scalpy Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I know this thread has gone cold but I was chatting to our Spanish Spanish teacher yesterday and as a confused Aguilar owner checked with her how to say it and her summation was Ah-gee-lar. That's what I'll be sticking with. Or aggies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razze06 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Does anyone have any idea how hard to pronounce certain brands are for non-english speakers? warwick is a classic (warvich? varvik?), or trace elliot (traxeliot is my favourite) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 No harder than learning how to pronounce "Leicester", "Worcester" etc. correctly. The only thing you need to do is be willing to find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razze06 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1332330636' post='1586664'] No harder than learning how to pronounce "Leicester", "Worcester" etc. correctly. The only thing you need to do is be willing to find out. [/quote] True, we all make an effort to learn how to pronounce them properly. Then you go in a shop in italy and ask to try a hartke combo, only to be shown a artec practice amp. (Yes i'm italian) And by the way I ended up buying the artec practice combo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) I tried to buy an Acer netbook in Italy a couple of years ago. Pronouncing it correctly. No luck... And there was the time when I had to practically spell "Alice Cooper" in order to buy his record, since the correct pronunciation of the name - the only pronunciation I know, incidentally - drew an absolute blank from the guys at the record shop (yes, at the time such things still existed). Spain used to be even worse... PS - edited for bad spelling - that'll teach me Edited March 21, 2012 by bluejay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1332330636' post='1586664'] No harder than learning how to pronounce "Leicester", "Worcester" etc. correctly. The only thing you need to do is be willing to find out. [/quote] but the great number of exceptions make it hard... Try "Wymondham" or "Milngavie" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Or practically all place names in Wales, bless 'em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razze06 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1332331871' post='1586692'] but the great number of exceptions make it hard... Try "Wymondham" or "Milngavie" [/quote] Menzies takes the biscuit for me I used to go to Strathaven with my rugby team, we knew how to wind them up before and after the game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1332332072' post='1586697'] Or practically all place names in Wales, bless 'em [/quote] That's only because the English nicked all the good letters and left us with the rubbish ones... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='icastle' timestamp='1332332900' post='1586717'] That's only because the English nicked all the good letters and left us with the rubbish ones... [/quote] A bit like Lynyrd Skynyrd still having no vowels even after being around all these years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) Made me laugh in Spain when trying to ask directions to Valencia. Nobody told me that "V" is actually "B" so i should of said Balencia. EDIT: Should of said its really prnounced "Balenthia". Are they mad? Edited March 21, 2012 by BottomE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1332333136' post='1586725'] A bit like Lynyrd Skynyrd still having no vowels even after being around all these years... [/quote] Absolutely! They're half Welsh you know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) [quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1332335294' post='1586799'] Made me laugh in Spain when trying to ask directions to Valencia. Nobody told me that "V" is actually "B" so i should of said Balencia. EDIT: Should of said its really prnounced "Balenthia". Are they mad? [/quote] No, you are mad, why would it be "s" instead of "th"? valencia is not spelled with an "s"! :-P It's like this: ca, que, qui, co, cu are pronounced as "k" za, ce, ci, zo, zu are pronounced as "th" (qua, quo, quu, ze and zi do not exist in Spanish) simples! except when you get regional accents involved... then "th" becomes "s" and viceversa But at least it's a lot more consistent than English! And yeah, the V/B thing... the V used to be pronounced as in English, but over time it lost its pronounciation and became homophonous with "B". That was a matter of some difficulty in our orthography lessons at school and we all complained that it made no sense and we should just use "B". Our teachers would not listen and still marked us down if we used B instead of V. Also the silent H. What do yo want it for if it's silent??? Again, a lot of times you can see it was derived from a word where the H was initially an "F" ... things like hierro, harina, hacer, hermosa... No idea how the F was lost 'though. Still, at least it's consistent... you see an H, you ignore it. Another reason why they might not understand you if you ask for directions to Valencia is... maybe you were in Alicante. Big rivalry between the neighbouring regions. They may have understood but pretended they did not, because they could not possibly help you go to the land of their enemies! Local rivalries are funny. Edited March 21, 2012 by mcnach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Loving the quick Spanish lesson! Thanks. You may be right regarding rivalry, but also, the Spanish don't seem to be keen on speaking English to British, US, or even Anglo-Italian tourists like yours truly, even when they are able to... perhaps as a form of retaliation on the British seemingly being willing/able to only speak English both in their own country, to visitors, and when they are abroad. I know that because, on my several visits to Spain (both Madrid and Barcelona), I was treated in a completely different way depending on whether I communicated in English (i. e. I was generally given the cold shoulder) or in my Italianate broken Spanish/Catalan (i. e. they were nice and helpful to me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 [quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1332353135' post='1587220'] Loving the quick Spanish lesson! Thanks. You may be right regarding rivalry, but also, the Spanish don't seem to be keen on speaking English to British, US, or even Anglo-Italian tourists like yours truly, even when they are able to... perhaps as a form of retaliation on the British seemingly being willing/able to only speak English both in their own country, to visitors, and when they are abroad. I know that because, on my several visits to Spain (both Madrid and Barcelona), I was treated in a completely different way depending on whether I communicated in English (i. e. I was generally given the cold shoulder) or in my Italianate broken Spanish/Catalan (i. e. they were nice and helpful to me). [/quote] I think it depends on where you are. I've had British friends visiting who got frustrated that they could not practice their Spanish as people took the opportunity to try their English with them. Although it's partly probably because their Spanish was a lot worse than their English In more touristy areas they are used to the British, and merchants will always speak enough English to make a sale. But there is often a general feeling that British tourists are often loud and obnoxious drunks who create far too much trouble. It is an unfortunate generalisaton, but if you visit some popular holiday destinations, you can start seeing why the locals get that feeling. They get also annoyed, rightfully so, at the British (usually British) tourists who would only attempt to speak English to them, and would often poke fun or even become rude when the Spaniards cannot understand them. That makes some people not want to even try speaking English, even if they can speak it fluently. That's not everybody's attitude, just like not all British tourists behave badly... but it is an attitude you can easily find in certain areas. Not so much in Madrid, which attracts a different type of tourism, but you also get that sometimes. The truth is that no matter where you go, you will always get a lot better treatment if you attempt to even use the only two words you may know in the language of the locals. If you are seen as trying, people generally warm up to you faster. In Spain, Portugal, Kenya and Mongolia. It's a human thing, I think. If you approach people directly in English, there is a chance that the person you talk to cannot understand you. We do learn English in school... but the level is pretty basic, and most people are never exposed to the accent of a native speaker (our TV/cinema is dubbed too!) and I remember the first time I came to the UK... what a shock. I always had good grades at school, but the English I encountered in London had nothing to do with what my teachers taught me. So there is always a chance people just don't know enough English, or are shy about the little they know. In addition, yes, some people find it a bit rude to be addressed to in a foreign language... because many do that in an arrogant tone almost, as if demanding that the locals should learn and speak their language. That always rubs people the wrong way. I am not saying that's what you did! Don't get me wrong! I'm just trying to offer some explanations to why, even if you are perfectly nice, you may not find the locals too warm sometimes. I was only (half) joking about the Valencia/Alicante rivalry. They are bitter rivals about who invented and cooks the best paella, and about horchata, and many other things... but I don't think they would extend it to the treatment of visitors. It's not like Israel vs. Syria I was once in Paris, late at night, lost. I had just arrived, my friend could not come to pick me at the airport and I took the wrong bus. This is pre-mobile phones. I was trying to find my way, and asked people on the street. I speak NO French whatsoever. I can understand it in writing to some extent, but I can't speak a word of it. So I tried asking people in English. One after another they all either ignored me, or gesticulated some kind of "I have no clue what you are saying". I found it odd. Eventually, this man also said something in Frensh while waving his hands like "I don't know what you're asking"... but after a few steps, he turned around and asked me *in English* if I were Spanish. It turned out he was half Spanish, and spoke fluent Spanish... and English too. But he said he could not be bothered with the English... I smiled, thanked him for his directions (in Spanish) and as I walked away I muttered a word that rhymes with banker... It happens. No single country has the monopoly in Stupid People. But it always helps to try to speak a bit of the local language. Sometimes it can backfire a bit too. The sounds in Spanish and Greek are remarkably similar, so a Greek who speaks a couple of sentences in Spanish can sound like a very fluent speaker. And viceversa. I was in Greece with my English girlfriend at the time, and we wanted to buy some stamps. I had memorised a few things in Greek and I could put together a sentence to ask for stamps. I asked a woman in a shop, and she replied with a whole paragraph in Greek. I understood nothing. If my girflriend asked, they always point at particular direction, used few words and tried English if they could. If I asked, they'd assume I could speak Greek and would always give me long answers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.