Learn Spanish Blog

For this week’s culture blog, I wanted to discuss pronunciation. In Spanish, you could know thousands and thousands of words and how to put them together into sentences, but if you do not have good pronunciation, you’ll never be understood. In fact, your efforts to learn Spanish will have been quite ineffective.

On the other hand, if you really take the time and effort to learn Spanish pronunciation correctly, native speakers are so impressed when you speak. You may not have perfect grammar, or a very extensive vocabulary, but if you have excellent pronunciation, native speakers will generally say, “¡Usted habla muy bien!”, or in English “You speak very well!” The correct pronunciation is the key to successful language skills! They will think you’re a great Spanish speaker just by having good solid pronunciation skills!

Many people make the mistake of believing that because they took Spanish in Junior High, High School, or even College, they will automatically have great pronunciation skills when in reality they may not be understood by a native speaker at all.

As the director of the Institute, I started teaching our course through Weber State University as an online course for the first time way back in January of 2003. At the first of the course, I gave all of my students a pronunciation assignment. They had about one week to learn our Pronunciation CD-ROM software and then hand in an audio recording in Spanish. I was astonished when I listened to them. A few of them had obviously not practiced with the software, but for the most part, the students sounded as good as a native Spanish speakers.

You do not have to be a College student to do well in pronunciation.  People of all ages and different backgrounds have been able to sound similar to native speakers by using our program. By learning pronunciation now, you can continue on with your goal of learning to speak Spanish!

If you want to really impress the native Spanish speakers, the way to do it is to focus on pronunciation. If you sound good, it does not matter how good your grammar is, they will be impressed.

To learn more about speaking Spanish (and Spanish pronunciation), please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

This week’s Spanish culture blog, we are going to look into some language issues and how they relate to culture.  In Spanish, the word for “now” is “ahora”. It is pronounced “ah – or – dah”.  We are going to look into the importance of “ahora”.  Let’s say you are discussing an issue at work or school with a Spanish speaking person and you tell them about something that needs to be done “ahora”. What will most likely happen is that they will get around to the task in an hour or two or maybe even sometime later in the day. This can be frustrating if you need something done “now”.  You may wonder why it is that they are taking such a long time to complete the task. Understanding this term completely and the culture behind it will help you avoid frustration and bridge culture gaps that can exist with translation issue.

For a native Spanish speaking person, the word “ahora” (defined as “now” in a dictionary) in fact means “now or any time today”.   If you tell a Spanish speaking person that something has to be done “ahora” it will almost certainly get done sometime today.

So how is that that you can convey to someone know that something really needs to be done “now”? Many native speakers will inform you that the word for “right now” in Spanish is “ahorita”.  But even that term will only translate  to within the next hour or so. For example, many native speakers will leave and say they’ll be coming back “ahorita”.  This means they will return in approximately one hour.

The best way to state “right now” is “ahora mismo”.  This literal translation of “ahora mismo” comes out as “the same now”.  By understanding this concept, you can stay away from many potential cultural misunderstandings.  Be sure you understand the terms “ahora”, “ahorita” and “ahora mismo” as explained in this blog and when to use them.   For higher retention, start using and practicing them “ahora mismo”!

To learn more about Spanish words and Spanish culture, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

Many people have the mistaken idea that the Spanish language that is used in Spain is completely different from that spoken in Mexico. They also believe that if you speak in Mexican Spanish, they won’t be able to understand you in Spain. I’m not sure where people get this idea from but it is simply not true. As I mentioned in the newsletter last week, some words may vary region to region (especially slang or swear words) but the core Spanish language spoken in each country is still the same.

In fact, there is a very close correlation between English from the United States, England, and Australia and Spanish spoken in Spain, Mexico and Latin America in general. For example, if someone from England or Australia talks, I, as an American, can understand them just fine and they can understand me. Sure we have different accents, some of their swear words are different, and I may not understand many of their slang words but we can understand each other. It is the same with Spanish in Spain, Mexico and Latin America. They have different accents and their regional uses of some words may vary but they can understand each other just fine.

Briefly, some differences in accent between Latin America and Spain are that in Spain, when they say their “S’s”, they make more of a hissing “s” sound. Also, in Spain, the “z” and “c” (followed by “e” or “i”) make a “th” sound instead of the Latin American “s” sound. And finally, in Latin America, the “ll” can sound like an English “j” or “y” depending on the region, however in Spain, it is generally pronounced like a “y”.

(Just a little side note: Mexico is considered part of Latin America; I have distinguished them since around 70% of Spanish speakers in the U.S. come from Mexico and the rest from Latin America in general. Source: census.gov)

All of these accent and vocabulary differences were considered as we created our Visual Link Spanish™ course. As part of our creation process, we had it reviewed by individuals from South America, as well as corporate executives, a lawyer, and a linguist from Mexico in addition to one from Spain. Although our course favors Latin American Spanish and is recorded by a Mexican woman’s voice, we have ensured that almost every word in the course can be understood in whatever country Spanish is spoken.

During the creation process, we took things a step further and were very picky about using the most contemporary words and phrases in the course. There are many phrases that are currently found in textbooks that are no longer commonly used in Latin America. The reviewers helped us use the most common phrases in use today for subjects like telling time, greetings and many others.

Now you know the scoop on the difference between Spanish from Spain and Latin America.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

no les vamos a enseñar – we’re not going to teach you (plural)
la cultura – the culture
en este área – in this area (area is spelled the same in both languages)
antes de pasar tiempo – before spending time
de región a región – from region to region
España – Spain
lo mismo es verdad – the same is true
por ejemplo – for example
significa – means
país a país – country to country
dicen – they say
aquí hay otro – here’s another one
un hombre inocente – an innocent man
hace unos a& ntilde;os – a few years ago
trabajando con él – working with him
explicó que – explained that
y él dijo – and he said
solidificado – solidified
afortunadamente – luckily (fortunately)
y aclaró la situación – and clarified the situation
la frase – the phrase
en esta situación – in this situation
su conocimiento – his knowledge
la próxima vez – the next time
tenga mucho cuidado – be very careful
palabras – words
entendidas – understood
palabras y frases de español – Spanish words and phrases
nueve años – nine years
trabajando para perfeccionarlo – working to perfect it
un abogado – a lawyer
ha sido vendido – it has been sold

To learn more Spanish words and phrases, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website for free lessons www.learnspanishtoday.com

hay dos claves importantes – there are two important keys
la primera – the first one
y la segunda – and the second one
uno sin otro – one without another
nuestro curso – our course
muy exitoso – very successful
no es suficiente – isn’t enough (sufficient)
también tiene que estar dispuesto – you also have to be willing
si es posible – if it’s possible
recomiendo – I recommend
está tratando de aprender – is trying to learn
día de español – Spanish day
está mejorando – is improving
una conversación – a conversation
con otros – with others
se preocupan que – they worry that
tambi&ea cute;n se preocupan por decir – also they worry about saying
de la verdad – from the truth
cuando empiezas a hablar – when you start to speak
su idioma – your language
su idioma – their language (‘su’ can be ‘your formal’ for ‘their’)
gente Latina – Latino people
con Norteamericanos – with Americans
que no saben el Francés bien – who (that) don’t know French well
es muy diferente – is very different
algo que necesita saber – something you need to know
más amables en el mundo – friendliest in the world
les hace sentir bien – it makes them feel good
necesita tener – you need to have
en el futuro cercano – in the near future
con ellos – with them
el miedo/el temor – the fear
y cómodo que es – and comfortable (that) it is
hablar con ellos – to talk to them
Hola, ¿Qué tal? – Hi, how are you?
Estoy aprendiendo español, “¿Puede ayudarme? – I’m learning Spanish, can you help me?
Me llamo Dave – My name is Dave
¿De dónde es usted? – Where are you from?
¿Están listos? – Are you ready?
arriba – above
una meta – a goal
una vez que lo haya hecho – once you’ve done it (this is subjunctive)
como le fue – how it went for you

If you would like to learn more Spanish words and phrases, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more spanish vocabulary words, please click on the following link www.spanishprograms.com

For this week’s culture lesson, we will cover the best ways to get around in Latin America.  When you ask people for directions in a Latin American country, if they know where your destination is, you are in luck and they will give you directions much like those found in the “Locations” section of our Complete Spanish Course. However, if they don’t know, they usually will not let you know that they don’t know. They will instead say, “Está por allí” or, in English, “It’s over there.” Then they will usually wave their arm and point to some indefinite place. If this happens to you, it should be a quick red flag that the person is not quite sure where the place is. If this happens and especially if you’re on foot, be sure to ask at least 3 to 4 people where the place is as you get closer to your destination; eventually you’ll get there. I cannot tell you how many times this happened to me when I lived in Latin America.

Like the U.S., where many of us men do not want to stop and ask for directions (it’s kind of a pride thing because we’d have to admit that we really didn’t know where we were going), in Latin America many men act similarly and don’t want to admit that they don’t know where a certain destination is. Of course, in both cultures, there are woman that do the same thing, but generally us men are the guiltiest.

Now back to our original scenario. Let’s say that you want show off your newly acquired Spanish, and ask where the “Vásquez Building” is, so you say, “¿Dónde está el edificio Vasquez?” And, let’s say that the person knows precisely where it is and rattles off some long description in Spanish and you have no idea what they said. What should you do?

I just talked to a neighbor last week who had an experience just like that. She was in Latin America with her boss representing an adoption agency last month. They had to get to a certain building and she said, “¿Dónde está . . .” Her boss was so impressed that she knew Spanish, and after a lengthy description, the boss said, “Well, what did he say?” She said, “I have NO idea!”; they both laughed. She ended up calling me last week and now wants to purchase our course which has 13 major conversation sections, including a great locations section, so she can communicate better in Spanish and work through almost any situation.

Side Note: In Latin American miles are not used when speaking about directions or distances. Instead of miles, kilometers are used. For your information, one mile equals approximately 1.6 kilometers. So, if you drive 30 miles, which would be equivalent to 48 kilometers. And, if you drive at 65 miles per hour that is the same as 104 kilometers per hour!

To learn more about Spanish culture or the Spanish language, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

This week’s Spanish culture lesson we will discuss how you can better learn to communicate effectively in Spanish.  There are two very  important keys to learning Spanish well and being an effective communicator. The first one is to gain a basic knowledge of the language and the second is to go out and practice with real people. One without the other can never get you as far as you could have gone with both. Our course is proven to be very successful for thousands of people all over the world; it will give you the base you need to succeed. However, it alone is not enough. You also have to be willing to break out of your comfort zone and speak with others in Spanish – especially native speakers. If possible, I recommend doing this at least once or twice per week. Here in our office, Blake is trying to learn Spanish; every Thursday we have “día de español” (Spanish day) where we only speak Spanish. Blake is improving his Spanish by leaps and bounds.

Many people are nervous about striking up a conversation with others in Spanish especially with a native speaker. They are worried that maybe they’ll say something wrong or that the native speaker won’t understand them. They are also worried about saying things incorrectly or possibly even getting embarrassed or “making a fool of themselves”. Nothing could be farther from the truth. When you start to speak another language, you actually gain compassion for all of the people trying to learn “your” language. You will be surprised at how nice people are when you try to speak their language – especially Latino people. This misconception is generally true, however, with some French people who may not be quite as patient with Americans who don’t know French well, but the Spanish experience is quite different.

Something you need to know about Spanish culture is that native Spanish speakers are some of the most friendly and genuine people in the world. It makes them feel good to see others trying to learn their language and they are very eager to help you.

To really learn Spanish, you need to have the courage to go up to a native Spanish speaker in the near future and start-up a conversation with them (in Spanish of course). Once you get over the fear of the initial conversation, I think you’ll be amazed at how easy and comfortable it is to talk to them.

Here are a few phrases that I recommend to get you started. First you could say, “Hola, ¿Qué tal?” [Oh-law, kay tall] which means “Hi, how are you?”. Then, you could say, “Estoy aprendiendo español, “¿Puede ayudarme?” [Es-toy ah-pren-dyen-do es-pan-yol, pweh-they ah-you-thar-may] – I’m learning Spanish, can you help me? Next, you could say “Me llamo Dave” [May yaw-moe Dave], or in English “My name is Dave”. O f course, you don’t want to say your name is “Dave” unless your name really is “Dave”. Finally, to spark some conversation, you could ask “¿De dónde es usted?” [Day doan-day es oo-stead] which means “Where are you from?”

To learn more about Spanish culture, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com