To keep our god-fearing heads attached to our bodies...
Judges 12:6
«then they would say to him, "Say now, 'Shibboleth.'" But he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim.»
More on shibboleth and the use of language to distinguish social groups, here.
Showing posts with label the rest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the rest. Show all posts
20 June 2008
21 March 2008
A World Without Courses
Do you know George Siemens? It’s ok if you don’t, I didn’t until I somehow run into his World without courses presentation. You should check it out, it gets a bit slow after 10 minutes, but it’s definitively worth the time. As part of an informal system of education, I felt I had something to add.
I said it in the Spanish pronunciation course Syllabus: I’ll give you no credits, no diplomas. In fact, not a single means of recognition or accreditation is handed out at the end of the course. But, people visit this blog everyday, and they do wanna take classes, and they even do their homework and work hard to change the way they speak. Why? WHY?!
A thought has been haunting me for some time now, and even though I doubt it’s in my best interest to share it with any potential students, all of you must have thought about it sometime: learning to speak proper Spanish is a luxury, something which is pleasant to have, but is not really necessary. I know, last time I commented here I said something about my students taking their oral skills seriously usually because either their job or their social survival depends on it. A bit dramatic, but true: if you want to start a conversation that dark haired, green eyed a girl who has been drawing your attention since you entered the bar, it will be easier if she understands what the hell you’re saying. And if you want to ask your Spanish speaking boss for a raise, you can’t go mumbling in Spanglish.
But -God I love arguing with myself-, foreign accents are damn hot for picking up chicks. And you could probably tell your boss that you want to discuss something serious, and therefore you would feel more comfortable doing it in English (he will be the one mumbling then). See, there is no need to study Spanish pronunciation. Unless you want to, of course.
Last time I saw my shrink, we talked about el deseo. Weird thing, our desires. It seems that sometimes, when we wish something really badly, we can’t do it, we get afraid. Or we decide it’s not what we want, then we change our mind again. Think about relationships: when we have strong feelings towards somebody, that’s when we start having doubts. One day we wanna get married, and the next we wanna be alone. In Spain they´ve got a saying for it, porque te quiero te aporreo, it´s because I love you that I hit you.
The words I liked most from George Siemens´ presentation were these:
Learners who are motivated, learners who are engaged, will, in a space where there is an abundance of open access information, be able to find the need or the nature of the learning they require. Whether that’s through access to open courseware initiatives (...) or simply through searching online. Learning, that learners wish to engage in for their own personal value, they will find a means to satisfy.
Isn’t it beautiful?
If you’re thinking where is the "Spanish pronunciation" of this post, don’t you ask for your money back yet. For you engaged, motivated learners out there, I leave you with this excellent post on Spanish regional variations by Graham Stephen and Karin Sequén from English/Spanish Exchange.
¡Saludos!
I said it in the Spanish pronunciation course Syllabus: I’ll give you no credits, no diplomas. In fact, not a single means of recognition or accreditation is handed out at the end of the course. But, people visit this blog everyday, and they do wanna take classes, and they even do their homework and work hard to change the way they speak. Why? WHY?!
A thought has been haunting me for some time now, and even though I doubt it’s in my best interest to share it with any potential students, all of you must have thought about it sometime: learning to speak proper Spanish is a luxury, something which is pleasant to have, but is not really necessary. I know, last time I commented here I said something about my students taking their oral skills seriously usually because either their job or their social survival depends on it. A bit dramatic, but true: if you want to start a conversation that dark haired, green eyed a girl who has been drawing your attention since you entered the bar, it will be easier if she understands what the hell you’re saying. And if you want to ask your Spanish speaking boss for a raise, you can’t go mumbling in Spanglish.
But -God I love arguing with myself-, foreign accents are damn hot for picking up chicks. And you could probably tell your boss that you want to discuss something serious, and therefore you would feel more comfortable doing it in English (he will be the one mumbling then). See, there is no need to study Spanish pronunciation. Unless you want to, of course.
Last time I saw my shrink, we talked about el deseo. Weird thing, our desires. It seems that sometimes, when we wish something really badly, we can’t do it, we get afraid. Or we decide it’s not what we want, then we change our mind again. Think about relationships: when we have strong feelings towards somebody, that’s when we start having doubts. One day we wanna get married, and the next we wanna be alone. In Spain they´ve got a saying for it, porque te quiero te aporreo, it´s because I love you that I hit you.
The words I liked most from George Siemens´ presentation were these:
Learners who are motivated, learners who are engaged, will, in a space where there is an abundance of open access information, be able to find the need or the nature of the learning they require. Whether that’s through access to open courseware initiatives (...) or simply through searching online. Learning, that learners wish to engage in for their own personal value, they will find a means to satisfy.
Isn’t it beautiful?
If you’re thinking where is the "Spanish pronunciation" of this post, don’t you ask for your money back yet. For you engaged, motivated learners out there, I leave you with this excellent post on Spanish regional variations by Graham Stephen and Karin Sequén from English/Spanish Exchange.
¡Saludos!
20 February 2008
Practice makes perfecto
Last year a got a mail from Olivia Keetch, she wanted to start some pronunciation classes. But she also happened to be a reporter. She works in The Argentimes, and wanted to write a piece about my classes. Well, the article is out, click below to read it.
Don´t know The Argentimes yet? It´s a free, English written newspaper "aimed at the youth market". I usually grab my copy at the California Burrito CO, at Lavalle almost Paseo Colón.
Unique phonetic advice on how to shake that gringo accent off is on the way, stay tuned by subscribing to my RSS feed!
Don´t know The Argentimes yet? It´s a free, English written newspaper "aimed at the youth market". I usually grab my copy at the California Burrito CO, at Lavalle almost Paseo Colón.
Unique phonetic advice on how to shake that gringo accent off is on the way, stay tuned by subscribing to my RSS feed!
12 February 2008
Spanish pronunciation course syllabus
This course will get you no credits. There are no grades, no textbooks and no assignments. In a perfect world, the objective of this course would be to make you sound like a native Spanish speaker. In a world where pronunciation practice just gets juggled along with work, studies, friends and family, we´ll have to lower the bar a bit. Understanding the many processes that take place in our mouths, realizing the potential of our speech organs and acquiring the ability to consciously change the sounds we produce will have to do. It still sounds like hard work, hu? Well, it is.
Unit #1 is all about the sounds. ¿What is it that gives a language its particular "feel"? When we speak a second language, those sounds and features of our mother tongue seem to give us away. The set of characteristics that define the overall "feel" of a language is called base of articulation-I´ve written about it in this post.
Unit #2 goes about describing isolated sounds. Words are easy, they are either nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions or modifiers, but what about sounds? How can we tell the difference between vowel and bowel, between /b/ and /v/? Every sound has a unique combination of three features, and that allows us to tag them and tell them apart.
Units #3, #4, #5 and #6 deal with consonants, starting with the major groups, the fricatives and the plosives. You can read about them here or here. On the /r/ you can read these posts, and I´ve written this one about the /l/.
Unit #7 deals with vowels. We´ve already said there are +12 vowels sounds in English and only 5 in Spanish... it´s only a matter of cutting them down. Sort of. This post will give you an idea.
Units #8 and #9 are hard. First, #8, word stress -that´s really not that hard, at least compared to #9, intonation. A lousy intonation is probably one of the main reasons English speakers can´t be understood in the first place; you guys just apply the same intonation patterns you use in English, and believe me, it doesn´t work that way.
You can take the course alone or with friends, and classes usually consist of one or two hours once a week, in your place, mine, or at my college. The first class is always free. For more info on days, rates, or if you just want to ask me something about phonetics, write to martin.ventola (a) gmail (.) com.
If you´re interested in shaking that gringo accent off, but don´t want to take the course yet, why don´t you subscribe to my RSS feed? I´ll be posting some usefull tips and exercises from my own classes every week. Sort of.
Unit #1 is all about the sounds. ¿What is it that gives a language its particular "feel"? When we speak a second language, those sounds and features of our mother tongue seem to give us away. The set of characteristics that define the overall "feel" of a language is called base of articulation-I´ve written about it in this post.
Unit #2 goes about describing isolated sounds. Words are easy, they are either nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions or modifiers, but what about sounds? How can we tell the difference between vowel and bowel, between /b/ and /v/? Every sound has a unique combination of three features, and that allows us to tag them and tell them apart.
Units #3, #4, #5 and #6 deal with consonants, starting with the major groups, the fricatives and the plosives. You can read about them here or here. On the /r/ you can read these posts, and I´ve written this one about the /l/.
Unit #7 deals with vowels. We´ve already said there are +12 vowels sounds in English and only 5 in Spanish... it´s only a matter of cutting them down. Sort of. This post will give you an idea.
Units #8 and #9 are hard. First, #8, word stress -that´s really not that hard, at least compared to #9, intonation. A lousy intonation is probably one of the main reasons English speakers can´t be understood in the first place; you guys just apply the same intonation patterns you use in English, and believe me, it doesn´t work that way.
You can take the course alone or with friends, and classes usually consist of one or two hours once a week, in your place, mine, or at my college. The first class is always free. For more info on days, rates, or if you just want to ask me something about phonetics, write to martin.ventola (a) gmail (.) com.
If you´re interested in shaking that gringo accent off, but don´t want to take the course yet, why don´t you subscribe to my RSS feed? I´ll be posting some usefull tips and exercises from my own classes every week. Sort of.
23 January 2008
Diseño nuevo
Hola a todos. Temporariamente el blog va a estar fuera de servicio, esto es, mientras intento hacer que el nuevo diseño funcione correctamente. En el siguiente post voy a publicar la currícula del Curso de Pronunciación Española 2008.
Mientras tanto, pueden:
- Suscribirse al feed de Spanish Pronunciation 101
- Bucear en el foro How to learn any language
- Bajar material educativo en casi cualquier idioma en UZ Translations
- Mirar las animaciones de los sonidos del inglés y el español de la Universidad de Iowa
- Aprender a escribir los símbolos fonéticos en Unicode
Saludos a todos.-
Mientras tanto, pueden:
- Suscribirse al feed de Spanish Pronunciation 101
- Bucear en el foro How to learn any language
- Bajar material educativo en casi cualquier idioma en UZ Translations
- Mirar las animaciones de los sonidos del inglés y el español de la Universidad de Iowa
- Aprender a escribir los símbolos fonéticos en Unicode
Saludos a todos.-
04 January 2008
Happy new year
You might have noticed I stopped posting sometime around December 18th. Well, I gave myself some time off. No more classes till mid-February, if not March. And off to the beach -sunny Mar del Plata, oh yea.
I´ll be back, though, with some new material about phonetics. Thank you Melissa for sending the books! Waiting eagerly for them.
Some podcasts may be on their way.
And even some exercises.
I´ve also got my hands on a BG Super Revelation ligature, to fit to my Berg Larsen mouthpiece. Quoting the cheesy ad, "exceptional radiance, a more brilliant and compact sound, easy staccato". Better, worse? Forever mystery. Drop by next time we hit it with el Teniente Pascual, or just call us to funk your party up.
And about new year -and past-, it was fun, saludos a todos.-
I´ll be back, though, with some new material about phonetics. Thank you Melissa for sending the books! Waiting eagerly for them.
Some podcasts may be on their way.
And even some exercises.
I´ve also got my hands on a BG Super Revelation ligature, to fit to my Berg Larsen mouthpiece. Quoting the cheesy ad, "exceptional radiance, a more brilliant and compact sound, easy staccato". Better, worse? Forever mystery. Drop by next time we hit it with el Teniente Pascual, or just call us to funk your party up.
And about new year -and past-, it was fun, saludos a todos.-
22 September 2007
Introducing my new ad
Those of you living in Buenos Aires might come across my new ad. If you like it, feel free to express your gratitude to my pal Alejo, aka Carnaza Común. You can browse more of his work at http://www.alejoromano.com.ar/.13 August 2007
How&Why, plus shortest biography ever written
I hooked up with this pretty girl in Peru, in the Inca Trail, to be precise. Let’s call her Melissa, to protect her privacy. She was American, I was not only Argentinean, but also one of the few who could speak a somewhat understandable English and also managed to hold his rum after endless hours of mountain trekking –quite a feat. One thing led to another, and one month later, we met again in Buenos Aires.
This girl has this power, I don’t mean anything otherworldly, but she got me off my ass, and that’s a lot to say. She made me realize I had much to offer to the Argentinean society, but mostly to the expat part of it. During one of our enlightening conversations, the idea of a Spanish Pronunciation Course came up, and, as the weakest pup in the box, started nesting in my head. It was not the prettiest, but man, it had potential.
No one gives a darn about Spanish Pronunciation. I think there’s even some kind of pride in speaking lousy Spanish. But God forgive me if I ever dare to show up to a job interview with an English accent matching my sombrero! And what about those of you who want to teach English? How does your flawed Spanish pronunciation reflect on your language skills?
Acknowledged, it’s not entirely your fault. Most of the people who pick Spanish as their second language rarely get a decent teacher who can actually speak properly, and I’m not talking about a native teacher! The notion of the native teacher being the best option to teach a language is highly questionable. How can an English speaker tell me what the heck I gotta do with my mouth to say the “j” of “jelly”, when he himself has never faced such a challenge? Well, he would have to study a bit. Only then would he be able to tell me that that particular sound involves a total closure of the oral cavity and releasing the air with friction between the front of the tongue and the roof of the mouth and vibration of the vocal folds. In other words, he’d say it is a voiced palato alveolar affricate. Maybe he can also tell me that even native speakers have a hard time acquiring it, often not until the age of four. And regarding French, Portuguese, Greek, Russian, Arabic or Spanish speakers... Well, we are in deep trouble, the little bugger does not even exist in those languages!
What about the other way round? If you’re still reading, I bet you are one of the many who, even after years of hard, demanding and time consuming Spanish courses, is still struggling with that erre de guitarra, erre de barril, cómo rueda la rueda de ferrocarril. Maybe you’re one of those who don’t know why people hear “e” when you say “i”. Or maybe, after years of living in Argentina, you still hear this weird anomaly in your “s”... Is it the same sound in sílaba and in cuesta? Is it the same “b” in bomba and in caballo? The same “n” in nena and in enfermo? And what about the “a” in man and in mamá?! Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re not going crazy; the letter is the same, but the sound is different.
There’s no doubt that the Spanish phonetic system is much simpler than the English one. You crazy bastards have about twelve vowels! Twelve! We stopped at five! Moreover, when we write an “e”, you can be darn sure we’re gonna say an “e”. On the other hand, think about your “i”, like the one in “police”. That same sound can be spelled either ee, e, ea, ie, ei, ey, or (logically?) i, not to mention those weird weird words, like quay, or people. Looks like you’ve got the upper hand, why not take the advantage?
Ok, studying phonetics is no picnic in the park. It involves a couple of sciences, from general grammar to phonoaudiology, but what I consider key is the will to change. Surely, playing a musical instrument or just having a trained ear will help you a lot, but you can do without that as long as you’re willing to do the hard work. And of course, hard work is never enough:
Melissa left about a month ago, with quite a good accent (something I had nothing to do with, the girl’s a natural). But, when she got into the taxi that was to take her to the airport, it was not her accent that gave her away. She didn’t have to say a word for the driver to ask: You American, or European?
Having finished high school in a German institute in 2000, Martín Ventola toured through mayors as dissimilar as Veterinary and Journalism, until he started steering towards Language; first Sworn Translation in UCA, and then the English Teacher’s Course in Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramón Fernández, where he’s currently studying to become, hopefully in about 3 years, a Literary-Scientific Translator. Presently, he attends Professor Roxana Basso’s Phonetic Tutorship in Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramón Fernández, plays sax in the funky Teniente Pascual and teaches Spanish Pronunciation.
This girl has this power, I don’t mean anything otherworldly, but she got me off my ass, and that’s a lot to say. She made me realize I had much to offer to the Argentinean society, but mostly to the expat part of it. During one of our enlightening conversations, the idea of a Spanish Pronunciation Course came up, and, as the weakest pup in the box, started nesting in my head. It was not the prettiest, but man, it had potential.
No one gives a darn about Spanish Pronunciation. I think there’s even some kind of pride in speaking lousy Spanish. But God forgive me if I ever dare to show up to a job interview with an English accent matching my sombrero! And what about those of you who want to teach English? How does your flawed Spanish pronunciation reflect on your language skills?
Acknowledged, it’s not entirely your fault. Most of the people who pick Spanish as their second language rarely get a decent teacher who can actually speak properly, and I’m not talking about a native teacher! The notion of the native teacher being the best option to teach a language is highly questionable. How can an English speaker tell me what the heck I gotta do with my mouth to say the “j” of “jelly”, when he himself has never faced such a challenge? Well, he would have to study a bit. Only then would he be able to tell me that that particular sound involves a total closure of the oral cavity and releasing the air with friction between the front of the tongue and the roof of the mouth and vibration of the vocal folds. In other words, he’d say it is a voiced palato alveolar affricate. Maybe he can also tell me that even native speakers have a hard time acquiring it, often not until the age of four. And regarding French, Portuguese, Greek, Russian, Arabic or Spanish speakers... Well, we are in deep trouble, the little bugger does not even exist in those languages!
What about the other way round? If you’re still reading, I bet you are one of the many who, even after years of hard, demanding and time consuming Spanish courses, is still struggling with that erre de guitarra, erre de barril, cómo rueda la rueda de ferrocarril. Maybe you’re one of those who don’t know why people hear “e” when you say “i”. Or maybe, after years of living in Argentina, you still hear this weird anomaly in your “s”... Is it the same sound in sílaba and in cuesta? Is it the same “b” in bomba and in caballo? The same “n” in nena and in enfermo? And what about the “a” in man and in mamá?! Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re not going crazy; the letter is the same, but the sound is different.
There’s no doubt that the Spanish phonetic system is much simpler than the English one. You crazy bastards have about twelve vowels! Twelve! We stopped at five! Moreover, when we write an “e”, you can be darn sure we’re gonna say an “e”. On the other hand, think about your “i”, like the one in “police”. That same sound can be spelled either ee, e, ea, ie, ei, ey, or (logically?) i, not to mention those weird weird words, like quay, or people. Looks like you’ve got the upper hand, why not take the advantage?
Ok, studying phonetics is no picnic in the park. It involves a couple of sciences, from general grammar to phonoaudiology, but what I consider key is the will to change. Surely, playing a musical instrument or just having a trained ear will help you a lot, but you can do without that as long as you’re willing to do the hard work. And of course, hard work is never enough:
Melissa left about a month ago, with quite a good accent (something I had nothing to do with, the girl’s a natural). But, when she got into the taxi that was to take her to the airport, it was not her accent that gave her away. She didn’t have to say a word for the driver to ask: You American, or European?
Having finished high school in a German institute in 2000, Martín Ventola toured through mayors as dissimilar as Veterinary and Journalism, until he started steering towards Language; first Sworn Translation in UCA, and then the English Teacher’s Course in Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramón Fernández, where he’s currently studying to become, hopefully in about 3 years, a Literary-Scientific Translator. Presently, he attends Professor Roxana Basso’s Phonetic Tutorship in Lenguas Vivas Juan Ramón Fernández, plays sax in the funky Teniente Pascual and teaches Spanish Pronunciation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
