Well said! I went to Turkey recently and learned a lot just by looking at the Turkish which was written everywhere! So my Turkish improved from appalling to very bad :)
In regards to soft sounds I think the issue is that it's a bit misleading, or outdated at least to look at it as a distinction of hard/soft consonants, when in reality the emphasis is placed more heavily on the vowel after that consonant. So basically instead of softening a consonant, the letter i frontalises the vowel after the i instead, while the consonant remains practically unchanged. For example for the word Vilnius instead of being pronounced like [vʲɪlʲnʲʊs] that almost everyone writes, in reality it's pronounced more as ['vɪlnʏs] with the n unsoftened, or at least softened to a super minor degree in a way that french does. This phenomenon also leads to the ia - e and iai - ei pairs having the exact sounds. So in a word like nežinia [nɛʒɪ'nɛ] the e and ia parts sound the exact same. You can further verify this by the fact it's extremely common for Lithuanians to misspell words having a ia with an e instead lol. I think it's only the l sound that gets a notable change when going before a frontal or back vowel. So you get a dark l [ɫ] before back vowels and a normal light l [l] before frontal and these "softened" vowels. The light l also carries through consonant clusters which is why Vilnius has a light l and not a dark one.
As a tourist, no matter which country, I have found polite expressions (hello, please, thank you, etc) at minimum are appreciated and very helpful. Next, even stumbling attempts at using the local language. At least nouns. Once good will has been established, pointing at items and writing numbers go far. Overall, I agree: there is no good substitute for actually being there surrounded by the language as it is used. Classes help a lot, but they are not enough.
Wow thats so nice,just lately i have been studying about Chinese medicine from HKUST and CUHK courses.I would love to visit HK someday.If you need help with Lithuanian i can try to help
Learning Lithuanian will help you learn any other languages in the future, trust me. It’s the oldest language in Europe and has many of the same rules in other languages 😊 Very good video.
Well said! I went to Turkey recently and learned a lot just by looking at the Turkish which was written everywhere! So my Turkish improved from appalling to very bad :)
I'm jealous!
In regards to soft sounds I think the issue is that it's a bit misleading, or outdated at least to look at it as a distinction of hard/soft consonants, when in reality the emphasis is placed more heavily on the vowel after that consonant. So basically instead of softening a consonant, the letter i frontalises the vowel after the i instead, while the consonant remains practically unchanged. For example for the word Vilnius instead of being pronounced like [vʲɪlʲnʲʊs] that almost everyone writes, in reality it's pronounced more as ['vɪlnʏs] with the n unsoftened, or at least softened to a super minor degree in a way that french does. This phenomenon also leads to the ia - e and iai - ei pairs having the exact sounds. So in a word like nežinia [nɛʒɪ'nɛ] the e and ia parts sound the exact same. You can further verify this by the fact it's extremely common for Lithuanians to misspell words having a ia with an e instead lol.
I think it's only the l sound that gets a notable change when going before a frontal or back vowel. So you get a dark l [ɫ] before back vowels and a normal light l [l] before frontal and these "softened" vowels. The light l also carries through consonant clusters which is why Vilnius has a light l and not a dark one.
Very useful observations
In Azerbaijani "Vilnius" is written as "Vilnüs" which I guess better reflects the actual pronunciation
@@eruno_ The other useful way also could be Vilñus (more understandable for Spanish speakers).
Yes, im learning Lithuanian too and ive always asked in lithuanian! Its so amazing; and sometimes they reply in english which isnt always good.
Thank you for the tips! Will keep these in mind as I learn Lithuanian myself!
As a tourist, no matter which country, I have found polite expressions (hello, please, thank you, etc) at minimum are appreciated and very helpful. Next, even stumbling attempts at using the local language. At least nouns. Once good will has been established, pointing at items and writing numbers go far.
Overall, I agree: there is no good substitute for actually being there surrounded by the language as it is used. Classes help a lot, but they are not enough.
Great tips! Will keep it in mind next time I go somewhere that isn't Anglo-poisoned 😂
❤ Very best of lucks
Wow thats so nice,just lately i have been studying about Chinese medicine from HKUST and CUHK courses.I would love to visit HK someday.If you need help with Lithuanian i can try to help
Learning Lithuanian will help you learn any other languages in the future, trust me. It’s the oldest language in Europe and has many of the same rules in other languages 😊 Very good video.
Don't confuse the oldest with the most conservative. Greek was around before Lithuanian came to existence.
Are you an alpha male, now?;)
That's a title I have to earn, not give myself 😉
@@RhapsodyinLingo I will asked this question until you gained the title...
Are you an alpha male, now?;)
😂😂 go and lobby someone with the authority to give me the title