Buenas tardes mis amigos?!
Tonight, I'm happy to say that I accomplished the monster that I owe you all. Annnnnnd I decided to double up for you for the hell of it. Yes...I know you love me.
Spanish is up first. I've been studying Spanish since I was in the 9th grade. Because of the sheer amount of time that I have been exposed to the sexiness that is Spanish, the words that are supposed to be "new", that of course would be for a newbie, were usually nothing more than review for me. I'm almost on Unit 2, and I have only picked up maybe a few things I didn't know from before. However, I do think everyone should learn Spanish because the Hispanic population is becoming more a force each day. The upside: the language is easy...The downside: there isn't one! Learn it.
I always imagine myself in the position of one of those guys from this hybrid car commercial where they start a language course and are barely speaking Spanish, and by the end, when they pump gas, they're speaking it fluently.
Now...For what you've all been waiting for..Vietnamese..
A: I feel better about it.
B: It's still pretty damn hard.
Vietnamese is like Thai, Cantonese, and Mandarin, in that it's a tonal language. Meaning that an incorrect tone can give a word a completely different meaning. The upside is that they generally use the same letters that we use in the English alphabet. The downside to that is that there are lots of little dots and lines that can go above or below certain ones that alter the pronunciation.
The only resource I had to help me write was Google Translate. If it weren't for that, I would never have known where the modifiers for letters went. Aside from that, it wasn't so bad. It's just going to be tough charging it all to memory because there are lots of little words and the grammar can get awkward at times. It's not easy, but I think it's definitely worth learning. I even used some earlier today when I went with my girlfriend to the nail salon!
Adios,
Your Favorite Polyglot
Twitter: @mistercapoeira
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