Do you speak Castilian Spanish?

"My parents taught me Castilian Spanish,"  I heard someone in El Paso, Texas say recently.  How strange, I thought.   To me,  the term Castilian Spanish conjures up images of the dialect of Spanish spoken in northern and central Spain and its capital, Madrid.  Why in the world would you want to learn that dialect in the American Southwest, where we have our own dialect of Spanish? Upon further consideration, I realized what the speaker probably meant by Castilian Spanish. She was using 'Castilian' as shorthand for 'correct'.  Ah, the plot thickens!

Castilian Spanish has a variety of meanings and connotations.  Viewed as one of many dialects of Spanish, it  has a distinctive pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. One of the most easily recognized characteristics is the pronunciation of the letter 'z' before all vowels and the letter 'c' before 'e' or 'i' (the sound of the 'th' of 'think' in English). Try saying the word plaza Castilian style.

Spanish verb conjugation of ver estar

A grammatical difference from other dialects is the more frequent use of the plural pronoun 'vosotros' for 'you'  (you all in Texan!)  Other Spanish dialects use ustedes for more than one person you are speaking to. This is significant because  vosotros and ustedes require different verb endings. I memorized the vosotros verb endings, like estáis, habláis, coméis, vivís (you-plural are, speak, eat, live) when I was in high school, but they are no longer in my speaking vocabulary. Maybe I had better bone up on verb conjugations before I travel to Spain later on this year.! 

Seal of Real Academia Española

There is another, expanded meaning of Castilian Spanish which refers to the concept of Standard Spanish. Many languages have one dialect that for political and economic reasons is raised to the status of Standard Dialect and used by the media and educational institutions.  The Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española) has declared that Castilian Spanish is the standard dialect. Now Castilian Spanish has taken on a new meaning of 'the correct way to speak Spanish'.

With an expanded meaning of Castilian Spanish, we can play amateur psychologist and delve into the possible meaning behind the aforementioned speaker's declaration that her parents had taught her Castilian Spanish. I don't believe that they insisted that she speak Spanish as it is spoken in a large part of Spain. They probably did insist that she use whatever they viewed as correct pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.  And their variety of Spanish may have been somewhat different from Southwestern Spanish.  A bit of language snobbishness, I would guess.  

I'm anticipating learning a lot about attitudes toward using different varieties of Spain when we travel there.  I remember from our last trip that a restaurant owner paid me a backhanded compliment by saying that my Spanish was quite good, but that I sounded like a 'Chicana'.  Another bit of language snobbery, it seems. I think he meant that I was using New World instead of Old World Spanish, which would be perfectly natural, since I am American and learned my Spanish on the US-Mexico border.

Spanish-speaking regions of the world

 At least he didn't complain about a feature of my Spanish that embarrasses me to no end -  my lack of a good, strong trilled 'r'!

 



    

The Wisdom of Don Quijote and Sancho Panza

My paperback copy of El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha has lost its front and back covers and is filled with scribbled notes from college days.  I don't want to think about how long ago that was, but the price of $3.75 marked on the front page takes me back a while.

A friend and I have recently challenged each other to read a certain number of chapters of  El Quijote and discuss them every week by email. We have a trip planned to northern Spain and Portugal later this year (husbands included) and thought what better way to prepare for the journey than to read the classic novel by Miguel Cervantes?

El Quijote was published in Spain during the first part of the 17th century.  Wikipedia heaps kudos on the novel with descriptions like "the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age...,  ...a founding work of modern Western literature..., ...it regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published."  Credentials established, right?

So what makes a novel a classic?  From an ordinary reader's viewpoint, I believe it has something to do with making a connection between the novel and one's daily life, even if they are centuries apart.

I''m only on Chapter XX on this my second reading, but already I am finding bits of wisdom dispensed by both Don Quijote and his squire, Sancho Panza, as they travel the Spanish countryside in search of adventure.

Don Quijote, the dreamer, often puts his optimistic thinking in terms of pithy proverbs. He assures us that when one door closes in life, another will open ("Donde una puerta se cierra, otra se abre" Chap. 21). He also reminds us that time and death will erase all memories and pain ("No hay memoria a quien el tiempo no acabe, ni dolor que muerte no le consuma" Chap. 15).  He states philosophically that neither the good nor the bad in life will last ("No es posible que el mal ni el bien sean durables" Chap. 19).  And another helpful thought he gives the reader is that something is better than nothing at all ("Más vale algo que no nada" Chap. 21).

Don Quijote is a careful observer of personalities. He believes that a person is known by his deeds ("Cada uno es hijo de sus obras" (Chap. 14) and that for a man to think of himself as higher than other men, he must do more ("No es un hombre más alto que otro si no hace más que otro"(Chap. 18). His observation on love relationships still rings true today, even though I would say that he could be speaking about either sex when he states that women naturally reject those who love them and love those who hate them ("Esa es natural condición de mujeres: desdeñar a quien las quiere y amar a quien las aborrece"(Chap. 20).  

Sancho Panza inserts more worldly thoughts into the narrative by pointing out that it takes a long time to know what a person is like ("Es menester mucho tiempo para venir a conocer las personas"(Chap. 15) and warns us that nothing in this life is safe ("No hay cosa segura en esta vida" (Chap. 15). He also warns us that greed will bring disaster, ("La codicia rompe el saco" (Chap.20).

Proverbs and wise sayings are found more frequently in everyday use of Spanish than they are in English. I'm planning to memorize a few of my favorite quotes from El Quijote and sprinkle my conversations with them when we are in Spain.  Do you suppose a few well placed proverbs will make up for my very badly trilled r's?  I certainly hope so!   

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Can Introverts be Good Language Acquirers?

Today I participated in a webinar with the somewhat intimidating title of "The Radically Common Phenomena Called Language:  How the human mind creates and acquires it,"* featuring the well-known applied linguist John De Mado.  It was great.  I could have chosen to sit in front of the computer in my robe and slippers sipping a fresh cup of coffee, but I wasn't completely sure that I wouldn't be required to use my webcam to participate.  (Has anyone figured out how to look halfway decent using a webcam?) But the webinar was all audio, so I was pleased to be able to relax and learn more about language acquisition.

As John De Mado discussed three main personality traits that are helpful for acquiring language, I started to squirm in my chair.  The first trait is Risk-Taking.  To acquire language, you have to talk to people - lots of people, the more the better.  He pointed out that it takes a lot of nerve for a non-native speaker to strike up a conversation with a native speaker, who is by definition much more in control of vocabulary, grammar and accent.

The second trait is Vulnerability.  A language acquirer must be able to be vulnerable enough to make errors - lots of errors, because there is no way to acquire language without them. If we clam up at the first wrong word choice, incorrect verb ending, or botched pronunciation, all is lost. We will not make progress toward our goal of acquiring a second language.

So why was I squirming in my chair?  It is because I am an introvert, and introverts have lots of trouble complying with the first two traits! Now in case you belong to the two-thirds of Americans who are classified as extroverts, you may not understand an introvert's world. The best way I can describe it is that if you and I were Energizer Bunnies, after a long conversation the extroverted bunny would feel charged up and ready to go.  The introverted bunny would be very, very tired and need some alone time to recharge.  So introverts are going to be especially reluctant to take a risk and strike up a conversation, especially in another language.

Now that you may be viewing the world through the eyes of an introvert, you can imagine how making an error in another language is not what an introvert wants to do. Communication in itself makes an introvert vulnerable to the world.  And not being understood because you have made a mistake!  Horrors!  Where's my shell to hide under?

Thank goodness the third personality trait mentioned by John De Mado is Intuition.  In order to understand what other people are saying to us (even in our native language), we have to filter what they say through our own knowledge and perceptions. People are often communicating much more than their actual words would indicate.  I can do this!  I am a good listener!  At last, something an introvert can do well!

So, can introverts be good language acquirers?  Yes, we can choose to be with a little pre-planning. My goals are: force myself to talk to more people in more different circumstances but allow myself a nice, long recharging time afterward;  if I am obsessing about the errors I made, write them down and think what I would have said differently; rejoice in the fact that I can pick up communication clues because I prefer to listen rather than talk.

Hmm.  Perhaps I'll sign up for an online language program where I would have conversations with a real native speaker.  At least I could log off quickly if things get uncomfortable!

*Webinar courtesy of Association of College and Research Libraries and Mángo Languages.

      

'Well,' 'like,' 'actually,' 'go ahead' and use them?

Do new words or experiences catch your attention?  They do mine.  And then I have choices to make.  I can (a) go on a rampage about how English is going to the dogs (b) slip the new expressions into my conversations so I can sound cool or (c) analyze the use of new terms to learn more about why people are choosing them.  I'm going with (c)!

Let's take the word 'well'. 'Well' can be an adverb, as in "My computer has been running well lately," or an adjective, as in "I'm feeling well since I started exercising," But lately, 'well' has been cropping up with what appears to be a new use.  Maybe someone asks you, "How was dinner at the bistro last night?"  You reply, "It was, well, interesting." Try saying that last sentence without the 'well.' Different, huh? The insertion of 'well' adds meaning to the sentence. The speaker has now given the impression that there is a whole lot more to the tale of the bistro dinner.

Now that you are warming up to the idea of new ways of expression, let's work on 'like.'  Talk about ubiquitous!  It would be hard to go through a whole day without hearing 'like' in one of its reincarnations. One of the most common uses is to introduce a direct quotation.  And then the store clerk was like, "So don't shop here if you don't like the service."  Does the substitution of 'was' and 'like' in place of 'said' add meaning to the sentence?  I think it does.  The more traditional 'said' would not alert the listener that something a little surprising, off-beat, or unexpected was about to be reported. And then the store clerk was like, "Here is your package, ma'am," would not be as common, I think.  'Like' and its rapid spread through verbal communication is a topic that requires much discussion.  Here is a link if you would like (old common usage!) to learn more.Like, Degrading the Language? No Way.

And then there is 'actually.'  I hear this word often on the local nightly news on TV. "I'm standing about 500 yards from the train station, and I can actually see the derailment." I think the adverb 'actually' adds the idea of "Can you believe that I am this far from the train station, but I can still see the derailment?"  That's a lot of meaning to pack into one little word.

Another new expression that has caught my ear is the use of 'go ahead and' before another action verb. A TV cooking show host may say, "And then go ahead and put the dish in the fridge for several hours."  Now this expression has me a bit puzzled.  I don't see how 'go ahead and' adds meaning or nuance to the sentence. Try "And then put the dish in the fridge..."  What's more, the expression adds length to the sentence, which would seem the opposite of what we want to do in this fast and furious world we live in.  I'll have to keep an ear out for more examples.

Language.  Always on the move.  Have you heard any new words or expressions recently?  What is your opinion of them?

Shakespeare's Wisdom about Native Language

Finally!  I'm doing something I have wanted to do for a long time - take a course in Shakespeare. I'm enrolled at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Texas at El Paso in the course "King Richard the Second," an historical drama from the 1300's. Who would have thought I would come upon (in Act 1,  Scene III) profound thoughts about the consequences of having to give up one's native language? The issue of which language(s) to speak is still a hot button issue today.  

Here is the scenario. Henry of Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray have been banished from England by King Richard II. Henry receives a ten year banishment (later reduced to six), but Mowbray fairs much worse.  He is banished for life.  One of his strongest complaints to King Richard upon receiving this harsh sentence is that Mowbray will have to give up his native language, English.

"The language I have learnt these forty years,
My native English, now I must forgo;
And now my tongue's use is to me no more
Than an unstringed viol or a harp;"

Mowbray continues comparing his voice to a musical instrument that can no longer be played.

"Or like a cunning instrument cas'd up
Or, being open, put into his hands
That knows no touch to tune the harmony."

He further laments that his tongue will become a prisoner in his mouth and that ignorance will be his jailer.

"Within my mouth you have engaol'd my tongue,
Doubly portcullis'd with my teeth and lips;
And dull, unfeeling, barren ignorance
Is made my gaoler to attend on me."

Mowbray says he is too old to learn another language (he is forty); he is not a child with a nanny who can teach him a language.

"I am too old to fawn upon a nurse,
Too far gone in years to be a pupil now:"

Mowbray finishes his plea to King Richard by claiming that his banishment from England will be a type of death, and that he is being robbed of his right to speak English.

"What is thy sentence, then, but speechless death,
Which robs my tongue from breathing native breath?"

How very modern this argument sounds!  I've never had to give up my native English entirely, but I can remember several occasions traveling or studying abroad when I became truly tired of speaking Spanish or Portuguese.  All I wanted to do was relax and rest my brain by speaking English.  And I am a person who loves foreign languages.

And yet some continue to attempt to rob immigrants of their native language by insisting that they learn English at all costs (such as giving up their native tongue and replacing it with English). Exchanging one's native language for a new one can be a complex emotional issue.  The saying goes that learning another language is gaining another soul.  Even if immigrants come to the United States willingly, shouldn't the differences they face with language and culture be considered? 

Yes, English is the de facto common language of the United States. It doesn't appear to be in danger of losing that status.  But what is wrong with being bilingual?  Most of the world's inhabitants are already bilingual.

I'm enjoy the lyrical language of Shakespeare, although I must admit to using a 'plain and simple English' version to help me with the reading. But little did I know that Shakespeare was going to provide fodder for the current issues of language politics.  

ISBN 9781479132539