Short Cuts for Learning Spanish

If you plan to live in Cuba it is in your best interest to learn Spanish-the more the better. Frankly, you will be at a disadvantage, somewhat handicapped, and probably always considered a foreigner to some degree without Spanish.

Part of the fun of living in another country is being able to communicate with the locals. Spanish will help you do your banking, find your way around and may even assist you in your romantic endeavors. You will save time and money when shopping and looking for bargains. Spanish will keep people from taking advantage of you and make it easier to deal with the kind of stifling bureaucracy found in Latin America. If you plan to work or do business, Spanish is indispensable. Learning Spanish will lead to a much more rewarding lifestyle and open the door for new and rewarding experiences.

Spanish is also essential if you wind up getting romantically involved with a Cuban. Under these circumstances you will need a basic knowledge of Spanish to facilitate communication. Let's face it, even if two people speak the same language, at times it can be difficult to have a successful relationship. Over the years while residing in Costa Rica the author has watched many relationships fail between Spanish and English speakers due to poor communication.

The best thing a person can do is to start studying Spanish before moving to Cuba to get a head start. We have lost track of the number of times we have heard English speakers lament not having learned the language before moving to a Spanish speaking country.

Try enrolling at a local night school or community college. Better yet, take private lessons from a native speaker. One on one instruction can truly speed up the learning process. 

Once you have learned the basics and get a feel for the language you can then watch Spanish T.V. programs, listen to Spanish radio and music and read as often as possible to increase your vocabulary.

Another excellent way to learn Spanish is to take a "language vacation" to a Spanish speaking country. You should then make arrangements to live with a local family who speaks little or, preferably, no English. This way you will be forced to develop your language skills. Presently it is easier to study Spanish in counties like Guatemala, Costa Rica or Mexico. Due to logistics, the availability of established language schools and comfort you may opt to study in one of these countries instead of Cuba.

There are very good language study programs in Antigua, Guatemala. The town's number one business is teaching Spanish to students. People come from all over the world to take advantage of the low cost classes. The language schools in the area offer tailor made courses for all levels, one-on-one intensive instruction and home stay with local families. The best school is the Academia Española, 3 Avenida, #15, Antigua, Guatemala. Tel/Fax: (502-9) 320344.

The town of Cuernavaca Mexico-located near Mexico City-also has numerous language schools and programs akin to those offered in Antigua. The beautiful town of San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico has language classes at the Instituto Allende. If you are interested in studying Spanish in Mexico, call International Summer stays at 800-274-6007 or Language Studies Abroad at 800-424-5522.

Peaceful Costa Rica has about two dozen Spanish schools from which to choose. Centro Liguistico Conversa offers a conversational program with home stay included. For more information write to: Apdo. 17-1007, Centro Colón, San José, Costa Rica. Tel: (506) 221-76-49, Fax: (506) 233-2418.

If you decide you want to study in Cuba there are several programs which currently offer courses. Mercadu Tel: 33-3893 Fax: 33-3028 located in the Vedado district of Havana is a place to start. They offer intensive courses through the University of Havana for any level. Centro de Idiomas para Extranjeros José Martí, Avenida 3 #402, Miramar, Havana Tel/Fax: 33-1697 also has curses for foreigners. Finally Global Exchange in the U.S., 2017 Mission St., Suite 303, San Francisco, CA 94114, Tel: 800-497-1994, has language courses at the José Martí Language Center.

Spanish is not a difficult language to learn. With a little self discipline and motivation, anyone can acquire a basic Spanish survival vocabulary of between 200-3000 words in a relative short period of time. Many Spanish words are similar enough to English so you can figure out their meanings by just looking at them: tractor-tractor, presidente-president, horrible-horrible, natural-natural, tropical-tropical, chocolate-chocolate, hotel-hotel, sociable-sociable, etc.

The Spanish alphabet is almost like the English one, with a few minor exceptions. Pronunciation is easier than English because you say the words like they look like they should be said. Spanish grammar is somewhat complicated, but can be made easier if you are familiar with English grammar and find a good teacher.

Practicing with a native speaker is by far the best way to improve your Spanish because you can learn how the language is spoken in everyday conversations. It will also help you improve your accent. You will learn new words and expressions not ordinarily found in your standard dictionary or grammar book. If you are lucky enough to find a Cuban teacher you will really have a big advantage.

Listening to language cassettes can also improve your Spanish. There are many cassettes on the market. Each claims to use a particular method guaranteed to teach you the language.  At the end of this section we list some of the cassettes that are found in your local bookstore.

The most complete cassette course is produced by the Foreign Service Institute of the State Department (Call 1-800-243-1234 for information). This course consists of three levels with each being the equivalent of one year of college Spanish. It is used to train government personnel and diplomats before they go overseas. These tapes will give you a solid foundation in spoken Spanish; however, it is very extensive and requires a long term commitment and dedication to profit from the benefits this program has to offer.

Speaking of cassettes, if you are a beginner with little or no knowledge of Spanish, you should purchase the one-of-a-kind book, The Spanish Survival Course and accompanying 90-minute cassette advertised in this book. It is designed especially for people planning to live in Spanish speaking countries like Cuba. It makes learning basic Spanish easy because the student learns the natural way by listening and repeating like a child without grammar. By no means is it a complete Spanish course, but it will give the student a large enough dose of the language to handle most everyday situations.

Lonely Planet Publications released a book on Cuban Spanish in early 2001. It is mainly geared for the traveler and gives basic survival phrases and vocabulary.

Although a number of Cubans speak English, Russian or French, the official language is Spanish.  Cuban Spanish is basically the same as standard Castilian Spanish, but there are a few minor differences you will have to get used to.

The Cuban dialect can be very difficult to understand because the people speak very fast, slurring almost mumbling some words as if they we talking with a mouth full of food.  On top of that, Cubans tend not to pronounce the letter "s" in most words. For instance, instead of saying, "¿Cómo está usted?" (How are you?), they say, "¿Cómo está?" Many linguists say that people who live at low altitudes tend to speak Spanish faster because they need less oxygen to speak than those people living at higher elevations. Perhaps this is why the Cuban people speak so quickly. As for not pronouncing the letter "s", this phenomenon seems to be part of a regional Caribbean dialect. The people of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic also eliminate the letter's".

If you listen to Cubans speak Spanish you will notice they use a lot of expressions not heard in other countries of Latin America. These expressions and words are called, cubanismos. The majorities of these phrases are not found in Spanish dictionaries and sometimes have double meanings.

Here is a list of some of the most common phrases:

Aguaje .................................. a downpour
Asere...................................... friend
Babujal ................................. an evil spirit
Bici ....................................... bicycle
Bohío .................................... hut built of wood and palm leaves
Bucha ................................... a despicable person
Caballería.............................. old Spanish system for measuring land
Carjal ................................... a lot of money
Carranchoso ......................... rough
Coger botella o hacer botella hitch hiking
Espejuelos............................. glasses
Fiñe....................................... child
Gomas.................................... tires
Guagua (wah-wah)................ bus
Guajiro.................................. a country person
Gusano.................................. an unpatriotic person
Jama ..................................... food
Jinetero/a .............................. gold digger or street hustler
Mangonear............................ to manipulate
Máquinas............................... old cars used for taxis
Menudo ................................ change (coins)
Mima ..................................... mom
Paluchero ............................. a charlatán
Pavana ................................. a beating
Pepe ...................................... a foreigner
Pipo ...................................... dad
La pureta .............................. mother

If you wish to learn Cuban phrases, we suggest you buy any of the Cuban phrase books we list below. They are packed with hundreds of words and expressions peculiar to Cuba. You can get a head start on learning Cuban Spanish by studying these books. The downside is that the first three books are written in Spanish. Unless you are an advanced Spanish student you probably won't understand the phrases and words they contain.

Diccionario de Cubanismos Más Usuales, by José Sánchez-Boudy is a series of volumes packed full of idioms and slang.

Refranero Familiar, by Concepción Teresa Alzola has many proverbs and sayings used by the Cuban people.

Así Hablaba Cuba, by Luis Pérez López ex-columnist for Miami's El Nuevo Herald. This guide has over 3,000 Cuban expressions. To order write: P.O. Box 720354, Miami, Fl 33172 or call (305) 226- 8776 or Fax: (305) 226-8709.

Here are a few other good cassette packages you can find in most bookstores:

Berlitz Language Cassette . Berlitz Publications. ISBN 2-8315 0888-6.

Living Language Fast and Easy. Cram Publishers Inc., New York, NY. ISBN 0-517-58579-0.

Spanish at a Glance, by Barron's Publications. 113 Crossway Park Dr. Woodbury, NY 11797.

Spanish on the Go, Comes with two cassettes you can take with you anywhere-while jogging, walking, etc. Barron's Publications. ISBN 0-8120-7829-2.

Talk Spanish Today, 2470 Impala Dr., Carsbad, CA 92008. Call 800-748-54804.

Below is a list of the best books available to help you learn Spanish. Most can be purchased or ordered from any bookstore.

Barron's Basic Spanish Grammar, by Christopher Kendris. An in depth study of Spanish grammar for serious students.

Barron's Spanish Idioms by Eugene Savaia and Lynn W. Winget. This book has more than 2,000 idiomatic words and expressions. It is a helpful handbook for students of Spanish, tourists and business people who want to increase their general comprehension of the language.

Barron's 1001 Pitfalls in Spanish by Julianne Dueber. This guide points to the most common errors students make and shows how to correct them.

Barron's Spanish Vocabulary, also by Julianne Dueber. A good book for building vocabulary.

Dictionary of Spoken Spanish Words, Phrases and Sentences. Dover Publications Inc., New York, NY. ISBN 0-486-20495-2. This is the best of all phrase dictionaries. It contains over 18,000 immediately usable sentences and idioms. We recommend it highly.

Guide to Spanish Idioms, by Raymond H. Pierson. Passport Books, 4255 West Touchy Ave, Chicago, Illinois, 60646. Contains over 2,500 expressions to help you speak like a native.

Just Enough Business Spanish, Passport Books. Full of phrases to help the businessman.

Just Enough Spanish. Passport books. ISBN 0-8442-9500-0. As the title implies, this phrase book shows how to get by in most situations.

Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish Dell Publishing Group, 666 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10103. Provides an easy method of learning Spanish based on the many similarities between Spanish and English. This book is a "must" for the beginner.

Nice n' Easy Spanish Grammar, by Sandra Truscott. Passport Books. Basic grammar.

Talking Business in Spanish, by Bruce Fryer and Hugo J. Faria. Barron's Educational Series. Has over 3,000 business terms and phrases. A must for any person planning to do business in the Spanish speaking world.

A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish, by John Butt and Carmen Benjamin. NTC Publishing Group. This one of the best reference books ever written in Spanish grammar. It is very easy to use and understand.

Breaking Out of Beginning Spanish, by Joseph J. Keenan. University of Texas Press. This helpful book is written by a native English speaker who learned Spanish the hard way. It contains hundreds of practical tips.

Cassell's Colloquial Spanish, by A. Byron Gerrard. Macmillam. This book is full of useful information.

Hot Spanish for Guys and Gals, BabelCom, Inc., New York, NY. Spanish phrases that will help both sexes with their love life.

Spanish for Gringos, by William C. Harvey. Barron's Press. This is an amusing book that will help you improve your Spanish.

Household Spanish, by William C. Harvey. Barron's Press. A user friendly book especially for English speakers who need to communicate with Spanish-speaking employees.

Latin-American Spanish Dictionary, by David Gold. Ballantine Books. A good dictionary of Spanish used in Latin America.

The New World English/Spanish Dictionary, by Salvatore Ramondino. A Signet Book. Another excellent dictionary of Latin American Spanish.

Webster's New World Spanish Dictionary, by Mike Gonzalez. Prentice Hall. Also covers Latin American usage.