Do you speak Spanish?
2 posters
Page 1 of 1
Do you speak Spanish?
If your instinct is to answer "No" to that question, not even that is wholly true, since the word "No" has the same meaning in either language!
There are a number of Spanish words that are immediately comprehensible to a native English-speaker, and many which are quite easy to guess. So just for fun, see what you make of these:
Adios / Hola
Aeropuerto
Agua
Amigo
Bueno
Casa / (Mi casa es tu casa)
España / Español
Inglés / Francés
Limon / Melon / Patatas
Mañana
Madre / Padre
Parasol
Pasaporte / Por favor / Grácias
Restaurante / Menu / Paella / Tortilla
Sí / No
Siesta
Señor / Señora
Sombrero
Un, dos, tres ...
Vino / Blanco / Tinto
There are a number of Spanish words that are immediately comprehensible to a native English-speaker, and many which are quite easy to guess. So just for fun, see what you make of these:
Adios / Hola
Aeropuerto
Agua
Amigo
Bueno
Casa / (Mi casa es tu casa)
España / Español
Inglés / Francés
Limon / Melon / Patatas
Mañana
Madre / Padre
Parasol
Pasaporte / Por favor / Grácias
Restaurante / Menu / Paella / Tortilla
Sí / No
Siesta
Señor / Señora
Sombrero
Un, dos, tres ...
Vino / Blanco / Tinto
oftenwrong- Sage
- Posts : 12062
Join date : 2011-10-08
Re: Do you speak Spanish?
And yet --- visited a tapas bar with friends the other night and my (university educated, well travelled) companion purported not to understand the items on the menu - apparently, being writ in foreign is enough to make even familiar words incomprehensible
boatlady- Former Moderator
- Posts : 3832
Join date : 2012-08-24
Location : Norfolk
Re: Do you speak Spanish?
Oh, dear me, yes! How I remember during a mis-spent youth consorting with student pals who spoke always in "inverted commas" to demonstrate quotation. Odd words of French, Latin or Spanish would ventilate their conversation to suggest a polyglot vocabulary. But on a day trip to Calais they would become tongue-tied mutes.
The converse is also true. In remote parts of Spain we could enter a bar and it would be obvious that we were foreign, meaning that the barman would just know that we would be talking foreign to him and he didn't understand foreign so looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights when we asked for a beer, "Pongame dos San Miguel, por favor." However the standard tourist communication by pointing would eventually achieve the desired outcome, despite the potential misunderstanding of two raised fingers.
The converse is also true. In remote parts of Spain we could enter a bar and it would be obvious that we were foreign, meaning that the barman would just know that we would be talking foreign to him and he didn't understand foreign so looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights when we asked for a beer, "Pongame dos San Miguel, por favor." However the standard tourist communication by pointing would eventually achieve the desired outcome, despite the potential misunderstanding of two raised fingers.
oftenwrong- Sage
- Posts : 12062
Join date : 2011-10-08
Re: Do you speak Spanish?
On a recent trip to the Canaries one of my companions obviously felt that any attempt to speak Spanish was an affectation so extreme as to make him uncomfortable - although I had a lot of fun with my bits of pidgin Spanish and seemed to manage to communicate reasonably well with shopkeepers and the like, my friend inevitably 'waited in the street'
Attempts to give him and his wife the local words for anything just made them angry
Foreign is funny
Attempts to give him and his wife the local words for anything just made them angry
Foreign is funny
boatlady- Former Moderator
- Posts : 3832
Join date : 2012-08-24
Location : Norfolk
Similar topics
» Mid Stafford Hospital report
» Who does Gideon Osborne think he is kidding?
» Is the NHS really safe in Tory hands?
» Who does Gideon Osborne think he is kidding?
» Is the NHS really safe in Tory hands?
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum