Is it true that we can learn a foreign language via television?........Well believe it or not there have been many studies done in this area. I could bore you with research and statistics but I won't.......I will simply say this: "One always needs an instructor, in human form, in order to learn anything". This is never more crucial than when it comes to "communications", i.e. learning a foreign language.
I could spend weeks talking about this subject alone; but I won't.......That's right the boredom thing again....
So can we learn a foreign language from television?........... We can, if I am the one doing the watching and the telling.......So here goes this Lesson-Gem/Confession.........
One of my very favorite shows to watch is "30 Rock" and on this topic alone I can go on for days...........In any event as I was watching an episode of "30 Rock" the other night, (and thinking about all of you), it happened: "A teachable moment"!!!............President Obama uses this phrase a lot when talking to us.......hmmm?......I wonder why?.......But I digress............
Do you remember when we talked about the "literal" meanings of words?........ Remember the "embarrassed" and "embarazada" thing?.....Helloooo anyone there?.....
Remember when I said that just because words sound the same they do not mean the same or that one could not simply translate literally i.e. "willy nilly?"........... By the way: "Who is Willy Nilly?"........... Well I am glad you asked, I actually researched it (yeah I am a total geek) and this is what I found: This phrase dates back like thousands of years! And as it turns out our dear friend William Shakespeare (or Willy as I call him), looooooved using this phrase. It's true. One can see just how fond he was of this expression when one reads a section of: "The Taming of the Shrew" (so I am told).....but I digress.......
Where was I?............ Oh yeah............ So there was a scene on "30 Rock" where this woman is hiding (inside a closet) from Tracy Jordan. The actress is "supposed" to be depicting a "Latina" and she was a regular on "Saturday Night Live". Of course I can't think of her name right now but she is very funny and generally has a small role in most episodes of "30 Rock".........And if you don't know who Tracy Jordan is.......... then I am sorry I can't help you. You may stop reading now.............
In any event, the actress speaking Spanish has a pretty good accent, I have to say. Now I can only assume that someone NOT Latino "helped" this actress with her Spanish lines?........By the way this is almost always a bad idea, to learn a language from someone who is not a native speaker. One tends to need to learn a language from someone who has at least lived in the country (for some length of time), where they speak the language one is now trying to acquire.....Do you see where I am going with this?......Okay.........
Where was I? Oh. Yes! So the character is afraid of what another may do to her, so she says: "No el me va a doler". Okay. What she is literally saying here, if one were to translate this directly into English is: "No, he will hurt me"........Aha!......... There in lies the detail....."Allí esta el detalle!"........By the way (you know I always have to give you a Lesson-Gem/Confessional side note).........Here it is.........
There was a character named "Cantinflas" (the actor's real name was Mario Moreno) he was from Mexico and he was (to say the least) a brilliant comedian, stage and film actor. Mr. Moreno was also a pioneer of the Mexican theater. Charlie Chaplin called him: "The greatest comedian in the world". If you mention his name to ANYONE who is Latino they will know exactly who you are talking about! No kidding.
Weather young or old, "Cantinflas" was able to transcend his characters to all, including befriending Hollywood's elite like: Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd among many others. To folks in the US "Cantinflas" is best remembered as costarring with David Niven in the movie: "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956). I used to watch "Cantinflas" movies as a little girl; I loved him and all his characters. Cantinflas had this famous line where he would say: "Allí esta el detalle"......... "There in lies the detail". See?........ I had to tell you that.
By the way if you are wondering about the meaning of Cantinflas's name here is the scoop courtesy of "Wikipedia":
As a young man, Cantinflas performed a variety of acts in traveling tents, and it was here that he earned the nickname "Cantinflas", although the origin of the name is obscured by legend. According to one obituary, "Cantinflas" is a meaningless name invented to prevent his parents from knowing he was in the entertainment business, which they considered a shameful occupation. In another version, the Mexican media critic and theorist Carlos Monsiváis cites a legendary account of the origin of Cantinflas's characteristic speech:
| “ | According to a legend that he agrees with, a young Mario Moreno, overwhelmed by stage fright, once, in the Ofelia carpa, forgets his original monologue. He begins to say what comes to mind in a complete emancipation of phrases and words, and what comes to mind is an incoherent brilliance. His assistants recite his attack on syntax, and Mario becomes aware of it: destiny has placed in his hands the distinctive characteristic, the style that is manipulation of chaos. Weeks later, the name that will mark the invention is invented. Someone, taken in by the nonsense, screams: "Cuanto inflas!" [C' ntinflas] (You're annoying!) or "En la cantina inflas!" (You like to drink a lot at the cantina (inflar means to swell)). The contraction catches on and becomes proof of the baptism that the character needs.[11] |
So go get one of his movies what are you waiting for?........... You will die laughing!.................. And isn't that a great way to go?!.................
So where was I?.......Oh yes....Wake up!................One can't translate language "literally" as though you are simply replacing English words for Spanish ones........Or any other languages for that matter......What the actress said does not make sense in Spanish. Of course someone may be able to decipher what she is "trying" to say but who knows really?....Remember the "riding a bike with blindfolds on" thing I told you in another lesson-gem?.........
Then what should this actress have said instead?............ Glad you asked. She should have said: "El me va a hacer daño". Which does mean: "He will hurt me" and is grammatically correct!....."Daño" is meant to be used as "harm", "to cause it".....you get the idea.... When she (the comedian) used the word "doler" (though it meant hurt) it was used more as in pain that you have/feel in a physical or emotional sense.............
And here endeth the lesson for today amigos.........Be sure to leave me your leave me you comments and insights on line..........
Hasta pronto!
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