La Clase de Español - The Spanish Class
Learning Spanish is easier than you think. ¡Es muy simple! (es mui seem-play) It is very simple!* Did you see that? You already knew the biggest word in that phrase, and just learnt that the Spanish pronunciation of the word “simple” is only slightly different in English. Through a process called the association of ideas or mental associations, we can figure out quite a number of things based on similarities, sequence, and time and place, etc. This process alone will play a great part in helping us to learn Spanish!
So, where do we start? Whether you are meeting someone for the first time or you’re running into a friend again, some of the first words and phrases that you use are usually: Hello, good morning, how are you?, see you later, etc. Thus, take a look at this simple Informal dialogue between our avian friends below: ¡Hola, Señor Kiskadee! (o-lah) (sen-yor) Hello, Mr. Kiskadee!
¡Hola! ¡Buenos días, Señorita Canje! (O-lah) (bwe-nos ) (di-yas) (sen-yor) Hi! Good morning, Miss Canje!
¿ Cómo estás? ¡Mucho tiempo sin verte! (ko-mo) (es-tas) (moo-cho) (ti-yempo) (seen) (ber-tey) How are you? It has been a while since I saw you! Kiskadee > Canje P Kiskadee > Canje P > > Kiskadee > Estoy muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? (es-toi) (mui) (be-ying) (grra-see-as) (ee) (too) I am very well, thank you. And you?
¡Bien, tambien! Estoy aquí disfrutando el sol. (Be-ying) (tam-be-ying) (es-toi) (dees-fru-tan-do) (ehl) (soul) Good, as well. I am here enjoying the sun.
¡Qué chévere! !Que tengas buen dia, pues! (kay) (che-beh-reh) (kay) (ting-gas) (bwen) (di-ya), (pwes) Cool! Have a great day, then!
tú también, amigo. ¡Chao! (too) (tam-be-ying) (amee-go) (cha-wu) You too, friend. Bye!
¡Hasta luego! (as-ta) (lway-go) See you later!
There, it was not that hard, right? A little basic, perhaps, but that’s always a good place to start. Now, let’s dissect the dialogue a little. I bet you noticed some funny things. For instance, what’s up with those upside down exclamation points and question marks?! Here are some…
Awesome Facts In Spanish, instead of having an exclamation point at the end of a sentence like we do in English, an upside down exclamation point is placed at the beginning of the sentence, and a ‘normal’ one placed at the end. It is the same with the question mark. In a Spanish interrogatory sentence, you must put an upside down question mark at the beginning of the sentence and a ‘normal’ one at the end. These are known as, inverted exclamation points and an inverted question marks.
The “v’ sound in Spanish does not really exist. It is pronounced as either a soft or a hard “b.” At the beginning of a word you should use a hard “b.” Press your lips tightly together and make a nice plosive “b” sound. E.g. “bien.” (be-ying). When “v” is in the middle of a word you should use a soft “b.” Put your lips together, leaving just a tiny space between, and say “b”. E.g. “chévere (che-beh-reh).
One word in Spanish can have multiple similar meanings in English. E.g. ¡hola! is equivalent to the English “hello” but can also mean, “hey” or “hi.” While the word “chévere” could mean “cool”, “nice” and “awesome.” What you mean depends on the context of your conversation.
Consistency is the only tool needed for success. Practice and repeat those pronunciations out loud, and you will find that in no time you will be sounding native.
This brings our introduction to the Spanish language to a close. We hope that it has piqued your interest and curiosity, and hope you join us for next week’s class.
* Standard and phonetic spelling will be used to aid pronunciation.