Question:
I have a question for native speakers of a language other than Spanish. Do
you find it hard to switch quickly from your native language to Spanish?
I'm asking this because my Spanish teacher apparently has some problems in
class switching between English and Spanish. Like today, she could speak in
Spanish fine, but she was having trouble with her English vocabulary. (And
she's a native speaker of English! :) It's not big stuff, but she's always
racking her brain for the simple things. Like, "Cómo se dice 'tres pisos' en
inglés?" She honestly couldn't think of the words in English. If it's that
hard for her, I can't even imagine how hard a translator's job must be.
Answer:
when I was living in Sweden I was practically trilingual in the
sense I could listen, write and even hold a conversation in either
Spanish (my native language), English or Swedish (Well, I have few
oportunities to drive a conversation in English). With Internet
comming on, I feel English almost as a native language in writing-
reading (but I recognize I lack a lot of active vocabulary so I have to
rethink a sentence many times when I lack a word I know it exist in
English but I can't find it right then).
I have almost no problem cambiando de inglés a español or back to
English. Inte heller då jag byter mellan svenska och spanska... (no se
preocupen, no estoy insultando a nadie). But I remember when I was at
Sweden and I took some English classes in Adult School (aimed for
Swedes), I usually shifted my English program for that class and I had
no problems when the teacher spoke in English or gave instructions in
Swedish. If she or any other in the class asked me in English I
answerd in English well. But when someone had shot me a question in
Swedish there would have raise a little confution in my brain not
knowing if I had to answer in English or Swedish or Spanish or... er,
uh, ah, hm?
But then, I have been able to translate directly from Swedish into
English (even recently).
I remember also when I was in a little seminaire, bilingually hold in
both Swedish and Spanish, I usually preffered to translate myself than
waiting somebody else to translate me. It was an interesting exercise
and not hard to perform because I wasn't exactly translating myself but
reather I was saying the same thing in both Spanish and Swedish.
I don't translate when I read (unless a sentence is a little obscure
and I have to analize it to be able to understand). But with little
time I have no problem making translation. But I'm not usually good at
symultaneous reading and translating (as when someone asks me what it
is said in some page). Probably because symultaneous reading and
translating needs me using both language at the same time (I can shift
quickly but I shift), and finding words in word-by-word translations...
Well, that's me.
Submit Your
Own Answer!
