essential Spanish

[Kiwi-family]

Hi/Hola
I've just exhausted my knowledge of Spanish! We've got a Spanish-in-15-minutes-a-day course out of the library, but it's a bit......well, let's just say I need some full sentences, not *I am/you are/he is/we are/they are etc*

Is there a Camino Primer somewhere?
Something that will include....

Am I on the right path? I am going to xyz.
Do you have eleven beds free?
Is it OK for the kids to top-n-tail so we only need seven beds?!
I come from New Zealand.
I have eight children, yes eight, no none of them are twins, four boys and four girls.
This is Grandpa. He is 80 years old.
How much does that cost?
Do you give group discounts? ;-)

Oh, and do we pronounce "gracias" with a th sound or ts sound in that part of the world?

 

[Abbeydore]

http://translate.google.com/#auto|es|i% ... e%20coffee

yes google translate is good but needs checking some times

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Babelfish says:

¿Estoy en la trayectoria derecha?
Voy al xyz.
¿Usted tiene once camas libremente?
¡Es ACEPTABLE para la tapa-n-cola de los cabritos así que necesitamos solamente siete camas?!
Vengo de Nueva Zelandia.
Tengo ocho niños, sí ocho, ningunos ningunos de ellos soy gemelos, cuatro muchachos y cuatro muchachas.
Éste es Grandpa. Él es 80 años.
¿Cuánto hace ese coste?
¿Usted da descuentos del grupo?

Speakers of Spanish (not me) often find the translations hilarious!

 

[Abbeydore]

Nueva Zelanda

 

[tyrrek]

Here's how I would say it, but it might not be right, and sometimes changed slightly! Remember always to greet people first with a 'Hola, buenas!' or similar.

Am I on the right path? I am going to xyz. Es este el Camino? Voy a xyz.
Do you have eleven beds free? Hay once literas libres?
Is it OK for the kids to top-n-tail so we only need seven beds?! I doubt this one will be possible for reasons such as fire regs and pressure on showers etc., but I'd say something like 'Los ninos pueden compartir si es posible. Entonces solo necesitamos siete literas.'.
I come from New Zealand. Soy de Nueva Zelanda.
I have eight children, yes eight, no none of them are twins, four boys and four girls. Tengo ocho hijos, si, ocho. Quatro hijos y quatro hijas. Ningunos son gemelos. (You can use ninos/ninas if they are all actually children rather than adults.)
This is Grandpa. He is 80 years old. Este es mi abuelo. Tiene ochenta anos.
How much does that cost? Cuanto es? (Pointing.)
Do you give group discounts? Hay descuentos para grupos?

Oh, and do we pronounce "gracias" with a th sound or ts sound in that part of the world? With a 'th' or at worst an 's' (more Latin American). 'Ts' is a Spanish/Italian combo!

There are a few expressions there that are adaptable and useful to know. 'Hay' (pron. Ay) is one. Depending on how you inflect your voice it can be a question or a statement, so 'Hay bocadillos' can mean 'Are there sandwiches?' or 'There are sandwiches' depending on how you say/write it.

Hay un albergue aqui? (Is there an albergue here?)
Hay una misa a las nueve? (Is there a mass at 9 o'clock?)
Hay pulpo. (There is octopus, or better 'we sell octopus'.)
Hay un raton en mi cama. (There is a mouse in my bed.)

Buen Camino!

 

[Pieces]

I have the McGraw Hill Ispeak spanish for my ipod has sentences works well, but is a bit tedious when searching for help (or maybe its just me being impatient)

 

[annakappa]

Babelfish says:

¿Estoy en la trayectoria derecha?
Voy al xyz.
¿Usted tiene once camas libremente?
¡Es ACEPTABLE para la tapa-n-cola de los cabritos así que necesitamos solamente siete camas?!
Vengo de Nueva Zelandia.
Tengo ocho niños, sí ocho, ningunos ningunos de ellos soy gemelos, cuatro muchachos y cuatro muchachas.
Éste es Grandpa. Él es 80 años.
¿Cuánto hace ese coste?
¿Usted da descuentos del grupo?

Speakers of Spanish (not me) often find the translations hilarious!

In fact, it's quite a hilarious translation. For example kids have been literally translated into cabritos, or rather little goats!Anne

 

[Kiwi-family]

In fact, it's quite a hilarious translation. For example kids have been literally translated into cabritos, or rather little goats!Anne

And THAT is exactly why I am wary of Babelfish!
Thanks so much to everyone for these phrases - we're newcomers to this community, but have been made to feel so welcome.

 

[annakappa]

Well done to you all, for at least making the effort to learn some Spanish! It will make you interacting with the locals so much more rewarding. (just DON'T shock a hospitalero by asing for accommodation for your little goats)! Anne

 

[tyrrek]

Well done to you all, for at least making the effort to learn some Spanish! It will make you interacting with the locals so much more rewarding. (just DON'T shock a hospitalero by asing for accommodation for your little goats)! Anne

It could have been translated even worse. I can think of other Spanish words starting with 'cabr..'. That said, (s)he might understand perfectly.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

just DON'T shock a hospitalero by asking for accommodation for your little goats

According to Reb, the last goat herd in Moratinos is gone after hundreds of years living in the town. Your little goats might be quite welcome there for a day's stay! :wink:

 

[picosrider]

There is no substitute for learning Spanish(or any language) but to learn and practise it!
I have a friend who over 50 years has cycled in many countries of the world and learned enough of various languages to get by. These include Spanish, French, German, Polish and even Japanese!
From experience he has learned that you can get by with about 150 phrases. He has translated each of these into the various languages that he has needed as required, and it works. You do of course still need to learn the words/phrases, and get them translated from English into the required language. But at least what you do learn is useful words, and just enough for a crash course.
For a start he gets a phrase book which includes phonetic pronounciations. He recommends the combined phrase book/dictionary by Berlitz, but there are others. He then makes up an expanding library of flash cards using the required words and phrases and starts to learn and practise them. This way you only have to learn words/phrases which are likely to be of use during your trip.
I used this method when I did my first camino and am re-learning what I have forgotten for a second camino this year. I am also expanding my vocabulary this time. In addition to asking questions, I learned that it helps to learn words which might be in the reply!
So what phrase to you need to learn?
You will get a lot from the phrase book and can adapt others from it. Then use your imagination.
For example you may get lost and need directions. The reply will include things which you can see "continue to the traffic lights, then go left at the roundabout. It is opposite the church".
And most important always start by saying "Excuse me do you speak English?" If "yes" you have solved a problem! Is "No, lo siento". Ask them to speak very slowly and be brave at attempting to ask your question. Everyone will help you.
You can learn quite a lot of Spanish for free, from this web site. http://www.studyspanish.com/

 

[fraluchi]

....For example you may get lost and need directions. The reply will include things which you can see "continue to the traffic lights, then go left at the roundabout. It is opposite the church".

However....you may want to ask a few more people about the directions. When at least 2 answers are the same you may likely go in the right direction. :lol:

 

[picosrider]

....For example you may get lost and need directions. The reply will include things which you can see "continue to the traffic lights, then go left at the roundabout. It is opposite the church".

However....you may want to ask a few more people about the directions. When at least 2 answers are the same you may likely go in the right direction. :lol:

You are quite right!
We had a major problem finding the hostel in Gijon. We arrived in the city, late evening after a long cycle ride. We asked several people for directions but got pointed in many different directions. Eventually (darkness now falling) we came to the railway stn. Who better to ask than a taxi driver! And yes it was "continue to the traffic lights, etc, etc". He even drew us a little map. We got to the area where the hostel was but still couldn't find it, and it was now dark.
If lost, who better to ask than a policeman. And at that very moment a policeman arrived, and no problem because the hostal was around the corner from the police stn!
It was this situation that has prompted me to learn how to ask directions in Spanish and hopefully understand the instuctions given.