Here is a complete list of vocab for 1-13. The earlier lessons have been updated with new information from the later lessons (bound forms for nouns, theme vowels for verbs) and various typos have been corrected.
And here is a complete sign list for 9-13. Earlier lessons have been updated with the logogram information from lesson 13.
For those who might yet be interested in using Perpetua, here are all the JPEG files for the cuneiform flashcards (lessons 9-13):
In a future post I want to include a “Perpetua workshop” to show easy it is to set up and use. For now, take a look at a screen shot of my progress while learning the cuneiform signs from lesson 12:
Perpetua Language Tools © 2007-2010 David Falk
Each dot represents one time through the stack of flashcards for lesson 12. The top line represents my progress. As you can see, I started at virtually zero knowledge of these signs. By my fourth time through the deck, I was at nearly 50% recognition. Learning these signs can feel frustrating and discouraging. Psychologically, I find it very helpful to be able to see that I improved 5% this time over last time; it gives me the motivation and hope I need to shuffle that deck again, when I am strongly considering checking my favorite news sites or opening that forward full of cute cat pictures instead! 🙂 And I have found that on the fourth or fifth time through the deck, I see a consistent dramatic spike in learning progress of 30-40%. Notice that I did significantly better on my fifth time than my fourth time, in this case almost 50% better, which excited me a lot when I opened the graph. This is not just a flashcard program, it’s a window into how my brain actually works. The better I understand how I think, the better I know how to go about learning stuff.
The lower line on this graph is one of the coolest features of Perpetua. This represents the percentage of “exclusions” each time I go through the stack. After a few times through the entire set of flashcards, Perpetua begins to remove from the deck the signs or words that I am consistently getting right. That way, I don’t have to waste time looking at those over and over again. Eventually, Perpetua “trims” the deck down to the handful of cards that I keep getting wrong, allowing me to focus my mental energy where it is most needed. After I get all the cards right, I can keep shuffling the deck, well, perpetually, and the program will give me a random assortment of about 1 to 10 cards, just to make sure I still know them. If I’ve forgotten one, it will keep showing me that card more often until I start getting it right again. Smart, huh? And if I then decide I want to review all the cards in the deck, I can turn off the trimming feature, or even reset the counter in order to start the whole trimming process over again from a full deck. Additionally, my deck can be made up of any subset I choose among my vocab words or signs: I can choose a range of lessons, a certain part of speech, or, thanks to the way I set up the sign database, only the Neo-Assyrian, Old Babylonian Cursive, or OB Lapidary signs.
Okay, here ends my Perpetua commercial for today. I would like to make it clear that I have not been paid by David Falk or Lagomorph Rampant Studios, or its parents or subsidiaries. 🙂 I just think Perpetua is a wonderful tool and I want more people to know about it.
The website claims, “Subliminally program to master the Akkadian language by using powerful positive affirmations, hypnotic suggestions and empowering subconscious messages.” It goes on, “Use your subconscious mind to learn how to read, speak and communicate fluently in Akkadian!”
TEDS Akkadian 