"Anyone speak Spanish?"

[BDBoop]

I hear this at least once a day on my calls. I really do want to learn to speak Spanish. I'm kind of embarrassed to only know one language. I can't fault people whose English isn't so great, when I only know the one language myself.

Well. I have like five words or phrases. De nada, ola, como esta? Muy bien. Yo quiero, Taco Bell, Felice Navidad.

Anybody bilingual here besides [MENTION=46168]Statistikhengst[/MENTION]?

 

[TheOldSchool]

I do. I'm still waiting for a chance to use it in my career but so far it doesn't seem to matter.

 

[BDBoop]

I do. I'm still waiting for a chance to use it in my career but so far it doesn't seem to matter.

Spanish? More than one language?

I would make more money if I spoke Spanish, but independent of that, I've just always wanted to.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

I do. I'm still waiting for a chance to use it in my career but so far it doesn't seem to matter.

Same here

 

[JakeStarkey]

I group in a Mexican American town, so I could get along OK. Taking a grammar course for two semesters in college helped with syntax and diction. The simply watching 60 minutes of telenovellas with the subcaption on really helped later on.

 

[TheOldSchool]

I do. I'm still waiting for a chance to use it in my career but so far it doesn't seem to matter.

Spanish? More than one language?

I would make more money if I spoke Spanish, but independent of that, I've just always wanted to.

Spanish was my first language. I'm getting pretty rusty though. I've always dreamed of finding a job that would send me to a Spanish-speaking country.

 

[BDBoop]

I group in a Mexican American town, so I could get along OK. Taking a grammar course for two semesters in college helped with syntax and diction. The simply watching 60 minutes of telenovellas with the subcaption on really helped later on.

Good idea.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Spanish Foreign Legion?

 

[Statistikhengst]

I hear this at least once a day on my calls. I really do want to learn to speak Spanish. I'm kind of embarrassed to only know one language. I can't fault people whose English isn't so great, when I only know the one language myself.

Well. I have like five words or phrases. De nada, ola, como esta? Muy bien. Yo quiero, Taco Bell, Felice Navidad.

Anybody bilingual here besides [MENTION=46168]Statistikhengst[/MENTION]?

Apparently, many, many posters here are good at German. It is really quite impressive. Surely there are some members her who also have a very good command of Espagnol.

 

[Bloodrock44]

No. But I have a funny story. When I was stationed in Germany my company went to Spain for a week. My room mate was Puerto Rican. He said don't worry, I'll interpret for you. So one day we're in our hotel room and a maid knocks on the door. So he gets into a short conversation and I can tell it's not going well. I asked what did she say. She said don't talk to me until you learn proper Spanish.

 

[Bloodrock44]

Oh yeah, and why can't the English speak English?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

No. But I have a funny story. When I was stationed in Germany my company went to Spain for a week. My room mate was Puerto Rican. He said don't worry, I'll interpret for you. So one day we're in our hotel room and a maid knocks on the door. So he gets into a short conversation and I can tell it's not going well. I asked what did she say. She said don't talk to me until you learn proper Spanish.

Yeah, Europeans are like that sometimes. I've noticed over there if they speak English they'll immediately start speaking it to you the moment they realize you aren't a native speaker of their language. I was in Barcelona a few months ago and I had one hostess at a restaurant get snooty with me when I tried to speak in Spanish to her. She went "What??" like kind of rudely, even though I was saying everything correctly. I don't know why they get that like that.

 

[Statistikhengst]

No. But I have a funny story. When I was stationed in Germany my company went to Spain for a week. My room mate was Puerto Rican. He said don't worry, I'll interpret for you. So one day we're in our hotel room and a maid knocks on the door. So he gets into a short conversation and I can tell it's not going well. I asked what did she say. She said don't talk to me until you learn proper Spanish.

Yeah, Europeans are like that sometimes. I've noticed over there if they speak English they'll immediately start speaking it to you the moment they realize you aren't a native speaker of their language. I was in Barcelona a few months ago and I had one hostess at a restaurant get snooty with me when I tried to speak in Spanish to her. She went "What??" like kind of rudely, even though I was saying everything correctly. I don't know why they get that like that.

Sounds like you had a bad experience, but by and far, most Europeans are not like that at all.

 

[Pogo]

I group in a Mexican American town, so I could get along OK. Taking a grammar course for two semesters in college helped with syntax and diction. The simply watching 60 minutes of telenovellas with the subcaption on really helped later on.

Good idea.

Soap operas sound like an excellent idea. Similar to what I used in France to hone my French -- Donald Duck comic books. You get the real vernacular, and can see what's going on. Actually I came across some German ones too. I'm sure a soap opera would provide the same useful characteristics.

I'm fairly fluent in French, half-fluent in German and a smattering of Portuguese. Never studied Spanish, although the French and Portuguese enable me to generally figure it out, but of course doesn't help in speaking it.

 

[HenryBHough]

Most important phrase in Central American Spanish:

¿Dónde están los baños

Especially if you drink the water or dine out at street vendors.

Trust me on this.

 

[Pogo]

No. But I have a funny story. When I was stationed in Germany my company went to Spain for a week. My room mate was Puerto Rican. He said don't worry, I'll interpret for you. So one day we're in our hotel room and a maid knocks on the door. So he gets into a short conversation and I can tell it's not going well. I asked what did she say. She said don't talk to me until you learn proper Spanish.

Yeah, Europeans are like that sometimes. I've noticed over there if they speak English they'll immediately start speaking it to you the moment they realize you aren't a native speaker of their language. I was in Barcelona a few months ago and I had one hostess at a restaurant get snooty with me when I tried to speak in Spanish to her. She went "What??" like kind of rudely, even though I was saying everything correctly. I don't know why they get that like that.

Sounds like you had a bad experience, but by and far, most Europeans are not like that at all.

No - as a matter of fact I found the exact opposite in France. If you approach them in English as if it's all you have, they'll do their best graciously (it's required in their schools so they all have some basis). But if you try to wend your way in French they challenge you immediately, speaking real fast and pulling out arcane argot.

I was an au pair boy for a while in a house with two boys aged 8 and 15. With the 8-year-old I communicated just fine, but the 15-year-old would talk so fast and slur his words, that I had to have him speak to me in German (his mom was German) and I'd answer in French. But we got it done.

 

[HenryBHough]

There is a lot of emotion concerning the various dialects of Spanish.

Almost anywhere in South or Central America Spanish spoken with the Castillian lisp will get one mocked at the very least.

In Argentina, call a an automobile "el carro" and you're branded as a low-life Colombian. It's said "automovile". A railway coach there is NOT "El Tren" as it is elsewhere, it's "el ferrocarrill".

Throughout South/Central America Puerto Rican dialect (subtle diffrerences) will produce the negative reaction noted above.

However, in the Castile region of Spain you damn well better lisp!


Now don't get me going on the meaning of benign hand gestures across borders!