1. Escuchemos los sonidos del alfabeto en español

In class we have worked on dictation. What were you feeling when your professor read and you needed to write? It was a surprise for you when you were able to recognize the sounds in Spanish and could codify the sounds with symbols (letters). Identifying the sound can be tricky especially between the Spanish “i” and the English “e.” Don’t worry, with practice, we will be able to recognize the sounds. We are sure that you recognized the meaning of some words. In the moment that the words had meaning to you, you stopped hearing Spanish and you started listening to Spanish! As you know, hearing and listening are not the same. Hearing is simply the act of perceiving. You were doing that in class as you were listening to the dictation and you were codifying the sounds with their equivalent symbols, the letters. Listening requires concentration. It isn’t only recognizing the sounds vs letters; it is understanding the meaning from the words and sentences. There is a huge difference.

To succeed in communicating in Spanish, we need to read and write Spanish, but speaking and listening is another challenge to conquer. We need to be very clear on two strategies that we must follow to succeed.

1. Make Spanish words part of you, almost as your native language, through study, practice and constant review of Spanish.
   • Use flashcards as a technique.
   • Visualize, vocalize and understand: by looking at images and reading aloud you will work on your ability to speak and to listen. Remember that you can visualize by imagination and vocalize like we studied in Unit 2.
   • Use the diglot weave method to communicate in all your reports. In all your homework insert Spanish words in your English sentences. Keep working and soon your sentences will be 100% in Spanish.
2. Understand that language and culture are inextricably linked with one another. It is impossible to speak any language without knowing the culture. The theories about this relationship between culture and language have been argued and scrutinized by many linguists and scholars since the 19th Century. The Modern Language Association (MLA) that promotes the study and teaching of languages and literatures states the culture of a speaker is reflected in his or her speech. The accent, vocabulary, style of speaking and structure of arguments identify a speaker as a member of a certain cultural group or society (1). To be able to succeed in our Spanish communication, we need to gain awareness, appreciation and respect for the Spanish speakers’ culture and understand cultural differences within the United States and between the different countries that speak Spanish.

It is very common in the United States to view all Spanish speakers as the same. We forget there are twenty-two different Spanish-speaking nations with a strong link between them that make them like brothers but with their own unique identity. The same happens with the English speaker. Imagine that if because we speak English the rest of the world did not acknowledge whether we are from Australia, England, Scotland, United States, etc. We are proud of our nationality and region. When someone asks us about our origin we answer I am from Kansas, I am from New York. The same happens with Spanish speakers. Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Argentinians, Spanish, each one is proud of their own unique culture. As humans, we like to generalize. By doing so, we tend to create stereotypes which is a big cultural mistake.

Keep in mind the phrase:

“To generalize is a lack of education” by Mary Carmen Alegre-Riesgo

As we commented before, the Spanish language is approximately 60% derived from Latin. Remember “latino” means the language of a group of people was derived from Latin. The different countries that speak Italian, French, Romanian and Portuguese are Latinos. As we studied, culture and language are inextricably linked. That is the reason that we will find that they share some similarities; but that doesn’t imply that they are all the same.

The other 40% of the Spanish Language comes from Arabic, Greek and the Native American cultures, also called pre-Hispanic or pre-Colombian cultures (before the arrival of the Hispanics or before Columbus arrived). Languages of those cultures were integrated in Spanish, as Nahuatl from México, Maya form México and Guatemala, Quechua form Peru and Southern Andes, Guarani from Paraguay, etc. Each country where Spanish is spoken has their unique patterns related to pronunciation, cadence, and the meaning of individual words, just as we found different patterns among English speakers. The difference with English is that the Native American cultures did not have a big influence on the language. The reason for this difference was that the Spanish and British conquerors had two very different visions for the new territories. While the two empires wanted the territories and wealth that was in them, the Spanish conquerors also had the objective to convert the native people to Christianity. The native cultures were destroyed in this process, but the people were included in the traditions of the Spanish ruling classes and marriages between groups were common. In contrast, the British colonization excluded and isolated the native people from participation in the economic and religious life of the colonies. In the Spanish territories a new culture was developed, the Mestizo culture, where the Spanish and pre-Hispanic cultures were integrated.

As we hear different Spanish accents, we will find different ways to say the same thing in each region and/or country. For example, bus: In Paraguay and México city is called a “Micro”, in the north of México “camión”, in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba “guagua”, in Uruguay “ómnibus”, in Guatemala “camioneta”, and in España “bus”, in Ecuador “colectivo”, in Colombia “buseta”, in Nicaragua “ruta”. When we learn another language, we forget these little characteristics. We have them in English: in Minnesota you drink a pop, in New York you drink a soda.

Because language and culture are inextricably linked, we are integrating different topics in each unit to help you to understand some of the cultural differences. Answer the following questions. They are a review of some cultural facts that we studied. In case you don’t remember you can review our last units. Use the diglot-weave method to write your answers.

1. ¿Qué es el seseo?_____________________________________
2. ¿Qué países son Norteamericanos?_______________________________
3. ¿Cuántos continentes tenemos en español?______________________
4. ¿Quiénes son latinos?____________________________________
5. ¿Qué países son americanos?_____________________________
6. ¿Cuántos países hablan español?__________________________
7. ¿Qué países son hispanoamericanos?_________________________
8. ¿Quiénes son hispanos?_________________________________
9. ¿Do you think that all the countries that speak Spanish have the same culture? ___ Why/why not? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In class, we will talk about your answers.