I'm going to a couple of Spanish speaking countries next year, and ideally I'd like to get a base grasp on the language before the trip.
What platforms have you used to learn a new language?
How much did it cost?
Any Spanish specific recommendations?
Of course, Duolingo is the recommendation I've seen online, is it actually good?
Of course, no method is perfect, but there are still cores to the language that should be beneficial for a short trip, yes?
Of course, no method is perfect, but there are still cores to the language that should be beneficial for a short trip, yes?
Not really.
The Spanish verb "coger" means to grab, to hold in some Spanish speaking countries … BUT it means "to fornicate" in many other. And it is not a dialect thing.
So BE CAREFUL
I still remember a Chilean visiting Argentina saying to a colleague, after work: "Qué pasa que a ti nadie te coge?" referring to a taxi or limo at the office door but clearly having a rather offensive meaning in Argentina.
As I said, be careful! :-)
Mmmmm got two negs …
Someone(s) is trying to keep the secret lingo trick and cause embarrassment.
Not very nice Ozbargainers. Knowledge is an asset
Thing is, Spanish dialects vary a lot more from each other than English ones do. To the degree that someone from (say) Catalonia is going to really struggle to understand someone from (say) Guatemala.
Maybe the best way to deal with this is if you are heading to Latin America (especially Mexico or the like) look for a course aimed at USAnians. While if you are heading for the Iberian peninsula look for one pitched at Europeans. Easy to tell by the English accent of the presenter …
Rather than "dialects" IMHO is more the enunciation, the way the spoken lingo.
Same words, different pronunciation, different intonation.
I'm not aware of Spanish "dialects".
Written Spanish from Mexico is the same as written Spanish from Peru, educated Spanish language that is.
By the way, in Catalonia they don't speak Spanish. And they are quite loudly proud about that fact.
@LFO: @LFO I lived on the costa Brava for 6 months. I learnt Spanish from a guy from Uruguay. In return I taught him the English equivalent of "Que Passe, hombre?". If you think my Espanol was tragic, you should have heard him butcher "Whoa' appunung, mung?" LMAO
I lived in Andalusia for a year and yet, Mi Espanol es una causa desesperada o quiszas perdida!
"Dos cervezas por favor" will get you a long way.
I'll add that to my list that otherwise only contains "Por que no los dos"
This must mean "Carry me and celebrate" since that's what happened after the girl on the TV ad said it…
lol I was going to comment the same :D
"Dos cervezas por favor"
If asking in a Spanish speaking country please remove the anglicism "por favor" as you are not begging but asking, requesting … and paying for it.
It is a common mistake and it is NOT RUDE NOR ABRUPT, it is just the way the Spanish language is.
"Por favor" is to be used if you cannot pay and asking for a "favour" instead.
Try "Quisiera dos cervezas".
Think local, look local.
So would it have been weird that I kept saying “La cuenta por favor” when I asked for the bill in restaurants?
Weird? Not sure.
Very very very "gringo like" yes indeed.
So, not so "weird" coming from a gringo after all :-)
As with any language how you ask might reflect better the meaning rather than the actual words.
Suggestion: avoid the acting, speak English instead. Virtually everyone will understand a little bit, in particular with tourism, catering and so on. They live of tourism. They will understand basic Martian if Martians were holidaying in their shores ….
Think loco, look loco, Sí?
This is not true at all in my country and all other countries that I visited in South America. Please keep using por favor when you ask for something, otherwise you will come off as rude. "Dos cervezas, por favor" is ok, "Dos cervezas" feels like you are giving me an order, "Quisiera dos cervezas" is ok too, maybe it sounds like a google translation a bit, and I would still add the "please" of course.
"Por favor" means please. If you want to ask for a favour you could say something like "me podria/haria un favor" (and probably replace favor for the country's word for that if favor is not the common one).
Dos cervezas, por favor
That is a google translate form the English "please / may I / could I possibly / I wish".
Perfect for polite English, not for highly assertive Spanish.
Yes they will understand.
Yes they will also understand you are a gringo (foreigner)
But then again, the non Spanish accent will scream up even louder that you are not a local.
Just speak English. Slowly and politely. Using the usual multiple "please" to oblivion.
Use a voice translator, Siri or whatever.
Be modern.
Be authentic. You are not a local.
@LFO: That's not the Google translate form. It's the correct form for assertive Spanish.
I mean I'm a native Spanish speaker and I know that to be assertive you have to be polite. You are always taught to say please and thank you for everything. I also know that we appreciate non-spanish speakers that are trying to speak the language, to use the correct form if they can, but incall honesty, over there nobody cares about your accent and they are happy that you try.
So if you would say please for something in English, say it on Spanish too.
@b0mber0: Nope.
You are talking as an Anglo but Spanish speaking person.
We were told, as kids, to say please when a favor is wanted/wished.
And, in particular, because we were KIDS, not adults.
We were told, as kids, to say thank you. When receiving a gift or favor not as language filler ("muletilla").
The checkout person saying XXX dollars, thank you or ZZZ dollars, please is very good example of meaningless use of a filler.
I insist, you are mixing Anglo Saxon linguistic and cultural values with those of a different one.
Just speak English and fin. Bomb them with "fillers" then.
@LFO: Are you correcting someone who is a native of South America? (That's my interpretation anyway)
@LFO: I am a native South American. We do say por favor when ordering beers or when ordering the bill.
There are lot of different platforms that approach it in different ways. Many have free trials, good to try a few and find one that suits you.
Pimsleur for example is 100% verbal, so you can do it whilst driving ….
Haven't heard of it, thanks for the tip!
I'm pretty sure there are a stack of youtube videos to learn from that are free (except, you've got to watch the ads!)
Good point, although I've got YouTube premium so no ads!
well you cant avoid if the add is built into the video by the creator :) like in the middle. but you can fast fwd of course
actually, you can. sponsorblock is designed for those ads
As long as the ads are in Spanish too that's not too bad right?
just download a translator for your smart phone
I have one, but it typically requires internet at all times and it makes simple things like needing to buy a thing at a shop less convenient than knowing simple things like numbers and basic phrases.
nope. with google translate you can download the language pack before hand and it wont (i believe but you can try just turn off the wifi and date for example and run it).
Can confirm you can use Translate without mobile data. Source: I did it a couple of hours ago at a restaurant in Italy.
i traveled south america as a single man and had pre-made palm cards for nightclubs with many yes/no answers. If they/i made it to the last card I was getting lucky… unfortunately they never worked but got a few laughs. honestly just point to shit they work it out
I can confirm that you do not need internet or mobile data. It only requires some pre-planning and preparation.
smart phone translater are worse than shit most of the time. It is like they were trained by the friend of someone that took a couple of lessons on the side one weekend.
you should write your own app then, you would make a killing
point to tummy = food
point to crouch =
I learn it from a book..
(c) Manuel.
watch dora the explorer
Watch The Simpsons and study all Bumblebee Man dialogue.
get one or two gf/bf who speaks that language
edit:
rich gf/bf
edit 2:
assuming you are pretty/handsome/young/hot
Great plan, however I'm not very pretty/handsome/hot. Nor am I particularly young.
Duo Lingo is pretty good
"She drinks water"
"A dog is an animal"
"My father drinks beer"
"My mother drinks water on Wednesday"
"A dog is a small animal"
You'll have it nailed in no Time.
Obviously standalone you'd never learn a language but it's not a bad start!
I think Duolingo podcasts are excellent for going beyond these kinda phrases. They tell a story and alternate between English and the other language and you have to keep up to get the story.
It's hard to find good sources which aren't behind paywalls or monthly subscriptions. But as far as free sources go…
I found Duolingo to be a good starting place, but over time it got under my skin how it would teach nonsense phrases you would never use. One of the first things you learn in French is how to say "I am a cat" and "You are a dog".
It tries to "gamify" learning by giving you XP and having lives so if you mess up you need to practice before starting a new topic again (on Mobile, anyway - desktop browser is unlimited).
Memrise - it's similar to Duo but it has native speakers saying something an ordinary person would say. I started it about a year after Duolingo and found it better as a beginner.
No matter what app or website you choose, it's up to you to actually want to learn. You can't just sit down for 15 minutes a day and expect to be able to hold a conversation in a year's time.
Cheers for the write up.
Definitely don't expect to hold a conversation, but want to have enough of a basis that I can convey simple ideas, really.
But "tu est un chien" said to someone is likely to get you a punch in the face. Not a great phrase to learn early …
I just started rewatching it, finished S1 yesterday. Good thinking.
Duolingo isn't bad. You can also always borrow a book from the library if you need a textbook also.
Sometimes theres some good apps out there, specific for your learning experience.
One thats overall just good for learning is "Anki" its sort of like a flashcard app, but its based on spaced reptition (and free).
You can also try "Mango Languages" its paid for, but many libraries allow you to use it for free if you have an account with them.
moteros, ¡Olé!
U may be able to find freebie language courses in Edx or Coursera
Tinder
If you can understand the basics of italian (if ur currently multilingual) its quite easy to pick up spanish as you do ur travelling u will become more fluent as u use it in real life with the local who cant speak english. I have never come across a spaniard or spanish -speaking person who hasnt forced the person they’re talking to to roll their R’s or even learn a bit of spanish in the conversation
I'm monolingual :(
I did have some Italian teaching in school, but that stopped in about year 3.
The catch is that I'm only travelling for a couple of weeks, so learning as I go would be limited. I've just got ample time before the trip to get some basics down, and I've been thinking about learning a new language for a while so this is a good excuse.
Find a partner that speaks the language you want to learn. Easy and fast way to learn, but probably not the cheapest .
I'd start with a quick google of Spanish cheat sheet for travel. This will give you a number of common useful phrases. (something like this)
Duolingo is great - it won't give you any useful phrases, however, it's great for learning the concepts of forming sentences and giving you a basic grasp on the concept of gender in language. However, you would need to supplement this with other learning if you want to increase your vocab quickly.
I've used memrise and anki together with duolingo and it made learning much quicker. Can't speak for the others.
I still found it difficult when I travelled because I wasn't used to the dialects where I was, the speed of speaking, and the regional variances in words, and through talking to people and learning from them this is really where I found I learned.
What I had done through the apps was a decent base to work from, but not really any better than A1/2.
If I was to do it again, I'd supplement the apps with in-person training as, despite apps adding conversation, it's still lacking that natural flow you have with face-to-face conversations.
Good advice, thank you!
Before traveling overseas a while back (the good old pre-plague days) I found that Michel Thomas worked really well for me.
It's very conversational and slowly builds on earlier teaching.
I used it for basic conversational/travel French and surprised my wife (who I had not told that I was learning the language) when I managed to have relatively understandable conversations with the locals in New Caledonia.
I used to drive all day for work so had plenty of time to practice in the car in private - nobody to inhibit me trying to get the pronuciation correct.
I'm currently working my way through his Italian language course and it seems to be just as good as the French one - I assume his Spanish course would be comparable.
I've used the Michel Thomas series for French and a bit of Italian and I found the French one quite good for getting the basics - some of the phrases mentioned/things said have really stuck in my head many years later. Good if you have a long drive!
Yeah another +1 for Michel Thomas. I haven't touched them for years but I still remember a lot of the German and Japanese I learnt from it. I was by no means conversational from it, but it definitely helped a lot in many situations!
Yeah the Spanish is good. But he lip smacks a lot which is pretty gross to listen to.
If you're going for six months then yeah maybe learn. But if it's six weeks then don't worry about it, just learn a few basic words and you will be fine.
I used the Michel Thomas method for french and spanish really successfully.
You need to invest the time, but it pays dividends really quickly.
As others have said…ten years later I hear Michel's voice and phrases from the french lessons as clearly as ever haha.
Try out 1 on 1 tutors on something like "italki". I learn by speaking with tutors
Pimsleur Spanish on Google Podcasts
I lived in Mexico for 12 years and I found the easiest way to learn the language was to have this phrase in your arsenal. (how do you say this / that in Spanish) In Spanish you would say (cómo se dice en español) I used that phrase and would point out items I wanted to learn the name for and as time went on this just evolve into sentences and soon enough you are on your way.
You can practice before you go….go find out where the Hispanic groups are in your city.
I don't know about Spanish but I know that Duolingo is a piece of crap for some languages. Bloody thing can be really literal.
For instance, in the Turkish course, it constantly wants subordinate clauses when the language doesn't specifically need it. I shouldn't be docked for not specifically putting (I, me). I also don't need to always use the genderless (O) when saying s/he is doing something when it's implied nor that the placement needs to be exactly how they state it needs to be (which is often wrong) to pass.
Try duolingo, free app
May be the cheapest and the most effective is to live with someone who speaks the language.
I use duolingo, highly recommend, almost as addictive as ozbargain.
yair but you have to pay after a basic level
Probably I haven't got pass basic level, from what I have seen after using it for one year, the premium version allow you to make unlimited number mistake
false
'I'm going to a couple of Spanish speaking countries next year, and ideally I'd like to get a base grasp on the language before the trip'
in my experience of travels, I've generally found learning a few basic greeting and transactional phrases for hello, please, thank you, and goodbye are enough to show goodwill
in Japan I have no problem not using words at all - apart from arigato gozaimashita and sumimasen - as body language is enough
e.g. if looking for directions, saying one word, the name of the place, with raised hands signaling a question, invariably gets 'ah ! so …' whereupon they quickly point me in the desired direction
I learned French at school, but never reached the fluency I did as in German after simply staying in Germany for 9 months. I have travelled extensively so speak and understand enough Indonesian, Mandarin, Italian to get by.
French warning - trying to impress a date in a French restaurant, I said to the cute waitress 'Merci Beaucoups' - the first phrase you learn - what could go wrong, right ? - WRONG ! - she turned with a shocked face and said 'do you realise what you just said ?' - I was non-plussed, I thought it could not be mistaken - NO - she said I had said 'Merci Beau Cul' (thank you nice ass) - but now I think about it she may have been simply deliberately stirring the pot as she did indeed have the aforementioned …
As for Spanish, it seems to have a very different grammatical construct - I have tried to converse with many native-Spanish-speakers in English - and my typical experience is I can understand every word they said, yet have NO IDEA what they are talking about - it weirds me out !
What’s your level of Spanish?
If you have just started take a course face to face where you can meet people with similar interests as you. Then discover where Spanish people where you live go, what they do, how they behave, what they eat, how they breath.
If you put a Spanish inside the cup, it becomes the cup. Be Spanish, my friend.
'If you put a Spanish inside the cup, it becomes the cup. Be Spanish, my friend'
a perfect example of my comment just above - I understand every word but have no idea what you are talking about … ;-)
Which countries are you going to?
Join the foreign legion.
Ah. The old, how do I access someone else's hard work and pay absolutely nothing for it, thread.
Duolingo is awesome, have completed one full course of theirs and it's very comprehensive. Drops is another good app to look into.
learning any language other than Chinese is a waste of time and money.
an x colleague of mine made a game Pedro's Adventures in Spanish
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1602930/Pedros_Adventures…
I have not played it myself.
not a free option, but cheap.
Get a library card and jump on Mango: They have a web and mobile app, and the course content is on par with Duolinguo, IMO.
Duolingo is the recommendation I've seen online, is it actually good?
It’s all about commitment with any platform you end up using. Duolingo will get you some of the basic stuff around a language and if you’re willing to spend the money it can be helpful.
Good luck.
apps? babel?
Pimsleur is quite good. Try the Spanish course and see how you go. Really individual, though. But you can absolutely learn enough for it to be appreciated when you go.
I'm self taught. I learned by immersion.
My suggestion is watching subtitled Spanish movies.
Honestly, if you grasp that like English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian, that Spanish comes from Vulgar Latin, and that some words are similar to English, you are on your way. Electricity and Security become Electricidad and Securidad.
Spanish has masculine and Feminine things.
If it ends in an A it is feminine, with an E or an O it is Masculine.
As others have said, destination will bring nuances, dialects, derivatives and accents.
EG "Vale", pronounced 'ballet' means OK or sure thing in Columbia and Spain but not Ecuador, which is next door.
'Sun' in South America and the north of Spain is "Sol" but in Andalucía it is pronounced "Thol".
I'd suggest learning who, what, when, where, how and that a few letters are pronounced differently.
"V" is pronounced as "B". "J" is a soft "h". In Catalonia an "X" is a "ch".
I'd also learn to say, "Solo soy un Canguro, Australiano poco tonto y muy cansado viajando por su hermoso pais."
(I'm just a bit dumb, very tired Australian, travelling your beautiful country.)
if you grasp that like English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian, that Spanish comes from Vulgar Latin, and that some words are similar to English, you are on your way.
That can end up being hilarious, because languages which are related always have a LOT of false friends. The example given in the link is a good one: English "embarrassed" and Spanish "embarazada" ("pregnant"). Further, the grammar and word order is usually very different. The really big one is that English is unusual in not having noun genders, and also lacks the familar case which is SOCIALLY important to know for all Romance (ie Latin-derived) languages.
And sure, English has plenty of French origin words, but in fact it has even more Germanic origin words - the closest major language to English is, by a country mile, Dutch.
OK, but Electricity is Electricidad. Security is Securidad…
Which is my point…
I'm not sure I agree with you on Dutch being English's closest language….
Not too many double-A's in English.
Der Maazel !
Duolingo
Just book your travel and lunge wildly at their head of state your arrival.
Cheap accommodation too.
Just wait till you hear about this thing called dialects ;)