The Js are Silent

By Rory

This last week was a big one. I started the Slovene language immersion course on Monday–the class goes 9 to 12:30 Monday through Thursday, then Friday is a conversation group, alternating with some sort of activity or field trip. On Friday we’ll go to the LJU zoo. I hope it’s not one of those sad zoos. We also moved into our apartment in the Bezigrad neighborhood of Ljubljana.

I’m taking classes at the University of Ljubljana’s “Center for Slovene as a Second and Foreign Language,” which operates out of the building shown above. The building also has a performance space of some sort. The photo was taken from our balcony–I believe Krista is preparing a more thorough tour of our new apartment for a future post. The Portlandia credo of “put a bird on it” seems to apply in Ljubljana as well. My world has become very small–I can walk there in about 10 minutes, and with homework there’s not much time to do much else, at least during the week.

Classes are taught in small study groups of less than 10 that are determined by your level of knowledge of the language. I’m with a highly diverse group of very beginning speakers. My fellow students are from Venezuela, Madagascar, Colorado, Turkey, Germany, and Ecuador. Thankfully for me the excellent instructor uses English as a primary language for teaching–the students from Venezuela and Madagascar are not primary English speakers, so a tough class is extra tough for them.

One thing I learned is that I mis-named this blog. Superficially, it seems as if if the Js are silent when you say “Ljubljana.” However, that’s incorrect. There is a subtle way that the Js are pronounced–there’s a soft “y” that’s included in the pronunciation. So it’s more like “lyoo-blyah-nuh”, with not much of an emphasis on the “y” sound. You just kind of roll past it. The Slovene language can include up to 4 consonants in a row–it’s a little intimidating at first, but once you get used to it, it becomes natural. So I’m told, anyways.

I’ll probably not be writing new blog posts so much as long as I’m in this class–it really is like having a full time job. And there’s not a lot for me to write about–“Went to class, learned pronouns, ate lunch, did homework” is how most of my days will be going. Hopefully I’ll come out the other end better able to function and integrate here without relying on Google translate all the time.