Latin America Collection

Anyone who is seriously considering living or retiring in
Nicaragua needs to learn at least basic Spanish. Although you
could probably survive here without speaking a word of the
language, you don't want to be that person.
Life becomes a lot easier if you can communicate in the
language. On the flipside, not knowing Spanish will become a
real handicap the longer you stay here.
If you are adventurous and bold enough to move to Nicaragua,
you are adventurous and bold enough to learn a foreign
language, at any age. Part of the fun of living in another country
is communicating with the local people, making new friends and
enjoying the culture.
Speaking Spanish will enable you to achieve these ends, have a
more rewarding life and open doors to many new, interesting
experiences. Knowing some Spanish can also save you money
when shopping on the street and negotiating fees with taxis,


building contractors, any other vendors and salespeople. People
are less likely to take advantage of you if you can communicate.
Learning Spanish does not have to be a huge undertaking, in
terms of time or money.
Students of all ages can enroll at one of Nicaragua's intensive
conversational language schools, or find private tutors for
relatively little money.
Many of the Spanish academies, in addition to language
instruction, offer exciting field trips, interesting activities and
room and board with local families--all of which are optional.
Living with a family that speaks little--or preferably zero--
English is a wonderful way to improve your language skills,
make new friends and learn about Nicaragua's culture.
Total immersion is the best way to learn a language. Regardless
of your best intentions, you will most likely default back to your
native tongue if you allow yourself to be in a situation where you
don't have to speak Spanish to communicate. It is best to put
yourself in an atmosphere where you are forced to speak Spanish,
even though finding such an atmosphere is increasingly harder
do to this era of globalization.
Spanish has more verb tenses and rules than English, but fewer
exceptions to those rules (English, by comparison, makes almost
no sense if you try to learn the language by understanding its
rules). Spanish, unlike English, is also spelled phonetically, for
most part.
With a little self-discipline and motivation, anyone can acquire a
basic Spanish survival vocabulary of between 200 and 3000
words in a relatively short time. Many Spanish words are


Super Tips For Learning Spanish
by Christopher Howard M.A.
1) Build your vocabulary. Try to learn a minimum of five new words daily.
2) Watch Spanish TV programs. Keep a note pad by your side and jot
down new words and expressions. Later use the dictionary to look up any
words and expressions you don't understand.
3) Pay attention to the way the locals speak the language.
4) Listen to Spanish music.
5) Talk with as many different Spanish speakers as you can. You will learn
something from everyone. Carry a small notebook and write down new
words when you hear them.
6) Read aloud in Spanish for five minutes a day to improve your accent.
7) Try to imitate native speakers when you talk.
8) Don't be afraid of making mistakes.
9) Practice using your new vocabulary words in complete sentences.
10) When you learn something new, form a mental picture to go along
with it--visualize the action.
11) Try to talk in simple sentences. Remember, your Spanish is not at the
same level as your English, so simplify what you are trying to say.
12) If you get stuck or tongue-tied, try using nouns instead of complete
sentences.
13) Remember Spanish and English are more similar than different. There
are many cognates (words that are the same or almost the same in both
languages).
14) Learn all of the basic verb tenses and memorize the important regular
and irregular verbs in each tense.
15) Study Spanish grammar, but don't get bogged down in it.
16) Read the newspaper. The comic strips are great because they have a lot
of dialog.
17) It takes time to learn another language. Don't be impatient. Most
English speakers are in a hurry to learn foreign languages and get frustrated
easily because the process is slow. Study a little bit everyday, be dedicated,
persist and most of all enjoy the learning process.
¡Buena suerte! Good luck!


Getting a Head Start
by Christopher Howard M.A.
If you are seriously considering moving to a Latin American country, you
should begin to study Spanish as soon as possible.
Here are a few suggestions that will give you a head start in learning the
language. Look for some type of Spanish course that emphasizes
conversation as well as grammar and enroll as soon as possible. University
extensions, junior colleges and night schools usually offer a wide range of
Spanish classes.
You should also consider studying at a private language school like Berlitz
if there is one near where you reside. Many of these schools allow the
students to work at their own pace.
Another excellent way to learn Spanish, if you can afford it, is to hire a
private language tutor. Like private schools this type of instruction can be
expensive, but is very worthwhile. The student has the opportunity of
working one-on-one with a teacher and usually progresses much faster than
in a large group situation.
If you happen to reside in an area where there are no schools that offer
Spanish classes, you should go to your local bookstore and purchase some
type of language cassette. This way, at least you will have a chance to learn
correct pronunciation and train your ear by listening to how the language
is spoken.
Listening to radio programs in Spanish and watching Spanish television
are other ways to learn the language, if you are fortunate enough to live in
an area where there are some of these stations.
You can also spend your summer or work vacations studying Spanish in
Mexico or Costa Rica. This way you will experience language in real life
situations. These language vacations can be enjoyable and rewarding
experiences.
Finally, try befriending as many native Spainsh speakers as you can who live
in the area where you reside. Besides making new friends, you will have
someone to practice with and ask questions about the language.
By following the advice above and making an effort to learn the language,
you should be able to acquire enough basic language skills to prepare you
for living in a Spanish speaking country. Best of all, you will acquire the
life-long hobby of learning a new language in the process.


cognates, so you can guess their meanings by hearing them or
looking at them.
The Spanish alphabet is almost identical the English one, except
it has 28 letters rather than 26 ("ll" and "ch" are considered
separate letters in the Spanish alphabet). Pronunciation is also
usually easier than English, because of its phonetic spelling. But
that still doesn't keep even the most seasoned Spanish-as-a-
second language speakers from getting lost inside words with too
many syllables.
Practicing with native-Spanish speakers will dramatically
improve your language skills, by hearing how Nicaraguan
Spanish is spoken in everyday conversation.
You will learn many new words and expressions not ordinarily
found in your standard dictionary or classroom.
Watching Spanish-language programs on television and listening
to the radio and language cassettes can also improve your
Spanish. For beginners we suggest you purchase "Christopher
Howard's Spanish Guide" advertised in this book. It is designed
especially for people planning to retire, live or do business in
Central America. It makes learning easy because the student
learns the natural way, by listening and repeating as a child
does--without the complications of grammar.
If you are interested in a more profound study of Spanish, we are
including at the end of this section a list of language academies
in different parts of the country. Please check first with the school
of your choice for current prices.
The Spanish spoken in Nicaragua is basically standard Castillian
Spanish, except for one big difference, which confuses beginning
students. Spanish has two forms for addressing a person--usted


and tú. However, in Nicaragua vos (pronounced in Nicaragua as
"bo") is used instead of tú. The verb form used with vos is formed
by changing the r at the end of a verb infinitive to s and adding
an accent to the last syllable. This form is seldom taught because
it is considered a colloquial form; used only in Central America
and some parts of South America (Argentina and Uruguay). It is
not found in most Spanish textbooks.
Don't worry! Once you live in Nicaragua for a while and get
used to the Nicaraguan way of speaking, you will learn to use the
vos
form almost automatically. If you use the tu form, don't
worry about it. Tu is not common, but is used here from time to
time. People will know what you're talking about.
Another trait of the Nicaraguans is the common use titles of
respect, such as don (for a man) and doña (for a woman) when
addressing a middle age or older person formally. These forms
are used with the first name -- as in the case of the famous "don
Juan
."
Other common titles are Licenciado (college graduate, or lawyer),
or Licenciada for a woman. Other common titles include: Doctor,
señor
, señora, maestro (teacher, but often used as slang for
someone you don't know), and mister (which can refer to man or
woman, but is usually considered uneducated). Former
revolutionaries are often referred to as Comandante.
For some basic Spanish phrases see the section in Chapter 10
titled "Important Phrases and Vocabulary."


Language Lesson
The use of vos - the other you
The Spanish spoken in Nicaragua is more or less the same as
standard Castilian Spanish except for one big difference which
confuses many people. Spanish has two forms for addressing a
person: usted and tú. However, in Nicaragua vos is used instead of
tú. This form is seldom taught because it is considered a colloquial
form. In fact, it is not found in most Spanish textbooks nor taught
to most English speaking students in their Spanish classes.
Although the use of vos varies from region to region and its
consideration as standard Spanish varies widely from country to
country, you can hear vos used in many countries of Central
America, in the countries of the Southern South America (Chile,
Argentina, Uruguay) and in parts of Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.
In areas of America where there was a strong influence of the
Spanish Court, places such as Mexico and Peru, the eventual change
from vos to tú and vuestra merced /Ud. mirrored the evolution of the
Spanish language in Spain. However, in regions farther away from
the centers of power this evolution did not necessarily follow the
same pattern. Instead, in some regions tú was displaced by vos in the
friendly address and Ud. was used in the polite address.

Vos
is used in Latin America in varying ways. It simply replaces "tú"
and has its own conjugation. Though it looks similar to the "tú"
verbs, there are slight differences in spelling and also in
stress/pronunciation. Vos is used only with the present indicative
tense, present subjunctive and command forms. The verb form
used with vos is formed by changing the "r" at the end of a verb
infinitive to "s" and adding an accent to the last syllable in the
present tense. For example: vos comprás (comprar), vos comés (comer),
vos vivís
. In the present subjunctive the forms are exactly the same.
For example: vos comprés (comprar), vos comás (comer), vos vivás. When


vos
is used in commands, just drop the final "r" off the infinitive
ending of the verb. For example: comprá (comprar), comé (comer),
escribí
(escribir).

Most common set of verb forms with vos
Since vos came from a different form of the verb than tú it is not
surprising to see that the vos form of the verb often (although not
always) uses a different form of the verb than the tú.

If you remember your vosotros endings of the present tense you will
assume that the endings evolve to "áis" "éis" and "ís", however the
most common system of vos endings in the present tense is the
following.
type of verb
ending
ar
-ás
es
-és
ir
-ís
Stem changes such as to ue, e to ie, e to i, do not occur. For certain
one syllable verbs and estar, there is no difference between the tú
form and the vos form (since one syllable words do not usually take
accents).

For example, compare the following forms:
verb
tú
form
vos
form
dar
das
dás
ver
ves
vés
estar
estás
estás
ir
vas
vas



However, for most verbs there is a difference:

verb
tú
form
vos
form
vivir
vives
vivís
hablar
hablas
hablás
ser
eres
sos
tener
tienes
tenés
pedir
pides
pedís
construir
construyes
construís
traer
traes
traés
dormir
duermes
dormís
In most other tenses the verb forms are the same, except for the
affirmative vos command. That form is simply the infinitive
without the r and with the vowel of the infinitve ending stressed
with a written accent if it's more than one syllable or would
otherwise need an accent.

verb
+ tú command
+ vos command
tener
ten
tené
ser
sé
sé
venir
ven
vení
tomar
toma
tomá
hablar
habla
hablá
vivir
vive
viví
beber
bebe
bebé
dar
da
da


Frequently Used Nicaraguan Expressions
Carambada
-- A thing
En pirinola
-- Broke, no money
Guaro
-- Moonshine
Estar chicle
-- Finished, washed up
Calentar banca
-- Seated
Chunche
-- Also a thing
Carajada
--Another word for thing
Chillante
-- Shiny
Biscoreto--Crosseyed
Chuzo
-- Smooth
Pachón
--Hairy
Chinear
--Spoil a kid
Amorriñarse
--To get sick
Echar pie atrás
-- Return
Tantear
-- To try something, experiment
Largo
- Far (distance)
Ligero
-- Fast
Por el culo del mundo
-- Far away
A todo mamón
-- At full speed
A calzón quitado
-- Frankly, honestly
Caer como patada de mula
-- To cause a bad impression
Quedarse como la novia de tola
-- To get stood up by someone
A pata
-- On foot
En piña
-- In a group, collectively
Darle vuelta
-- To be unfaithful to someone
Tener leche
-- To be lucky
Parar la oreja
-- To listen
Quedarse zorrito
-- To keep quiet