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. Remember most Cubans do not speak English.

 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 (see the last chapter). 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 and other countries in Latin America the author has observed 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.

 The town of Cuernavaca Mexico—located near Mexico City—also has numerous language schools and programs akin to those offered in Antigua. If you are interested in studying Spanish in Mexico, call International Summerstays 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 Spanish for Expats offer on-line courses and more http://www.spanishforexpats-cr.com.

 If you decide you want to study in Cuba there are several programs which currently offer courses. Mercadu, Tel: 33-3893 Fax: 33-3028, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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 Estranjeros José Martí, Avenida 3 #402, Miramar, Havana Tel: 209-6692 also has courses for foreigners. For more schools in Cuba see: http://www.languagecourse.net/schools--cuba.php3

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 DVDs can also improve your Spanish. There are many DVDs 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.

 Two of the better course which are available on DVD course are the Rosetta Stone see www.rosettastone.com and the course produced by the Foreign Service Institute of the State Department, http://www.state.gov/m/fsi/sls/ (Call 1-800-243-1234 for information). The latter 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. Also type “learning Spanish” in any search engine and you will hundreds of sites for learning the language.

 Speaking of learning tools, if you are a beginner with little or no knowledge of Spanish, you should purchase the one-of-a-kind guidebook, Christopher Howard's Official Guide to Cuban Spanish, see www.liveincuba.com. It is designed especially for people planning to visit or live in Cuba. This useful guide contains the phrases or Cubanismos you will need to deal with most every day situations you, pronunciation exercises and a lot of Cuban slang translated into English. This is the only source where you can find these expressions in English. 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 you will encounter in Cuba.

 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 etá?”. 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 Domincan 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 majority of these phrases are not found in Spanish dictionaries and sometimes have double meanings. You cabn find hundreds of these expressions in Christopher Howard's booklet.