Busy Monday! Got the week going with some good class stuff, finally digging into Uzbek verbs which will really help make the language more usable and exciting for us. Got some videos and pictures (see below) and also am preparing for Uzbek Club tomorrow here at CLI, where all the Uzbek classes get together for some culture, music, cuisine, and language practice here at the dorm. Other than that, a really awesome library visit today & some other goings on.
First off, here are two more quick panorama videos from class:
This one has a great example of spoken Uzbek from our multimedia disc:
Next, some photos:
Practice using and giving directions to and from various places on a map
The character in my textbook was curiously sporting an Evanescence t-shirt in the Daily Routine section, lol!
Uzbek verb synopses on the board
Uzbek som. Super cool! In this currency at this point, price #s are really high, so 1000 som is only around $0.30. Most people pay for things in the millions! Really interesting & my teacher generously gave me this for my foreign money collection. To me it's cool, but for him it's like giving someone a quarter :P
Chelsea writing sentences on the flip chat for practice :)
Intently working :P
Uzbek group work practicing sentences with key verbs
Speaks for itself :) Not as bad as one would expect though
Cool-looking Hindi literature in the ASU Hayden language section
New favorite book on comparative creole grammars. So up my alley it's scary
Library haul tonight! Proud nerd. Hey, they're free, and ASU has some great topics and tons of selection!
Cool! Tomorrow I will share some Uzbek flashcards and my presentation for Uzbek Club. Enjoy!
Hey guys! Relaxing Sunday today, not much to talk about. Had a good sleep and enjoyed a morning here at my dorm, then went for a walk in the afternoon to mail some letters and hike up Hayden Preserve ("A" mountain) for some exercise. Then in the evening, enjoying some great fruit and hanging with a few friends and keeping in touch on the phone and online. Also, shout out to my dad today for Father's Day! Much love and thanks!
Shot a couple quick talk blogs today on random topics that came to mind. Here they are:
And two quick pictures from my hike this afternoon:
Week 3 starts tomorrow! I'll be back with more classroom resources & Uzbek learning information soon. Talk soon.
Cool day today! Morning started off a bit rough with an early wakeup on a Saturday but we were out of class before long and got to see an Uzbek movie which was a cool experience. Wrote some letters to friends in the afternoon (on their way!) and then headed down to the 4pm Saturday yoga class that I enjoyed from last week at Yoga Nirvana to meet up with a friend.
Whenever I go somewhere around the US or really anywhere I like to connect online to see who's in the area who I might know from Facebook or just a common interest in health or fresh food. I have had some great experiences thus far just attracting interesting people into my life through putting out good vibes and standing in my truth and interests and today was another great reinforcement of that idea!
Met up with Ana Avila from Healthy Blossom, she's a health coach and raw food enthusiast from here in the Phoenix area and we had met through Nathaniel James on Facebook. Figured it would be fun to head to the market or meet up for a yoga practice and a picnic so that's what we did and it was a really fun time! Glad to meet up and talk to anyone and Ana is a really positive and friendly person.
Here are some videos from today:
And some photos:
Cool colored lights at the Memorial Union from the other night
Got a conjoined peach, lol! Local organic peaches from Tempe Marketplace
Cool flyer for CLI. Really great opportunities here
Back at Yoga Nirvana for the 4pm Saturday class. Really awesome practice today
Fruit feast for dinner with perfect ripeness and prices from Mekong Supermarket
Me and Ana at the market, heading back for a picnic
Woohoo! Heaven on earth
Eerie Phoenix desert dust storm in the distance
Beautiful shot of the library this morning
Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world. So juicy, sweet and just fun to look at
Are those clouds I see? In Arizona? :)
So there we have it! Talk more soon. Thanks for reading the blog.
Hey guys! Pretty busy day today. Had testing this morning on Chapters 3 and 4 which was composed of various writing assignments to demonstrate knowledge of the vocabulary and general language competency thus far. Feel pretty confident about how I did and from our brief look at the tests (no grade yet, but corrections) I am pleased.
Other than that, had some short class topics and am getting ready to finish the school week into tomorrow with our postponed class from Tuesday. After that, hope to meet up with a friend for yoga and a trip to the Asian market! Will be posting pictures tomorrow.
Today's post is just a review of Chapter 4 like I did yesterday for Chapter 3. View below or you can view and download this is a PDF here btw. Tomorrow asap in the library I will add the text version on this post.
Test tomorrow! Coming towards the end of week 2 and am preparing for my second exam on chapters 3 and 4. Had a pretty productive day, lots of class discussion and been busy also with a lot of writing too. Had a nice dinner using up some ripe fruit also, kind of fun. Went to the shared kitchen in Hayden West. Other than that, here at the library now doing major "get this done" work on Chapters 3 and 4, so here is what I came up with.
Elementary Uzbek Textbook Chapter 3: Ismingiz Nima? Introductions
Continuing on with my run through of key notes from lessons in Nigora Azimova's Uzbek: An Elementary Textbook for my Critical Languages program at ASU.
A: Hello (greeting).
B: Hello (response). What is your name?
A: Anna.
B: Where are you from?
A: I am from America.
B: Are you a student?
A: Yes, I am a student.
Key Dialogue 2
A: Salom, yaxshimisiz? Ismingiz nima?
B: Yaxshi, rahmat. Ismim Laylo. Sizniki-chi?
A: Meniki Dilshod.
B: Tanishganimdan xursandman.
A: Men ham.
Loose English Translation
A: Hi, how are you? What is your name?
B: Good, thank you. My name is Laylo. And yours?
A: Mine is Dilshod.
B: Pleased to meet you.
A: Me too.
Key Dialogue 5
A: Assalomu alaykum, Madina opa.
B: Ha, Lolaxon, yaxshi yuribsizmi?
A: Yaxshi, rahmat. Madina opa, bu kishi mening turmush o'rtog'im, Zafar aka bo'ladilar.
B: Yaxshimisiz, Zafarjon?
A: Xudoga shukur. O'zingiz yaxshi yuribsizmi?
Loose English Translation 5
A: Hello (greeting), Ms. Madina.
B: Yes, Ms. Lola, how's everything?
A: Good, thanks. Ms. Madina, this person is my spouse, Mr. Zafar.
B: How are you, Mr. Zafar?
A: Good, thank goodness. And yourself, how's everything?
Cultural Notes
Instead of Mr./Ms./Mrs., Uzbek uses honorific ending aka and opa which literally mean "older brother" and "older sister" to respectfully address someone, and it comes after the name. For example: Alisher aka, "Mr. Alisher" or Hulkar opa, "Ms. Hulkar".
The suffix -xon is added to an Uzbek woman of younger or same age as the speaker, like with "Lolaxon" in the dialogue. The ending - jon is used in this same situation for males, for example "Karimjon".
Key Introduction Phrases
Ismingiz nima?= What is your name? Ismim... = My name is... Tanishganimdan xursandman. = Pleased to meet you. Sizniki-chi? = And yours? Bu mening... = This is my... (friend/spouse/etc)
Diqqat, Qoida (Language Points)
Ablative Case -dan
This suffix is added to the end of a noun to indicate action away from something or someone. It can be expressed in English as "from", "out of", "off", and so on. For example:
kutubxona = library (lit: book-room) kutubxonadan = from the library Toshkent = Tashkent (Uzbek capital) Toshkentdan = from Tashkent men = I/me mendan = from me
Also important to note:
Qayer = root for "where" Qayerdan = where from Qayerdansiz? = Where are you from? Qayerdansizlar? = Where are you (pl) from? Men ...dan = I am from ... Men ...danemasman = I am not from ... U ...dan = He/she/it is from ...
And so on.
Place of Origin
The -lik suffix in Uzbek creates a word for a person from a particular place, whether to be used as a noun or as an adjective sometimes as well.
This is used where a root word for a given ethnicity is not already used to mean in English "person from", "-ish/ese person", or "...man" (sort of archaic, but the same idea).
Mainly I have noticed it used for countries whose nationality is not also a true ethnicity, such as America, Canada, Australia, and so on. Also, these ethnicity and language words are not capitalized in Uzbek.
Examples without -lik:
O'zbekiston / o'zbek / o'zbekcha = Uzbekistan / Uzbek (person) / Uzbek (language) Angliya / ingliz/ inglizcha = England / English(man) (person) / English (language) Fransiya / fransuz / fransuzcha = France / French(man) (person) / French (language)
Examples with -lik:
Amerika / amerikalik = America / American (person/descriptor) Kanada / kanadalik = Canada / Canadian (person/descriptor) Avstraliya / avstraliyalik = Australia / Australian (person/descriptor)
Conjunctions
ham = also (used after the noun or pronoun it refers to)
Ex: Brian ham biroz xitoycha gapiradi. = Brian also speaks a little Chinese.
va = and (joins two or more concepts, cannot start sentence)
Ex: Mening otam, onam, va opam bor. = I have a father, mother, and older sister.
lekin = but (preceded by comma)
Ex: John Amerikadan, lekin hozir O'zbekistanda yashaydi. = John is from America, but now lives in Uzbekistan.
chunki = because (also preceded by comma)
Ex: U band, chunki u talaba. = He is busy because he is a student.
Keling, Suhbatlashaylik (Language in Use)
Useful Practice Dialogue
A: Kechirasiz, Lolamisiz?
B: Yo'q, men Feruza, Lola emasman. Mana bu qiz Lola.
A: Lola, yaxshimisiz? Bu sizning kitobingizmi?
C: Voy! Ha, bu mening kitobim. Katta rahmat!
A: Arzimaydi.
C: Ismingiz nima?
A: Ismim Jamshid.
C: Talabamisiz?
A: Ha, shu yerda o'qiyman.
C: Bu Feruza, dugonam.
A: Tanishganimdan xursandman.
B: Men ham. Siz Toshkentdanmisiz?
A: Yo'q, Andijonman. Siz-chi?
B: Men Buxorodanman. Lola Namangandan.
A: Juda yaxshi.
C: Kitob uchun katta rahmat!
A: Arzimaydi. Mayli, bo'pti.
B/C: Xo'p, rahmat.
Practice Talking about Countries
A: Tom, siz qayerdansiz?
B: Texasdanman.
A: Texas chiroylimi?
B: Ha, menimcha juda chiroyli.
A: Texasda odamlar qaysi tillarda gapiradilar?
B: Ingliz tilida.
A: Ispan tilida-chi?
B: Ha, ispan tilida ham gapiradilar.
Asl O'zbekcha (Uzbek Realia)
Cultural Notes
Uzbek has various dialects depending on the part of the country which vary slightly.
Here are some differences between standard and Tashkent dialects:
men >> man = I Qandaysiz? >> Qalaysiz? = How are you? ism >> ot = name ota >> ada = father ona >> oyi = mother
Demographic-wise, Uzbekistan consists of around 80% Uzbeks, 5.5% Russians, 5% Tajiks, 3% Kazakhs, 2.5% Karakalpaks, 1.5% Tatars, and 2.5% other. Uzbek is the official language of Uzbekistan but many representatives from other nationalities use and speak other languages, particularly Russian.
Muomola Odobi (Social Interaction)
Tanishuv (Introductions)
Bu kishi kim bo'ladilar? = Who is this person? O'zimni tanishtirishga ruxsat eting. = Let me introduce myself. Ismingiz nima? = What is your name? Familyangiz nima? = What is your family name?
Javob (Response)
Bu kishi Nozim aka, o'qituvchimiz. = This person is Nozim, our teacher. Ismim Jamshid. = My name is Jamshid. Alimov. Men Ravshan akaning o'g'liman. = (My family name is) Alimov. I am Ravshan's son.
Uzbek Names
Most Uzbek names come from Turkic, Persian, and Arabic roots. Female names generally end in the vowel "a" and male names generally end in a consonant.
Example female names: Farida, Sevara, Lola, Feruza
Example male names: Alisher, Sherzod, Otabek, Azamat
Writing Letters in Uzbek
Here are some key phrases for correspondence, loosely translated: Hurmatli ... = Esteemed ... (opening) Qadrli ... = Dear ... Yaxshimisiz? = How are you? Ishalringiz yaxshimi? = How is your work going? Uychilaringiz yaxshi yurishibdimi? = How is your family? Javobingiz kutib qolaman. = Looking forward to your response. Xat yozib turing. = Keep in touch. ...ga salomlarimni yetkazing. = Say hello to ... Salom bilan = Best regards (lit: with peace)
Short post tonight! Super wiped from literally little to no consecutive sleep last night but had a pretty productive day I guess. Regular class schedule and good topics today, talked a lot about culture and currency in Uzbekistan and are moving along well. (PS: Blog post coming soon at my other site on my political blog on what we talked about).
Tonight's homework is what I'll share with you in this post which dealt with practice writing numbers and descriptions in Uzbek on the topic of American states. We were assigned to pick 3 different state and give a basic context of them, and then talk about some of the key numbers and prices you might find in that state (zip codes, etc). My document is embedded below or you can view it here.
Next, here is a quick panaroma video of work in class today as we were going over last night's homework. Sometimes we put on some relaxing Uzbek music as we are looking over work or practicing conversations as sort of a nice background, so that's what you'll find in this video.
Lastly, just two quick photos for tonight. Wasn't in a very photo-y mood today but had to take a snapshot of these:
Look at this awesome pool! Checked out the recreation center today and am happy I did.
Went with Matt from Tajik class and had a good time getting back in the water after a long hiatus.
And of course, it couldn't be a Brian blog post without some fruit pictures. Found these insanely cheap apricots and cactus fruit at a Hispanic market nearby. Cost of living here is so low!
Until next time! Thanks for reading. Feel free to drop a comment below if you are enjoying the blog.
Today was amazing! No class today so I said to myself: time to go on an adventure to see what good finds I could track down here in AZ. Started with a relaxing morning, got up late, and took a walk around to get the day going etc. Then headed back to the dorm for breakfast and to look up on my phone where to go.
Though I've been eating really well here with the excellent Sunflower Market nearby, I was having major cravings for something like durian or figs, and knowing that the food and cost of living in general here is so cheap and accessible, I figured I'd find something. Google Maps pointed me to a few good international markets so I was off for a walk.
First looked into a Middle Eastern market but when I got there I found it was more a hookah bar and restaurant than a grocery store. :P I thought they might have figs but it was a no go. Fortunately right next to it was Food City which was a Hispanic market with some really nice apricots, papayas, bananas, cactus fruit, and tamarind. Headed on from there to the one, the only, Mekong Asian Market.
Durian was what I was really looking for today since it's truly my favorite food and I haven't had it in a good couple weeks, or maybe months. I actually had seen this Mekong Asian market/plaza on my phone this morning and called to check that they had durian, and the person on the phone said they did, which was promising. I figured they might have a few frozen durians and maybe some other produce pickings, but this place EXCEEDED what I could ever expect!
After a long 1+ hr walk in the heat (I don't mind, it was worth it), I made it there and walked inside to find an oasis and paradise of fruit (and air conditioning, haha). I seriously do not think I have ever been to a better place in terms of having all my favorites, and ripe/cheap too. I could go on forever, but just take a look at the video for a view yourself:
Here is a selection of favorite photos (most are included in the video, but just to document here anyway or if you are unable to view the video now):
Ahhhhh!!! Like the gates of heaven lol
Champagne mango flats
Fresh jackfruit
White dragon fruit, avocados, Korean melons
Insanely cheap boxes of ripe champagne mangos
Hawaiian papayas
Durian! :)
Cherimoya!
Today's catch
After that, came back to the dorm dripping with sweat and pretty wiped but felt really strong and like I had a nice workout, plus the labor of love had paid off and I was ready for a great dinner. Shared some samples with friends and tasted a bit of everything that was ripe today, including some cherimoya, peaches, rambutan, lychees, dragonfruit, and of course the durians. Some of the best I've ever had! Plus, tried fresh jackfruit for the first time. Oddly I had never gotten my hands on any. Not my total favorite, but really good, tastes like juicy fruit gum!
In addition to that, got some homework done for tomorrow. Wanted to share with you my assignment so you could see what kind of work we're doing in class and also to document my progress with the language. Basically our assignment was to recall on what we have learned thus far and put together some writing that uses all the skills and vocab we have learned. I talked about my family, did a few dialogues, and then did some other narrative exercises to stay familiar with new learnings.
Note: Click here to open or enlarge the document if you are having trouble.
All in all, another great day! Loving Arizona ever more! Be back with more soon.
