Currently, my biggest task and challenge is learning different cases of Slovak declension. These cases change a noun, pronoun or adjective according to its grammatical case (nominative, accusative, etc.), gender, and number. The few examples of declension in English are unmatched to the many nuisances of Slovak declension. I find it pretty challenging to learn a grammatical concept that barely occurs in my first language. I never had to learn about declension during my Spanish education or my short experience with Danish. Like many people, I find grammar to be an entirely tedious subject and, often, dread any type of formal education revolving around this topic. For whatever reason, I’ve also do not understand grammar very well, especially in English. My one motivation in learning Slovak grammar, specifically declension, is knowing that observing these concepts will help both in my own reading/listening comprehension and my understandability to other Slovak speakers. If I truly want to carry a flowing, competent conversation, I have to dedicate myself to learning the rules of declension.
Adriana introduced two cases of declension to me: nominative and accusative. Nominative typically applies to quantities of 1-4 and looks to answer the questions “Who?” or “What?”. The declension of nominative cases in masculine nouns, pronouns and adjectives can get a little confusing. In the context of nominative declension, any masculine word must be categorized by its animation and its number. For example, “koleg” (colleague) gets sorted into the category of an animate, singular noun; “koleg” requires an “-a” at its end in order to match the nominative declension so “koleg” becomes “kolega”. However, “počítač” (desktop computer) gets sorted into the category of an inanimate, singular noun and requires no changes to match nominative declension. When the words “kolega” and “počítač” are made plural, they are again separated into their separate categories of animate and inanimate. In the animate, plural category of nominative declension, “kolega” becomes “kolegovia”; in the inanimate, plural category of nominative declension, “počítač” becomes “počítače”. These slight differences in nominative declension mean that I must pay extra attention to the small details and ask myself “what is the quantity of this noun?”, “is this noun inanimate or animate?”, and “what is the proper ending for this plural noun?”. Luckily, feminine and neuter words are a little less complicated than masculine words because with these two categories, the language learner does not have to worry about inanimate versus animate nouns.
Despite the difficulty of declension, I do feel a little more confident in my listening comprehension as I can better understand radio programs and better understand my tutor during our lessons. Adriana also recommended an excellent resource that helps with my goal of listening comprehension, a YouTube channel called “Slovenčina ako cudzí jazyk” (Slovak as a Foreign Language”. On this channel, a woman teaches Slovak by telling stories in a slow, clear manner while drawing relevant images on a whiteboard behind her. It definitely helps me pick out familiar words, learn new words, and find a little more confidence in my progress thus far.
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