As we transition into Goya, once again I find myself wishing I had taken Spanish in elementary school rather than French. Living in California, it seemed natural to me at the time that I should learn Spanish, but my parents’ wish was that I take French. I complied and now remember none of it. The only phrases I know by heart are “where’s the toilet?” and “I’m a fruitcake.”
But I digress. Talking with my native Spanish speaking roommate over the past few days, I’ve grown increasingly confused. We’ve been discussing the intricacies of Spanish and the subtle nuances/implications behind certain phrases, an English dictionary in my hand as I feverishly try to find suitable English synonyms for difficult words. As all of this is happening, I wonder if I would still have this much trouble understanding if I had learned Spanish in elementary school. I still have trouble with Cantonese and Japanese, which I speak proficiently, but I can’t help but have a nagging feeling that it would be easier if I had.
Is anyone else having this much trouble and/or wishing they spoke Spanish?
Like you, I learned French instead of Spanish and can barely speak French. This leaves me in a class that analyses the relationship between images and words… and I don’t understand the words. Sure, the Spanish can be translated but what meaning is lost in such a process?
That’s exactly the problem I was having when I was talking to my roommate. It would take her a few sentences to explain what a word or short phrase meant because of all the hidden meanings, which made me realize how much I was missing out on because I couldn’t understand the language!