Leo Barnes

Brazil’s Vaccinated Democracy
In March 2021, former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a current presidential candidate, posed a pointed question in a speech lambasting President Jair Bolsonaro’s Covid-19 response. “Where is our beloved Zé Gotinha?” Zé Gotinha is not…

"Good for you following such a directed language learning assignment. I wonder about what other things you've been up to with your language study this past month. How's it going? How do you feel about what you're learning and how you're learning? I…"

"Interesting article and I love exploring food as a way to better understand a culture. I looked at Brazilian churrasco for one of my blog posts last semester and have never looked at Brazilian food the same since! When you have a minute, I would…"

If I got a research grant to study Chinese, I’d focus on how tones actually affect understanding in real spoken conversation. When learning, tones feel like everything, but I wonder if native speakers rely more on context than perfect pronunciation, especially since all of the tones sound so similar. I’m curious about this as one of my friends who is teaching me Mandarin doesn't use tones at all, despite growing up in China. He says that they aren't needed to be understood. To start, I’d record conversations between native speakers and also between native speakers and learners. Then I’d look at moments where tones are used incorrectly and see if communication still works. I’d want to know when tone mistakes actually cause confusion vs when people just figure it out anyway. The structural components from class would be the main part of the study. For phonology, I’d focus on tones and pronunciation. For syntax, I’d look at how simple sentence structure might help make up for tone…

Over the past two weeks, my language learning has shifted from the memorization of isolated vocabulary toward the structural "glue" that gives the Korean language its unique narrative flow. My primary tasks involved a deep dive into sentence-final endings and the various connecting components that link clauses, alongside a necessary review of complex pronunciation rules. My objective was to move beyond simple, declarative sentences to create more sophisticated thoughts that reflect a natural speaking rhythm. To achieve this, I utilized a combination of grammar-focused drills and the shadowing technique, using digital resources to visualize how "조사 josa" (particles) and "어미 eomi" (endings) function as the architecture of a sentence.Through this process, I have found that while my understanding of the mechanical rules for connecting components—such as the difference between "and" (-고) and "but" (-지만)—has improved significantly, applying them in real-time remains a challenge. During…

Leo Barnes

Comments

Discussion #10

Language learning #3

Culture #3

Discussion #10

Note: this page contains paid content.