Just a quick update by me, Ramses. Currently I’m in Málaga (Andalucía) for work, and it’s great here. Back home in Amsterdam it’s something like minus 10°C which is not funny at all. Luckily I’m in Málaga where yesterday it was just below 20°C.
Don’t believe me, huh? Well, here’s proof:
¡Tomaaa! ¡19 grados!
Yes, I love my life at the moment, thank you for asking.
Anyway, that’s not why I’m posting (or maybe just a little)- I’m posting because I want to share a little success story with you all. This simply proves that anyone can become good at any language and sound like a native. It doesn’t take any grammar lessons or studying, just old school copying and persistence.
What happened?
So right after arriving in Málaga, two colleagues of mine and I went out for lunch and some beers. Because we have a collective hate for anything McDonald’s or Burger King we decided to go to a chiringuito (beach bar) where they had tapas and raciones. Immediately the waiter started to tease me with my strong Galician accent, and he was convinced that I was from Galicia. I didn’t mention that I’m Dutch and didn’t speak any Spanish four years ago.
We ended up talking about football (what else is new in Spain) and still he was convinced that I just arrived from La Coruña to celebrate carnaval in Andalucía. I didn’t fool him for a just few minutes, but for an entire two hours, which consisted of joking around with my colleagues and him and just talking about lots of random stuff.
So yes, I dare say that I’ve graduated as gallego. Even in Galicia I’ve managed to fool people for a few hours, but in the end they knew there was something ‘off’ about my Spanish skills. Not anymore; I just speak and don’t even notice my accent anymore. Everyone I speak to says I have the strongest Galician accent ever, which just feels cool.
Don’t let anyone tell you it’s impossible to acquire a native accent, because it’s possible. My ‘method’ was/is to always imitate people and just exaggerate. Don’t sound like a robot, just pick up the way people pronounce things and try to make fun of it. In the end you will sound exactly the same if you persist and people from other parts of Spain will make fun of you. However, this time having people make fun of you is the best feeling ever, because you will know you’ve reached your goal of becoming a native.
¡Ciao nenos!
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Ramses, Long time no see! I remember reading somewhere that when you were still learning Spanish, you did a lot of reading, listening, and watching tv, and I was wondering if you still recommend that for beginners? Should beginners start reading native Spanish stuff before they even know how to pronouce the words or should they wait a bit and only start when they feel "ready" ala Matt?
PS. I must ask, is your name really Ramses?
Hi Kita,
Well, I believe in always wanting to learn. Heck, I’m not even finished learning my native Dutch, so why would I ever stop wanting to improve my Spanish? It’s not that I’m learning it perse, it’s more that I’m just trying to improve little things.
Second: Matt is doing the TV method and indeed waited before reading things. The sole reason I started to read early was because I studied Spanish language and culture in college, which required me to read stuff in Spanish. If you can wait and just watch television and listen to music, then do that. I know there’s nothing wrong with copying a baby’s way of learning (we’re just doing everything 5 times faster), so why not wait?
And yes, Ramses is my real name
Great post, Ramses! You're living my dream right now (I keep telling myself–a couple of years, Daniel… and you'll be in Spain, too).
I just wanted to ask if there are any Gallego (read: the Galician variety of Spanish, not necessarily the Galician language) resources on the web–like tv shows made with characters in Galicia–because I'm very interested in their accent. I know you posted a video of the La Koruña guy a while back, but I wanted to know if there were any more professional television examples.
Thanks, Ramses!
P.S. Due to this blog, last April I changed my language learning habits and methods, and my world has been turned upside down. I have a lot of Spanish and Latino friends, I'm on the 'fast track' to fluency, and it's all thanks to you. Keep up the posts!
Hey buddy. Great to hear that people are changing their lives in order to pursue their dream(s). It's an honor to hear that people do that because of this blog.
As for your question about Galician Spanish: I've searched, and searched, and searched some more, but I couldn't find any shows in Spanish in which the majority of the people are from Galicia. I guess some things you can only learn when living abroad
Also I'm curious–what Spanish tv shows are some of your favorites?
Ramses, that's a great story! I have never fooled a Spaniard into thinking I was Spanish, but I certainly fooled a couple from the Dominican Republic that I met in an Italian train station during my European vacation two summers ago. I had just been in Madrid for a week or so, and had gotten back into the habit of saying graTHias and neTHesito and haTHe, so we spoke for at least an hour before it came out that I was actually American. They were floored.
It was a cool feeling.