Post by Hooligan on Jul 8, 2013 16:03:27 GMT -6
Azul students, and welcome to Talossan 1259, an overview of the Talossan language. This course will be an updating of the class originally offered in 2010 as TAL1059. Therefore, if you've reviewed the lectures from that class, or (better yet) their adaptation into the informational Webpages at www.talossan.com, you will likely find the course covering much of the same ground, and often with the exact same words.
However, I said it's an updating, not a copy. So, to be sure, there will be things that you might not easily find in the previous lectures, and indeed until I type them while preparing a particular lecture, even I don't know what they are. Also, we're going to learn a few lessons from the first time the class was taught and change the structure a bit. You'll notice in the list of planned lectures below that we've moved some things around, and added some things, especially an entire week devoted to working on simple phrases that you can put to use right away.
Additionally, in hopes of making the course less boring (and, if you need it to be, less time-consuming) each of the lectures will come with a "Cliffs Notes" version of the lecture, just bullet-pointing the important things in the lecture, and only if you want or need further detail would you even need to read the entire lecture, which -- you know me -- could get boring. Though I'll try.
Also, of course, with each of you asking questions on the various threads (and hopefully getting answers) we will hopefully be helping all of the students to learn things that even I didn't think to put in the lectures.
As for who is teaching this course, I think most of you probably know, but just in case, I am the Baron Hooligan, now Count Thord as well, but really I'm just a citaxhien like you. I've been involved in Talossan life and the language since (sheesh) 2005. I've served thrice as Prime Minister and most recently resigned that office during the 44th Cosa due to family matters that required my attention. Citing those same matters that were taking me away from my Talossan duties and hobbies, I also handed over leadership of the Committee for the Use of the Language last December. Sadly, those matters seem to continue in various forms, and other things in my life (like work; sheesh) have (as most of you know) made me a bit scarce around here. So you might say I'm semi-retired, but you also might say I am acting fully retired. For better or worse, I was convinced to teach this course, in an attempt by a couple of your fellow citizens to bring me back to fully active state. We shall see.
Other things you might or might not know about me; I wrote (with tremendous help) what is called the Guizua Compläts, the Complete Guide to the Talossan Language. It had been my hope to get a new printing of that dry and boring book published in case any of you wanted to invest in it to help you, but, well, I haven't finished going through the couple of notes I haven't gone through yet concerning some minor changes that remain. I hope to be able to announce availability of the latest printing in time for you to use it in the class if you wish to, or give it away for Christmas like the smelliest fruitcake you've ever been gifted with, or, failing that, use it as a not-very-strong doorstop. Your choice.
I am not alone teaching the class, though. Sir Iustì Canun, the sitting Secretary of State, is co-teaching. Which means, essentially, that I am making him prepare the lectures from the material from the first class, and then I will post them. Then he assigns homework. And he answers all your questions. (Remember what I said about me and retirement? Yeah, well, we'll see how long I can get away with that. Probably not long.)
Sir Cresti Siervicül is also assisting in proofreading the lectures. He's auditing this class mostly to keep me honest, which isn't always an easy thing to do, as he can tell you. Cresti has been involved in Talossa since way back in the last century, and his knowledge of the language is extensive, and he has been involved in the Committee for the Use of the Language as long as I have. The Committee, as you may or may not know, issues documents called Arestadas that make recommendations concerning language usage. Before my retirement, I had been the one issuing the past few Arestadas. Cresti volunteered to do the latest one. So now we're all just waiting for him to get off his butt, and get the Arestada of December 2012 published. It's only July 2013, you know.
This class will assume that Cresti has done his butt-get-offing, though, and you will learn in this class of the reforms recommended in the language last year in what was known (or will be, if it ever comes out) as the "Reunision Arestada". But now we're getting into content, not introduction, so I'll stop here and finish with the planned lecture schedule.
Don't be afraid if you don't know what an "aspect" is or what "genitive" means. I didn't either before I decided to get all jiggy with Talossan. So we'll make sure you know what these crazy linguistic terms mean. They're really not that scary. But it's cooler to say "genitive" than "possessive" because you sound smarter. I'm here to help.
I will ask that each student answer a "roll call" of sorts by posting something (even if just your name) on each of the lecture threads after reading the lecture. That way I will know when all of you are so bored that no one is still coming to class and I can stop.
And as long as Iustì doesn't fall down on the job, there will be "homework" or "exercises" or whatever you want to call it, leading to a fairly serious final project which you'll be responsible for finishing before 12 December (that's Language Day, for those of you who don't know). Iustì will be going over all that with you.
Anyway, now I need to get the first lecture Cliffs Noted, proof-edited, and posted. Wish me luck. Any questions?
Hool
However, I said it's an updating, not a copy. So, to be sure, there will be things that you might not easily find in the previous lectures, and indeed until I type them while preparing a particular lecture, even I don't know what they are. Also, we're going to learn a few lessons from the first time the class was taught and change the structure a bit. You'll notice in the list of planned lectures below that we've moved some things around, and added some things, especially an entire week devoted to working on simple phrases that you can put to use right away.
Additionally, in hopes of making the course less boring (and, if you need it to be, less time-consuming) each of the lectures will come with a "Cliffs Notes" version of the lecture, just bullet-pointing the important things in the lecture, and only if you want or need further detail would you even need to read the entire lecture, which -- you know me -- could get boring. Though I'll try.
Also, of course, with each of you asking questions on the various threads (and hopefully getting answers) we will hopefully be helping all of the students to learn things that even I didn't think to put in the lectures.
As for who is teaching this course, I think most of you probably know, but just in case, I am the Baron Hooligan, now Count Thord as well, but really I'm just a citaxhien like you. I've been involved in Talossan life and the language since (sheesh) 2005. I've served thrice as Prime Minister and most recently resigned that office during the 44th Cosa due to family matters that required my attention. Citing those same matters that were taking me away from my Talossan duties and hobbies, I also handed over leadership of the Committee for the Use of the Language last December. Sadly, those matters seem to continue in various forms, and other things in my life (like work; sheesh) have (as most of you know) made me a bit scarce around here. So you might say I'm semi-retired, but you also might say I am acting fully retired. For better or worse, I was convinced to teach this course, in an attempt by a couple of your fellow citizens to bring me back to fully active state. We shall see.
Other things you might or might not know about me; I wrote (with tremendous help) what is called the Guizua Compläts, the Complete Guide to the Talossan Language. It had been my hope to get a new printing of that dry and boring book published in case any of you wanted to invest in it to help you, but, well, I haven't finished going through the couple of notes I haven't gone through yet concerning some minor changes that remain. I hope to be able to announce availability of the latest printing in time for you to use it in the class if you wish to, or give it away for Christmas like the smelliest fruitcake you've ever been gifted with, or, failing that, use it as a not-very-strong doorstop. Your choice.
I am not alone teaching the class, though. Sir Iustì Canun, the sitting Secretary of State, is co-teaching. Which means, essentially, that I am making him prepare the lectures from the material from the first class, and then I will post them. Then he assigns homework. And he answers all your questions. (Remember what I said about me and retirement? Yeah, well, we'll see how long I can get away with that. Probably not long.)
Sir Cresti Siervicül is also assisting in proofreading the lectures. He's auditing this class mostly to keep me honest, which isn't always an easy thing to do, as he can tell you. Cresti has been involved in Talossa since way back in the last century, and his knowledge of the language is extensive, and he has been involved in the Committee for the Use of the Language as long as I have. The Committee, as you may or may not know, issues documents called Arestadas that make recommendations concerning language usage. Before my retirement, I had been the one issuing the past few Arestadas. Cresti volunteered to do the latest one. So now we're all just waiting for him to get off his butt, and get the Arestada of December 2012 published. It's only July 2013, you know.
This class will assume that Cresti has done his butt-get-offing, though, and you will learn in this class of the reforms recommended in the language last year in what was known (or will be, if it ever comes out) as the "Reunision Arestada". But now we're getting into content, not introduction, so I'll stop here and finish with the planned lecture schedule.
DATE | SUBJECT | |
1. | 8 July | History of the Language |
2. | 15 July | Pronunciation (3 parts; 2 weeks) |
3. | 29 July | Stress |
4. | 5 August | Basic Phrases and Vocabulary |
5. | 12 August | Articles & Nouns |
6. | 19 August | Conjunctions, Adjectives & Genitive |
7. | 26 August | Pronouns & Prepositions |
8. | 2 September | Infinitive & Present tense |
9. | 9 September | Adverbs & Interrogatives |
10. | 16 September | Past & Future tenses |
11. | 23 September | Subjunctive & Imperative moods |
12. | 30 September | Participles & Passive Voice |
13. | 7 October | Perfect Aspect |
14. | 14 October | Counterfactuals |
15. | 21 October | Prospective and Other Aspects |
Don't be afraid if you don't know what an "aspect" is or what "genitive" means. I didn't either before I decided to get all jiggy with Talossan. So we'll make sure you know what these crazy linguistic terms mean. They're really not that scary. But it's cooler to say "genitive" than "possessive" because you sound smarter. I'm here to help.
I will ask that each student answer a "roll call" of sorts by posting something (even if just your name) on each of the lecture threads after reading the lecture. That way I will know when all of you are so bored that no one is still coming to class and I can stop.
And as long as Iustì doesn't fall down on the job, there will be "homework" or "exercises" or whatever you want to call it, leading to a fairly serious final project which you'll be responsible for finishing before 12 December (that's Language Day, for those of you who don't know). Iustì will be going over all that with you.
Anyway, now I need to get the first lecture Cliffs Noted, proof-edited, and posted. Wish me luck. Any questions?
Hool