Yo falto palabras

[rebeccmeister]

I just had a pretty stuttering conversation in Spanish with one of the many Spanish-speaking people on our floor. We have quite an interesting mixture of languages here. English is the predominant language, followed by German and then Spanish.

It's useful to brush off some of the thick layer of Spanish-speaking rust. I haven't been in a Spanish-speaking country for 3 years now. My comprehension is still pretty good, but speaking is another matter altogether. I have a lot of respect for ESL people in this country, as English-speakers are generally impatient with those who aren't fluent in English.

Algun dia, quiero aprender Francais tambien. Algun dia. (lo siento que no hay accentos)

Back to grading.

Comments

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

However, English speakers can generally manage to understand people who aren't fluent. For some reason, Dutch people seem not to understand us unless we get the pronunciation *exactly* right. (I have a pretty good ear, so though I'm often pronouncing things a bit wrong, I'm confident that I'm not all that hugely far wrong.)

Ik vindt... sorry, je trouve... en mis viajes, que la verdad es si se habla solamente algunas palabras, se ayuda. Which is probably totally incorrect Spanish, but I find that even if you speak just a few words of a language it can be a big help in traveling. I always begin with thank you. (Dankuwel, merci, gracias, grazie, todah rabah, xie xie, danke, tak.)

[annikusrex.livejournal.com]

Interesting--is that just because Dutch people come into contact with non-native speakers less often? It seems like there's plenty of immigration though.

Rebecca, tu dois apprendre français! C'est facile, quand on parle un peu espagnol.

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

Oui, I understand, but can neither pronounce nor write nor understand much spoken French, as was pointed out to me repeatedly by a certain arrogant Frenchman in Australia. (that I may or may not have a wee crush on)

Of course, I also cannot say mayonnaise with an English accent any more.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

No, far form it - lotsd of immigrants here and a history as world traders. On the other hand that last also means they have a history as linguits - lots of my coworkers can speak three or four langages with a fair fluency. (I think this will be true as I move to Taiwan as well, though their three languages are apt to be Mandarin, Taiwanese and English - and Taiwanese English tends to be lots harder for Americans to understand than Dutch English.)