How am I ever going to learn to speak Spanish
How am I ever going to learn to speak Spanish when I have enough trouble remembering English words!
Here are two words I couldn’t think of recently:
One was caulking. The other was pumice.
I don’t know why I wanted to know the word caulking, but I sure did want to think of the word. It was haunting me.
Pumice was a word called for in the Heavenletter™ written down this morning that will come out in a few weeks. God was saying to keep our hearts soft, not abrasive like a pumice stone.
I could picture a pumice stone. I knew everything about a pumice stone except for the word itself. For the longest time, I couldn’t think of the word pumice. I left a blank space before stone in the Godwriting until, at last, I did remember.
I would not do well on Jeopardy, the TV Show. I might know the answer, but the actual word wouldn’t be on the tip of my tongue. It would come to me, but too late!
What words do you forget? Oh, no, don’t tell me I’m the only one. :)
Comments
You are SO not the only one! I do this very thing you are talking about all the time and I have done it for as long as I remember, so I can't even blame my age. I think you're being a writer may be partially to blame, Gloria. Writers like to have just the right word for every situation whether speaking or writing, so they end up searching their "files" longer to locate that perfect word. And, their files of words are usually bigger than the average vocabulary file becuase they have lovingly collected so many terrific words.
Dearest Gloria
You will learn Spanish by hearing Spanish, by seeing words written down that remind you of other words - being gifted with a great vocabulary you will find it easier than some. And you will have great teachers on the journey with you. One word at a time is all it takes. The way a child learns his mother tongue and first understands before trying the words out for himself, this is how you will learn. You'll absorb the language. I think you'll love it! Spanish is spoken at the tip of the tongue and with nimble lips - unlike French which is spoken more nasally and further back in the mouth, or German which is spoken deep in the throat. My daughter Ruth and her husband learnt Spanish on their trip around Central and South America by staying at the home of a teacher and speaking it every day. Ruth says that her Spanish couldn't be understood unless she spoke in a voice like Speedy Gonzales! So she would speak the words to her husband Jon and he would repeat them and his voice could be understood. Great teamwork!
My dearest you are going to have so much fun!
Love to you as ever
Chris
Chris, this is the greatest description of learning language that I have ever read! I did not know these distinctions between languages. I knew that German was called gutteral, but I didn't really know what that all meant.
Yes, I will have a beautiful teacher on the motor home trip!
Because of the speed issue, until I get up to snuff, do you think that Ruth would loan me her husband?!!
Muchas gracias, Chris.
Ha ha! I think she would as long as she could come along for the ride too! Their choice at present is to stay in the UK for another 2 years and then head off to New Zealand. Isn't the world becoming a smaller place? Or are we just getting bigger and braver?
Querida Gloria - ¡Buen viaje! (look at that funny upside down exclamation mark at the start - in Spanish they do that with question marks too - makes it easier to spot doesn't it)
Chris