Starting today I am having a week of total immersion in Catalan. Where possible I’ll speak only in Catalan and listen to Catalan radio and TV. It is one of the recommendations in this blog about learning a new language and so far I haven’t really given it a good shot.
So, what about the blog?
I decided to continue writing here in English but concentrating on things to do with the language and how it is to let go of my mother tongue for a short time.
As I can speak English at home I have the tendency to slide back into my familiar pond when I get stuck for a word or a phrase or …. when emotions run high.
This has to stop!
For example today when we were driving to the rubbish tip and I wanted to express forcefully something about the driving here in Catalunya (eg the speed which people drive through built up areas and the way it is considered normal to put your foot down when approaching traffic lights so not to have to stop) I found myself swearing and cursing in English. Yet, I do have a store of expletives in Catalan. Many of them learned first hand from the son of the house.
So, here we go….
” Ei, ets tonto! … Puta merda…..Collons!!! Ostia!….Tio! ”
” You are an idiot…Shit of a prostitute….Bollocks…..The Host…..Guy!”
Funny how when you want to swear you automatically switch back to your own language and the new words seem somehow less strong. Also I worry that using Catalan means I am not so sensitive to how strong the words are. Who can I use them in front of?
A while ago I learned an insult from the boy – “Cara cul” It roughly translated means ‘bottom face’ which sounds funny in English but it caused trouble here. On the other hand I find puta merda offensive but he uses it almost every day without problems. Homework – puta merda. Vegetables on his plate – puta merda Time to turn off computer – ditto……
Mmmmm. More study needed I think before I can really relax and let rip.
A Week of Catalan
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També, has de mirar quines paraulotes són millor per tu, per exemple, puta merda està força maleducat, però, m’han explicat que està només els joves (més o menys) que ho utilitzat i sona una mica rara quan ho utilitzo jo, per l’altre banda, amb hòstia (em sembla que està escrit això), dones com nosaltres ho utilitzan força…..en anglès també hi ha frases que són utilitzat més per joves, i altres més per adults. Una cosa que he trobat és que les paraulotes no tenen tan de genera com en anglés, és a dir, que normalment no utilitzem asshole per dones, ni bitch per homes, en català, no has de pensa d’això tan.
Investigació, oi? un altre, que imagino que saps ja està gilipolles, però està castella em sembla. Hi ha bastant gens que poden utilitzar aquest tipus de frases amb més creativitat també, val la pena trobar-los i xerrar una mica!
Bé…
bona sort Kate!!!
Wow!!! Your Catalan impresses me! I have given myself permission to write here in English, so I will not embarass myself by trying to respond in kind.
I haven’t heard gilipolles – polla yes of course I know but the gili part?
I need to keep my ears open at th gym for more examples though perhaps they will be more in castellano.
PS How do you do your accents? I always have to change keyboard to French to add them and then change back as the order of letters is different. K x
I’m also very impressed with Oreneta’s Catalan, it’s way, way better than mine. To immerse yourself in the language is bound to lead to improvement, but I don’t want to do it. We do watch a bit of Catalan tv and of course all the locals speak it, but when I’m in the house I just want to speak my native language. I’m beginning to forget some English words as it is.
The accents…I had to change the keyboard settings, go into…hmmmm. languages I think in the control panel, and if memory serves you need to change to International English, and that includes some accent settings but doesn’t change regular use. We now have more computers from Spain than ones from the UK or North America….but every summer I have to relearn it. The accent keys are, I think up there at the top left sort of above and beyond the ‘q’ once you’ve got the keyboard settings changed.
Swearing is just so different in different languages! English does sexual/scatalogical stuff, some other languages do blasphemous/god utterances, and yet others do stuff connected to cultural practices – eg cannibalism….Fascinating. Good luck with learning robust Catalan swearing!
Kate! Excellent. Oreneta! Wow- That was such real Catalan that I automatically skipped it,so it must be good.
Congrats Kate!! I think you’re doing very very well. And I love the post.
Thanks for that info Oreneta. If I want the accents, because I have to admit I don’t always bother depending who I’m emailing, I write it in Word and then cut and paste.
thanks All! Oreneta thanks for the accents info. You inspired me to get it sorted as I am often too lazy to put them and I know that is not good enough!! I have a Mac so it was a different process. For months I have been changing my keyboard to French so I can use accents but then I need to change back in order to write. The keyboard is different in French so you get surprises when you type if you’re not careful!
For Mac users –
Acute/Closed is alt + E and then the letter you want
Grave/Open is Alt + ` and then the letter you want
ç is alt + c
ü and ï are alt+U and then u or i
On my Mac the Option key is called Alt.
Now there is no excuse K xx
Great post, stumbled on it browsing for Catalan learning resources. I am trying to learn as much as I can in the UK. I have lived in Spain previously and speak ok Castillian and a bit of Valenciano(basically Catalan, but don’t say I said that!)
good luck with the self enforced tuition!
Bé, moltes gràcias per aquestes paraules, estic buscant més parauletes en catála..