View Full Version : Need to learn Spanish
Can anybody reccomend a good book to learn Spanish on the trail? Small, light and effective.
Thx!
Not quite what you wanted... :)
http://www.bottlesintranslation.com/products.shtml
...but I could not pass it up.
Now that bottle was funny!
I suggest Berlitz "Spanish for Travelers." It is a small soft hardy cover book and has alot of useful infomation, the basics, including prounciation, alot of phrases, sentences and a dictionary. If you want to get a handle on verb tenses, you might take a community college basics class before you go. They are usually very reasonable on price and meet in the evenings. I took a French one and they are usually great on the basics. I studied Spanish in school and it is not horribly complicated but it is difficult to learn verb tense from a book. You will meet people on the trail that had it in school and can help you along. Nice idea.
Survivor Dave
02-05-2009, 22:18
Comer todo que quieres=All You Can Eat:D
YoungMoose
02-05-2009, 22:22
Sorry take italian
why use a book? find a spanish speaking hiking companion you don't have to carry them and how do you get pronunciation from a book
Ron Haven
02-05-2009, 22:44
why use a book? find a spanish speaking hiking companion you don't have to carry them and how do you get pronunciation from a bookGood advise.Friend you need to first learn to pronounce the alphabet or you will have lots of trouble speaking it correctly.They have some CDs if you have a small player with earphones.A small translation dictionary will get you started if you can't find someone to help you one on one.
Jim Adams
02-06-2009, 00:09
Just go hike the PCT...everything in California is already in spanish!
geek
wcgornto
02-06-2009, 00:27
Si usted camina del norte al sur y empieza el 15 del junio, puede caminar conmigo. Puedo ayudar a usted con sus estudias. Llevaré libros y audio solamente en español.
If you hike from the north to the south and begin on June 15th, you can hike with me. I can help you with your studies. I will carry books and audio only in Spanish.
Sorry take italian
Accosenta! Parli italiano? Parlo piccolo italiano....e non molto bene. :)
re: Spanish and the PCT (and CDT in New Mex)
I ended up pronouncing the Spanish names like a guy from the Northeast speaking bad Italian trying to say Spanish. :o
Cibola? I proncounced it Chi-bo-lla Agua Dulce? Aqua Dol-chey... Poor people did not know what the heck I was saying...
How long before you hike? Get Rosetta Stone Spanish and then when you're on trail take one of those little pocket dictionaries, you may be surprised at how easy RS is to learn :)
I was thinking about getting RS. Is it really as good as they claim or marketing BS?
Gray Blazer
02-06-2009, 10:00
why use a book? find a spanish speaking hiking companion you don't have to carry them and how do you get pronunciation from a book
That's the beauty of hiking the FT in South FL. You'll learn quickly especially if you're hiking historic Coral Way.
Leaving at beginning of April. I am using RS right now. It is actually quite good, but you have to stay on it. I am too hyped about getting ready for the hike to use it!
berninbush
02-06-2009, 12:57
The good thing about Spanish pronunciation is that it is very, very consistent. It is far easier than English in terms of rules... there are no "long and short" or "silent" vowels, etc. So if you study the pronunciation and get it down before your hike, then you can practice reading written materials on the trail without too much trouble.
The trickiest thing about Spanish is all the irregular verbs. Almost any verb you'd want to use in normal situations is irregular in some way!! Irregular verbs tend to come in "families" that are all irregular in the same way, though. I know there is a book on "501 Irregular Spanish Verbs" but I'm not sure it's something you'd want to hike with. Maybe, as suggested above, you could start with a conversational book and then tackle the verbs when you get home.
max patch
02-06-2009, 13:01
Take the train to Gainesville, GA and then grab a taxi to Springer or Amicalola. That'll be a good first lesson.
Gray Blazer
02-06-2009, 14:20
The good thing about Spanish pronunciation is that it is very, very consistent. It is far easier than English in terms of rules... there are no "long and short" or "silent" vowels, etc. So if you study the pronunciation and get it down before your hike, then you can practice reading written materials on the trail without too much trouble.
The trickiest thing about Spanish is all the irregular verbs. Almost any verb you'd want to use in normal situations is irregular in some way!! Irregular verbs tend to come in "families" that are all irregular in the same way, though. I know there is a book on "501 Irregular Spanish Verbs" but I'm not sure it's something you'd want to hike with. Maybe, as suggested above, you could start with a conversational book and then tackle the verbs when you get home.
Those darn spanish people have a different word for everything (except "NO")
There, their, and they're.
Give me an example of how to use each one in a phrase, THEN tell me SPANISH is difficult!
Nuclear (Nu-cle-ar), not Nu-cu-lar.
Jewelry (Jew-el-ry), not Jew-le-ry.
Oh, and, of course,
February (Feb-RU-ary), not Feb-YOU-ary.
I think we have our hands full with our OWN language. :p
Spanish lessons on iPod
http://www.loquella.com/learnspanishmp3.html
leeki pole
02-06-2009, 16:07
All you need to know is cerveza, por favor and gracias. That'll do it.