czarina84

I took me a few minutes to stop laughing enough to post this comment...and share it to Facebook. I think my favorite part was "no remembro eleven".

I agree with the first part of what you are saying, but not the "Spanish only" part. If someone is having trouble understanding certain parts of Spanish, why can't they ask in English how to say it in Spanish? I think that only creates confusion. My French teacher used to have the class mostly in English, but would also carve out some French only time. It would only be a few minutes. The class was not allowed to make anyone feel inferior if they were having trouble, but encouraged to help each other out. I loved that class. I learned so much. Of course it all went downhill after I was out of the classes and had no one to speak to in French.

The second context doesn't seem to apply. Since he uses the word "caballo", I'm inclined to think it's the first one, being that Desperado is set in Mexico. When you say "riding a horse but performing a sort of abilities while riding", do you mean stunt riding, where you perform tricks on a horse while riding it?

I'm the kind of person to laugh this off. Not specifically idioms, but I have had people misunderstand things that I say. I just gently chuckle and explain what I mean. People will usually join in and the awkward moment will pass, as they know I'm not laughing at them, just the situation. As long as you try your best to make sure the person understands that you don't think they are dumb and their misunderstanding is no big deal, it takes the awkwardness out of the situation. Just breeze over it.

They are written in different languages. Some words are in Spanish, some in German, etc. Spanish and French words have accent marks, such as the ~ over the n in Spanish and the ^ in French. German has the umlaut. And then, of course, you have the ones that look like little slashes over them. They have different names depending on the language, but are essentially the same accent mark: `

I haven't used either of these to their full potential. I'll have to try them both out. I have so many sites in my favorites list to get to, though, so this may take some time. What dialect of Spanish do each of these cover?

I have never been in a situation where this has happened in real life. I do like in movies and on television when they mix up idioms, though. My favorites are (from an I Love Lucy episode) "spilled the bean out of the cat-bag" and (Hot Shots Part Deux) "Now the upper hand is on the other foot!"

I'm kind of torn on the subject. As a writer, part of me thinks it's a betrayal to change what the poet has penned. As a person who doesn't speak French fluently, I would kind of like to understand what this poem means.

I've actually been wondering the same thing. I always see posts with accent marks over the letters and I wondered how they got that to happen. I wasn't sure if they had software or just a different kind of keyboard. Thank you for posting this. I, too, am not very technologically inclined. The fact that I can post is a small victory.

Are you saying that I should have said "chips" in my Spanish translation? Is that the word Spanish speakers use? Or are you saying that I should just use "papas" for any type of potatoes (chips, fries, baked, etc)?

Comi pizza y las papas por la cena. That is supposed to be I ate pizza and chips (American) for supper. I apologize for any mangling I have done. Please correct me if I'm wrong, native Spanish speakers.

There's also "one hand washes the other" which is about doing a favor for someone while they do a favor for you. "To have (blank) at hand" is to have it ready or nearby. A "backhanded compliment" is an insult disguised as a compliment. EX: You'd be so pretty if you lost all that weight. "Wouldn't lift a finger" means to do nothing. EX: If she were in trouble, I wouldn't lift a finger to help her. Mostly about someone you really don't like.

Why don't parents and grandparents just teach their kids? My father was a Marine. At one point he was stationed in Texas for years. He learned Spanish to a conversational point. He refused to teach me. I have no idea why.

I think a native speaker of your target language who can speak your native language as well is the best way to go. I would prefer it was a friend because they know my penchant for asking a lot of questions and probably have more patience with that. I'm sure there are many other great methods, but for me, I would rather try to translate things on my own and then have a native speaker check my work for nuances that may have escaped me.

I like to use music to learn languages. One of my favorite types is hip-hop/rap. We have many types here: Gangsta, Crunk, Dirty South, etc. What types of rap do you have in your country? Who are some of the artists you know? Are they underground or mainstream?

At this point in time, it's not very useful in my daily life. I live in a rural area. It's mostly English-speaking Caucasians.

"To see things" means to hallucinate. A "look-see" is just a cute way of say to examine or inspect something. EX. Let's take a look-see at this engine to find out what's wrong with your car.

I think different people have different ways of learning. I'm dyslexic and hard of hearing, so immersion may not be the best solution for me. I am listening to foreign music and sometimes shows around my toddler, though, hoping that while her little brain is learning to read, it is also learning to recognize some words in foreign languages as well. I'm not saying that she is learning Spanish right now, but hopefully it will make it easier for her brain to recognize the speed and fluidity of the language when she's learning it in school.

I'll help you look. What types of legends are you looking for? Stuff like Chupacabra (monsters and other things) or along the lines of the Woman in White (ghost stories) or tall tales, like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill (giant with a blue ox and cowboy who rode a tornado)?

It's not bad enough for a hearing aid. At least, I don't think so. I always cheated with those hearing exams. I didn't want to be thought of as a victim or cause my mother any extra bills. I'm just that annoying person who needs you to speak a little louder (although I have learned to read lips), and I need subtitles on to hear some, but not all, words. I just turn the volume up, put on subtitles or look up lyrics. It's tough but doable. No complaints.

I didn't know that "viejo" meant "old friend". I was taught that it mean "old man". I was also told that as an adjective, it just meant "old".

All I can think of off-hand is "gunning for" someone. It means to go after them. To make their lives miserable or to find them to physically hurt them. There's also "bite the bullet", which is to accept something negative, because it can't be changed. This is mostly used when talking about the consequences of certain actions. "Run the gauntlet" is mostly used when someone is being harshly criticized by a lot of people. And "under the gun" means under a lot of pressure. Wow. They just started coming to me after I wrote the first one.

I guess it would depend on the amount of the fee. However, there are many good free sites that teach foreign languages and will probably give you more of a challenge (or less, if that's better for you).

Does it have to be current? If not, have you ever tried Pablo Neruda? He was a poet.

I'm actually hard of hearing, so I even need the subtitles in my native language to understand what they are saying. I don't use them as a crutch; I just can't hear what is said, so if I don't read it, I'm lost.