I originally wrote this post in early 2015 in my previous blog. I’ve reuploaded it here because it is still relevant to my research and study journey today.
This book arrived today, it’s the treatise is known as the Anonimo Bolognese. I am looking forward to reading it, but it is written in 16th C Italian and as far as I know there are no online transcriptions or translations available.
Thankfully, I started learning Italian using Duolingo while I was overseas with reading original texts in mind. Since then I have increased my daily lesson goal from two to three lessons, so as to reach the end of the Italian curriculum in about 12 months.
While studying personal training I learnt about SMART goal setting. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time. So rephrasing my goal, I want to be able to understand the writing in the book without recourse to other people, or online translators (specific and measurable); other people can read 16th C Italian (achievable); it’s plausible to learn Italian with 18 months of consistent effort (realistic); and I want to achieve this goal by the 16th of September 2016 (time).
Duolingo has been perfect to start learning with because the site gives me a clear path to follow, in a series of lessons laid out somewhat like branches on a tree. It also acts as a meticulous coach keeping records of what words and constructions I know, and making me practice them periodically and unpredictably. While Duolingo does teach and test pronunciation, the major language skills taught by the site are reading and writing, which are what I need to learn.
Eventually, I will need to practice translating 16th C texts. Resources I will be able to use when translating are Florio’s 1611 and 1598 Italian/English dictionaries, the more searchable LEME database, other translations of whatever work, and asking for help on forums or from people I know already.
We’ll see how realistic my goal is in 18 months.