Episodio 247: Levantar ampollas

Learn Spanish by listening to native speakers and reading. We explain a Spanish idiom: "levantar ampollas". Practice your Spanish pronunciation and conjugation with us. Transcript available: "Aprender español, ¡quiero aprender español! ... Pues estás en el lugar adecuado. Bueno, ya sé que canto bastante mal, no es una de las cosas que hago bien. Así que mejor, voy a explicarte una nueva expresión del español para que puedas practicar tu comprensión oral: levantar ampollas ... " - Aprender español: "levantar ampollas"

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The Catalan Language: How to Learn Catalan Quickly

The Catalan language may have a small global footprint with approximately 10 million speakers. But when you learn this language, a whole new world opens up to you. First, you’ll be introduced to some beautiful places. The majority of Catalan speakers are found in Catalunya (often referred to as “Catalonia” in English), in the northeastern corner of Spain, a place where you can both laze on idyllic beaches and climb dramatic mountains. Catalan is also spoken in the Mediterranean paradises of the Balearic Islands and the city of Alghero in Sardinia, Italy. A variant is also spoken in Valencia, Spain, home of the world-famous paella. There are Catalan speakers in southern France along the border with Catalunya. Catalan is also the national language of Andorra, a tiny country tucked high into the breathtaking Pyrenees mountains. [caption id="attachment_20121" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Winter hiking in the Catalan Pyrenees. Photo credit: Lisa Hoashi.[/caption] When you learn the Catalan language you get greater access to the Pyrenees – full of climbing, trekking, paragliding and skiing routes – as well as to magnificent Mediterranean islands and beaches, lovely countryside, and vibrant cities. You’ll be able to fully appreciate many historic sites leftover from the Greeks, Romans, Moors, and the many other peoples who invaded these historically sought-after lands. [caption id="attachment_20123" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Platja del Port Peregrí in Calella de Palafrugell on the Costa Brava. Photo credit: Andrea Ciambra[/caption] You’ll meet some great people, get to know their rich cultural history, and desirable way of life. Famous Catalans include artists Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró, cellist Pablo Casals, architect Antoni Gaudí, and chef Ferran Adrià. [caption id="attachment_20124" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Game of Thrones, season six, filmed on these steps leading to the Cathedral of Girona,
Spain. Photo credit: Georges Jansoone[/caption] The gorgeous, friendly and culturally vibrant seaside city of Barcelona is the capital of Catalunya. It has great architecture, fabulous restaurants and lively festivals, such as La Mercè, a city-wide, multi-day party every September featuring free cultural and music events. Catalans are known for their delicious Mediterranean cuisine. (Many say that in Spain, their only rival in regional cuisine are the Basques). The recipes are simple; what makes them so outstanding are the tasty and fresh ingredients, including delectable olive oil, seafood, tomatoes, cheeses and charcuterie. The wine and cava (Catalan sparkling wine) also excellent – and very affordable. This is a place to savour your food and drink in the sunshine. Finally, they have an awesome soccer team. Lionel Messi might be from Argentina but he plays for Barça! [caption id="attachment_20125" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Lionel Messi of Barcelona against Osasuna. Photo credit: Jeroen Bennink.[/caption]

Learning the Catalan Language is (kind of) Revolutionary

If you’re going to learn Catalan, there is some important cultural and political background that you should know. First, Catalunya is officially considered an “autonomous community” within Spain. It has its own government which includes, for example, its own president, parliament and police force. This democratic political set-up has been in place since 1978, three years after Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died. A couple of important notes about this: First, the Catalan language was banned when Franco was in power. Franco enforced the use of Spanish in its place. During this 36-year period, Catalan went largely underground. School was conducted entirely in Spanish. Many Catalans continued speaking the language in the privacy and safety of their own homes but it disappeared from the public arena. Today – in most parts of Catalunya outside Barcelona – you’ll find that most people speak exclusively Catalan. The older generations, those raised during Franco’s dictatorship, can produce a rusty Spanish if needed, but they generally prefer to speak Catalan. Some elderly also don’t know how to write Catalan very well since they never learned it in school. After democracy and the autonomous Catalan government (known as the Generalitat de Catalunya) was restored in 1978, the Catalan language reemerged in the public arena once again, in full force. Seen as a key element of Catalunya’s national patrimony, Catalan is promoted by special funding and initiatives of the Generalitat de Catalunya (some of which especially benefit Catalan learners - see the resources section below). Second, there is a strong independence movement in Catalunya. Most recently, the Catalan government announced a referendum in November of 2014 to see if the majority of the population wanted to split from Spain. When the Spanish government declared the referendum “unconstitutional,” Catalan president Artur Mas went forward with it anyway, even though the results would be “non-binding.” In that referendum, 81 percent voted for independence, though voter turnout was only 42 percent. Depending where you visit, you will find some people highly opposed to breaking from Spain and others staunchly in favour. Where I live, a rural town in the centre of Catalunya, it seems like the majority of people are pro-independence. (Our mayor was recently arrested after she refused to take down the Catalan independence flag on City Hall during elections!). Speaking purely Catalan and participating in Catalan cultural activities – such as castells (building human towers) – are seen as pro-independence actions in places like these. [caption id="attachment_20126" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Castells is the making of human towers, a purely Catalan phenomenon. Photo credit: Escuraxemeneies.[/caption]

Why Catalan is Easy and Fun to Learn

Catalan is not difficult to learn – especially if you already speak another Romance language. Many people think Catalan is a dialect of Spanish and that’s not true at all. It’s as different from Spanish as is Portuguese or Italian. Like these languages, it did come originally from Latin. So there are many similarities. When it comes to vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar, Catalan actually has more in common with French than Spanish. That being said, however, many people – like me – come to Catalan by way of wanting to learn Spanish. I know I am not the first person to land on Barcelona’s sunny shores ignorantly expecting to practise my Spanish – only to learn that the dominant language here is Catalan. Like many people who visit Catalunya, I fell in love with the culture and lifestyle and end up staying. (In my case, I literally fell in love with a Catalan farmer, and married him!) Spanish is my strongest second language. Japanese is the language of my father’s family, so I also grew up exposed to it. I’ve taken beginner courses in Japanese, French, and Arabic. I know, especially from trying to learn Arabic, that when picking up a new language it helps to link new vocabulary and grammar rules with what you already know. Arabic was very difficult because I felt like I had nothing to “hook” the words to in my brain – no similarities or associations to help me remember. By contrast – thanks to having lots of Spanish and a little French, I had plenty of “hooks” for Catalan. It was very “sticky” – plus I really like the way Catalan sounds. It’s not as musically effusive as Spanish. It’s more emphatic like French. There are plenty of examples of verbs that are the similar or the same in Spanish and Catalan, and in French and Catalan. Here are a few for Spanish:

• Acabar – to end, to finish
• Cantar – to sing
• Caminar – to walk
• Estar – to be
• Poder – to be able to
• Saber – to know
• Ser – to be

Yet the verb conjugations are quite different. See with example of the verb “acabar”: And here are some of the similar verbs between French and Catalan: See how many similarities you’ll find if you speak another Romance language? Easy!

How Catalan Pronunciation is Similar to Spanish

Before we dive into the unique letters and sounds found in Catalan, it’s worth mentioning a few that you’ll already know if you speak Spanish.

The Rolled “R”

Like the Spanish, the Catalans roll their r’s.

The Sounds of “V” and “B”

In Catalan, as in Spanish, the sound of the letters “V” and “B” are the same.

“Ñ” Becomes “YA”

Catalan doesn’t use the letter “ñ” – instead they spell out the sound phonetically as “nya”. For example, Catalans would spell their home, “Catalunya” – whereas the Spanish would spell it as “Cataluña”. Another example: The word “to accompany” in Spanish is acompañar, whereas in Catalan it’s acompanyar.

Unique Letters and Sounds in Catalan Pronunciation

Maybe because I’m a writer and avid reader, I enjoy learning how to spell words in a new language. I love how Catalan introduced me to some totally new combinations of letters and sounds.

Pronouncing “X” as “CH”

My favorite by far is the Catalan “x” which is pronounced as “ch”. For example, the word for “lamb” – xai – is pronounced just like that spicy Indian tea drink: “chai”. Bet you can guess what this is: xocolata. That’s right, it’s chocolate. And here are two proper nouns: Xile and Xina. Have you figured them out? You got it: Chile and China.

“G” can also make a “CH” Sound

The “ch” sound is very common in Catalan. The “g” can also make this sound (or something very, very similar). For example, you may have at some point run across this common Catalan surname: Puig. An English speaker might take a stab at this one as “Poog”. But to pronounce it correctly in Catalan it instead has a real bite: “poot-CH” with the “CH” extremely curt at the end. Another common “g” word is vaig which means “I go.” The pronunciation is something like, “baa-CH”.

The Cedilla “Ç”

The “C” with the cedilla (the little tail underneath the “c”) is a Latin script letter that is pronounced in Catalan as a hissing “s” (as in “snake”). For example, the verb “to begin” is començar, pronounced “comenssar.” Or, take the word for “effort”, which is esforç. That’s pronounced “esforss.” This letter doesn’t occur very often in Catalan.

“LL” - a Challenging Sound to Learn

The unique sound of the “ll” is very challenging to learn – and it’s common in Catalan! First, do not assume this will make the same sound as in Spanish. It’s quite different. In Spanish, the “ll” basically makes a “ya” sound. Me llamo = “may yamo.” However, in Catalan, the “ll” makes more of a “yeuh” sound. For example, the word for “language” is llengua and is pronounced as “yeuhng-wa.” To make the correct sound of the “ll,” you must learn a whole new way of using your mouth: You have to flatten the front of your tongue and push it against the back of your top teeth to produce it. It’s really difficult! And the worst part is that Catalans often don’t understand what word you’re getting at unless you make this sound correctly. If it makes you feel any better, some of my Catalan friends say that they had to practise making this sound over and over when they were kids. One even suggested sticking the tip of a pencil vertically inside my front teeth to properly train my tongue (Hey, that kind of works!).

“NY” - Another Challenging Sound

This is also a very common letter combination and quite difficult, especially maybe for visual learners (like me) who see “ny” at the end of a word and want to pronounce it “nee”. The “ny” sound essentially is the same as a Spanish “ñ” – but without a vowel following. If this doesn’t make any sense to you, you’re not alone. In Spanish, an ñ is always accompanied by a vowel afterward, such as in mañana (man-ya-na) or baño (ban-yo). Now try to say baño but without the “o” at the end. That’s how you say bany in Catalan, which also means “bath.” Did that totally stump your brain? Yeah, me too. I’m still trying to figure out this sound. The blank looks that I get when I say any (“year”) or lluny (“far” – which has the added fun of the LL too) assure me that I still have some more practising to do.

Catalan Resources: Free Online Courses for Learning Catalan

With the movement afoot to encourage more Catalan usage and speakers, you can benefit from some really great resources in learning the language – especially from the Generalitat de Catalunya. The best is Parla.Cat, which offers free online Catalan courses developed by the Generalitat de Catalunya. You can sign up to use this website from anywhere in the world (my mom signed up in Portland, Oregon) and choose to either have a self-guided course or a hire a tutor additionally for a nominal fee. The website’s design and functionality feels a little dated, but the materials and lesson plans are top-notch. Catalan is also an option on Duolingo, although only if you have the website language set to Spanish. That means that if your native language is English – you get a double workout in the tutorials, translating Spanish to Catalan and vice versa.

Catalan Language Courses: Low-Cost Classes for Learning Catalan

If you are able to actually spend some time in Catalunya (Hello, Barcelona!), you can also take advantage of highly subsidized in-person classes offered by the Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística. Most medium-sized or larger towns in Catalunya offer these high-quality classes. In my town of approximately 20,000 people for example, I was able to take three levels of beginner courses. A course generally lasts three months, meets twice a week for two and a half hours, and costs under €15 for the entire semester. What a bargain! These classes are an interesting sociological immersion as well, where you will meet fellow immigrants to Catalunya. In my classes there were people from other parts of Spain, China, Morocco, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Venezuela.

How to Practise Catalan with Native Speakers

Catalans are accustomed to foreigners speaking Spanish or English, so if you strike up a conversation in Catalan, they will likely be both surprised and pleased. Many people in Catalunya are also eager to learn English, so you should have no problem finding partners for language exchanges in person, or through websites such as italki.

Begin Your Catalan Adventure

Are you learning Catalan? I’d love to know your reasons for doing so - and any challenges you’ve faced. Tell me more in the comments. Continue your adventures into català, and you’re sure to meet many wonderful new friends along the way.

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Must-Know Spanish Sentence Structures #14 - Asking About Manner

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! The Sentence Patterns series brings you a great new way to learn Spanish! With this series, you’ll build on your conversation skills by learning the most common and useful sentence patterns in Spanish.   In this lesson, you will learn how to use the sentence pattern “How…?” Visit us at SpanishPod101.com, where you [...]

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Coffee Break Italian Season 2 – coming soon!

We’re delighted to report that the Coffee Break Italian team is busy working on the first lessons of Season 2. In Season 2 you’ll be able to take your Italian to the next level by expanding your vocabulary, increasing your understanding of Italian grammar, and building your confidence in using the language. The real focus in Season 2 is on helping you say what you want to say by manipulating the language and understanding the structures of Italian.

Launch date

Lesson 1 of Season 2 goes live on Monday 6th February at 6:00pm UK time. We’ll also be launching the premium version of the course on this date so you’ll be able to take advantage of our video versions, lesson notes and bonus audio materials on the Coffee Break Academy from 30th January. Please note that we are unable to take preorders at this time.

It’s important to say that Coffee Break Italian is an ongoing production: we’re recording the episodes as we go, so each episode will be released on both the free podcast feed and in the premium Academy course as it becomes available. The episodes will be published every two weeks, allowing you plenty of time in between each lesson to consolidate the language covered before moving on to the next lesson.

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Spanish Vocab Builder #79 - Geography

Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! Our Spanish vocabulary lists are listener favorites, and now we’ve made it even better! In each lesson, you’ll hear the Spanish words and phrases from the Spanish vocabulary lists. Join us for Spanish Vocab Builder! In this lesson, you’ll learn words and phrases for Geography. Click here to make your own flashcards [...]

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Absolute Beginner Mexican Spanish for Every Day #1 - 10 Responses to “How are you?”

Learn Mexican Spanish with SpanishPod101.com! In your home country, there are some phrases that are so common you use them or hear them every day. The same is true in Spain too, so why not give your Mexican Spanish an instant boost by learning them in this video lesson? With Alex’s help, you’ll be sounding [...]

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Language Immersion: How to Create an Immersion Environment on Your Phone

Immersion is the best way to learn a language - and there’s no need to move overseas to do this. Moving to another country is only one approach to creating an environment where the target language is a part of your everyday life. Even then, there’s no guarantee that you’ll immerse yourself in the language. A better approach is to create an immersion environment. You can create an immersive experience no matter where you live. An immersion environment is all about finding opportunities to bring the language into your current lifestyle and activities. One of the most common lifestyle elements we all share is the use of a tablet or smartphone. How can you turn your phone or tablet into a virtual immersion environment? And how can you use your device to connect with native speakers? These apps are the place the start.

1. Your Operating System

Okay, technically this isn’t an “app”, but it definitely deserves a mention! The biggest boost you can give your digital language immersion is to change the default language on your device’s operating system to your target language. This has the added benefit of changing the language on many of your apps as well. For example, if you’re a die-hard player of the game Hearthstone, then you can now play it entirely in a new language. Plus, for any apps that you already use, this will help you build new vocabulary and phrases. Let’s say you frequently “add new event” on your calendar app. When you switch the language on your device, you’ll quickly learn how to say “add new event” in your target language.

2. Streaming Video Apps

You may already know about installing the YouTube or Vimeo apps on your devices to watch language-related materials while you are out and about, but what about other video-streaming services? If you subscribe to Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime to watch movies and TV shows, you can put these shows on your playlist and watch them on your device to enjoy some language immersion on the go. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Try searching for the word “videos” in your target language in your device’s app store and you’ll find a variety of streaming services specific to your target language’s audience. For example, the popular Chinese video service, Youku, also has an app that will let you watch Chinese language videos on your device. Find video-streaming services for your language and you’ll be able to watch videos, shows and movies in your target language wherever you are.

3. Yelp

You may recall my adventures with Moses McCormick (a.k.a. Laoshu) in Ohio . I joined Moses doing what he likes to call “Levelling Up”. It was really simple: we went to the local mall to find people to practise languages with. You may be at a loss to know where you can find businesses where people speak the language you’re studying, so what can you do? Download the Yelp app, which connects you with businesses (including restaurants, markets and cafes) in your town. Do a search for a specific type of food (“Japanese” or “Mexican”, for example) and then read through the reviews to determine whether the owners and employees are from that country. Save those places to your favourites list and the next time you want to go out to eat, you’ll have a list of restaurants and businesses where you can also practise your target language.

4. Voice Recording Apps

Many devices come with a voice recording app pre-installed. This can be used for more than just remembering the song you hear on the radio, or recording a lecture in class. Here’s what you can do:

• Record native speakers for later review. For example, if you’re watching a foreign language TV show, why not capture the audio so you can listen while on the road?
• Record yourself in the language and analyse your accent and pronunciation. As painful as it can be to listen to yourself, listening back later is invaluable in improving your speaking skills. Better yet, send the recording to a native speaker to have them review it.
• Record your sessions practising with a native speaker. During a one-on-one lesson, capture what is said and listen to it over and over to really ingrain what you learned.

5. Evernote

How many times have you been out and wanted to remember a word to look up later? Or how many times were you talking with a friend who shared a golden nugget of language learning information and you had to scrounge around for a paper and pen to take it down? With Evernote, an online note-taking app that syncs between all of your devices, you are able to keep a living document of all you learn in your new language. I recommend setting up dedicated notebooks within Evernote such as “useful phrases”, “words to memorise”, “things to look up” or “questions to ask my tutor”. Just creating these notebooks will inspire you to start taking notes. Set aside a weekly study session to work through the notes you’ve created.

6. Google Maps

As I said before, immersion doesn’t mean you have to visit another country. But even if you’re not going there, you can still become familiar with the lay of the land. One of the coolest features of Google Maps is Google Street View, where you can virtually stand on a street in different countries around the world. You can look around at the shops, signs and surroundings in that neighbourhood. Use this to practise asking directions, or use it to try and guess the meaning of street signs and billboards that you can see along the side of the road. Take it to another level by sharing your screen with a native speaker and role play with them to find your way around. Studying French? See if you can get yourself from Charles De Gaulle airport to the Eiffel Tower, describing the directions you take and your surroundings as you go. Studying Chinese? How well can you navigate the streets of Shanghai? This provides an almost endless supply of study material and conversation topics.

7. Periscope

If you’re not familiar with Periscope, it’s a relatively new social networking system built by Twitter, where you can stream live video to and from your mobile device. People all around the world use it, which means that there is probably someone out there using it who speaks your target language. Search using Periscope’s map tool for people who are broadcasting from a country where your target language is spoken, and check out what they’re up to. You can comment and type a greeting in the language as well, so you can get in some writing practice to see how well the other person understands you. Another way to use Periscope is to broadcast yourself speaking your target language. Scary? You bet! But a great way to take the plunge and get immediate feedback on your speaking skills.

8. Games

I love playing games on my phone. Did you know they can be educational too? Many games are available in a variety of languages. Using your device’s app store, do a search for the type of game you like to play (“RPG”, “Board Game”, etc.) in the language you’re studying and see what comes up. The best games for language learning are role playing or strategy games, since they tend to be text-heavy. If you changed your operating system to the new language, odds are the game you’re already playing has already been switched to the new language!

9. TuneIn

TuneIn is my favourite app for listening to radio. But you don’t have to just listen to your local stations or music in your native language. You can search TuneIn’s listings for radio stations all around the world. You’ll likely be surprised at how many hundreds or thousands of stations you can find! Talk radio, the latest hit songs, traffic reports and weather forecasts. You can get all these in any language.

Conclusion: Create an Immersion Environment on Your Smartphone

Now you know: immersion isn’t all about moving to a new country. You can create an immersion environment wherever you are, with tools you already use daily. It just takes a creative eye to see beyond the obvious and create opportunities where they may not seem to exist. Do you have any apps you love to use for language learning that are out of the ordinary? Share your ideas in the comments!

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