Wordy Weekend: Independence

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Man, work and grad school are kicking my ass. I'm struggling just to keep my head above water with those two, much less do my studying on the side. Periodic immersion at work in Portuguese is getting me a crash course in reading comprehension there, which makes me feel good. On the other hand, I spend a lot of time working through languages at work, which tires me out for my personal studying too.

This weekend is a holiday weekend for America - Independence Day! As usual, we'll celebrate separating from the British by exploding lots of fireworks, grilling up as much as possible and generally having fun outside.

Let's do some words!

  • brīvība : freedom [slider title="decline me"] brīvība , f, 4. dekl.
    vsk.: brīvība, brīvības, brīvībai, brīvību, ar brīvību, brīvībā
    dsk.: brīvības, brīvību, brīvībām, brīvības, ar brīvībām, brīvībās [/slider]

I can't think of this word without also remembering Braveheart with Mel Gibson in war paint. If you're in Rīga, seeing the Freedom Monument (Brīvības piemineklis) is a must-do.

  • uguņošana : fireworks [slider title="decline me"] uguņošana , f, 4. dekl.
    vsk.: uguņošana, uguņošanas, uguņošanai, uguņošanu, ar uguņošanu, uguņošanā
    dsk.: uguņošanas, uguņošanu, uguņošanām, uguņošanas, ar uguņošanām, uguņošanās [/slider]

This is a noun'd verb and the root is uguns.

  • karogs : flag [slider title="decline me"] karogs , m, 1. dekl.
    vsk.: karogs, karoga, karogam, karogu, ar karogu, karogā
    dsk.: karogi, karogu, karogiem, karogus, ar karogiem, karogos [/slider]

Fun fact: The Latvian flag is one of the oldest flag designs in the world and dates back to the 13th century. It also has an unusual form factor of 2:1 that makes it distinctively rectangular, an aspect it shares with the British flag. (The American flag apparently has a ratio of 10:19! The "normal" flag ratio seems to be 2:3.)

  • neatkarība : independence [slider title="decline me"] neatkarība , f, 4. dekl.
    vsk.: neatkarība, neatkarības, neatkarībai, neatkarību, ar neatkarību, neatkarībā
    dsk.: neatkarības, neatkarību, neatkarībām, neatkarības, ar netkarībām, neatkarībās [/slider]

Yes, this is a negated noun! It negates atkarība : dependence. It is also related to the reflexive verb karāties - to hang.

  • svinēt : to celebrate [slider title="conjugate me"] svinēt , 3. konj. (mixed)
    tag. svinu, svini, svin, svinam, svinat
    pag. svinēju, svinēji, svinēja, svinējām, svinējāt
    nak. svinēšu, svinēsi, svinēs, svinēsim, svinēsiet / svinēsit
    pav. svini, sviniet [/slider]

Of course, what's a holiday without a little celebrating? Since I didn't get to include this at Jāņi, I thought I'd include it here.