I’ve become increasingly interested in the history behind the foods that have stayed on the table for generations. In addition to the ever popular bagel, another icon of Jewish/Yiddish culture is challah. It is served at Jewish celebrations and somet
Read more…The bagel, a now-mainstream common breakfast item, has its roots in centuries-old Jewish life in Eastern Europe. Far more than a brunch food or supermarket staple, the bagel began as a practical and symbolic cultural staple among Ashkenazi Jews, part
Read more…The yarmulke(Yiddish), or kippah(Hebrew) is a small cap mostly worn by Jewish men as a sign of reverence and acknowledgment of something greater than oneself. Learning more about it has helped me appreciate not just the object, but the quiet symbolis
Read more…At this point in my learning, I have accomplished my goal of learning the Yiddish alphabet. It was a little difficult to pick it back up since I took a break from it, but I was able to familiarize myself with it enough to read my vocabulary words in
Read more…At this point in my learning, I hope to successfully gain new vocabulary while maintaining older vocabulary. To retain what I’ve already learned, I try to review it every other day in my spare time, alongside my new vocabulary, since I’ve added both
Read more…In my previous blog post, I mentioned vocabulary lists that I had obtained from the live online lessons I found. I have gotten through about half of the vocabulary lists, which was about 2.5 pages. The vocabulary lists are not written in Yiddish, but
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, March 30: Discussion Post #8 on the Ning
Have you started writing in the target language? Do you prefer to type or write free hand? Have you started to see patterns emerge in the structures between words, clauses, and senten
Read more…Right now I’m working on founding current online resources to start my learning journey since Yiddish is a dying language. I have found a tutor on italki and I found a zoom online that does daily yiddish lessons that focuses on learning through cultu
Read more…The International Fair recently became an annual celebration at the University of Richmond. This April marked the third year this event occurred! Despite the power outage, we saw high attendance, as hundreds of eager students rushed into THC, full of
Read more…I was recently scrolling through my camera roll when I came across this picture from back home.
This picture was taken about one to two years ago, when my family went over to Doro’s house to celebrate Hari Raya Haji, or Eid al-Adha, a monumental cele
Read more…I'm not sure where to upload the recordings of our presentation to, so I'll upload them here. Here's mine, exploring Manglish.
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Due by 5pm on Sunday, March 23: Discussion Post #7 on the Ning
Go back and watch the recording of your presentation of your learning plan on the class PanOpto collection on Blackboard. Comment briefly on how things are going. What has changed? How ha
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, April 6: Discussion Post #9 on the Ning
How do languages go extinct? Respond to the readings, and reflect on what happens when a language dies? How can linguists help preserve a language? Can a ‘dead’ language ever be brought ba
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, February 9: Discussion Post #3 on the Ning
Refer to the diagram on page 9 in Aitchison’s linguistics. How do you combine different disciplinary perspectives to formulate a more holistic understanding of your target language? Do
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, February 23: Discussion Post #5 on the Ning.
Do some preliminary research on what interests you about the target culture and describe how this topic relates to language. Do you need any special vocabulary or linguistic knowledg
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, April 13: Discussion Post #10 on the Ning
Imagine that you have received a research grant to conduct a linguistic study of your target language and culture. How would you get started, and what would you investigate? How would di
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, February 16: Discussion Post #4 on the Ning
What is the difference between sound and spelling? Why is this distinction significant for your language-learning efforts? Describe the phonetic inventory of your target language. Are
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, February 2: Discussion Post #2 on the Ning
Summarize some of the main ideas behind Figuring Foreigners Out and the Hofstede Dimensions of Culture. Do you predominantly agree with these assessments? Are there any statements, gene
Read more…Due by 5pm on Sunday, March 2: Discussion Post #6 on the Ning
Reflect on the history of your target language. To what language family does it belong? What sounds, words, and structures exemplify periods of contact with other cultures? How do these co
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