# I self-learnt Hebrew from books and CDs



## flyingbaton

Shalom, how should I say in Hebrew: 

1. "How did you learn Hebrew?"
2. "I self-learnt Hebrew from books and CDs" 

Toda!


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## Flaminius

Shalom lekha, *flying*.  Na`im lehakir.

It'd help make the forum easy to search if you ask one question per thread.  This means you could have opened two threads instead of one for your questions.

1. "How did you learn Hebrew?"
Ekh ata lamadta `ivrit?
איך אתה למדת עברית?
The pronunciation of lamadta may vary between _lamadta_ and _lamadeta_ with a linking vowel between [d] and [t].

I am not 100% sure how to translate CDs but let me try

2. "I self-learnt Hebrew from books and CDs"
Lamadti `ivrit be-`atsmi `im sfarim we-taqlitorim.
למדתי עברית בעצמי עם ספרים ותקליטורים.


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## origumi

Flaminius said:


> 1. "How did you learn Hebrew?"
> Ekh ata lamadta `ivrit?
> איך אתה למדת עברית?


This is correct, yet I would omit the _ata_ which is obvious and even duplicate seeing the conjugation of _lamadta._ Thus: איך למדת עברית, unless when emphasizing it, for example:

John: "Tell me Paul, eikh lamadta `Ivrit?"
Paul: "Oh, I visited an Ulpan. Umm... eikh *ata* lamadta `Ivrit"?
John: "I self-learnt Hebrew from books and CDs" 



> The pronunciation of lamadta may vary between _lamadta_ and _lamadeta_ with a linking vowel between [d] and [t].


_Lamad*e*ta _is used in spoken language, but (I think) considered as incorrect.


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## flyingbaton

Thanks, Flaminius and Origumi! 

I know about the one qn per thread rule, but just thought that since the sentences are related, having both together would be neater. 

Any suggestions for 2. "I self-learnt Hebrew from books and CDs"?


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## MaNitma

flyingbaton said:


> Any suggestions for 2. "I self-learnt Hebrew from books and CDs"?



I'd say:

למדתי עברית בעצמי באמצעות ספרים ודיסקים/ותקליטורים
_Lamadti ivrit b'atzmi b'emtzaüt sfarim v'diskim/v'taklitorim_

"_Diskim_" is a far more popular word in the spoken language, although "_taklitorim_" is the actual Hebrew word for it.
I'd go with "_diskim_" in this case, but both are equally correct.

By the way, Flaminius' version is also good.
The difference is that "_im_" means "with", while "_b'emtzaüt_" roughly means "by means of".


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## JaiHare

I don't know if it's right, but I would actually say מספרים ודיסקים _mi-sfarim ve-diskim_, literally "from books and disks." I've said something to this effect before, and no one corrected me on it. Is it OK to say that you learned _from_ them rather than _by_ them?

Also, I might actually say that I "taught myself" Hebrew:

לימדתי את עצמי עברית מספרים ודיסקים.
_limadti et atsmi ivrit mi-sfarim ve-diskim._

Does that seem OK?

Thanks.


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## MaNitma

JaiHare said:


> I don't know if it's right, but I would actually say מספרים ודיסקים _mi-sfarim ve-diskim_, literally "from books and disks." I've said something to this effect before, and no one corrected me on it. Is it OK to say that you learned _from_ them rather than _by_ them?
> 
> Also, I might actually say that I "taught myself" Hebrew:
> 
> לימדתי את עצמי עברית מספרים ודיסקים.
> _limadti et atsmi ivrit mi-sfarim ve-diskim._
> 
> Does that seem OK?
> 
> Thanks.


Yes, both are perfectly fine.


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## hadronic

and what about התלמד ?


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## MaNitma

hadronic said:


> and what about התלמד ?



I'm not sure I understand what you're asking.
Try to put the word in a context...


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## hadronic

My question is just : can התלמד convey the meaning of "to teach oneself", "to self-learn" ? If not, can you provide examples that best suit the meaning of this verb ?


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## origumi

מתלמד in modern Hebrew means mainly _apprentice_ or similar. This is quite the oppsite of self-learning: מתלמד or שוליה spends time near the master (physician, artist, etc.) to learn the profession.


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## Welshie

"self-learn" is not English. "Self-taught" as an adjective exists, but I would hesitate to say "self-teaching" as a noun. "To teach oneself" is perfectly correct, but not "to learn oneself".

I'm sorry I can't help with the Hebrew, but I was glancing over the thread, and someone needed to point this out.


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## flyingbaton

Yea, good to point out. I say "self-learn" so often that i didn't realize it is not proper. 

So it should be "I taught myself Hebrew from/with books and CDs"


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## bfitt

flyingbaton said:


> Yea, good to point out. I say "self-learn" so often that i didn't realize it is not proper.
> 
> So it should be "I taught myself Hebrew from/with books and CDs"


Not proper is not correct either. It's improper. English is so weird.


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