Responding-
I like how the vowels are only pronounced one way in Spanish. It was much easier to pronounce Spanish words once I realized this. Vince.
You are absolutely correct about the vowels and the pronunciation. In essence you can?t go wrong once you understand the phonetics of the language which also includes diphthongs etc. as well as the rules of accentuation. They all go hand in hand. An excellent review from time to time is to read the first few pages of a Spanish dictionary, these rules are covered in full.
Estrella, i don't know where did you get that English has more words and is a riches language than Spanish!!!! ......
You have not defended your point of view at all. As I stated in my post above there is no right or wrong in this discussion about the richness of either language. There may be some good information on the subject however, one?s own experience should also be considered when assessing the richness of English vs. Spanish with solid back up to support one?s opinion. I think if one were to seriously debate this, many points can be brought to the table. In a quick comparison I would argue the following:
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Vocabulary- IMO, English and Spanish have rich vocabulary and one of the prime ways to discover this is via literature. Sometimes when I look up a word in the dictionary I also look up the synonyms. This also gives me an idea of the richness of a language. Spanish always has a handful of synonyms but you can?t use all the words with the same meaning whereas English just seems to have a wealth of equivalent words.
A simple example is the verb to talk. Compare the options that a thesaurus offers in English and Spanish. The English synonyms are too numerous to list, the most common Spanish synonyms are:
opinar, gritar, cascar, pronunciar, musitar, murmurar, discutir, comentar, afirmar, orar, enunciar, charlar, criticar, recitar, decir, balbucir, conversar, exclamar, dialogar, discursear, proferir, declamar, departir, disertar, platicar, susurrar, cuchichear
-not all can be used to mean
hablar although these words appear as synonyms in the dictionary.
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Grammar- IMO, Spanish wins hands down for richness. Originating from Latin, which has a rich vocabulary; it?s truly a miracle that not much has been lost considering how long ago the language has evolved. As well, from the family of romance languages hats off to French too both languages have extremely rich grammar.
English grammar is just downright difficult and it?s not studied enough in the classroom. Verb conjugation although much simpler than Spanish still poses difficulty in the past tense and many past participles are irregular.
I and
me are often used incorrectly and many don?t recognize it. For example, me and John went to the store is incorrect. It should be John and I went to the store. The easiest way to decipher the correct form is to break up the sentence. John went to the store and I went to the store (John and I went to the store). Prepositions as well pose difficulty for those who are learning. I always hear incorrect usage of in, on, of, for, at etc.
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Literature- IMO, both languages have rich literature you just have to know what genre and era of authors to buy. I prefer Spanish literature and I don?t read in English at all. It?s a preference. I have renewed my interest to read in French over the summer. To get a good selection of novels I select from university course work and have discovered interesting French literature by authors from Quebec, Haiti, Morocco and France. It?s all about preference.
Thanks so much, I am buying Children's books to read (5th-7th grade level) just haven't gotten around to actually reading them. Usually the only reason I get the past tense form correct is from hearing a spanish speaker say the sentence first.
Whe I KNOW what to say, I am usually mistaken for a Dominicana, that is only because I am VERY good at imitation!!! SHALENA
It?s good to hear that you purchased some books to begin reading. As I stated it?s an important and fundamental part of the learning process. Unfortunately, many try to side step it and it?s obvious as their comprehension, fluency, grammar and spelling are weak as a result. Reading at your level is the key to success and then gradually increasing your level of difficulty. Imitating speakers is good but only at a certain level. As you can see, when you have to decipher between the two past tenses on your own, you get stuck. Study the rules of grammar. Take ownership of your own growth in the language.
Here is an excerpt of a book from an online reading website that offers beginner, intermediate and advance level reading. It?s good to test yourself to determine your reading level. This excerpt is from the beginners section.
Lejos de casa
-CVC. Lecturas paso a paso
Todo empez? el mi?rcoles 12 de mayo. Tres d?as antes de San Isidro, la fiesta mayor de Madrid. Una fiesta que dura una semana y media, m?s o menos, con baile y espect?culos todas las noches. Miles de madrile?os est?n por la calle hasta muy tarde, y hay gente y ruido por todas partes pero especialmente en el centro. Y yo vivo en el centro. Adem?s, a m?, las fiestas populares no me gustan. Por eso, ese a?o hab?a decidido irme unos d?as de vacaciones. Ese mi?rcoles 12 de mayo, estaba a punto de irme. Pensaba pasar toda la semana en Menorca. En mayo es una buena ?poca: pocos turistas y, seguramente, bastante buen tiempo. Quer?a tomar el sol y no hacer nada en absoluto. S?lo descansar. Descansar y leer un par de buenas novelas. Pero no pudo ser. En la agencia de detectives no tenemos mucho trabajo normalmente. Pero, siempre que quiero irme de vacaciones, las cosas se complican. Ese mi?rcoles 12 de mayo, un d?a antes de irme a Menorca, son? el tel?fono.
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-LDG.
