Spain, 1983. I had taken a year of high school Spanish and a year of college Spanish, yet I had no clue what this fellow was saying at the end of his sentences.
Maybe I “learned” the verb entender but forgot what it meant. Or maybe it wasn’t in the Spanish books we used.
Read MoreWhat’s your name? Ever had someone mispronounce it? Are you sure you’re pronouncing names like José or Manuel correctly. What about Jaime? Name nerds or anyone who wants get insights on pronunciation and cultural assimilation: Listen up.
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Clipped from a friend’s Colorado Rockie Hockey ID Card (Thanks, Joe!)
The great thing about the NHL: athletes from all over the world get why learning a second language is so important. Eleven Boston Bruins hail from outside the US and Canada; the current roster includes players who were born in the Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia and Sweden.
Players from other teams come from those countries, as well as Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Ukraine.
No NHL players from Spain, South America or Mexico. Aside from Auston Matthews and Scott Gomez, who grew up in Spanish-speaking households, and perhaps Billy Guerin, whose mother is from Nicaragua, there are few who can at least understand Spanish.
Not that there isn’t anyone open to learning Spanish. Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who considers himself the third-best Russian speaker on the team, would like to recruit teammates to learn Russian, German or Spanish.
Until he wins over a teammate—and this goes for any NHL player or fan who wants to learn Spanish—Dubois might visit NHL.com/es. Launched in October 2019, it’s the league’s ninth native language site.
Dubois could also contact Los Angeles Kings prospect Akil Thomas, who when interviewed by Ron MacLean in April 2020, said that he grew up in Florida and took Spanish in high school. During this time away from the game, he’s reconnecting with the language.
Dubois, Thomas and fans can also find Spanish content from the Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, Vegas Golden Knights, and San Jose Sharks—all have all upped their multicultural marketing games.
If you’re a Kings fan, like my sister-in-law and her family, listen to the first goal called in Spanish on ESPN Deportes (depp-OATER-tess).
If you’re a Bruins fan like me, you can learn Spanish by reliving Juego Siete (who-EGG-oh see-YET-eh) against Toronto (May 13, 2013).
All NHL fans could see the day when ARG joins CAN, CZE, FIN, SVK, SWE, USA and the other fourteen listings in the birthplace column.
Argentina (otter-hen-TEEN-ah). Correcto. One of these youngsters could make it to El Show.
If you’re aiming for the NHL (or not), I can’t help you with your shot or foot speed (I’m a former low-scoring, shot-blocking amateur defenseman).
As a professional Spanish language consultant, I can assist you with your pronunciation, customize a learning plan for you or transcreate your team’s creative content.
Let’s get started with a free consultation.
Picture from the Porch Courtesy of YYT Photography and Design © 2020
Check this out, my wife told me.
She knows I’m fascinated with multilingual musicians and had a feeling I’d enjoy Kelly Clarkson’s performance of her latest hit, “I Dare You” in, English, Spanish, and well, let’s see if you can figure out the other four languages.
My wife and I then watched Clarkson’s interview with The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon. Clarkson got a head start on learning romance languages because as a kid she sang opera songs. She had wanted to perform a song like “I Dare You” in multiple languages for several years.
When asked to record all six versions of “I Dare You” in four days, Clarkson could have balked. No way, not now. Too much to learn all at once.
The urgency of this worldwide pandemic and the need for global unity propelled her to step outside her comfort zone. She collaborated with five singers to keep us connected while in quarantine. The song’s message: Choose love.
The Spanish version, “Te Reto a Amar,” has taken control of my heart and feet, my vocal cords and mouth. I love that the English and Spanish videos show the words, too.
After making a lot of rookie pronunciation mistakes in Spanish, I can see the letters and know how to pronounce them correctly.
Because Spanish and English share so many letters—some with different sounds—it’s common for Spanish learners to develop poor pronunciation habits that can distract native speakers.
You may have already mispronounced “Te Reto a Amar” because the English R sound does not exist in Spanish.
To prevent the proliferation of this misapplication, we’ll deploy the Slow-Motion Spanish™ technique: Simplify. Go with what you know. Crawl. Walk. Run.
If the language you know best is English, say this slowly:
ted duh-DEBT-oh ah MOD
Again: ted duh-DEBT-oh ah MOD
A bit faster: ted duh-DEBT-oh ah MOD
When you feel like you’ve got it down, and if you haven’t done so already, say them out loud as you mesh English with Spanish.
“Te Reto a Amar”
Congratulations, you just crushed it like Kelly Clarkson and her duet partner Blas Cantó. You may not be ready to perform the song on the Tonight Show. That’s okay. We’ll leave that up to Jimmy Fallon.
You see, Clarkson has entreated Fallon to sing a non-English version of “I Dare You” with her when the Tonight Show returns to its regular format, when we can hug a friend again.
What language would you like to see Fallon try: Arabic, French, German, Hebrew or Spanish?
Picture from the Porch Courtesy of JC.Dwyer © 2020
I can hypnotize you in Portuguese. Well, maybe not yet. After three weeks of merging my passions—learning languages and calming my restless mind—I can understand and repeat more and more words and phrases. During my 15+ minutes a day, here’s what I’m hearing and saying:
I want you to concentrate on my voice. Get comfortable. Relax. One, two, three. Breathe deeply. This is the only moment. One, two, three. With each breath…more and more relaxed. Calm. Well now, we’re all part of the same universe, becoming stronger. Building immunity against coronavirus.
Still awake? Very good. Muito bem.
When this social distancing is behind us, I’ll put what I’ve learned to practical use with some of the 50,000 people of Brazilian ancestry living in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers.
Until then, I’ll stick with my new routine because I’m feeling so relaxed as I listen to a soothing voice and then drift off to a peaceful, dreamless state of mind. I awake feeling refreshed, unhurried.
I still have much more to learn, for sure, before I can dazzle a native Portuguese speaker. My pronunciation could do with some polishing, for example. Nevertheless, I’ve surrendered the temptation to look up words I still don’t understand, to purchase Rosetta Stone or hunt and peck for videos and podcasts on the Internet.
Instead, and with the convergence of passions, I’m seeing many of the words I hear in my mind’s eye and can categorize them as plurals, possessive adjectives, verb conjugations. It all fits together for me. I’m building a foundation for speaking and writing Portuguese and feel good about my purpose, progress and practice routine.
What are you doing to take care of yourself? To challenge and reward yourself?
Did you know that there are more than 600,000 native Spanish speakers living in Massachusetts, according to Census.gov?
How many of these people may share your passion for yoga, dogs, fútbol, football…talking about Tom Brady?
How do you feel about all this? Not sure if you want to learn Spanish, what your goals are or how to go about it?
Friends, co-workers and family tell me I’m good listener. I promise not to hypnotize you, so why don’t we get started?
“Feliz Navidad.”
You probably know the lyrics by now, right? But odds are you’ve either been mishearing and mispronouncing José Feliciano’s happy holy-day greeting.
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¿Todos van al cine?
As a college sophomore and a novice Spanish-speaker studying in Spain, I once asked my madrileño friends, “¿Todos van al cine?” Or so I thought.
Read MoreEverything’s connected…like LEGO, Batman, Robin…and Spanish pronunciation.
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