You mean there are other countries south of Texas?

[pseydtonne]

This morning I'm fascinated by Brazilian history and the sound of the Portuguese language. It must be winter.

There is a cleaning woman at work who is insisting on my developing my Spanish skills so we can talk. It feels more challenging than anything else I do all day at my job. Linux, shell scripting, database error diagnosis? Easy. Writing polite emails, filing defects? Simple. Telling someone why I'm not planning to get blotto just because it's Friday in a language I have never formally studied? Muy dificil.

I keep starting to say things in French since I can, then make those into guesses at Spanish. "Je ne bois guère" (I hardly drink) becomes... hmmm, beverage, I'll guess 'bevar'... no bevo? Wait, that doesn't explain the hardly part. This leads to such brilliant statements as:

"Uno boisson (hand gesture of knocking back a beer) pero no mas."

Cripes, I have no clue what the word for "a drink" is. Sure, the French will do for a woman from... honestly, I don't know where she's from. New assignment: learn enough Spanish to ask "Como tu vienes, qual es tu nacion de... naissance?"

Is it presumptuous to use 'tu' with her, considering I barely know her and she's the teacher? In Latin American Spanish, I'm told Usted is saved for "y'all", that vosotros and ustedes (the second-person plurals for familiar and formal, respectively) are deprecated. That would be fine with me, since I have a moral issue with saying "Your Grace" ("vuestra merced", the Latin words that got smashed together to make Usted) in a republic. Then again, she probably gets shit all day long (she does clean the toilets) and may not mind being someone's formality for two minutes.

The more Portuguese I read and hear, the more I like Portuguese over Spanish. However the Americas speak Spanish and I want to connect with that -- eventually.

I gotta hop in the shower and help fangirl715 schlep Jezebel for a nail trimming. It's Somerville time and I'm running late! Tchau...

-the Argentines just call everyone 'vos' because everyone is a dude, Dante

Comments

[bluepapercup]

I would use usted until she laughs gently at you and corrects you to tu. That was my experience in Chile - people appreciate the effort and if they're teaching you (as my Chilean friends were) they'll correct your pronouns.

English doesn't translate directly to Spanish. Instead of thinking "I hardly drink" think, "I drink rarely/infrequently". Bebo cerveza rareamente - which approximates to "I drink beer infrequently." No need to use "Yo" before bebo, she knows that you're taking about yourself in present tense.

Awesome that she wants to speak Spanish with you! I've found that few communications are more satisfying than speaking with someone in their native language.

[pseydtonne.livejournal.com]

I like that approach -- start with Usted and be introduced to thou-hood.

When I speak French, I tend toward tu-toie because it helps me to blend. "'scuse-moé, t'sais si c'est ça, la rue à la terminale autocar?"

I knew about not saying the nominative pronoun from my childhood studies of Italian. I was thinking more about accusative and genitive stuff -- "me gusta hablar con Ustèd".

But yeah, I am psyched about it. I would love to have a working knowledge of all four major languages in the Americas. For example, one day I'd like to go to Valparaiso in Chile and see the houses on the cliffs for myself. I don't think I'd be happy unless I could see it all in the local tongue. I love learning the little differences as outposts of the differences in culture.

[bluepapercup]

Oh, Valparaiso! I so enjoyed it. We only had a half day in that city, and it wasn't nearly enough. I could have spent several days there. Also, you can travel to Isla Negra from there, where Pablo Neruda built one of his three houses.

:)

[bluepapercup]

Hey, I would love periodic updates around here about how your language lessons with the cleaning woman. What's her name?