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Posts Tagged ‘Spanish Culture’

by Brandi

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January 12th, 2011

  English Spanish
Monday Es (muy) fácil It’s (very) easy
Tuesday It’s necessary Es necesario
Wednesday It’s necessary to Hay que
Thursday to practice practicar
     
Friday the phrase la frase
Saturday the sentence la oración
Sunday it lo

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

by Brandi

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January 7th, 2011

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One of the aspects of Latin America that I love is that you are able, and are even expected, to bargain for anything — even taxis. After getting used to this cultural difference in Latin America and living there for an extended period of time, I returned to the United States, took a taxi, and tried to bargain but it did not work. The driver thought I was nutty, and I got stuck with a hefty bill.

Bargaining for taxis in Latin America is fun and can save you quite a bit money. In heavy tourist areas, the rates go up substantially, but you can still bargain to get a lower price. The first step is to bargain for a rate before you even set foot into the taxi. I will give you a little example of how this works. It is similar to our “bargaining” lesson that I gave a few weeks ago.

Let’s say you are trying to get a cab go to the “Garcia Museum.” First you would start out by saying, “¿Cuánto para Museo Garcia?” [quan-toe pa-raw moo-say-oh Garcia?] (How much for Garcia Museum?)

Sometimes, because you are a gringo (foreigner) they will give you some ridiculously high price. If they try to, just exclaim “¡Soy gringo, pero no soy tonto!” [Soy green-go peh-row no soy tone-toe] (I’m a gringo but I’m not a fool). This may sound harsh but it is all part of the culture of bargaining. Many taxi drivers will be impressed that you, a foreigner, know this phrase and some will even get a chuckle from it. From my experience, most taxi drivers enjoy bargaining as much as I do. They enjoy going back and forth bargaining for the most acceptable price.

Next, you can state, ¿Cuánto cuesta de verdad? [quan-toe qwes-taw de bear-thath?] (How much does it really cost?). They will then give you a lower price, and you can say the following line and start to walk away, “Mejor voy a tomar otro taxi.” [may-hore boy a toh-mar oh-troh taxi] (It will be better if I take another taxi). As you start to walk away they will begin to get desperate, give you an even lower price which you can then accept, and you are on your way.

Here are a couple of quick tips and ideas for getting around in Latin America:

  • Traffic is almost always crazy and taxi drivers can be even crazier. Once you get in, get ready and hold on tight. Taxis are generally pretty safe but can give you an pretty exciting ride, especially if you are not used to the driving etiquette in Latin America.
  • Some areas may have motorcycle taxis. They pull a type of carriage with a canopy for two. This can be a very fun way to experience the culture of Latin America.
  • If you are considering driving your own car down, I highly discourage it. In most places, their laws do not protect your car if you get in an accident.
  • Renting a vehicle can also be a good option.  Just make sure you are ready to drive with your horn and also that the car has very good insurance — “seguro” [seh-goo-roh] or “aseguranza” [ah-seh-goo-rahn-sah]. There are different words for insurance according to the region you are located.

For more information and Spanish vocabulary for traveling, please refer to section 12 of your Level I Visual Link Spanish™ course. Sections 1, 2, and 3 are very beneficial to study before you leave for your next trip. These sections include vocabulary lessons from the following categories: Basic Needs, Greetings and Survival. If you do not yet have the complete Visual Link Spanish™ course yet, click here for the newsletter special offer.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

by Brandi

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January 5th, 2011

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  English Spanish
Monday I would like Me gustaría
Tuesday You would like Le gustaría
     
Wednesday to ask preguntar(le/s)
     
Thursday my/your mom (a) mi/su mamá
Friday my/your dad (a) mi/su papá
Saturday my/your friend (a) mi/su amigo(a)
Sunday the boss el jefe
Bonus the people la gente

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

by Brandi

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December 31st, 2010

I am from Utah, where the public transportation system is sometimes anything but highly efficient. Most of the people here have cars and usually do not ride the bus. When people try to ride the bus, they (the busses) are typically late, they only come every hour or less, or sometimes they do not even show up.

It was quite an experience for me when while in Latin America for the first time and was able to see their public transportation system. People, especially those in the smaller pueblos, do not have cars so they have to rely heavily on public transportation. City busses usually leave for destinations about every 5 to 10 minutes and are for the most part very efficient at least in regard to keeping a regular departure schedule.

My first experience on a city bus was, to say the least, a real shocker. All the seats were taken so I moved myself to the back of the bus, stayed standing up, and held on to the rail. As I stood there, more, and more, and more, and more people continued to get onto the bus. At first it was not so bad, and then suddenly I was pressed in so tightly I could hardly take a breath. I felt like a sardine and wondered what the fire code enforcers would think if they could see all the people packed into our bus. I did not even need to hold on to the rail anymore; all the people were packed in so tightly, there was no way someone could have fallen down if they tried.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a sign that said the maximum capacity for the bus was 35 people. I knew that we were blatantly breaking a rule of some kind.

I am roughly about 6′ tall and most Latin people are at least 6 inches shorter than me so I decided to count them all since I did not have anything else to do but fight for every breath. Finally, by counting the people I could see, I came up with a grand total number. There were a 72 people on that little bus that was supposed to hold only 35! I was amazed and had never seen so many people fit into such a confined space. It sort of felt like a circus act where a person fits into a very small box by moving their body in all sorts of ways.

As our destination began to get closer, I began to wonder exactly how I was going to get out of the bus. All of a sudden we arrived and the person I was with began to aggressively push and struggle his way to the front and off the bus. For a few moments, I felt like I was in a violent hockey game (where people fight just for the fun of it). Amazingly, we were able to get off the bus without serious injury. I immediately wondered if I would always have the same occurrence riding busses in the city.

The next few times I went into a city I had very comparable experiences.  One day I had a very different experience; I was one of the last people to get on the bus. The bus doors were open and about nine people were on the entrance steps of a completely packed bus. The bus employee hoisted me up onto the last available step. I had just enough space to put one foot on a minuscule area of the step and hold on to a rail outside the bus. My whole body was completely outside of the bus and my life was being supported by one foot and one hand! For any of you that have driven in Latin America, as you know, it can be a little crazy! Car drivers were whizzing by me going top speed. They came within, it seemed like, a fraction of an inch of knocking me off my perch. Fortunately I survived.
Now try to guess the moral of this week’s little story: (multiple choice)

a. Before you get on a Latin American bus, take a long, deep breath first because it may be your last for a while.
b. You should learn how to count to at least 72 in Spanish.
c. Practice pushing people so you will be prepared to muscle your way off when you arrive at your destination.
d. Do not worry about the bus, take a taxi, and life will be much easier.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

by Brandi

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December 29th, 2010

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  English Spanish
Monday Snow Nieve
Tuesday Party Fiesta
Wednesday Games Juegos
Thursday Relatives Parientes
Friday Christmas Navidad
Saturday New Years Año nuevo
Sunday Dance Hall / Club Discoteca / Sala de baile
Bonus (review) Happy New Year!
(they literally say
“Prosperous New Year!”)
¡Próspero año nuevo!

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

by Brandi

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December 24th, 2010

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Culture —– A Costly Mistake from an Incorrect Translation

This week I am going to tell you about a humorous textbook case of why it is important to know Spanish.

A long time ago Chevy® decided to start selling the Chevy Nova in Latin America. It was shipped down to dealerships but sales were unbelievably low. For quite some time Chevy could not figure out why. Finally they were able to figure out that the word “No va” in Spanish means “It doesn’t go”! So, basically Chevy® was trying to sell a car that was named “Chevy It doesn’t go”. Of course, you can only imagine why nobody wanted to buy it!

After finally realizing what was happening, they promptly changed the name and sales began to rise.

A lot of people believe you can get by speaking English to Spanish speakers. Sometimes if Spanish speakers do not understand, the English speaker will speak louder thinking it will help them understand a little better. This not only sounds ridiculous, but it also makes you look ridiculous if you try it.  There really is no substitute for learning the language well.

With our Visual Link Spanish™ course, an instructor will walk you through every step of learning to speak Spanish. You do not just learn individual words, instead you will learn how to put them together to form sentences as well as ask and answer questions. You will also learn how to sound just like a native speaker by learning the subtle nuances of speaking Spanish. Our priority is to help you learn Spanish correctly using fun and easy to learn methods! Click here to go to the free lessons at our web site or to purchase our course.

Good luck to all of you in your quest to learn to speak Spanish! To learn more, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

by Brandi

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December 22nd, 2010

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  English Spanish
Monday Merry Christmas! ¡Feliz Navidad!
Tuesday Happy New Year!
(they literally say
“Prosperous New Year!”)
¡Próspero Año Nuevo!
Wednesday gift / present regalo
Thursday Here’s your present. Aquí está tu regalo.
     
Friday Where’s my present?
(Hopefully you won’t
need to use this one,
but just in case…)
¿Dónde está mi regalo?
Saturday Santa Claus Papá Noel / Santa Claus
Sunday Happy Holidays! ¡Felices Fiestas!
Bonus Christmas Eve
(literally: Good Night)
Noche Buena
Bonus New Years Eve
(literally: old night)
Nochevieja

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

by Brandi

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December 20th, 2010

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While I first lived in Latin America, I found out that there were tailors (people who custom make clothes) that work out of their homes. Many of them would be found in lower-income areas (small pueblos), and worked full time in their career as a tailor and would support their whole family by selling clothes that they made. Their work/office area generally consisted of the front room of their small adobe homes with a dirt floor and a sewing machine located in the middle of the room. Since there were so many frequent power outages, they usually had an old-style treadle sewing machine which required moving the foot pedal up and down to make the machine work; no electricity was required.

I had always figured that the sewing machines were antiques that had been passed down from relatives that had deceased. Until I was in some larger cities, I passed by a few stores that actually sold the “old-style” treadle sewing machines as brand-new models. As mentioned previously, the “treadle” style was necessary for the small pueblo areas that had frequent power loss.

I had an interesting incident once with a tailor (“sastre” in Spanish). Once, I went into a tailor’s home/shop with a Spanish speaking friend who inquired about a new suit for me. The tailor gave him the price and it sounded very practical for a complete suit — especially for one that was going to be custom-made. I then asked about a pair of pants (“un par de pantalones”) and was very surprised at the high price. I tried my “I’m an American, don’t give me such a high price” line (discussed in a previous newsletter) but he was set on the price. I could not comprehend how, for a pair of pants, he could charge almost as much as a suit.

We argued back and forth for about 10 minutes or so about how pants should cost a lot less than a suit because the suit includes the pants, uses much less material, and would take a lot less time to make, but he would not budge on his price. He thought I was off my rocker. Finally, after we were both very frustrated with the situation, it dawned on me what was really going on. In English, or at least in the U.S., when we say “a pair of pants”, we are referring to ONE “pants” (I have never been able to figure out why we put an “s” on the end of the word “pants” if there is only one of them). In that region of Latin America, if you want one “pant”, you say “I would like a pant'” (Me gustaría un pantalón). The word “pants” would mean more than one and in turn, a “pair of pants” would mean to them “four pants” instead of “one”. IT IS NO WONDER HE WANTED TO CHARGE SO MUCH MONEY! I was asking him for the price of four “pairs of” pants!! I then asked him how much just a “pant” (“un pantalón”) was and he gave me a great price.

From this lesson, I hope you can see that cultural and language differences may cause some frustration. In a conversation, two people may think they are talking about the same thing but may actually be talking about two entirely different things. My suggestion is to be patient in communicating and try to learn something new from each conversation you have.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

by Brandi

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December 15th, 2010

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  English Spanish
Monday He needs El necesita
Tuesday She needs Ella necesita
     
Wednesday to call llamar(le/les)
     
Thursday them (f.) (a) ellas
Friday you (a) usted
Saturday my brother (a) mi hermano
Sunday my sister (a) mi hermana

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

by Brandi

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December 10th, 2010

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For this week’s culture lesson, I am going to talk about a distinct cultural difference found in Latin America. I am letting you know about this difference to help you avoid becoming offended and so you will know how to avoid it.

It is common to see men “take care of business” right in the streets. Fortunately, they generally are not blatant about it; they turn so most of the public cannot see them, but they urinate (pee) right in the streets. I understand this is also done in a few parts of the United Stated., parts of Europe, and a few other parts of the world — those of you from other regions, please let me know if I’m wrong (or right).

This was a bit shocking for me the first time I saw what was happening. Where I am from, people just typically don’t do that. I can truly say that this is one particular cultural trait that I have never had a desire to adopt or try.

When I was living in Latin America, something happened that I will not forget. I was in a city that had a large main street with an island that ran down the middle of the street. The island was beautifully landscaped with shrubs and trees. Towards the center of the city, in the center of the island was a large sign that said “SHOW YOUR CULTURE, DON’T PEE IN THE STREETS!!” . . . Can you imagine a sign like that posted in your hometown?!

When I first saw the sign, I began to laugh out loud. I could imagine a city council meeting together to discuss ways to improve the reputation of their little city. What they came up with was a sign that advertises to the world that people in their city may pee in their streets and that they making an effort to cut back!

I wanted to let you know about this so you would not be as culturally shocked as I was the first time I saw this cultural difference. The next time you are in the streets of Latin America, if you see a man turned away, standing in the same spot, you now know what he is most likely doing and can now turn away if it might offend you.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com


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