Tag Archives: español

Hablando español

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ElDiaE

Hoy es El Día E, y según el Instituto Cervantes, es “la fiesta de todos los que hablamos español”. Aunque no sea nativa, sí hablo español, así que decidí escribir una entrada en la lengua de Cervantes. Sé que no todos lo habláis y, por lo tanto, algunos no podréis leerla, pero siempre podéis recurrir a Google Translate.

WhatTheHell

Como muchos alumnos en EEUU, empecé a aprender español cuando estaba en el instituto. Mi primer año, conocido en EEUU como “freshman year”, hice japonés. Os estaréis preguntando “¿Y eso?”, pues porque de pequeña daba clases de japonés y cuando tenía catorce años una chica japonesa fue a vivir un mes con nosotros, así que me acabó interesando y decidí estudiarlo. La mayoría de mis compañeros estudiaba español, claro. Pero después de ese primer año, no había dinero para el programa de japonés y tuve que elegir otro idioma. Me quedé con el español. Creo que fue una de las decisiones más importantes de mi vida. Sin haber estudiado español, nunca habría venido a España, nunca habría conocido a Mario, nunca habría vuelto tantas veces …

Una foto mía, hecha cuando estaba en el instituto (y sí, el 4 de julio).

Ya he observado que a muchos no les gusta estudiar un idioma. Es difícil, requiere mucho trabajo y al fin y al cabo puede que no te sierva para nada. Pero os recomiendo que estudiéis español. ¿Por qué?

  • Es util. Actualmente, es hablado por 500 millones de personas. El inglés es importante, obviamente. Pero en EEUU tenemos un alto porcentaje de personas hispanohablantes. Y seguirá creciendo. Según el Instituto Cervantes, en 2050 mi país será “el primer país hispanohablante del mundo”.
  • Es divertido. A mí me gusta aprender. Me gusta aprender expresiones que dejen a Mario atónito. Me gusta sonar más española si puedo. Me gusta mejorar cada día. Para mí este proceso es divertido.
  • Es guay. Cuando me siento capaz de hablar en otro idioma, me siento más inteligente, más guay en un sentido. El español es un idioma bonito. Suena bien cuando lo escuchas. Del español hemos sacado las palabras siesta, fiesta, margarita, salsa, “mano a mano”, cojones (con perdón), y muchas más. Además, muchos de nuestros estados tienen nombres españoles (véase: Colorado (colored), Nevada (snowy), Florida (in blossom), Montana (de montaña, mountain).
  • Ser bilingüe protege el cerebro. En un estudio de la universidad de Northwestern, observaban las reacciones del cerebro de personas bilingües y no bilingües. Las personas bilingües pueden dejar de prestar atención al ruido de fondo y centrar su atención en lo importante: la voz del hablante. También, se supone que puede ayudar a prevenir la demencia senil. Así que, ¡a hablar español!

Según el Twitter, del Día E, las palabras favoritas de este año son las siguientes: entereza, aurora, balbuceo, membrillo, madrugada, con la “o”, lumbre, alegría, animal, panhispánico, “del teatro”, aprender y soledad. ¿Tienes una palabra favorita? Siempre me ha gustado la palabra cencerro.

¿Cuáles son las razones por las que has decidido estudiar español en vez de cualquier otro idioma?

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The Language We Speak

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Inspired by Rachel’s post, First Language Limits, I got to thinking. (I do that sometimes, you see.)

I love language and thinking about how it affects everything. Some have argued that language is the window through which we see the world and, although the theory is debatable, I like to read about it and wonder how others experience the world.

Image taken from this great article on how language may influence the way we see the world.

For instance, English lacks a strong subjunctive tense. Yes, you should say “I wish I were (an Oscar Mayer Weiner),” but many people say instead “I wish I was.” Now, in Spanish, the subjunctive is ever-present and quite difficult to master. I do it right 95% of the time, but I sometimes get stumped. I don’t get why you wouldn’t use it with “fingir” (to pretend), but you don’t. After years of rote memorization, I finally get it. But explain it? Uhh…

IMG_0733

Anyway, tangent over. I started off this entry wanting to talk about language and how it affects us – particularly, Mario and me. Mario and I met in Spain. I was learning Spanish. (Still am! Amazing how it’s a lifelong process!) I asked him to speak to me only in Spanish. He agreed, as his English really didn’t need that much improving. The only thing he has gotten from me is slang. You’re welcome.

It didn’t last long. When I’m frustrated, the words pour out in English. I think I sound more eloquent in English, surer of what I want to express. They are poor excuses, to be sure, but our relationship was affected by our switch from Spanish to Spanglish. To this day, our relationship is a mishmash of languages.

Collage de Picnik

From September 2009 to February 2011 to the present – Spanglish.

Sometimes, a whole conversation is conducted in one language with nary a word in the other. Sometimes, we abruptly switch. All it takes is him or me to start speaking the other language – the other will follow suit. Sometimes, we insert whole phrases or words in the other language. For example:

  • Eres muy cute. (Am I the only one who hates using “mono” for “cute”?)
  • Te I love you.
  • We had eggs, jamón, salchichón y queso. Some words just have to be in Spanish. Ham? Not nearly the same as jamón.
  • Vamos a ver una peli en el movie theater.

You know, normal stuff. I’m not really sure if this affects us, but it does expand our vocabularies. Plus, it’s way useful to be able to converse in another language so people can’t understand. After I’ve been around Mario for a while, I sometimes switch to another language with my mom or my friend Hilary so the other people can’t understand, forgetting that, um, neither can my mother or Hilary. Ooooops, Spanglish is getting to me.

So, if you don’t mind, tell me about your bilingual relationships, what you think of them if you don’t have one, and whether you think language affects how we see the world or if that’s all just a bunch of rubbish.

Bilingual Inside Jokes

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Nos gusta hacer el tonto.

That means, if you didn’t already know, we like to be silly. Since Mario has a girlfriend who speaks two (of his four) languages, it’s all the more fun. I like to make linguistic jokes, too. It’s okay, I admit to be hopelessly nerdy.

The other day, I got to thinking. Mario and I have some inside jokes (just writing that reminds me of high school and how hilarious we all thought we were), but they wouldn’t really make sense to most people—only to those who are blessed to understand both Castilian Spanish and American English. I thought about these for a while and tried to write them down. By the way, it’s quite difficult to write down inside jokes because they never come to mind when you’re trying to document them, only in the moment. At least for me that’s true.

  • Tejado de menos. To say, “I miss you” in Spanish, you say “Te echo de menos.” Well, “te echo” said in a hurried manner sounds quite like “techo” or “ceiling.” Thus, I thought it would be funny to turn “techo” into “tejado,” which means “roof.” So the phrase “tejado de menos” was born.
  • Estoy espalda. In English, when we want to say we’ve returned, we often say “I’m back.” I guess to Spanish speakers this must sound a bit odd when they learn it because being “back” (returned) and having a back (large posterior area of the human body) are two very different things. So Mario, being who he is, decided to tell me that he was back quite literally—“Estoy espalda”—which, as you might have guessed, makes no sense in Spanish.
  • Se me olvidó ponerme las lentejas. The word for “contact lenses” is “lentillas.” An Anglophone friend of Mario’s once said that she forgot to put in her contact lenses. Only instead of contact lenses (“lentillas”) she said “lentejas.” If you’ve read my previous entry, you’ll realize that you probably don’t want to put any lentil stew in your eyes. Especially without your contacts.
  • Espainish. Obviously, Spanish. We have no problem joking around about the other’s accent. Actually, though, Mario’s accent is pretty darn good, but we like to joke around saying “americanooouu” in the exaggerated way or “Espainish estudent from Espain.” You know, normal people stuff.
We really are completely normal.

Totally.

Try Dating a Spaniard

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You got problems, I got answers.

  • Does your Spanish need improving? Try dating a Spaniard. They espeak the espainish and they can help. All they have to do is open their mouths and start talking. Simple. Easy. Plus, they have may sexy accents. Score!
  • Does your boyfriend wear jorts? Try dating a Spaniard. They do have impeccable style. My previous post was more about women’s fashion, but…Spanish men, at least the ones I know, know how to dress. Thank you, God.
  • Does your boyfriend’s idea of cooking include Easy Mac? Try dating a Spaniard. Mine’s specialty is arroz con leche (rice pudding) and it is divine. I’ll do a recipe post sometime. He also makes lentejas. The first time I went to his apartment in Salamanca he made me a two course meal, which, of course, knocked me off my feet. Swoon.
  • Do you hate spending vacations in Florida? Try dating a Spaniard. Instead, you can spend summers in el pueblo (the village) where there is exactly one café and no supermarkets. You can sit around and chew the fat, eat until you need to echarte una siestecita, and take long nightly walks. It’s the life. I swear.
  • Do you want to make others curious about your life? Try dating a Spaniard (or, okay, any foreigner I suppose). People tell me that they are curious about Mario and me. They want to know what language we speak, where we want to live, what Mario thinks of the States, what I think of Spain, how do we make this LDR thing work, etc. I mean, if you like that kind of thing, you should try it. I don’t know if I like it always, but sometimes I do. Plus, it gives me blog fodder.
  • Do you want to have the best wedding “reception” ever? Try dating a Spaniard. Okay, so I’m not married or engaged, but I have been to Spanish wedding “receptions” and they are much more fun than U.S. ones. Goodbye, punch and cake. Hello, five course meal, great wine, dancing, raucous laughter, and eardrum-shattering shouts of “¡Vivan los novios!” (Long live the bride and groom!) I Internet know a few people married to Spaniards (Erin, Eric, Hayley), and I think they would concur.

Oh, so yeah, I tried dating one. His name is Mario and, contrary to popular belief, he is not an Italian plumber with a penchant for mushrooms and throwing fireballs when he’s angry. Oddly enough, his penchant is for desserts. A sweeter tooth was never to be found than the one he’s got! (Okay, maybe his dad wins this one.)

In all seriousness, I want to make a disclaimer: by no means do I think all American guys wear jorts and live on Easy Mac. Au contraire, I know this is not so. In the same way, not all Spaniards are sophisticated. The odd Spanish mullet proves this point. (See also: rat tails.) But it is kind of funny and I think I’m pretty lucky to have tried dating a Spaniard, even if I didn’t think of these reasons until two years later.

¡Hasta la próxima!

Interview with Mario

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Mario has been to the U.S. before, but I still loving seeing things with his eyes. I remember the first time we saw a big yellow school bus, a mail truck, and the Bean. You know, typical stuff.

He’s fun to listen to when he’s talking about the U.S. to his family. Just today, he was explaining things to his father and I want to laugh because, well, it’s kind of adorable. (His dad is probably the nicest man in the world. And funny…his jokes may be corny at times, but I still laugh.)

Thus, I decided to take a leaf out of Lauren’s book and interview my Spaniard.

        • What was your first impression of Indiana? It was February, were there corn fields? I would say there were fields, vast, acres and more acres of corn fields. People driving large trucks. Cold…since it was February. Nice people. People have been really friendly to me.

          • What did you expect, food wise? Was it what you expected? [Back when I first came to the U.S. in the 1990s] I expected poor quality food, like junk food, pizza, hamburgers. It wasn’t what I expected. At all. My host mother was a great cook. We ate vegetables, a varied diet, fairly healthy. As far as with Kaley’s family, it’s the same – healthy, a good variety, and of course lots of desserts made by Kaley and her mother.

        • What were some things you just had to see? I would like to see the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park. I liked seeing New York City, which is a place most Europeans want to see. (He saw this back in the 1990s when he stayed with a host family in upstate New York.)
        • What do you like most about Indiana/the Midwest? People are friendly and honest, plus nature in general is very nice.
        • What would you miss the most about living in Spain? My family and friends.
        • What is one food you would miss if you moved here? I would miss salchichón, but not just any salchichón, the kind made by my parents.
        • Do you think Americans are like how they are portrayed on TV and in the movies? Eh, so contrary to what appears in Pedro Almodóvar’s movies, Spaniards are not like that, but many American movies reflect the way people live here (i.e., people living in houses and driving because everything’s not within walking distance). The Simpsons can serve as a good “USA for Dummies” book. This is where I first saw tailgating, yellow school buses, and yard sales.

        • Will you continue to use the term rucksack for backpack and call the movie theater “the cinema”? Why? I would still be using rucksack, but I will say movie theater. The first one to annoy you. The second one, I like it better.
He would also like to emphasize that he likes football. Both kinds.