For the last 5 years I have been living in South America with my family and of course I had to learn Spanish from scratch, which is easier than you think, since you constantly are practicing it everyday as you hang out with the local people who don’t know english and eventually make friends with some of them. Now to this spanish comes natural to me, for instance I can think and dream in spanish almost everyday.
But what about you guys? Ever thought of learning spanish yourself? Take a look around you, in the last few years you notice the spanish speaking culture has been making it’s presence in the mainstream media and the way of everyday life more so than ever. Some aspects more obvious than others like reggaeton trend in mtv being set in with others like hip hop and crunk.
Main Reasons to learn Spanish today.
1.The women: Yea why not talk to them in their native language? It shows compassion for them as you speak to them or at least try too. By doing this you should win a couple of points in their books if you when converse in spanish instead of english. Works well on other women since they will see you as intelligent and cultured.
2.As goodwill: Since the ever growing number of latinos are making an impact in the US culture as a whole wouldn’t it be nice to at least get use to it and learn spanish so you won’t see as more close minded to other cultures.
3.Opportunities: Do you have some business of some kind? Want to expand? Well why not learn spanish to better the opportunity to serve your clients and get more offerings not from the just english speakers businessmen but other prestigious spanish speaking ones as well.
4.Better communication: Can range from wanting to know what they are singing about in those reggeaton songs or in overseas travels when you could be lost and the only one to help you and give you directions only speaks spanish? Or want something specifically done to your hair when you get it cut during your vacation in Cancun. Yes, a lack of communication with the last one can have its unwanted results.
So just learning spanish can be fun and more easier than you think since alot of the words can be similar. Hell it even improves your understanding of english also!
Example, the simple Spanish word for wrong is “equivocar” but there is word in English that not many would understand which is equivocal, that can define as “of doubtful nature or character; questionable; dubious; suspicious: aliens of equivocal loyalty.”
One can just put two and two together.
I don’t speak german but I love the music of Rammstien, I have never taken a german for german but there are many words of theirs I can understand and say, hell I can even form a few basic sentences in german, they may not be perfect but at least the native speaks would get an idea what I am saying.
All this and I don’t really have a keen interest in studying the language at all. No it’s all thanks to Rammstien and following their lyrics and being able to sing along to them sometimes. I have in the past been researching and reading their lyrics on text and finally finding the english translation to it. Well now knowing what the words and phrases mean in english now I can store them in my mind and have them in reserved in case I find someone german to use them on.
This applies to any language, another example is raggaeton. Now I don’t like the genre to much but it’s on the radio, on tv, well everywhere. You hear words like “culo” “culo” sung over again by lil jon well at first you don’t know what he is talking about but then you find out it means ass. You may be a fan of the music and you listen to it alot and eventually you get to sing along with it just fine but chances you don’t know what they mean or even sing properly. But that’s ok because it’s implanted in your head and all you have to do is go online and find it’s translated equivalent and there you go.
It pretty funny that they should consider making a music and lyrics studies in spanish or german classes and just play some music for you to hear and it would actually make it easier to absorb into your brian when it’s sung instead of being spoken. Don’t you think?
Don’t you think you should just endure the boring langauge course you probably take now and then go out and buy or download any music sung in something other than english and listen to it softly before you sleep. Yes another innovated way to not only learn another language but explore the world of musical artists you may never thought would of existed. Hell I can name a swedish rock song I don’t understand at all but I listen to anyways cause of their sound and flow. Don’t only check out foreign music cause I am telling you to if you want to improve your german or spanish but just check out music for the sake of checking out music but sung in another language. It’s win win for you (you get better at the language and also you find yourself to be a fan of some band you probably would never find out otherwise.)
For me, I like rock but my passion of music would be hip hop, in countries like Chile or Spain is just thriving with a viberate hip hop community where I found 90 percent of artist lyrically and flow wise better than the MTV rappers they have out there now.
Foreign films can be your friend
May 2, 2007
So chances are you are taking some course on a certain language you would like to master and how you know it is, they teach you the grammar structures and pretty only the formal way of talking. Yea you would know if took a spanish or french class while you were in school. But don’t just stop there, there are many other ways of bettering your speaking skills, how about next time you rent out a movie for you and your family/girl friend and instead of renting out the typical blockbuster hit why not try out a foreign movie?
Just make sure it to your taste and you may be presently surprised on the hidden gems out there due to lack of attention in the US. Take Cidade de Deus (City of God) for example. Now why should you seek out foreign films? Well one thing for the subtitles and/or the dubbing. What better way to learn more about spanish, portuguese or whatever you choose to learn than the actors performing in their native language.
Using the subtitles to spot the spelling and how the words form together while set dubbed to english or do it vice verse, listen to pronunciation for the words while you follow along reading the enlgish text. Maybe the translation isn’t word for word but is one thing they don’t teach about in the classrooms. THE IDIOMS… very important to know about the idioms about the language and watching foreign films is the way to do it although sometimes on in while there are unnecessary mistranslation to appear.
So instead of rehearsing the same generic “where is the libary aunt gloria?” cliche lines they give out there learn to embrace the concept of watching foreign films as their actors engage in natural dialogues (unless they are bad actors) with the flow and style you should hear if you visited their country. That is simply something you can’t seem to duplicate while practicing conversing with other students also having the same troubles while in class.
Also try logging on youtube or other video sites by using foreign words as tags to your search to view the locals with their videos spoken in their language or how about visiting foreign network social sites or forums where they discuss their issues. This is the internet age and live in the information age so take the the information on learning a new language but algo keep in mind web 2.0 where the internet also is socialized so you can see the discussion flow of the language on discussion forums and youtube has I just said.
Note that if you should at least have the basic grip of the language if you search for foreign spoken video submissions since they don’t provide subtitles.
