Spanish for Star Wars Aficionados and Frikis →

Spain, 1983, El Retorno del Jedi arrived at movie theaters in Madrid. I don’t remember watching it and can only recall the billboards promoting this second Star Wars movie. I’m sure I mispronounced the title because, as a young Spanish student, I often made this Wookiee mistake: assuming that Spanish and English letters are pronounced the same.

My aim here is to help native English speakers avoid the dark side of Spanish Ds and Rs. As Obi-Wan Kenobe would say, “Your eyes can deceive you.”

Using the SlowMotion Spanish™ technique, let’s address this problem and boost your confidence in speaking.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” you might be saying to yourself?

Let’s deploy a simple Jedi mind trick. Say the following in English, slowly. Three times each.

1.       fuh-DEE-key

2.      tuh-dee low-HE-ah

3.      el ahl-CONE me-len-AH-dee-oh

4.      joe soy too PAH-duh-deh

5.      ah-YOU-thah-meh, Obi-Wan Kenobi. ED-ess me YOU-knee-kah es-ped-AHN-sah

6.      keh lah FWETTER-sah teh ah-comb-PAHN-yeh

Go back and say them again, young Jedi. This time, a bit more quickly. Crawl. Walk. Run.

Now, here’s what you said in Spanish:

1.      friki

2.     trilogía

3.     El halcón milenario

4.     Yo soy tu padre.

5.     Ayúdame, Obi-Wan Kenobe. Eres mi única esperanza.

6.     Que la Fuerza te acompañe.

Need more guidance with pronunciation? A customized learning plan? Someone to transcreate your movie script or soundtrack? I’m here to listen.

Let’s get started.

Merging Passions: A Foundation for Language Learning →

I can hypnotize you in Portuguese. Well, maybe not yet. After three weeks of merging my passions—learning languages and calming my restless mind—I can understand and repeat more and more words and phrases. During my 15+ minutes a day, here’s what I’m hearing and saying:

I want you to concentrate on my voice. Get comfortable. Relax. One, two, three. Breathe deeply. This is the only moment. One, two, three. With each breath…more and more relaxed. Calm. Well now, we’re all part of the same universe, becoming stronger. Building immunity against coronavirus.

Still awake? Very good. Muito bem.

When this social distancing is behind us, I’ll put what I’ve learned to practical use with some of the 50,000 people of Brazilian ancestry living in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers.

Until then, I’ll stick with my new routine because I’m feeling so relaxed as I listen to a soothing voice and then drift off to a peaceful, dreamless state of mind. I awake feeling refreshed, unhurried.

I still have much more to learn, for sure, before I can dazzle a native Portuguese speaker. My pronunciation could do with some polishing, for example. Nevertheless, I’ve surrendered the temptation to look up words I still don’t understand, to purchase Rosetta Stone or hunt and peck for videos and podcasts on the Internet.

Instead, and with the convergence of passions, I’m seeing many of the words I hear in my mind’s eye and can categorize them as plurals, possessive adjectives, verb conjugations. It all fits together for me. I’m building a foundation for speaking and writing Portuguese and feel good about my purpose, progress and practice routine.

What are you doing to take care of yourself? To challenge and reward yourself?

Did you know that there are more than 600,000 native Spanish speakers living in Massachusetts, according to Census.gov?

How many of these people may share your passion for yoga, dogs, fútbol, football…talking about Tom Brady?

How do you feel about all this? Not sure if you want to learn Spanish, what your goals are or how to go about it?

Friends, co-workers and family tell me I’m good listener. I promise not to hypnotize you, so why don’t we get started?