Re: Hi from Ukraine

Shalom, Christophe!

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From: Christophe Grandsire <christophe.grandsire@...>
Sent: Friday, November 23, 2001 12:12 PM

> Oh! I seem to remember that Vasiliy contacted me also before he could
subscribe
> to the list. Strangely enough, I seem to attract Russian-speaking
> conlangers :)) .
It's a game of chance... Your name was just at the top of the list that
moment.

> Tell us more! I have the same hobby! Though the bits I learn are so little
that
> I can do nothing with them, not even say "hello"! :((
Well, in the University I studied philology. Since I graduated from it in
1994 when Ukraine still had ex-USSR educational system, my degree is a
'specialist' - I suppose it's equivalent to Master's...
I got fascinated with languages and linguistics when was still at school.
Since then I managed to learn much in general linguistics, and gathered a
nice collection of language samples.

So,
0) I'm Jewish;
1) my native tongue is Russian;
2) I'm fluent in Ukrainian, because it's the official language of Ukraine
(the country I live in), and also my wife's native tongue;
3) my first foreign language was English. I started learning it when I was
7yo;
4) in the University I studied English as "the 1st lang" and French as "the
2nd lang"; my diploma paper was in the history of English (but I don't think
I can easily read OE texts now...);
5) I attended several optional courses, and learned some bits on my own. In
the result:
    - I can speak Esperanto;
    - I can read and write in Spanish with the help of dictionary and
grammar manual;
    - I know basic Italian, Japanese, Bulgarian, Polish and German;
    - I know basic Hebrew (both Biblical and Modern), but majorly in
theoretical way - I never had a chance to practice it much, neither time for
it;
    - I have materials (printed or digital) on many other langs and
linguistic issues - I don't remember all, I can just recollect some of them
for illustration: Latvian, Yiddish, Dutch, Czech, Swedish, Portuguese,
Romany, Swahili, Georgian, Armenian, Arabic, Hawai'ian, Turkish...

Fufff, that's enough for the beginning...
In Kyiv, it's GMT+2h; the Sabbath is coming soon (15:45), and I 've got a
computer only in the office, at the college where I work.
Hope to meet you ALL on Monday!

Shabat Shalom,
-- Isaac