As many of you know, I love learning new languages! I am counting about 11 languages that I have learnt and/or speak fluently. This doesn’t include me picking up American Sign Language in my late teens as one of my best buddies in Singapore was hearing and talking impaired.
How it started
I started learning Spanish many years ago out of interest in one of the world’s most used languages. It also helps that many of the languages I learnt were borne out of my interest in food. Latin American food has always interested me. Therefore it was natural for me to want to learn their language. Due to the Spanish colonisation hundreds of years ago, the Spanish language is widely spoken in South America
Many of the books available to buy then were mainly from the US. I bought Spanish for Dummies, which was written for the US market and subsequently listened to CDs with pronunciations that were used in those regions.
You would think Spanish is Spanish right?
Just like spoken and written English, there are massive variations. Think between English in the UK compared to American English and Jamaican English. They are all correct in their own terms.
Moving to Europe years ago meant that I became familiar with Spanish from Spain though I thought all Spaniards spoke with a lisp! Now I understood it as a Barcelona ‘quirk’. ?
I am getting familiarised again with speaking Spanish since we moved to Southern Spain 3 weeks ago. FYI, I find it harder to learn a new language when you’re not fully immersed in the culture and get to speak it often.
Here’s my explanation of what I find to be ‘cute’ differences and if you ever want to come visit me, here’s what you need to know about trying out the ‘local’ language. 😉
If you are now curious about the way of life in Andalusia, come check out this blog post! Step inside what a typical whitewashed village home looks like!