the Army with the Chaplain. We were out in the woods, in the cold and I was playing the guitar with the troops.
I even was guest guitarist and speaker at a prayer breakfast at Ft Dix, NJ.
Now days, I sing Karaoke in public and my geetar playing is at home, but it wasn't too long ago that I was in Baghdad, Iraq, up on stage with the band singing and playing guitar, bass and piano. Then, I was in Nurnberg, Germany at an Irish Pub and the guitarist let me come up on stage and jam and sing away. Even more recently, I took a chair in the book store and sang a few.
I recommend guitar playing to anyone, but at least consider the autoharp
http://www.rozbrown.com/autoharp.html . My elementary school teacher used one to help us elementary kids sing our kids songs like "Roll on Columbia" http://www.lyricsdownload.com/guthrie-woody-roll-on-columbia-lyrics.html
Now days, you can buy a key board that will play a chord continuously at the touch of a key.
Showing posts with label Bio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bio. Show all posts
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
My Toys and Activites Growing Up
I had a piano and was given piano lessons starting in first grade. I would spend hours at the piano. The other major item in my house was a TV which I watched for hours. I had books that I would read and my grandI had obtained a subscription to Sports Illustrated. I also read the newspaper.
My typical day was to wake up and watch educational TV, then go to school early so I could play football, basketball. Then go through the day and participate in sports during recess (Recess is a child’s favorite subject.)
In my younger days, I had a baby sitter.I was fortunate that there were children next door and across the street which I played with.
My game playing was not done at home, since there weren’t any toys at my mom’s house but I had friends. At Dave’s house we would have races of golf balls. We would line them up and run them down the hill and keep track of which one came in first. Titleist balls consistently won. Ring toss was also a good game. Another game I played with Dave and my friend Mike was we would wrinkle a sheet or blanket and then distribute marbles. One would push the marble toward another marble having to negotiate the undulations of the blanket. Typically, if a marble missed, it was easily hit by the next shot of the opponent. Dave and I spent a lot of time playing football. We were known to team up to move the ball down the street in decreasing amounts of time to “beat the clock.” My friend David whose family was from China, had a lot of games. He taught me how to play Go, Checkers, and Risk. We didn’t play much Chess because I could beat him in Chess and he did not like to lose. When my mother came home, I would have dinner. My mother would cook steaks that my grandfather would drop off before or during the week. Many times I would make my own dinners. My specialties were heating up frozen poor boy sandwiches in the oven (no microwave), mixing chili with Chinese Egg noodles (our Elementary School had taken a field trip to Seattle’s China town and I had acquired a taste for them.)
I would also forage for food, going the fridge to sample slices of beef, cottage cheese or slices of cheese. I used to also eat a lot of ice cream. (In High School, I would have a half gallon a day for desert after dinner.) And then I would read, watch TV or agonize over homework. (I used to agonize a lot since it was all up to me and there was no supervision or checking of my homework. I was motivated since I would get $5 if I got good grades.
Since I didn’t have “toys” I had some hobbies. I used to collect coins. I would go to the local coin shop and look at coins and I started to check my coins. Tony, the owner of a grocery store across the street (he was Italian) would give me a sack of coins to go through so that I go through them to try to find valuable coins. (somehow I have managed to hang onto some of these) I also collected stamps and still have a few of them. I also collected comic books but I gave them away before really knowing how valuable and worthwhile a hobby I had. I also collected base ball, football cards, etc. I also added mid elementary school a violin. I was in the orchestra. At one period of time, my grandfather was taking me to baseball games, there was boxing award banquet and I had a concert all on the same night. I was wondering how I would make a decision, but I didn’t’ have to worry, the music teacher said that I would go to the concert or I would flunk.
I received an allowance of $.25 a week. This allowed me to save up and buy a $1 model every four weeks. I put together a lot of airplanes, ships, and tanks. I remember the Arizona battleship since it was so historic.
Later, about 6th grade, I got a weight set even including a bench which I used to stay in shape. Regularly, my mother would take us to the “avenue”. This was University Way in the University (University of Washington, my alma mater) District. We would go to Lung Ting, a Chinese restaurant where the greeter would always say, “how are you young man?” and we would go to Pizza Haven,
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2001/10/22/story5.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2001/10/22/story5.html?page=2
They had great pizza but they were bought out by Pietro’s till they went bankrupt.I think that my grandfather would have passed muster for toys. When I would visit my grandparents most every weekend, vacations, and summer vacations, I went to a house that had many toys. In my room, there was a nightstand that had drawers filled with books that had stories about Babar the elephant, Christmas stories like the night before Christmas. There were shelves with many books some of which I came in possession of after my grandparents passed away. There were plastic bowling pins which I spent hours knocking over with a softball. I had a train set that even would blow smoke. (I liked the red caboose) I had my own TV which I watched for hours and hours. At my grandparent’s house we could receive Canadian stations. It was educational and I acquired a love for the game of hockey. I Seattle we used to play floor hockey. It is hockey without skates, we run around in athletic shoes. I had a mechanical helicopter, it was a facsimile of the CH-47 Chinook which is known as the egg beater because it has two rotor blades. I had a basketball and there was a hoop outside in the car port. It was low (but late in life it was fun to stuff the basketball) but my cousin and other friends and I had some good games. I also had football, so I could practice throwing and kicking. My grandfather had about an acre in the back yard. So there was room for throwing, kicking, and tree climbing and running. The football came in handy because when I was 10, my grandfather took me to the competition of the Ford, Pass, Punt, and Kick Contest which I won and won a jacket. One of my best moments was I had a car that one could move by pedaling. I had outgrown the pedaling, but my cousin and I took turns riding it high speed down a backyard path until it disintegrated by the vibrations. When I would climb trees, I would get some cherries. We also like to pick raspberries and salmon berries. My grandfather put some sawdust down and a couple pools and put a cross bar up and I would practice high jumping (came in handy, in 7th grade, I had the highest jump, 4 foot, 6 inches) At my grandparent’s house, there was a grand piano. The key action was a bit slow, but it had fine tone. I used to play for hours and my grandmother loved to sit and listen to me play. It was a bonding experience for the two of us. I also had a set up in my mother’s apartment in my room. I ran a rubber band chain between two points and I would high jump over it onto my bed. Every Saturday, My grandfather would take me to the Washington Athletic Club. This was a great place. There was gym class where we would do various activities such as dodge ball, gymnastics, etc. I learned how to swim there. I was captain of a bowling team. I won many boxing matches and even got an award for a draw since it was considered the best fight. During football season, my grandfather and I left from the club to football game, the University of Washington. These were great days. On Sundays, from a young age, my grandfather would take me bowling on Sundays. I usually would bowl eight games. Of course, my grandfather bought me my own bowling ball and shoes. Occasionally, we would also go ice skating. I had a sled, so when it snowed I could go sledding. I first started making forts by covering chairs with blankets. Another activity was to dig holes that I would cover with shingles thereby creating a fort. I also had a bike. I used to ride circles in the driveway until I was old enough to ride on the street. I have a cousin who is only 3 months older than I and I was taken to his house. My cousin had a lot of friends who liked to play football, so we had a lot of. My cousin had a tree house we also used to hang out in. The park was close by and we used to go the playground there. We also used to get in some pretty good baseball games. I used to beat my cousin good games. We played and also touch when we were small and young enough to survive the contact in virtually any game we would play. It could be checkers, football, baseball whatever, but there was one game that he could beat me virtually every time. The Hockey game
http://www.tablehockeyheaven.com/photos/games/eagle/national_hockey_league_mid_1960s/national_hockey_league_mid_1960s_001.jpg
My cousin had even had more toys than I had. Unfortunately, his father had a best friend who had two children who were very destructive and they would break many of his toys. (I confess that I broke a few of the toys, I was pretty rough.)His initial instrument was the accordion but later he had a drum set and we used to play music together, me on the guitar and he on the drums. Summers were pleasant because my grandmother would take me to the zoo where she would let me run around and see the animals. My grandparents took me to the park and playgrounds often and I would “free play” by running around. My grandparents did buy me games such as checkers and chess. I grandmother would play checkers with me, but she wasn’t much completion. I had an interest in chess from a very young age. Every Sunday, I would look up the chess column in the newspaper and I would replay the games on my chess set. Later I got a book that taught chess. The most powerful book I got was Modern Chess Openings. I remember reading a sample first 10 moves in the book which a recreated in a High School chess match to win the game in 10 moves. Starting in elementary school, the ground became a major “toy”. I challenged myself to run non-stop from my friend’s house a mile away. In eighth grade, I was on the track team. I remember coming in last in a half mile race. I was so angry that I began a life-long fitness program. That Saturday, I ran 6 miles (there were a couple stops of course the first time.) I had a lot of success in High School, I lettered all three years in Cross Country and Track. I won many races and became the Seattle Southern Division Champion in Cross Country and twice the 2 mile champion. I came in 6th in Metropolitan Championships for Cross Country and came in 6th and 2nd respectively in the 2 mile. I was the Washington state champion in the Track and field federation High School 2 mile. I also competed in the State Cross Country meet. I was voted the most inspirational runner for the Cross Country team and the Track team.
Another big toy I had was a car starting my junior year of high school. This was the biggest toy I played with until I flew helicopters in the Army – my first flight was July 27, 1980.
My typical day was to wake up and watch educational TV, then go to school early so I could play football, basketball. Then go through the day and participate in sports during recess (Recess is a child’s favorite subject.)
In my younger days, I had a baby sitter.I was fortunate that there were children next door and across the street which I played with.
My game playing was not done at home, since there weren’t any toys at my mom’s house but I had friends. At Dave’s house we would have races of golf balls. We would line them up and run them down the hill and keep track of which one came in first. Titleist balls consistently won. Ring toss was also a good game. Another game I played with Dave and my friend Mike was we would wrinkle a sheet or blanket and then distribute marbles. One would push the marble toward another marble having to negotiate the undulations of the blanket. Typically, if a marble missed, it was easily hit by the next shot of the opponent. Dave and I spent a lot of time playing football. We were known to team up to move the ball down the street in decreasing amounts of time to “beat the clock.” My friend David whose family was from China, had a lot of games. He taught me how to play Go, Checkers, and Risk. We didn’t play much Chess because I could beat him in Chess and he did not like to lose. When my mother came home, I would have dinner. My mother would cook steaks that my grandfather would drop off before or during the week. Many times I would make my own dinners. My specialties were heating up frozen poor boy sandwiches in the oven (no microwave), mixing chili with Chinese Egg noodles (our Elementary School had taken a field trip to Seattle’s China town and I had acquired a taste for them.)
I would also forage for food, going the fridge to sample slices of beef, cottage cheese or slices of cheese. I used to also eat a lot of ice cream. (In High School, I would have a half gallon a day for desert after dinner.) And then I would read, watch TV or agonize over homework. (I used to agonize a lot since it was all up to me and there was no supervision or checking of my homework. I was motivated since I would get $5 if I got good grades.
Since I didn’t have “toys” I had some hobbies. I used to collect coins. I would go to the local coin shop and look at coins and I started to check my coins. Tony, the owner of a grocery store across the street (he was Italian) would give me a sack of coins to go through so that I go through them to try to find valuable coins. (somehow I have managed to hang onto some of these) I also collected stamps and still have a few of them. I also collected comic books but I gave them away before really knowing how valuable and worthwhile a hobby I had. I also collected base ball, football cards, etc. I also added mid elementary school a violin. I was in the orchestra. At one period of time, my grandfather was taking me to baseball games, there was boxing award banquet and I had a concert all on the same night. I was wondering how I would make a decision, but I didn’t’ have to worry, the music teacher said that I would go to the concert or I would flunk.
I received an allowance of $.25 a week. This allowed me to save up and buy a $1 model every four weeks. I put together a lot of airplanes, ships, and tanks. I remember the Arizona battleship since it was so historic.
Later, about 6th grade, I got a weight set even including a bench which I used to stay in shape. Regularly, my mother would take us to the “avenue”. This was University Way in the University (University of Washington, my alma mater) District. We would go to Lung Ting, a Chinese restaurant where the greeter would always say, “how are you young man?” and we would go to Pizza Haven,
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2001/10/22/story5.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2001/10/22/story5.html?page=2
They had great pizza but they were bought out by Pietro’s till they went bankrupt.I think that my grandfather would have passed muster for toys. When I would visit my grandparents most every weekend, vacations, and summer vacations, I went to a house that had many toys. In my room, there was a nightstand that had drawers filled with books that had stories about Babar the elephant, Christmas stories like the night before Christmas. There were shelves with many books some of which I came in possession of after my grandparents passed away. There were plastic bowling pins which I spent hours knocking over with a softball. I had a train set that even would blow smoke. (I liked the red caboose) I had my own TV which I watched for hours and hours. At my grandparent’s house we could receive Canadian stations. It was educational and I acquired a love for the game of hockey. I Seattle we used to play floor hockey. It is hockey without skates, we run around in athletic shoes. I had a mechanical helicopter, it was a facsimile of the CH-47 Chinook which is known as the egg beater because it has two rotor blades. I had a basketball and there was a hoop outside in the car port. It was low (but late in life it was fun to stuff the basketball) but my cousin and other friends and I had some good games. I also had football, so I could practice throwing and kicking. My grandfather had about an acre in the back yard. So there was room for throwing, kicking, and tree climbing and running. The football came in handy because when I was 10, my grandfather took me to the competition of the Ford, Pass, Punt, and Kick Contest which I won and won a jacket. One of my best moments was I had a car that one could move by pedaling. I had outgrown the pedaling, but my cousin and I took turns riding it high speed down a backyard path until it disintegrated by the vibrations. When I would climb trees, I would get some cherries. We also like to pick raspberries and salmon berries. My grandfather put some sawdust down and a couple pools and put a cross bar up and I would practice high jumping (came in handy, in 7th grade, I had the highest jump, 4 foot, 6 inches) At my grandparent’s house, there was a grand piano. The key action was a bit slow, but it had fine tone. I used to play for hours and my grandmother loved to sit and listen to me play. It was a bonding experience for the two of us. I also had a set up in my mother’s apartment in my room. I ran a rubber band chain between two points and I would high jump over it onto my bed. Every Saturday, My grandfather would take me to the Washington Athletic Club. This was a great place. There was gym class where we would do various activities such as dodge ball, gymnastics, etc. I learned how to swim there. I was captain of a bowling team. I won many boxing matches and even got an award for a draw since it was considered the best fight. During football season, my grandfather and I left from the club to football game, the University of Washington. These were great days. On Sundays, from a young age, my grandfather would take me bowling on Sundays. I usually would bowl eight games. Of course, my grandfather bought me my own bowling ball and shoes. Occasionally, we would also go ice skating. I had a sled, so when it snowed I could go sledding. I first started making forts by covering chairs with blankets. Another activity was to dig holes that I would cover with shingles thereby creating a fort. I also had a bike. I used to ride circles in the driveway until I was old enough to ride on the street. I have a cousin who is only 3 months older than I and I was taken to his house. My cousin had a lot of friends who liked to play football, so we had a lot of. My cousin had a tree house we also used to hang out in. The park was close by and we used to go the playground there. We also used to get in some pretty good baseball games. I used to beat my cousin good games. We played and also touch when we were small and young enough to survive the contact in virtually any game we would play. It could be checkers, football, baseball whatever, but there was one game that he could beat me virtually every time. The Hockey game
http://www.tablehockeyheaven.com/photos/games/eagle/national_hockey_league_mid_1960s/national_hockey_league_mid_1960s_001.jpg
My cousin had even had more toys than I had. Unfortunately, his father had a best friend who had two children who were very destructive and they would break many of his toys. (I confess that I broke a few of the toys, I was pretty rough.)His initial instrument was the accordion but later he had a drum set and we used to play music together, me on the guitar and he on the drums. Summers were pleasant because my grandmother would take me to the zoo where she would let me run around and see the animals. My grandparents took me to the park and playgrounds often and I would “free play” by running around. My grandparents did buy me games such as checkers and chess. I grandmother would play checkers with me, but she wasn’t much completion. I had an interest in chess from a very young age. Every Sunday, I would look up the chess column in the newspaper and I would replay the games on my chess set. Later I got a book that taught chess. The most powerful book I got was Modern Chess Openings. I remember reading a sample first 10 moves in the book which a recreated in a High School chess match to win the game in 10 moves. Starting in elementary school, the ground became a major “toy”. I challenged myself to run non-stop from my friend’s house a mile away. In eighth grade, I was on the track team. I remember coming in last in a half mile race. I was so angry that I began a life-long fitness program. That Saturday, I ran 6 miles (there were a couple stops of course the first time.) I had a lot of success in High School, I lettered all three years in Cross Country and Track. I won many races and became the Seattle Southern Division Champion in Cross Country and twice the 2 mile champion. I came in 6th in Metropolitan Championships for Cross Country and came in 6th and 2nd respectively in the 2 mile. I was the Washington state champion in the Track and field federation High School 2 mile. I also competed in the State Cross Country meet. I was voted the most inspirational runner for the Cross Country team and the Track team.
Another big toy I had was a car starting my junior year of high school. This was the biggest toy I played with until I flew helicopters in the Army – my first flight was July 27, 1980.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Languages
"How is it you speak so many languages?"
Basically, learning languages has been a life long journey.
Like the typical American, my first language was English
When I was young, I started looking up words I didn't understand, building a pretty good vocabulary.
In Seventh Grade, I started learning German. Since, I had a German last name, I remember feeling some connection to the language. I continued in 8th and 9th grade.
In 10th Grade, to protect my grade point,(that year I had all A’s except for a B in Honors Geometry) I gave up German and substituted Latin. Latin was great because I started learning great words like ameliorate, pejorative, etc.
Then, one day in 11th grade, someone showed me a New Testament with a beautiful Greek script on one page and the opposite page was in Latin. It is a wonderful black leather book with gold edges on the pages. I still cherish it. I remember the excitement and eagerness I had to learn Greek, the original language of the Bible.
Since my grandmother was Icelandic and I was socializing in the Scandanavian section of Seattle, WA (Ballard), I started to pick up some Norwegian. I had a few friends that I liked to talk with and that time I was singing gospel songs like, Han skal apne perle porten (He, the pearly gates will open) O store Gud (How great thou art)
Previously, I had intended to be a medical doctor, now I wanted to study the classics: Ancient Greek and Latin.
So, I started the University of Oregon studying the Classics (I did some running but that is another story).
Later, I went to the University of Washington continuing my classics studies but adding another language: Hebrew. Again, an excitement and another change. I changed my major to Near Eastern Languages therein studying: Arabic, Aramaic, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Sumerian, Akkadian—I might add that since my professor had studied at Tuebingen in Germany and stated that the most important language for Near Eastern studies was German, I began working hard on my German—cultural events, listening to German shortwave broadcasts, subscribing to newspapers and magazines, visiting German churches, making German friends. I remember going to a German church and meeting some of the Germans at a social gathering at Ilse Kneifel's house. As she stuffed me with food she assured me I could not refuse because, "It is the German way."
French was added in an intensive summer course.
My Hebrew was practiced because my Hebrew teacher was a Rabbi (I recently spoke with him) He had us going to the synagogue (Schul in Yiddish) and he taught us a bunch of Hebrew songs. At one point we were commuting from Edmonds where my grandparents lived and another commuter who was studying Russian had us singing the Volga boat song in Russian!!
I also began to read the Icelandic sagas in Old Norse because my professor had said they had a unique place in literature and also since my grandmother was Icelandic.
I also took note of English dialects. When my wife and I were invited to a couple from Oklahoma for dinner, we were informed the Vernon had spiced up the olives becauase otherwise they were too "DAY ed"
My language studies took a hiatus for some Army training (however I did add to my knowledge of American English and added some profane words and phrases to my passive vocabulary always listening intently to the instructions of the drill sergeants.
Off to New Jersey, I began adding Spanish by listening to Spanish television. I also continued to subscribe to German periodicals and used to read a French paper from Louisiana Akkadia.
In Alabama, I sponsored a Saudi Arabian student(saw him in 2001 in Egypt during a Bright Star Exercise after 911, he is now a general) that was good practice for my Arabic. (one interesting moment in Egypt was when I was talking to an Egyptian officer. He was having trouble with my English and of course, I was having trouble with his Arabic. Somehow, I let him know I spoke German and then we were set since he had gone to a military school in Germany. It was funny, I was asking him in German what he said in Arabic and he was asking me what I said in English)
Spanish continued to be reinforced in Texas(also learned to love Jalapenos and the Cotton-eye Joe)
Later, I was the liason to students from 40 countries in the Army Infantry Advance Course-speaking Arabic, French, German, Spanish, (came in handy with the Columbians-they usually relied on Puerto Ricans to get them through the classes.) I befriended a Greek officer and we went to Greek Churches and other Greek cultural events. At this time, I began my study of Italian. (It helps to marry into an Italian family, my studies have slowed after the divorce but I really love to sing opera in Italian.)
I worked on my French by trips to Quebec in Canada(they have great food) and Martinique in the Carribean(more great food)
I got a job teaching English for a while in St Petersburg, FL and had Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Cuban, and Central American Students(helped with the Spanish)
I applied for a job claiming knowledge of French and was granted an interview. For 6 weeks, I really worked on my French speaking. I had a tutor that had taught French in the South Vietnamese embassy. When I told him I had only had 6 weeks formal training, he said, pas beaucoup. Not enough. But, when they tested me on the job interview, I was facile enough to convince them I spoke French.(wish I could have gotten the job, I would have been off the West Africa every 2 weeks marketing helicopters(I used to fly helicopters in the Army)
A trip to Korea for a month brought me a temporary knowledge of the alphabet(Hangul) and a smattering of phrases I use when I see Koreans(usually at the cleaners, Gamsa Ham ni da-thank you, comes in handy) Interestingly enough, I met someone from Switzerland that spoke no English, but we conversed in French.
I became interested in Sushi and at one time had about 100 Japanese words. Wasabi(horse-raddish sounds a lot like Wuz-up? I enjoy Japanese food.
Recently, I took a 5 week course in Farsi which is the language of Iran and its dialect Dari is the language of the northen half of Afghanistan. There are a lot of Arabic loan words in Farsi(about 50 percent so it was a good review for Arabic.
I took a 6 week refresher in Arabic and then I was soon off to Iraq where I added the Iraqi dialect to my language collection. I try to read the headlines from the Iraqi paper everyday but it is sad because they always report on the bombings. In Arabic, I added some greetings to use with Nepalese and Indians(namaste) some Urdu for the Pakastanis( ka hal e: how are you, khodafiz: God protect you)
When I got back from Iraq in 2004, I ran into some Kurds who lived in VA and worked at the courthouse. It was great to exchange greetings in Kurdish and Arabic (Kurdish is very similar to Farsi.
2008 ---- I enjoyed trying to learn some Sanskrit grammar. I know quite a few vocabulary words just by paying attention to popular culture, Dharma and Greg, Yoga, etc. I enjoy listening the Bhagavad Gita chanted in Sanskrit.
2009 --- I am having fun on Facebook. I have friends that speak Afrikaans, Arabic (Arabic, Iraqi Dialect),Chaldean, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German,(Greek,Ancient), Icelandic,
Italian, Latin, Norwegian, Portuguese, and Spanish. So daily I see phrases in languages I know to reinforce them and also my friends are helping me start learning Afrikaans and Icelandic!!
Studying the languages has really added to my life. It is amazing the rapport you gain by saying a few phrases in someone's native language.
ADDENDUM
Here are some of my Best Defense Language Proficiency Test Scores
Language Listening Reading
German 2+/ 3
Spanish 2 /3
Italian 1+ /2
French 1+ /2
Farsi 1 /1
Arabic 0+ /1
General Description of the Test
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Language_Proficiency_Tests
Explanation of Scores
http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=24546
New Test
http://www.military.com/military-report/new-official-language-proficiency-test
Languages for which I have college credits:
Latin
Greek (Ancient)
German
French
Hebrew (Ancient)
Arabic (Classical)
Ugaritic
Aramaic
Phoenician
Akkadian
Sumerian
Syriac
Italian
Farsi
Basically, learning languages has been a life long journey.
Like the typical American, my first language was English
When I was young, I started looking up words I didn't understand, building a pretty good vocabulary.
In Seventh Grade, I started learning German. Since, I had a German last name, I remember feeling some connection to the language. I continued in 8th and 9th grade.
In 10th Grade, to protect my grade point,(that year I had all A’s except for a B in Honors Geometry) I gave up German and substituted Latin. Latin was great because I started learning great words like ameliorate, pejorative, etc.
Then, one day in 11th grade, someone showed me a New Testament with a beautiful Greek script on one page and the opposite page was in Latin. It is a wonderful black leather book with gold edges on the pages. I still cherish it. I remember the excitement and eagerness I had to learn Greek, the original language of the Bible.
Since my grandmother was Icelandic and I was socializing in the Scandanavian section of Seattle, WA (Ballard), I started to pick up some Norwegian. I had a few friends that I liked to talk with and that time I was singing gospel songs like, Han skal apne perle porten (He, the pearly gates will open) O store Gud (How great thou art)
Previously, I had intended to be a medical doctor, now I wanted to study the classics: Ancient Greek and Latin.
So, I started the University of Oregon studying the Classics (I did some running but that is another story).
Later, I went to the University of Washington continuing my classics studies but adding another language: Hebrew. Again, an excitement and another change. I changed my major to Near Eastern Languages therein studying: Arabic, Aramaic, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Sumerian, Akkadian—I might add that since my professor had studied at Tuebingen in Germany and stated that the most important language for Near Eastern studies was German, I began working hard on my German—cultural events, listening to German shortwave broadcasts, subscribing to newspapers and magazines, visiting German churches, making German friends. I remember going to a German church and meeting some of the Germans at a social gathering at Ilse Kneifel's house. As she stuffed me with food she assured me I could not refuse because, "It is the German way."
French was added in an intensive summer course.
My Hebrew was practiced because my Hebrew teacher was a Rabbi (I recently spoke with him) He had us going to the synagogue (Schul in Yiddish) and he taught us a bunch of Hebrew songs. At one point we were commuting from Edmonds where my grandparents lived and another commuter who was studying Russian had us singing the Volga boat song in Russian!!
I also began to read the Icelandic sagas in Old Norse because my professor had said they had a unique place in literature and also since my grandmother was Icelandic.
I also took note of English dialects. When my wife and I were invited to a couple from Oklahoma for dinner, we were informed the Vernon had spiced up the olives becauase otherwise they were too "DAY ed"
My language studies took a hiatus for some Army training (however I did add to my knowledge of American English and added some profane words and phrases to my passive vocabulary always listening intently to the instructions of the drill sergeants.
Off to New Jersey, I began adding Spanish by listening to Spanish television. I also continued to subscribe to German periodicals and used to read a French paper from Louisiana Akkadia.
In Alabama, I sponsored a Saudi Arabian student(saw him in 2001 in Egypt during a Bright Star Exercise after 911, he is now a general) that was good practice for my Arabic. (one interesting moment in Egypt was when I was talking to an Egyptian officer. He was having trouble with my English and of course, I was having trouble with his Arabic. Somehow, I let him know I spoke German and then we were set since he had gone to a military school in Germany. It was funny, I was asking him in German what he said in Arabic and he was asking me what I said in English)
Spanish continued to be reinforced in Texas(also learned to love Jalapenos and the Cotton-eye Joe)
Later, I was the liason to students from 40 countries in the Army Infantry Advance Course-speaking Arabic, French, German, Spanish, (came in handy with the Columbians-they usually relied on Puerto Ricans to get them through the classes.) I befriended a Greek officer and we went to Greek Churches and other Greek cultural events. At this time, I began my study of Italian. (It helps to marry into an Italian family, my studies have slowed after the divorce but I really love to sing opera in Italian.)
I worked on my French by trips to Quebec in Canada(they have great food) and Martinique in the Carribean(more great food)
I got a job teaching English for a while in St Petersburg, FL and had Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Cuban, and Central American Students(helped with the Spanish)
I applied for a job claiming knowledge of French and was granted an interview. For 6 weeks, I really worked on my French speaking. I had a tutor that had taught French in the South Vietnamese embassy. When I told him I had only had 6 weeks formal training, he said, pas beaucoup. Not enough. But, when they tested me on the job interview, I was facile enough to convince them I spoke French.(wish I could have gotten the job, I would have been off the West Africa every 2 weeks marketing helicopters(I used to fly helicopters in the Army)
A trip to Korea for a month brought me a temporary knowledge of the alphabet(Hangul) and a smattering of phrases I use when I see Koreans(usually at the cleaners, Gamsa Ham ni da-thank you, comes in handy) Interestingly enough, I met someone from Switzerland that spoke no English, but we conversed in French.
I became interested in Sushi and at one time had about 100 Japanese words. Wasabi(horse-raddish sounds a lot like Wuz-up? I enjoy Japanese food.
Recently, I took a 5 week course in Farsi which is the language of Iran and its dialect Dari is the language of the northen half of Afghanistan. There are a lot of Arabic loan words in Farsi(about 50 percent so it was a good review for Arabic.
I took a 6 week refresher in Arabic and then I was soon off to Iraq where I added the Iraqi dialect to my language collection. I try to read the headlines from the Iraqi paper everyday but it is sad because they always report on the bombings. In Arabic, I added some greetings to use with Nepalese and Indians(namaste) some Urdu for the Pakastanis( ka hal e: how are you, khodafiz: God protect you)
When I got back from Iraq in 2004, I ran into some Kurds who lived in VA and worked at the courthouse. It was great to exchange greetings in Kurdish and Arabic (Kurdish is very similar to Farsi.
2008 ---- I enjoyed trying to learn some Sanskrit grammar. I know quite a few vocabulary words just by paying attention to popular culture, Dharma and Greg, Yoga, etc. I enjoy listening the Bhagavad Gita chanted in Sanskrit.
2009 --- I am having fun on Facebook. I have friends that speak Afrikaans, Arabic (Arabic, Iraqi Dialect),Chaldean, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German,(Greek,Ancient), Icelandic,
Italian, Latin, Norwegian, Portuguese, and Spanish. So daily I see phrases in languages I know to reinforce them and also my friends are helping me start learning Afrikaans and Icelandic!!
Studying the languages has really added to my life. It is amazing the rapport you gain by saying a few phrases in someone's native language.
ADDENDUM
Here are some of my Best Defense Language Proficiency Test Scores
Language Listening Reading
German 2+/ 3
Spanish 2 /3
Italian 1+ /2
French 1+ /2
Farsi 1 /1
Arabic 0+ /1
General Description of the Test
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Language_Proficiency_Tests
Explanation of Scores
http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=24546
New Test
http://www.military.com/military-report/new-official-language-proficiency-test
Languages for which I have college credits:
Latin
Greek (Ancient)
German
French
Hebrew (Ancient)
Arabic (Classical)
Ugaritic
Aramaic
Phoenician
Akkadian
Sumerian
Syriac
Italian
Farsi
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
