Anyone want to help me learn Spanish?

bytheriver · 06.15.2006, 03:19 PM

Hi, I'm on a mission to learn as much Spanish as Humanly possible by July 6, when im going to Spain for awhile to really learn the language, and bum around. I have never spoken a word of it before today, and I dont know anybody who speaks it, but I do have the internet, and couple of Spanish language flicks on DVD, and a lot of free time. I figure a good fun way of learning, a little bit of it anyway, would be to learn songs and translate them, my problem is whilst i can glean some grammatical rules and get all the words from online dictionaries I'm pretty sure it'll just sound silly, so I was going to try and have a go and post the results here and if anyone was willing to correct them I'd be ultra mega grateful.

First up i'm trying Handshake Drugs by Wilco, cause ive just heard it, its simple chords and a really nice song, and the words seem fairly straight forward. I'll post my efforts fairly soon, as Im struggling at the mo. Irealise its a bit random but this seems a fairly busy forum so I thought it worth a shot.

finding nobody · 06.15.2006, 03:25 PM

que odna guero?

!@#$%! · 06.15.2006, 03:26 PM

i used to teach spanish while in gradschool.
my best advice is to find a private instructor or language school and get some intensive training.
if you can't afford it, at least get yourself something at the bookstore-- some kind of course. preferrably made in spain as their accent & pronounciation is different.
you can't learn a language from the internet unless you're my genius second-cousin who learned 12 languages from cassette tapes, including (!) chinese. but he slept on the floor and ate 12 eggs a day. raw ones.
anyway what the fuck is up with wilco? uh? learning spanish from gringos is never a good idea. but whatever...

bytheriver · 06.15.2006, 03:28 PM

wait wait I know that

what something white boy?

erm?

!@#$%! · 06.15.2006, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bytheriver

wait wait I know that

what something white boy?

erm?

that's mexican slang. won't do shit for you in spain-- or get you beaten up, maybe

bytheriver · 06.15.2006, 03:32 PM

Well I'm only trying one, and if a genius is 12 x smarter than the average human the odds look good, and Im smart enough to cook an egg before I eat it.

You're probably right though

!@#$%! · 06.15.2006, 03:36 PM

if anything, you could try to get spanish tv over cable or the internet. at least it would get your ear accustomed, which is the slowest part. i mean you can figure out a verbe tense in a matter of minutes, and then practice, but the phonetics are what's harder to acquire.

and when i say spanish tv i don't mean chicano tv, mexican tv, or any of that. i mean TV from spain, like TVE or whatever. you could also rent movies by almodovar, bigas luna, etc etc. train your ear at least, that will give you a good headstart.

what else. oh yes. some language cd/tapes can't hurt. learn how to ask for the whereabouts of the crapper and what not.

bytheriver · 06.15.2006, 03:41 PM

Un hombre des nudos me ha robado los zapatos

thats the extent of my spanish so far, but mis manitos sienten el culito is backing it up.

anyone know how to say

I was chewing gum for something to do?

!@#$%! · 06.15.2006, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bytheriver

Un hombre des nudos me ha robado los zapatos

thats the extent of my spanish so far, but mis manitos sienten el culito is backing it up.

anyone know how to say

I was chewing gum for something to do?

thats a hard one to translate as it's rather idiomatic. quit trying to translate or you'll never learn. i swear. i'm an expert. this in spite of the fact that typing accents in my laptop is a rather baroque procedure so i simply neglect it.

bytheriver · 06.15.2006, 03:49 PM

Ok , i'll put it on the backburner, I thought it'd be fun but if its of no use and time is limited.

I guess my abition to pick up a copy of Borges' Labyrinths in the original Spanish and be reading it within a month is a little unrealistic too.

Can you recommend any decent book/tape courses then?

!@#$%! · 06.15.2006, 03:53 PM

no, sorry. i taught in a classroom. i'd browse borders or amazon. if you want to post some links here to your preferred ones i'd give them a look.

you might try something like the berlitz schools too. but they are expensive.

nah, you're going to spain, you'll learn fast. post me some links here then i'll take a look.

bytheriver · 06.15.2006, 04:20 PM

Ok thanks

HaydenAsche · 06.15.2006, 04:20 PM

Lol @ Beck lyrics.

Husker85

finding nobody · 06.15.2006, 04:22 PM

i think it means "what's up whiteboy?"
i know for sure that guero means whiteboy

HaydenAsche · 06.15.2006, 04:26 PM

Guero = Blondie

!@#$%! · 06.15.2006, 04:26 PM

gu:ero means blond
from then on the meaning gets extended & altered in context
--
pinches gabachos

PAULYBEE2656 · 06.15.2006, 04:28 PM

weeee won da woorlde cuup

id wait about 3 and a half weeks before saying that!

!@#$%! · 06.15.2006, 04:29 PM

ja ja paulybee

no creo que espan~a gane-- espero que brasil-- pero ellos hablan portuguEs

bytheriver · 06.15.2006, 04:42 PM

Going by tonights performance we've got about as much chance of winning the world cup as I do of picking up Spanish through mistranslated songs. But thats for another thread

Pablitzen · 06.15.2006, 05:51 PM

i speak spanish (it's my "native" language)
if there's anything you want to know, just ask

06.15.2006, 03:19 PM	#1
bytheriver bad moon rising Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 104	Hi, I'm on a mission to learn as much Spanish as Humanly possible by July 6, when im going to Spain for awhile to really learn the language, and bum around. I have never spoken a word of it before today, and I dont know anybody who speaks it, but I do have the internet, and couple of Spanish language flicks on DVD, and a lot of free time. I figure a good fun way of learning, a little bit of it anyway, would be to learn songs and translate them, my problem is whilst i can glean some grammatical rules and get all the words from online dictionaries I'm pretty sure it'll just sound silly, so I was going to try and have a go and post the results here and if anyone was willing to correct them I'd be ultra mega grateful. First up i'm trying Handshake Drugs by Wilco, cause ive just heard it, its simple chords and a really nice song, and the words seem fairly straight forward. I'll post my efforts fairly soon, as Im struggling at the mo. Irealise its a bit random but this seems a fairly busy forum so I thought it worth a shot.
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06.15.2006, 03:25 PM	#2
finding nobody invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 7,275	que odna guero?
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06.15.2006, 03:26 PM	#3
!@#$%! invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: mars attacks Posts: 42,573	i used to teach spanish while in gradschool. my best advice is to find a private instructor or language school and get some intensive training. if you can't afford it, at least get yourself something at the bookstore-- some kind of course. preferrably made in spain as their accent & pronounciation is different. you can't learn a language from the internet unless you're my genius second-cousin who learned 12 languages from cassette tapes, including (!) chinese. but he slept on the floor and ate 12 eggs a day. raw ones. anyway what the fuck is up with wilco? uh? learning spanish from gringos is never a good idea. but whatever...
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

06.15.2006, 03:28 PM	#4
bytheriver bad moon rising Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 104	wait wait I know that what something white boy? erm?
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

06.15.2006, 03:32 PM	#6
bytheriver bad moon rising Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 104	Well I'm only trying one, and if a genius is 12 x smarter than the average human the odds look good, and Im smart enough to cook an egg before I eat it. You're probably right though
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

06.15.2006, 03:36 PM	#7
!@#$%! invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: mars attacks Posts: 42,573	if anything, you could try to get spanish tv over cable or the internet. at least it would get your ear accustomed, which is the slowest part. i mean you can figure out a verbe tense in a matter of minutes, and then practice, but the phonetics are what's harder to acquire. and when i say spanish tv i don't mean chicano tv, mexican tv, or any of that. i mean TV from spain, like TVE or whatever. you could also rent movies by almodovar, bigas luna, etc etc. train your ear at least, that will give you a good headstart. what else. oh yes. some language cd/tapes can't hurt. learn how to ask for the whereabouts of the crapper and what not.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

06.15.2006, 03:41 PM	#8
bytheriver bad moon rising Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 104	Un hombre des nudos me ha robado los zapatos thats the extent of my spanish so far, but mis manitos sienten el culito is backing it up. anyone know how to say I was chewing gum for something to do?
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

06.15.2006, 03:49 PM	#10
bytheriver bad moon rising Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 104	Ok , i'll put it on the backburner, I thought it'd be fun but if its of no use and time is limited. I guess my abition to pick up a copy of Borges' Labyrinths in the original Spanish and be reading it within a month is a little unrealistic too. Can you recommend any decent book/tape courses then?
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

06.15.2006, 03:53 PM	#11
!@#$%! invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: mars attacks Posts: 42,573	no, sorry. i taught in a classroom. i'd browse borders or amazon. if you want to post some links here to your preferred ones i'd give them a look. you might try something like the berlitz schools too. but they are expensive. nah, you're going to spain, you'll learn fast. post me some links here then i'll take a look.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

06.15.2006, 04:20 PM	#12
bytheriver bad moon rising Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 104	Ok thanks
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06.15.2006, 04:20 PM	#13
HaydenAsche invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 10,755	Lol @ Beck lyrics. Husker85 __________________ rip
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06.15.2006, 04:22 PM	#14
finding nobody invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 7,275	i think it means "what's up whiteboy?" i know for sure that guero means whiteboy
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06.15.2006, 04:26 PM	#15
HaydenAsche invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 10,755	Guero = Blondie __________________ rip
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06.15.2006, 04:28 PM	#17
PAULYBEE2656 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: wexford, rep of ireland Posts: 6,930	weeee won da woorlde cuup id wait about 3 and a half weeks before saying that! __________________ myspace facebook *twitter*
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06.15.2006, 04:29 PM	#18
!@#$%! invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: mars attacks Posts: 42,573	ja ja paulybee no creo que espan~a gane-- espero que brasil-- pero ellos hablan portuguEs
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06.15.2006, 04:42 PM	#19
bytheriver bad moon rising Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 104	Going by tonights performance we've got about as much chance of winning the world cup as I do of picking up Spanish through mistranslated songs. But thats for another thread
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

06.15.2006, 05:51 PM	#20
Pablitzen the destroyed room Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Santiago, Chile Posts: 627	i speak spanish (it's my "native" language) if there's anything you want to know, just ask __________________ The guitar guy played real good feedback and super sounding riffs... Pabst blitzer!
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