es probable que nadie hable tan bien como....

[Tai]

... in response to es probable que nadie hable tan bien com..., posted by LouieB on Oct 7, 2002

You mean that you have been stewing on this for 2 days?...Just so that you could validate that YOUR way is the "right" way?

Come on man, it's not THAT serious. Lighten up.

You and the professor can speak YOUR way...and my Colombian friends and I, we will speak OUR way. No one is "right" and and no one is "wrong" in this particular case. -Double negatives flow freely and commonly in spanish, and that is a fact.

Besides...what "sounds" right is purely subjective.

Tai

[LouieB]

... in response to Re: Jeez LouieB...., posted by Tai on Oct 7, 2002

and I consider myself somewhat of a student of the language.  nothing wrong with speaking correctly.

[Tai]

... in response to just a joke Tai...., posted by LouieB on Oct 7, 2002

n/t

[colman]

... in response to es probable que nadie hable tan bien com..., posted by LouieB on Oct 7, 2002

Double negative are allowed in Castillia panish. Won't argue what the professor said but I know for a fact that double negatives are allowed and correct. It may be less formal but still correct. Enlgish- The boy went to buy candy at the store.  English sample two- At the store the boy went to buy candy. Still correct but seldomly heard in that style. I try my best to speak correct Castillian Spanish. Other Latinos may think I am trying too hard to speak perfect Castillian Spanish but considering I envy the Colombian Castillian Spanish considered by most masters of Castillian Spanish as the purest and best after Madrid.  That is why I say piscina instead of aberca (swimming pool), maiz de mazorca instead of elote (corn on the cob), boligrafo instead of pluma (pen) naranja instead of china, means orange(fruit), bombilla instead of foco (light bulb, banano instead of platano (banana), platano instead of platano macho(plantain) tomate instead of hitomate (tomato) oveja instead of borrego (sheep), maiz tostado instead of palomitas (popcorn), the list goes on. To be fair Colombians also use native terms adapted through generations, but the difference whether people believe it or not is Spain approves many of these "Colombianismos" pershaps resulting in the envy of other Latin countries. Hey I give my respect to the Brazilians for theier superior soccer and the Mexicans the title of best boxers of Latin American but one must give credit where credit is due. I will give a couple of examples of the Colombianismos--cachaco---dress very elegantly, sunday best. bacano---equivalent to cool in English as in something that is "in". That mustang GT is "bacano"...so to those who was not abscribed the most beautiful tongue in the world TOO BAD!--lol, God I love it...que chevere---God bless---Colman

[AlexG32]

... in response to maybe so but........., posted by colman on Oct 7, 2002

English being my first language I have a hard time using double negatives when I speak spanish...Although it is perfectly OK to use double negatives when speaking spanish I still have a hard time doing it...

[LouieB]

... in response to maybe so but........., posted by colman on Oct 7, 2002

hey good post, I was just joking  really meant no harm.  I like to speak correctly.  If I don't know something I research it.

you can also say guineo for banana, never heard of borrogo for oveja before or aberca.  durazno or melacaton (peach)  cuervo or venado (deer) autobus camioneta guagua (bus) depends on the country like you said and the vocabulary will differ.  but the grammatical structure remains constant.  

[colman]

... in response to que vaina muchacho, posted by LouieB on Oct 7, 2002

Yes you are right guagua and guineo is understood by almost all Latinos but it is not Castillian Spanish. I am not saying its inferior or superior simply saying that it is not Castillian Spanish. Yes your right depending on the region would be a factor on different words. I am guessing, correct me if I am wrong but you are either of Puerto Rican or Cuban heritage. Again I try never to "correct" anyone's Spanish but have been in situations where people would get mildly upset if I did not use china, guagua or guineo. I will not change the words I use. This is not directed against you or the forum but I dont pretend I know perfect Castillian Spanish but I try as hard to speak correctly as possible and I do not justify myself to "correct" others. It may sound like a broken record by now but I simply "choose" to try to speak correctly---Colman

[Michael B]

... in response to Re: que vaina muchacho, posted by colman on Oct 8, 2002

Guagua is NOT understood by all Latinos, at least not understood the same. To a Cuban or Puerto Rican it means 'bus' but to many others, particularly S. Americans, it means 'baby'. (And most Mexicans have no idea that it means anything at all).

Let's go back....(dream/flashback music goes here)...It's 1980, at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, one of the 4 refugee camps where the 'Marielitos' are being processed. It's the second day the camp is open and I'm working as a 'bilingual aide' (which means that since I've been to college, I get paid more than an 'intrepreter', ha ha). Anyway, myself, another interpreter (a US citizen lady, orginaly from Argentina), 4 local hire civilian drivers and 2 MP's have about 200 Cubans outside a warehouse waiting in line for the Red Cross to give them a clothing issuse. One Cuban asks another one
--"Have you been to medical screening yet?"
--"Yeah, sure"
--"I gotta go tomorrow. What did they do to you?".
--"Well, we had the same bus driver that we've got right now, anyway, as soon as we got there, he killed the 'guagua'...".  

Now, what he meant, and what the other Cuban understood, was that the driver turned off the bus engine. But that's not what the lady from Argentina understood. She started screaming to the MP's in English "Do something! That bus driver killed a Cuban baby!!!"....a couple of the Cubans in the crowd knew enough English to pick up on this and.......well, our 'disturbance' made all the national TV news that night and the poor bus drivers almost got lynched.

[LouieB]

... in response to Guagua is a dangerous word, posted by Michael B on Oct 8, 2002

which mean "insect" "to get" "spoon" and "whistle" in some countries while in others they are extremely vulgar.

[LouieB]

... in response to Re: que vaina muchacho, posted by colman on Oct 8, 2002

I am not latin but I've learned the language fairly well.  Yeah, I don't speak Castillian Spanish.  but rather latin american Spanish.  

I certainly would like to visit Spain though.

.

[colman]

... in response to I'm just a gringo, posted by LouieB on Oct 8, 2002

LouieB,
         Yes I also like Latin American Spanish which Colombia is part of. Its just I get the added benefit of speaking as pure as Castillian Spanish. Remember, just as a reminder I am not saying Colombian style Castillian Spanish is the best only that it is as "pure" to the tongue spoken in Spain. I would venture to say the New England states (Maine, New Hamphire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut) speak "American" English but of all the accents and nuances in the U.S. I would say the New England American English is the purest and closet to the U.K. Obviously this was more evident 70-80 yrs. ago then now. Anyway I also would like to go to Spain--Andalusia--I have many friends tell me they have the most beautiful women come from that region--Colman

[LouieB]

... in response to Re: I'm just a gringo, posted by colman on Oct 9, 2002

the New England accent and the southern accent are definitely the most distinctive.  I really don't think they sound much like an English accent though..

if an Englishman from the 18th century came to the US today, I am sure he would be more likely to understand a Kentucky or Tennessee mountain man than a New Englander.  

just as in New Mexico and south Colorado where there are hispanics that speak a dialect of Spanish like the Spaniards of 400 years ago.  the geographic and cultural isolation of hispanics in the US from other Spanish speaking world has caused the language to be stuck in time.

[LouieB]

... in response to que vaina muchacho, posted by LouieB on Oct 7, 2002

yeay colman

I know the double negatives are used all the time

Maria no tiene ni un centavo.  

Maria no tiene dinero pero no esta fea tampoco.

but

es posible que Maria nunca tenga dinero.  

is not the same as

no es posible que  Maria nunca tiene dinero.

[Cali vet]

... in response to maybe so but........., posted by colman on Oct 7, 2002

If you go to the cine in Cali skip the "maiz tostado" and ask for "crispetas".

[Cali vet]

... in response to es probable que nadie hable tan bien com..., posted by LouieB on Oct 7, 2002

Tiene razon, ese suene mejor.