Go for it

Lovelight

So recently I came across Spanish speakers who were having a conversation. They were both pleasant towards me and one of them spoke with me a little bit. So it made it easier for me to struck a tad bit of conversation in return before I had to go.

I don't know Spanish yet. Besides the one or two words/phrases here and there which are like nowhere to be found when I need them.
Anyway, I stood there for a few moments feeling socially shy. Though also trying to search high and low for how to say "Are you Mexican" in Spanish. And so my brain thought it was an excellent idea to ask him "Tu Mexicana" ("You Mexican?"). He must've been too surprised to notice or even care that I used the feminine form as I now found out.

Fast forward I got home still wondering if "Mexicana" is even a word or if I butchered it even more. Luckily it is a word and my pronunciation was good. I knew that I should've used a different word than "tu" > (informal "you") given the context. Though that's all I could come up with then. My take away is, don't let your limitations stop you. You don't have to be perfect, just try your best and go for it. That's how you learn and get better. I have no regrets and would do it all over again. 🤣

I look forward to many more interactions like that and the fact that I got to actually meet a few more Spanish speakers, albeit so far quite sporadically, seems to give me more motivation to learn Spanish.

Ahmedali999

☝️To learn Spanish, find Spanish friends even if don't speak their language. You will learn quicker if you mix and practice.
Or travel to Spain or Latin America, stay there for a while, but you have to take the challenge trying to speak and mix with them.
I could be wrong.

TheFunCartel

@Ahmedali999 This is great advice and very true.

Ahmedali999

@FunCartel it's. I'm sure you have met people don't speak English, within 2 weeks or 1 month they speak because they mix.

Let's get that up to 3 or 4 phrases! You got this lol

Sideon

I spoke more Spanish than English on one trip to Greece many years ago. We were with a large group and my friend and I split off and decided on finding some local food while everyone else explored the Parthenon, which we had seen before. Prior to finding a café, we both agreed to talk in Spanish (even though we were both fairly fluent, but also pretty rusty) while we ate and had a beer. Or three. We didn't want to be seen as "typical Americans." (Tangent alert, but there's that classic joke about language: what do you call a person who speaks more than 3 languages? Talented. 2 languages? Bilingual. 1 language? American.)

We sat at a small café at a table next to a mid 30's dude and his kid, who were listening in on us. The kid was surprised we were speaking in Spanish and he started talking with us, excited. The dude's eyes got big and he asked his kid questions in Greek, who translated for us: yes, we were American; traveling with a group; no, it wasn't our first time to Greece; yes, we loved Greece; yes, we loved the food; they lived roughly a mile from the cafe where we sat; he was a mechanic and his kid spoke Greek, Spanish, French; both of them struggled with English, but this kid as translator worked for all of us as we ate and drank together for the next hour plus. We made instant friends and exchanged post cards and letters for many years.

It is amazing how much language comes back the more you use it. Keep at it, @Lovelight - you've got this.

Morpheus

I’m bilingual, English and Spanish. I would not call myself an advanced Spanish speaker though, English is my first language. My Wife speaks both languages fluently on an advanced level. Spanish is her first language.

Babichev

I used to be pretty fluent in Spanish but I wasn’t the first time I went to Mexico. However, I find Spanish speaking people to be very tolerant in this respect. My most memorable gaffe was when I used a wrong term to identify some children, who I referred to as having pink hair. This was long before pink hair was a thing. The Nicaraguan woman to whom I was speaking raised her eyebrows and asked, “Where?” I pointed to them and she said, “Oh yes, their mother is a redhead,” using the correct hair, of course.

I have traveled in several countries where I don’t speak the language and always learn at least a few useful phrases. It helps. One professor of language told me that a well chosen vocabulary of about 500 words can allow you to get by.

I’ve learned one of the most important things is to get the pronunciation right. English speakers tend to be very lazy about this. If you are fluent but your pronunciation is bad, it’s very hard to understand. Especially getting the vowels and the inflection. If you get those right, even if you speak like a 3 year old you can be understood.

Good for you for sticking your neck out and making the effort. These small encounters help make the world a better place.