Chile Forum

gjz333 wrote:for the question on chilean vs proper spanish i would say learn and use chilean vocabulary but remember that it not standard. you should learn the standard counterpart to each chilean word. for pronunciation i would say learn and use the standard but be able to recognise the chilean differences especially with the s dropping or when it becomes an h like sound. unless you are really good you wont do it the chilean way and if you go to another spanish speaking country they will probably think there is something wrong with you.

Yep. If I had more time I would go through my Chilean slang deck in Anki and replace all the English definitions with standard Spanish definitions. If anyone does this, please send me a copy of your deck.

janway wrote:If you have not already, a great beginners tool is Memrise. You can spend 5 minutes a day or as long as you like and at least learn a few words and it is free at present. They are not Chilean specifically but I think anything helps.
When I moved to Canada from England, the pronunciation and many words were different - even more so in the US, people still commented on my accent thirty years later. In the US one time, someone asked me if I was French! So what? I don't expect to ever sound like a local but that is fine with me if eventually I can get my point across and understand the reply.

janet

Bagudoko wrote:For memorization software, I recommend Anki. It quizzes you more often on words you get wrong or weren't sure about. It's free, and there are a ton of free "decks" available, including one for Chilean slang.

Edit: It can also synchronize to an app on your smartphone, if you have one.

Thanks for the suggestions, I put them on my list of programs to look at. I did some more searching, and there's a bunch of these memorization programs available, so one of them should work for me.

gjz333 wrote:for the question on chilean vs proper spanish i would say learn and use chilean vocabulary but remember that it not standard. you should learn the standard counterpart to each chilean word. for pronunciation i would say learn and use the standard but be able to recognise the chilean differences especially with the s dropping or when it becomes an h like sound. unless you are really good you wont do it the chilean way and if you go to another spanish speaking country they will probably think there is something wrong with you.

That's about what I was thinking. The way I'm understanding it now is, if I tried to speak Chilean Spanish, it would be something like a really old person trying to sound like a teenager. Chances are, it just wouldn't sound right. So proper Spanish, with some Chilean words mixed in, sounds like it would be the most appropriate way for a gringo to get started. I'll sound like I'm just trying to learn the language, instead of trying to be something I'm not. Then as I get better at it, and also learn to be more like a Chilean in other ways, I'll probably just naturally start using more Chilean Spanish. But I won't sound out of place doing it, because I'll understand it better.

patagoniax wrote:

Scouser wrote: Im surprised the Americans arnt just making the rest of the world talk American !!

I think they tried, after getting that idea from the British Colonial/Commonwealth approach.

I've seen signs of them trying. The "English opens doors" thing seems pretty suspicious to me. Like they want to make everyone the same, so they're easier to exploit. As much as I appreciate it when people around here speak some English, it worries me when I think about what they could be setting themselves up for.

don't know if it may help but I have post it notes stuck everywhere with the spanish words on it around the house. I find after a while I know the word and I have how the word is pronounced underneath it and practice as i go by. i try to follow the international news, no idea there. too quick for me. but i watch it all the same and very so slowly i'm recognising words..i also have a general list of what i do everyday here, aus, with the equivalent translation e.g. bus transport, bank (bang head against wall several times is advisable) . or if anyone has tried i be really interested to know if anyone has an iphone with siri on it and does the translation work????

cf

thisisreallycomplicated wrote:

patagoniax wrote:

Scouser wrote: Im surprised the Americans arnt just making the rest of the world talk American !!

I think they tried, after getting that idea from the British Colonial/Commonwealth approach.

I've seen signs of them trying. The "English opens doors" thing seems pretty suspicious to me. Like they want to make everyone the same, so they're easier to exploit. As much as I appreciate it when people around here speak some English, it worries me when I think about what they could be setting themselves up for.

The US doesnt even care if its own citizens speak english. in many states there is still no official language and even in california where english is the official language you can still take your drivers test in about 30 langauges. considering this, i doubt the US has much to do with language policy in chile.

gjz333 wrote:i doubt the US has much to do with language policy in chile.

That might be true about "language policy", but the most Chileans who tell me how they learned English say they did so by watching/listening to Hollywood movies and (to a lesser extent) songs sung in English.
The Chinese have cottoned on to this and have a government program to "market" Chinese "culture", which includes language, movies and cultural programs in target countries.

Try the newly launched "Duolingo . com" this is a fantastic resource.

I have tried the FULL immersion process in Providencia in relation to learning spanish......... for me this system did not work. I had awaited to get here to do this too. I have now found a great program called Fluenz in which as an English speaker can fully understand what he / she is now learning. I would recommend this to anyone. NO METRO this way either woohoo.

I think the most important thing is to start communicating with others in the language! Learn useful words, used in everyday situations, so you can practice them when you go to the shops, the post office, or a café etc and see how you get on. This communication is essencial for learning! If you purposely put yourself in these situations where you have to interact with others, you are forced to find a way to communicate. You will have to try and express what you want with the vocabulary you know and then you get to practice your listening too! At first, you may feel stupid or timid because you know so little Spanish but it will get easier and easier and I really think the best way to learn is through real life experiences! You can learn grammar and verb tables on your own, with a teacher or on the net and practice whenever you have time; constantly repeating things is always good! I have looked for many different websites for learning Spanish and each site has it´s pros and cons!
http://www.spanishdict.com/learn/show/64 This is good for GRAMMAR but personbally I can´t stand the girls accent in Spanish! I try very hard to imitate native accents but this girls seems to have problems with vowel sounds so be careful not to copy her! haha It´s fine to have an accent but it´s always better to try and perfect pronunciation!
http://www.lingolex.com/Expresen.htm
http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/annotated_video/no_pretendo - This is a great site - There are songs translated - This is a fantastic way to learn! You can sing a long, repeating and practicing phrases and expressions etc!!!!! You will learn the subjunctive with ease and there are many interesting theories on learning languages with music!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/ - VERY SPANISH but great for grammar (http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/grammar/) and to hear the differences in accent and the use of language!
http://www.elcastellano.org/
http://conjugador.reverso.net/conjugacion-espanol-verbo-comer.html
http://www.mainframe.cl/diccionario/diccionario.php?=&pagina=3 - Diccionario de MODISMOS CHILENOS
http://quizlet.com/3017080/english-emotion-adjectives-adjetivos-emociones-de-ingles-flash-cards/
http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/
http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/
http://www.babbel.com/go/_learn_spanish?l2=SPA&gclid=CN_U0piEuawCFUcQNAodfVMDIA&locale=en
http://es.bab.la/diccionario/ingles-espanol/for-god-s-sake
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/knowing-when-to-use-the-spanish-tu-and-usted.html
http://spanish.dictionary.com
These sites contain a range of diffent accents and dialects; it´s important to hear Spanish speakers from all over the world! I have lived in many different Spanish speaking countries - Spain, Las Islas Canarias, Venezuela, Cuba, Uruguay and Chile and they all have there own slang and very distinct ways of talking, however, they all speak SPANISH! Personally, my time here in Chile has made me reflect on my Spanish. The Chileans use a great deal of filler words and slang and if you are communicating, with other Chileans, I think it´s important to understand this, however, I realise that I don´t want to speak like the majority of Chileans all the time but I do want to be able to communicate with everyone. One of my favourite things is the difference between accents and dialect in the hispanic speaking world! It´s great fun using slang but I don´t want it to go against me! It´s important to know how to say things in an educated manner too! Many Chilean friends of mine are very aware of how they speak and they are not particularly proud of it. Many Chileans have told me that Peruvians, Equadorians, Bolivians y Columbians speak Spanish in a much more polite, respectful and educated manner.
Also very important to watch news etc
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/temas/america_latina/
http://elpais.com/
http://www.latercera.com/
http://www.americaeconomia.com/analisis-opinion/la-polar-estafa-financiera-en-chile
http://www.el-carabobeno.com/ VENEZUELA
http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2012/05/30/543200/lluvias-solo-dieron-un-respiro-al-aire-de-santiago-vuelve-la-alerta-ambiental.html

I hope this is helpful. If anyone else knows of any other good websites for learning Spanish please let us know!

patagoniax wrote:

Sarita5 wrote: I have lived in many different Spanish speaking countries - Spain, Las Islas Canarias, Venezuela, Cuba, Uruguay and Chile

Must work on my geography. Was not aware that the Islas Canarias was a country.

Is it not the same as calling Puerto Rico a country? I think they have partial autonomy, but I may be mistaken. Either way, I think it's one of those gray areas, where it's not really a country, but they're not really fully integrated into their... host country.

Excuse me - I did say COUNTRY!!!!!!
The Canaries are nearer to Africa!!! Sure, they are a Spanish autonomous community, an outermost region of the European Union and legally recognized as a nationality of Spain but Geographically it is a part of the African Continent.