Languages

[Tough Grits]

I speak English and Spanish. My husband speaks English and Portuguese (due to a mission served in Brazil). He can also understand and read Spanish due to his knowledge of Portuguese. I, on the other hand, have more difficulty understanding Portuguese from knowing Spanish. Weird.

I have this to say, as my job in Migrant Education requires me to speak and translate Spanish on a daily basis verbally and in written form, translating is NOT about the words. It is about the message.

In the English language I have noticed that we use so many unnecessary words and expressions that are just not translatable, and if they are translated word-for-word the message gets jumbled and makes no sense.

Spanish is simple and to the point, where an "educated" English speaker uses so many unnecessary and complicated words. This is something that I never noticed until I started translating documents and forms for my job.

Our idioms and expressions are what makes it confusing. I am going to run to the store for a minute. Most Americans would understand that I was using an expression, and that I was not meaning that I was going to literally "run" to the store. But if I needed to translate that to Spanish, I would have to get rid of the word "run" and reform the sentence in English first, and then translate it into Spanish. I am going to fix dinner. Most Americans would know that the dinner was not broken, but to translate that sentence without editing it for translation would lead to confusion.

Now I see why there is big money in translating, because it is ALOT harder than just translating a few words...it is about interpreting expressions and meanings.

[Cra-Z]

@ susieSA:

I was about to say, you must have served in South Africa, then I noticed you're from SA. :-P Nice.

I think it should also be noted that while it would be good to learn Mandarin for the business aspect, most of the Chinese are also learning English. If they weren't, then we would definitely have to learn it.

I also find it hard to believe that very many business people are learning Mandarin successfully. It's not something your average English speak can pick up just casually studying.

[MarginOfError]

I speak English, C#, SQL, C++, Java

(listed in order of proficiency)

For the sake of one-upsmanship

English, R, S+, Ukrainian, TI (Texas Instruments Calculators) SAS, html, Java, C+, Russian

So take that!

(Note to the lay person: R and S+ are nearly identical, as are Java and C+, and Ukraininan and Russian)

[Cra-Z]

I suppose I could add HTML and JavaScript.

[RainofGold]

I wonder if I know you. I had a friend who spoke English and Spanish fluently, then was called to Japan. He spent 18 months trying to grasp the language, and when he finally did, he met a group of Peruvians in the subway one day who recognized the missionary badges. He taught a group of 20ish of them, and they all got baptized. My friend, another American, and two Brazilian elders opened the first Spanish speaking branch in all of Japan, at the base of Mt. Fuji.

Wow that sounds like a wonderful missionary experience, and opening the first Spanish speaking branch in Japan a huge accomplishment to those missionaries. I don't think it was my little brother thou because he never mention that to me. He served his mission a few years ago than went on to college to BYU in Hawaii.

[bodhigirlsmiles]

So why English? Why not French or Spanish? French is also spoken all over the world as well. That's why they do the interpretation during the Olympics in French as well. I don't think English was the worldwide language before the Tower of Babel.

pam

i'm fond of inuit myself.

[mightynancy]

I speak English and Spanish. I interpret and translate too, ToughGrits...and yes, it is difficult!

[Tough Grits]

I speak English and Spanish. I interpret and translate too, ToughGrits...and yes, it is difficult!

Really? I am interested...do you translate for your job, or merely because of your location? How did you learn Spanish?

I live in rural southern GA and it seems odd that I would need to speak Spanish, but due to the various crops and farming down here, we have a huge population of Spanish speakers. I speak Spanish more now than when I lived in Miami. I work in Migrant Education for the local school systems, and the majority of migrant families in my area are Spanish speakers.

I lived next door to my Cuban grandparents for most of my life. I learned much just by being around them, although I was not fluent speaking as a child. I had a Spanish class in school every year in elementary and again in high school (I was even in honors Spanish), but I feel I have learned more by simply having to speak for the various jobs and situations that I have been placed in, than by any Spanish class I ever took.

What are your thoughts?

[mightynancy]

I work in elementary ed! I am also an on-call interpreter for my school district. I'm the unofficial go-to girl for all the spanish-speaking families at my school. :)

I majored in Spanish at UC Davis, and spent a year in Costa Rica. When I got back I worked for a nonprofit, helping people through the Amnesty program (the one launched in 1986). I started as an intake person and ESL teacher, then managed a site where we taught ESL and Citizenship. Since then I have interpreted in court and for the DEA. I worked for HUD, both in eligibility and inspections. :)

It's really hard to master a language if you don't live it! When I got to Costa Rica, I could discuss medieval Spanish literature, but I couldn't talk about what I had for breakfast. It was a great experience, and I LOVE the Costa Rican accent - it's so cute! It's a very charming dialect. I spent about 10 years not speaking Spanish, but now that I'm working again it's coming back. I still would love to take a sabbatical and live in Costa Rica for a while to tune up.

[Cra-Z]

mightynancy, it's so true that living a language takes you so much farther than any class will. :-)