www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Read the paper on line..listen to the Spanish news on line..write every day in spanish..speak ever day to someone...make it a pact to practice spanish in all forms (reading, listening, speaking,writing) for a half hour a day no matter what..it makes a huge difference.

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I said hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.
Lou Reed

Can't say that I disagree wigth the above, but try to do it working 16-18 hrs a day during tax season...

Hard enough trying to find a half hour a day for Pimsleur.....

I dig. Sometimes I just sit back and listen to a newscast, and that is the best I can do.

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I said hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.
Lou Reed

and try reading the local paper online


http://www.nacion.com/

get to practice and keep up with the news

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

Unfortunately not quite that good yet...but I am trying

GR,

I agree with all of this. Plata is dinero in CR and in other countries. I'm also fairly certain in the following:

aquí = here
aca = over here
allí = there
alla = over there

The thing that bummed me out about all the "english" spanish tutorials is that they don't stress pronunciation enough. The "ll" is almost a "j" or a soft "zh"sound, but not all the time. Our books and tutorials tell us to make the "ll" sounds like a straight "y". I can't tell you how many gringos say Medillín with the "y" when in fact it is more like a "j." The "y" is also a "j", but a very soft "j" sound. So, they teach you literally "yo" to say I, but it sounds more like a "joe" with a very soft "j". Also the "ra" sounds at the end of a word is a "rrrda" sound. The list goes on and on. One more... "todo" and "toda" are slurred and almost sound like a "totho" or "totha" with a stress on the "t". Native spanish speakers... please chime in if I'm way off.

One thing that helped me understand the pronunciation paradigm and challenge, is trying to teach a Nica english. The books were telling her to make a "th" sound with a english sounding "z" which just makes you sound like a total foreigner. It took a while, but she eventually figured out the "th" sound... but only for one sentence and then would just go back to the "z" sound, because it is so hard. Don't get me wrong... she still replaces the "v" sound with a "b" everytime, but she is getting better. The other thing she can't deal with are dipthongs... two vowels together and our screwed up vowel pronunciations.

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.

Platiquemos is quite extensive and not that expensive. It costs 55 bucks per level(mp3).There are 8 levels. Buena Suerte!

Watch "60 Minutes" on CBS on Sunday and turn on the closed caption CC3 ...they give and excellent translation of the entire show in Spanish. It is a great way to pick up on some of the idioms that are used frequently.

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NON ILLEGITIMI CARBORUNDUM

DG

Chi_Trekker wrote:



Chi_Trekker, you are correct in your frustration with pronunciation. However, the "English Spanish" tutorials are relatively consistent. What is inconsistent is the manner in which Spanish is spoken from place to place. There are books out there that describe the variations of Spanish from region to region. I will bet that if you read some of those explanations, you will be better equipped to handle and even appreciate the ambiguities.

The dialects are pronounced, but I forget the range of classifications. Costa Ricans and Panamanians, as I recall, are supposed to speak a variation of Caribe spanish. There are several dialects spoken in South America. The more or less "Mexican" spanish that we learn in the US uses a "y" when pronouncing "y" or "ll." When you get further south, including Colombia and all the way to Argentina, there is more a "zh" (as GR calls it), to either "Medallin" or in "Ayudanos." In Argentina, it is pronounced ay-jew-da-nos. In the Caribean, they shorten their words ("se cortan las palabras") or add an "l" to the end of some. Instead of Nueva York, se dicen "Nueva Yol."
Anyway, many years ago, I studied Spanish a tremendous amount, and even took phonetics, which really helps with pronunciation, helps you understand regional dialects, and allows you to appear smart by using words such as 'labio-dental." Of course, none of this matters if you can't get where you want to go in a cab or you can't tell a chica to suck and not blow.

Ciaociao

Clearly the important parts.