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Visual Link Spanish™ Course only $149.95! -----
Taught at Weber State University! - One fact you may not have known is that during the past three years, our Visual Link Spanish™ Course has been taught at Weber State University. At WSU it costs $458 to take our 3 credit-hour course. If you purchase the course through our web site, it only costs $149.95! Click here to go to the web site. / Click here for our secure shopping cart in the U.S. / Click here for International orders.
Words of the Week -----
Words taken from "Survival", Section 3 of our Complete Course.
| English | Spanish |
| Monday | Please. | Por favor. |
| Tuesday | Thank you. | Gracias. |
| Wednesday | You're welcome. | De nada. |
| Thursday | I'm sorry. | Lo siento. |
| Friday | Excuse me. | Perdón. |
| Saturday | Excuse me (if you need to leave or go past someone). | Con permiso. |
| Sunday | Ready?. | ¿Listo/a/s? |
| Learn More: | Our Visual Link Spanish™ course explains the use of each word in our newsletter, how to use it, in what context, and guides you in pronunciation. Click here to go to our web site for more info. |
Culture ----- ¿Habla español?
This week I want to talk about a very common mistake that many of us "Gringo's" make. Just a quick reminder from our newsletter of about a month ago that the word "Gringo" basically means "foreigner".
Anyway, the mistake I want to talk about is a phrase I've heard misused so many times that I wanted let you know about it so you can say it correctly. Many times a native Spanish speaker will start speaking with an English speaker in Spanish. The English speaker will say, trying to sound intelligent and knowledgeable in Spanish, "No habla español". What the English speaker is trying to say is, "I don't speak Spanish", but what is actually said is, "You don't speak Spanish". There is a big difference between these two phrases.
Here's how to say it correctly. The next time a native Spanish speaker starts speaking Spanish, you should say, "No hablo español". This means "I don't speak Spanish" and is pronounced [No aw-blow es-pan-yowl]. There is only one letter difference between the two phrases, but it completely changes the meaning. The word "habla" (with an "a" on the end) means "you speak" and the word "hablo" (with an "o" on the end) means "I speak". Remember, "I don't speak Spanish" is "No hablo español".
Now, let's change the situation a little. Let's say a native Spanish speaker directly asks you if you speak Spanish -- "¿Habla español?". Here is a simple but effective answer for them. You can say "Hablo un poquito" which means "I speak a little" this is pronounced [Aw-blow oon poh-key-tow].
Remember to practice your Spanish with native Spanish speakers. Apart from a formal program, this is the best way to improve your Spanish. Remember to use the "Comprehending Native Speakers" section in our Visual Link Spanish™ manual to get through almost any situation with a native Spanish speaker.
¡Buena suerte! (Good luck!)
David S. Clark -- President
U.S. Institute of Languages
dave@spanishprograms.com
http://www.spanishprograms.com
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