First Video Blog Entirely in Uzbek! (Birinchi Faqat O'zbek Tilida Gapirgan Video Blog!)

Assalomu alaykum!

We're almost to the end of the program! I know I've been not so consistent with posts so I wanted to share a video blog I made last night as a little culmination/documentation of what I've learned here at CLI Uzbek this year and last. With our final and closing ceremony tomorrow, I'll be saying goodbye to Arizona but definitely not to my language learning journey.

Check out the video below (or at this link), it's my first video entirely spoken in Uzbek for the site. Subtitles included for English speakers, don't worry! Let me know what you think in the comments below and I look forward to posting a final reflection before being on my way on Saturday. Thanks for following along this summer and for the nice emails readers have sent!

Xayr, Brian

Part 2 Begins! Back at CLI for Intermediate Uzbek Summer Program

Assalomu alaykum!

Long time no see! I'm here for my first day back at Arizona State University Critical Languages Institute, ready for another great summer of language study and desert sun. Hope everyone's been well - want to say hi to new readers that have visited the blog since last summer.

Continuing on from my Elementary Uzbek course, I'll be taking the Intermediate level this year and am looking forward to gaining a more in-depth understanding of the language. I'm definitely very rusty, particularly on vocab, but as classes begin I'm sure I'll be able to dust off the Uzbek files in my brain.

Last summer I very much enjoyed writing about my experience on this blog and I hope to do the same this year, whether to keep in touch with family and friends at home, share resources for other Uzbek learners, or just to document memories and ideas. While I may not be posting daily, at least every few days I'll be happy to compile some notable info to post here on Uzbek Brian.

This past week has been quite busy finishing up school early and getting all assignments and presentations in, work for web clients put together, and not to mention packing and shopping this weekend for supplies for the duration of my stay. A special thank you to my teachers for helping me prepare for an early departure and definitely to my parents for getting me all set for a great summer!

Thanks again for reading and I'll be in contact soon with some review material (a lot!), photos, and mini updates about what's going on. If you'd like to get posts delivered to your inbox free without having to check back, simply enter your email at the subscribe form to the right. Enjoy!

A couple photos from this weekend (dorm tour coming soon!):

Preliminary reviewing on the plane!

Relaxing by the falls at Tapatio Cliff

Best Asian market I've been to - stocking up!

View of Mill Ave

Ready for the first day!

Xayr,
Brian

Day 50: Second to Last Day! Test Reflection, Award Ceremony Pictures

Assalomu alaykum!

Second to last day! Can't believe it's already the conclusion of my program here at CLI.

First in today's blog post, a brief reflection video on this week (final reflection soon):

Great ceremony tonight! Will post videos tomorrow

I am so honored to share my selection for highest achievement award in Elementary Uzbek. Thank you so much to all the people who helped make this experience a reality for me this summer: my parents, my teacher, classmates, friends, and of course all the CLI staff and ASU support. I am extremely grateful to be here and could have never imaged such a great opportunity to study a subject I am really passionate about. For many years I have wanted to learn Uzbek and am so appreciative of this recognition tonight. Katta rahmat, thank you!

Nick, Saodat Opa, me

Me and Kathleen Evans-Romaine, director of CLI

Me and Nick Lambson from Uzbek class. Congrats on your award, you rock!

Me and my other friend Nick Collins from Persian

Me and Liz from Armenian

Me and fellow language friends Eddie and Keri. Great to hear your Arabic conversation today guys!

That's it for tonight, more soon! Totally wiped but had a great day. Depart Saturday morning...!

Xayr,
Brian

Day 40: Breaking into the Uzbek Modality System! Practicing "I Can ___" with +a Olmoq & More

Assalomu alaykum!

Grammar time! In class today we are breaking into the system of modal verbs (expressing desire, necessity, ability, and so on) which is highly rich in the Turkic languages and is very exciting as far as being able to make more realistic and complex sentences. For today's post I will share some of my homework as well as a key resource I've tracked down that I am enjoying. Later posts will have more explanation as to how to use these functions in Uzbek.

First off, cool news: I am officially designing a layout for an introductory Uzbek textbook to be published at my website by the end of next year. More on this soon!

Next, here is my homework from this afternoon, describing different abilities:



Next, here is my homework for tomorrow, which is sort of a practice letter for a job application, written in the first person by a made-up character who is looking to work for a translation company. Useful setup for practicing things like "I can speak ___ languages", "I can work well with computers", etc:



And to link you to my new favorite PDF ever: Uzbek Tense/Aspect/Modality System from Uzbek-Glossary.com. Thank you so much for this resource!

Here is a sample image visually tabulating Uzbek tense (click to enlarge):

Again, more on this soon!

And last but not least, some photos for today:

Hello!

Working on homework

The Coor building, on the way to Persian Club

First Year Tajiki students singing at Persian Club

Eddie giving some poetry recitations in full Persian garb! Great job tonight!

See you tomorrow!

Xayr,
Brian

Day 35: Happy 4th of July from Uzbek Brian!

Assalomu alaykum!

Happy 4th of July! Wanted to send out a quick festive well wish to everyone on this lovely summer holiday to celebrate our country. I am so grateful to live in America and enjoy the freedoms it brings and I just think it is so important to take a minute to honor our founding fathers and the tradition of American individualism that built this great nation!

From the ASU Facebook page, flag outside Hayden Library where I go almost every day

Tempe fireworks

CLI friends

Have a safe and fun day, and remember to have some watermelon or another favorite summer fruit for a healthy treat at your parties and events today! :)

More Uzbek stuff tomorrow.

Xayr,
Brian

Day 33: Uzbek Homework Practice about Famous People (Plus, Featured on Reddit!)

Assalomu alaykum!

Busy day today! Good start to the week with a new chapter. Continuing on through the textbook and really starting to amass some good vocabulary for making writing and speaking more interesting. Had a fun day talking with friends also, enjoying the company of the people here as well as keeping in touch with online friends (and hearing about my sister and mom who are in Spain at the Alhambra today, cool!).

For today's post, our homework assignment on famous people. We are learning definite past tense verbs (both transitive and state of being) so that makes story-telling a lot more authentic and natural sounding. Featuring none other than Anderson Cooper, Hilary Duff, and Doctor Oz, three more of my favorite famous people, also available here for viewing:



Also, two cool screenshots for today. First off, got featured on Reddit, a hugely popular link and internet media sharing website (my website was under the /languagelearning category). So the second picture is viewing stats for the day. Lots of hits coming in from Reddit, awesome! Excited to have more readers. Thanks guys! (Click to enlarge photos.)

Ertagacha xayr - See you tomorrow!

Xayr,
Brian

Exciting News: Uzbek Brian Featured on Popular Language Blog PageF30!

Just a quick exciting announcement: Uzbek Brian has been featured on PageF30!

Check out the link: "A look inside Arizona State University's Uzbek 7-week summer Uzbek language program"

PageF30 is a widely read language blog that I've been enjoying for the past couple years. I had sent an email to the owner as I knew he is really into Turkic languages. Really honored to have a post sharing info about the Uzbek program here at CLI and linking to the site! :)