Zander B.

Linguistics student with a passion for history and politics

Linguistics student with a passion for history and politics

Hebrew

I'm a 4th year college student who is studying linguistics and Arabic. I am Jewish on both sides of my family and I first learned to read and write Hebrew when I was 3. I was Bar Mitzvah'd and also went to a Jewish camp where the majority of campers were Orthodox or Hassidic (Camp Simcha) for 3 years and, from time to time, studied with Rabbis there. I also was an assistant teacher (עוזר) at my synagogue for 3 years. In my first year of college I started to study Arabic which got me interested in learning more about the other parts of the Semitic language family. I had mostly forgotten my Hebrew at this point, but my renewed interest pushed me to take a closer look at Biblical Hebrew as well as Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (then, later, other other varieties of Aramaic), as well as Ge'ez and Amharic. This interest has continued to grow and more recently I've started to broaden my focus into other parts of the Afro-Asiatic language family and have picked up some Coptic and Somali. Anyway, unexpectedly Hebrew has become one of my biggest interests and I have become pretty good at reading and teaching it :). Because of my curiosity for the ways in which languages are connected, I tend to bring a somewhat different and zoomed-out perspective to my tutoring. I love answering structural questions about the language that go beyond the scope of Hebrew grammarians, and I like helping students who have studied other Afrasian languages apply the knowledge they already have to concepts in Hebrew. I am certainly an amateur, but another interest of mine is Samaritan Hebrew. If you're serious about wanting to read Samaritan texts (Hebrew or Aramaic), I strongly recommend trying to find a Samaritan tutor. But if you can't find one, I'd be happy to help you get started. Also, if Aramaic is an interest of yours, I love working with Aramaic and have experience with several varieties, both historical and contemporary (since Aramaic isn't an official subject on Wyzant, I thought I would mention that here). Contact me and we'll figure ou

Portuguese

This will be my 4th year working toward my linguistics major at Lawrence University. I am a self-taught lover of Portuguese. Portuguese is one of my favorite languages to speak and enjoy media in. I first became interested in it when I was in high school. I had gotten pretty good at Spanish and Yucatec Maya and I started to become very interested in Brazilian movies as well as Brazil as a country, and Brazilians as a group of people. I was instantly attracted to Brazilian Portuguese and I started to study it in my free time. This became one of the most important decisions I ever made. Instead of simply learning a language I hadn't previously spoken, I became more and more drawn toward the similarities and differences between Spanish and Portuguese. My interest in comparing these two closely-related languages was a new and addicting feeling, and it soon became my most motivating reason to keep learning. At the same time I loved everything about the two that was the same, and everything about the two that was different. Chasing this same wonderful feeling has been what has led me to study the shared structures of large language families, pushing me into the field of linguistics that I study now, and setting me on a path of language learning that always involves the learning of at least two related languages at any time. Anyway, in high school I began attending a local group of people in my city who met up every week to speak and practice Portuguese. With those people I could practice, and also ask questions that helped me gain insight into the language's quirks. I kept watching Brazilian movies and listening to Brazilian music, but after I entered my senior year of high school, I mostly stopped actively studying Portuguese, just pulling it off the shelf every now and then to answer questions from my family or friends, or to help lost strangers on the train. But when I entered college one of the first friends I met happened to be from Rio. We became very close and I got into the habit of practicing Portuguese with h

Spanish

I have been learning and using Spanish off and on for the last eight years. I studied in Mexico 3 different summers to learn Yucatec Maya which was taught to me completely in Spanish and I also studied some Spanish in college. Spanish is probably the language I speak best after English, and I love using Spanish to learn other languages. Feel free to contact me if you have any question you'd like me to answer! We can figure out together the best way for our lessons to start :)

Linguistics

I've been studying linguistics for the last 4 years while I work toward my major in linguistics from Lawrence University. I've learned about both formalist and cognitive approaches to linguistics and recently finished an inspiring (and, admittedly, challenging) course in Semiotics. I enjoy the intense structural linguistic topics as much as the next linguistics student, but I think I have the most fun reading about comparative and historical linguistics. When I learn about comparative and historical linguistics I get to think about how amazing and connected languages around the world are. I particularly like to read and think about the development of languages in the Afro-Asiatic and Mayan language families because I've developed a special fondness for them over the years, but really I like learning about the way any system of languages has changed over time. As you might be able to tell from my interest in comparative linguistics, I also love the classic topics of phonology, morphology, and syntax, but, really, who doesn't :). This year I will complete my capstone project on a yet-to-be-determined topic, perhaps the differences in the effects and productivity of split-s ergativity in Yucatec Maya and Palestinian colloquial Arabic, or perhaps, something completely different. I love linguistics because I love languages, so if you like languages too, we will have a fun time working through whatever work you're interested in or required to do. Let me know what you need help with and we will figure out the best way to start!

American History

I have been interested in History ever since I was little and I completed the University of Minnesota's prestigious SHIP summer history program twice when I was in high school.

Bible Studies

I am Jewish and have extensive experience reading and interpreting the Tanakh (old testament) as well as, to a lesser extent, the new testament. I have read and translated large parts of the Torah from Hebrew, and I have read some of the gospels in Aramaic and Ge'ez. My experience with the language of the gospels will be helpful to students because it will allow them to truly appreciate the poeticism and imagery, as well as some of the spectacular ambiguity, of the text.

Religion

I am in my third year at Lawrence University, majoring in linguistics and Arabic studies. I am Jewish, and have experience reading texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, and Ge'ez, and I have studied some Jewish mysticism. When I was in high school I became very interested in the interactions between different faiths originating from the Middle East. I have read most canonical texts in their original language, and I have a very deep understanding of the nuances in each Abrahamic faith.

Spanish

I have been learning and using Spanish off and on for the last eight years. I studied in Mexico 3 different summers to learn Yucatec Maya which was taught to me completely in Spanish and I also studied some Spanish in college. Spanish is probably the language I speak best after English, and I love using Spanish to learn other languages. Feel free to contact me if you have any question you'd like me to answer! We can figure out together the best way for our lessons to start :)

Arabic

I am a 4th-year college student and Arabic is my main academic focus in school along with my other major, linguistics. I have a fairly strong grasp of MSA and can use conversational Levantine Arabic with relative ease. I can understand Iraqi, Gulf, and Egyptian (both Masri and Sa'idi) Arabic fairly well but don't have lots of experience with other North African Arabic varieties. I am not Muslim but I can definitely get you started on Qur'anic Arabic if that's what you're interested in. One of my many Arabic interests is also Judeo-Arabic and I love being able to help people who are interested in getting started learning about this often forgotten and underappreciated corner of the Arabic and Jewish literary worlds.

Hebrew

I'm a 4th year college student who is studying linguistics and Arabic. I am Jewish on both sides of my family and I first learned to read and write Hebrew when I was 3. I was Bar Mitzvah'd and also went to a Jewish camp where the majority of campers were Orthodox or Hassidic (Camp Simcha) for 3 years and, from time to time, studied with Rabbis there. I also was an assistant teacher (עוזר) at my synagogue for 3 years. In my first year of college I started to study Arabic which got me interested in learning more about the other parts of the Semitic language family. I had mostly forgotten my Hebrew at this point, but my renewed interest pushed me to take a closer look at Biblical Hebrew as well as Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (then, later, other other varieties of Aramaic), as well as Ge'ez and Amharic. This interest has continued to grow and more recently I've started to broaden my focus into other parts of the Afro-Asiatic language family and have picked up some Coptic and Somali. Anyway, unexpectedly Hebrew has become one of my biggest interests and I have become pretty good at reading and teaching it :). Because of my curiosity for the ways in which languages are connected, I tend to bring a somewhat different and zoomed-out perspective to my tutoring. I love answering structural questions about the language that go beyond the scope of Hebrew grammarians, and I like helping students who have studied other Afrasian languages apply the knowledge they already have to concepts in Hebrew. I am certainly an amateur, but another interest of mine is Samaritan Hebrew. If you're serious about wanting to read Samaritan texts (Hebrew or Aramaic), I strongly recommend trying to find a Samaritan tutor. But if you can't find one, I'd be happy to help you get started. Also, if Aramaic is an interest of yours, I love working with Aramaic and have experience with several varieties, both historical and contemporary (since Aramaic isn't an official subject on Wyzant, I thought I would mention that here). Contact me and we'll figure ou

Portuguese

This will be my 4th year working toward my linguistics major at Lawrence University. I am a self-taught lover of Portuguese. Portuguese is one of my favorite languages to speak and enjoy media in. I first became interested in it when I was in high school. I had gotten pretty good at Spanish and Yucatec Maya and I started to become very interested in Brazilian movies as well as Brazil as a country, and Brazilians as a group of people. I was instantly attracted to Brazilian Portuguese and I started to study it in my free time. This became one of the most important decisions I ever made. Instead of simply learning a language I hadn't previously spoken, I became more and more drawn toward the similarities and differences between Spanish and Portuguese. My interest in comparing these two closely-related languages was a new and addicting feeling, and it soon became my most motivating reason to keep learning. At the same time I loved everything about the two that was the same, and everything about the two that was different. Chasing this same wonderful feeling has been what has led me to study the shared structures of large language families, pushing me into the field of linguistics that I study now, and setting me on a path of language learning that always involves the learning of at least two related languages at any time. Anyway, in high school I began attending a local group of people in my city who met up every week to speak and practice Portuguese. With those people I could practice, and also ask questions that helped me gain insight into the language's quirks. I kept watching Brazilian movies and listening to Brazilian music, but after I entered my senior year of high school, I mostly stopped actively studying Portuguese, just pulling it off the shelf every now and then to answer questions from my family or friends, or to help lost strangers on the train. But when I entered college one of the first friends I met happened to be from Rio. We became very close and I got into the habit of practicing Portuguese with h

Spanish

I have been learning and using Spanish off and on for the last eight years. I studied in Mexico 3 different summers to learn Yucatec Maya which was taught to me completely in Spanish and I also studied some Spanish in college. Spanish is probably the language I speak best after English, and I love using Spanish to learn other languages. Feel free to contact me if you have any question you'd like me to answer! We can figure out together the best way for our lessons to start :)

Spanish

I have been learning and using Spanish off and on for the last eight years. I studied in Mexico 3 different summers to learn Yucatec Maya which was taught to me completely in Spanish and I also studied some Spanish in college. Spanish is probably the language I speak best after English, and I love using Spanish to learn other languages. Feel free to contact me if you have any question you'd like me to answer! We can figure out together the best way for our lessons to start :)

Bible Studies

I am Jewish and have extensive experience reading and interpreting the Tanakh (old testament) as well as, to a lesser extent, the new testament. I have read and translated large parts of the Torah from Hebrew, and I have read some of the gospels in Aramaic and Ge'ez. My experience with the language of the gospels will be helpful to students because it will allow them to truly appreciate the poeticism and imagery, as well as some of the spectacular ambiguity, of the text.

Religion

I am in my third year at Lawrence University, majoring in linguistics and Arabic studies. I am Jewish, and have experience reading texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, and Ge'ez, and I have studied some Jewish mysticism. When I was in high school I became very interested in the interactions between different faiths originating from the Middle East. I have read most canonical texts in their original language, and I have a very deep understanding of the nuances in each Abrahamic faith.

Arabic

I am a 4th-year college student and Arabic is my main academic focus in school along with my other major, linguistics. I have a fairly strong grasp of MSA and can use conversational Levantine Arabic with relative ease. I can understand Iraqi, Gulf, and Egyptian (both Masri and Sa'idi) Arabic fairly well but don't have lots of experience with other North African Arabic varieties. I am not Muslim but I can definitely get you started on Qur'anic Arabic if that's what you're interested in. One of my many Arabic interests is also Judeo-Arabic and I love being able to help people who are interested in getting started learning about this often forgotten and underappreciated corner of the Arabic and Jewish literary worlds.

Spanish

I have been learning and using Spanish off and on for the last eight years. I studied in Mexico 3 different summers to learn Yucatec Maya which was taught to me completely in Spanish and I also studied some Spanish in college. Spanish is probably the language I speak best after English, and I love using Spanish to learn other languages. Feel free to contact me if you have any question you'd like me to answer! We can figure out together the best way for our lessons to start :)