You Will Never Reach Native Level Fluency In Spanish and That is OK - Inspired by
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- Опубліковано 1 кві 2024
- In this video I discuss why it is impossible to truly reach native level fluency in Spanish or any language and why accepting that is a good thing. If you agree or disagree, please let me know in the comments below. This video was 100% inspired by my friend and content creator Jalen: @quicktempa .
If you're interested in learning Spanish, check out my book on Amazon: www.amazon.com...
En este video, analizo por qué es imposible alcanzar verdaderamente una fluidez a nivel nativo en español o en cualquier idioma y por qué aceptarlo es algo bueno. Si está de acuerdo o en desacuerdo, hágamelo saber en los comentarios a continuación. Este video fue 100% inspirado por mi amigo y creador de contenido Jalen: @quicktempa.
Si estás interesado en aprender español, consulta mi libro en Amazon: www.amazon.com... - Розваги
I'm proud of my non-native accent when I speak Spanish. It doesn't bother me at all. I just want to be able to communicate at a very high level.
Im the same way, adds a little uniqueness to our speech!
Well said Mike! I’m almost there years into my Spanish speaking journey and it’s going extremely well! I chat with natives for hours daily and I feel extremely comfortable but I too have given up the hope and desire to “pass for a native” or “hide my accent” and what made me do it is realizing all the non native English speakers who have been at it for years and achieved a high level of fluency and the fact that I instantly know that they’re non natives the moment they open their mouth. That’s not a bad thing…I actually applaud them for learning my language to such a high degree. I also had the realization that I like hearing English with foreign accents and that I think they’re really charming…I never assume something negative about anyone for speaking that way and that it might be the same for me when someone hearing me speaking their language. Rather than feel shame for not being a native when I travel I’m going to take pride in my accent and wear it as a badge of honor as someone who respects your language and your culture enough to learn you language and speak to you this way.
Keep up the great content Mike; love the new camera.
Levi you articulated my point perfectly here. It's actually something that we should take pride in. It adds a unique element to our Spanish and it opens doors to more opportunities to meet new people when you're traveling. When they hear that accent and they say "usted de donde es?" followed by "pues habla muy bien Español" you get a much different experience versus them thinking you're from their country or a neighboring country. You're more interesting with a little accent in my opinion, it's human nature.
Tu serás esa inspiración para que muchos aprendan el idioma sin miedo, eres la evidencia de que si se puede
¡Muchas gracias Jose!
@@MikeBen
Great to see and hear you. You don’t really ramble like you seem to think! You explain and go about it sometimes in a thorough manner so you cover details that most people need to hear and know. btw, piojos are lice or what some still call crabs. If you are around grade school children you will get them yourself and you’ll need medicine to get rid of them. One medicine is actually called RID. What happens is a clean child goes to grade school and plays with a kinda dirty kid and when they get home the whole family get the lice and the mother is doing laundry for days because you have to wash everything in the house and it could take weeks to get rid of the lice and by then your child goes to school and brings home more lice 😂
A great message to share and something I’ve had on my mind for years. As non native speakers we put sooo much pressure on ourselves to either sound 100% native and know ALL the words, or feel a touch of imposter syndrome when we say we speak Spanish.
All of those English examples you gave are a reminder of the richness and beauty of the English language. Because of the way the language was formed over the centuries we have so many words to describe things that don’t have a word in Romance languages. And that doesn’t even cover the slang we learn growing up depending on the country we were raised in. I’m not saying this to say English is better, but that we are lucky to speak it natively.
I also agree that you can sus out (translation?) if someone is a non native speaker of any language fairly quickly. It doesn’t mean they aren’t fluent and speak beautifully, it just means they aren’t native - which, is impossible to be! It’s great to have a touch of an accent. I also think it’s a little odd when someone isn’t a native speaker but sounds allllmost like one, it’s a little “uncanny valley”.
I think when people take the time to digest this message they’ll get that is actually inspirational and motivating, not discouraging. The end goal of learning any language isn’t to become native sounding, but fluent and confident.
Gracias por compartir tus pensamientos! I could talk about this subject for hours.
Agreed 100% Noah! We definitely are privileged to speak English as a native language. We often conflate speaking well and being fluent with sounding like a native and they are not the same.
You are spot on Mike, Since I been learning spanish I understand that it's a never ending learning process. Thanks for this video. 😀
Agreed 100%, we will be learning this language for the rest of our lives!
@@MikeBenhey there, not finished with the video but I'm at the part where you are listing idioms/ phrases and I just wanted to say that Collins Dictionary for learners has a lot of phrases/idioms of that nature in it. Also you listed a lot of regionalisms there that even as a native speaker I have no clue about. I will say for the dictionary though that I think one should have a lot of input under his belt to be able to discriminate the commonly said from the not so common phrases/idioms/words
Also 'Word Reference' is good as well
I had to accept this as well. I’m half Mexican but I’m born in the USA. I also look Mexican and my name is Jose but sadly I never learned Spanish due to nobody using it around me. I’m learning Spanish to connect to my roots and for job purposes and I realized it once I got to A2 level Spanish that I’ll never be a native level in the language. While we can all be fluent native fluency comes with living in that country, slang, schooling etc. The only exception I can say is my friend who came from Mexico in middle school. She speaks Native level English but even then I can tell it’s not her first language. Unless you moved to a country when you were really young there is pretty much no chance to reach this native level fluency being a foreigner. I’m sure rare occasions exist but for the most part it’s impossible. Even the amount of time I put into the language could never compare to what real Spanish country speakers been exposed too. I accept it though.
It’s a harsh, and humbling realization but it is what it is. It actually helps me accept the way I speak Spanish. I love my “acentico”
When it comes to language s ,you are always learning.There is no finish line.Great video!! 👍👍👍
So true!
Great video, Mike. Never seen you in such clarity!
I think you make some good points and there are certain expressions we’ll never understand, but that probably applies to everyone, even those whose speak the same language. As an English native speaker from Ireland, I had no idea what some of those Georgia phrases mean. I’m sure we also have colloquial phrases you wouldn’t know, but that’s part of the fun with language and communication.
Side note, I’m watching this in Argentina with my fiancée (who’s Venezuelan) and she knew the significance of the ‘hogging the ball’ expression. She’s completely fluent and started learning English over 10 years ago, so I guess it’s a matter of practice practice practice in some cases 😂
Looking forward to your next videos!
She is a testament to it being reachable then lol, I think I focused too much on slang here though. Consider common words like ;earwax , cue tip, hanger, gunk, frayed pants, the list is endless lol. Gracias por motivarnos con tu comprometida!
Just bought your book! My girlfriend is from Mexico and i've only ever reached a slightly abover beginner level of Spanish. Her Mom is coming to visit in 6 months and doesn't speak any english! Hoping to reach conversational level by then.
You can do that for sure! Please keep me updated on your progress!
My husband is a native speaker. His parents are Cuban, however he was born in Miami. Even though he grew up around native speakers, his schooling was in English. So there are some words he doesn't know because he wasn't exposed to them. Also, he had travelled to Colombia for work. He had to get all kinds of clarifications since they use different words. For example, coffee would be tinto instead of café.
For me, I just want to get to the point where I can understand native speakers and be understood by them. But I'm not as stressed about getting there knowing that native speakers still may not understand something as basic as coffee. But I do get your point.
To me that is the goal Christie. Communicating well and being understood. I had teachers from Brazil, India, Mexico, China, and Lithuania in school. I always revered them as intelligent and well spoken but non of us ever would say that English was their first language. Being perceived as a native speaker should not be the goal for most of us!
Another point that I always think about relating to this is growing up and hearing your parent(s) speaking to you. Many of us share colloquial experiences and sayings that we've heard from when we were kids.
Very good point!
No worries Mike! ..... we, as spanish speakers who speak english as second language , come across words that we don´t know all the time as well. It´s imposible to have the knoweledge of a native speaker, but your spanish is amazing!
Regarding the southern words and expressions that you talk about in your video , I´ll do my best to try translate some of them. I know that many nuances of the original meaning will get lost translation. Also take into account that I´m from Colombia, specifically from Medellín, so some of the words and expressions that I´ll use are only used here.
"The pot calling the kettle black" ; " un burro diciendole a otro orejon " , or you can use " ve la paja en el ojo en el ojo ajeno pero no la viga en el propio" as well.
"Whatchamacallit"; " el cosiampirulo " , this is a very informal word to refer to something whose name you don´t remember
"hog the ball"; " angurriarse algo" or " ser angurrioso", this expressions mean to hog something. For instance if you are playing soccer and you want someone from your team to not hog the ball you can say to that person " no te angurries el balón" or " no seas angurrioso". This a very Colombian expression though, so in other latinamerican countries they don´t use it.
"Raise cain"; " causar problemas" or " hacer un barullo"
"a little dab´ll do you"; " con un poco es suficiente" or " no necesitas usar mucho"
"hangnail": "uñero"
Thank you for that input and that complement! I agree but being confused for a native speaker is very tough IMO.
Wow you're teaching me lol, these are very good translations!
Gracias!
Nice video once again! When I was young (many years ago) "a little dab will do ya" was the catchphrase for a men's hair styling product called Bryl Creem!
Very well done video with good content and new camera makes a positive difference. My belief is that everyone everywhere has an "accent" so it's not something that warrents worrying a lot about.
Agreed 100% Mary! I knew I wasn't the only one that was familiar with that phrase!
I was born and raised in California. I've never been to Georgia. I understood all the examples you gave 😊
Thank you for confirming this, some people were gaslighting me in the comments lol
@@MikeBen 🙂
As always, excellent content.
I have considered this topic many times. Thank you for hanging words on it.
Thank you!
Yep, very good points. It is something I am only kinda of just coming to terms with. I think the key is to just appreciate how far you have come.
Agreed Luke! Speaking the language well is an accomplishment in itself. Love your videos btw!
@@MikeBen Thanks. Also, I am an Australian and I don't think I have heard of some of those phrases before ahaha.
“Do dad” podría traducirse como “inútil”, “inservible”, etc.
“Whatchamacallit” podría traducirse como “esa cosa”, “chunche”, “fregadera”, etc.
“Raising cain” se traduce como “malcriar”, “maleducar a un niño”, etc
“The pot calling the kettle black” se traduce como “el burro hablando de orejas”.
“Gutter ball” simplemente significa “mal tiro”, “lanzar mal la bola”, “pésimo lanzamiento”, “la bola se desvió”, “se fue por la cuneta” depende de lo que quieras decir.
“Hangnail” se traduce como “uñeros/as”.
“My skin is crawling” se traduce como “piel de gallina”, “escalofríos”, “se me paran los pelos”, etc.
“Mushy” se traduce como “aguado”, “suave”, etc.
“A little dab will do you” se traduce como “con un poquito es suficiente”, “tienes con una pizca”, “una grisma te será suficiente”, etc.
Se necesitan ejemplos, contexto para tenerlo un poco mas claro.
Muy interesante estas traducciones!
Aquí van el resto que olvidé añadir ayer
Fidget se traduce como “inquietud”, “intranquilidad”, “malestar”
Rolling stone se traduce como “inestabilidad”, “anda de aquí para allá”, “no sienta cabeza”, “no tener sosiego”
Im fixing to do something se traduce como “alistarse para hacer algo”
“Rock out” en el contexto que lo usaste se diría “vamos a hacer lo mejor con lo que tenemos”, “vamos a meterle con lo que hay”
Goober se traduce como “tontito”, “burrito”, “penco”, “cabezón”, etc
Hog the ball en español es “quedarse con la pelota”, “retener la pelota”, “ser egoísta”, “se le pega la pelota”, “abrazar la pelota”, etc
Hog the chips es casi igual a la anterior simplemente se dice “no comparte nada”, “se queda con todo”, “ser mezquino”, “no dar”, etc
Hay infinidad de maneras de decir estas cosas.
This is the first time I'm seeing one of your videos, and it's a great topic, but it's pretty funny that I'm seeing a thumbnail of another one of your videos on my side bar that says "She speaks better than Native Speakers" 😆
Hay que hacer que los títulos sean picantes 🌶️ jaja
The new camera looks great bro
Thanks, I’m hoping it will help a lot to increase the video quality in general!
@@MikeBen I think it helps. Do you have instagram?
Hi Mike,
You made some great points. Language learning is a life-long journey, especially given that it is ever evolving.
Definitely love "the cam" Couldn't stop laughing at 12:37 when you said fix'n (or fixing to go). What about ""finna or finda' go? Lol. Gotta love Georgia, lol.
We said Latisha! I thought I kept the Georgia phrases light because as you know, there are a lot more lol, Gotta love it
@@MikeBen Absolutely, and that is the beauty of language. ¿Verdad, qué sí?
De acuerdo! @@tlatisha
Now from an in the moment situation and not knowing the noun "zipper" like a native, until I found out the noun, I would have said from my head "jala arriba el frente de tus pantalones, está abierto."
Now a native speaker would have said it with less words and the noun "zipper" that I now have to look up.
Good stuff!!!
Exactly! And there are tons of other examples like that sprinkled throughout the language.
Although its very rare i do think it's possible ro reach a near native accent, because I've seen it. De hecho, uno de las primeras personas con quién hablé nació en Colombia. If you talked to her in English you would never tell she wasn't American. But, she moved here when she was nine years old. Attended eley, high school,and college in the states. I think the only way you could achieve near native fluency, focus on near, is move to a Spanish speaking country between the ages of five and seven. You made some great points here, especially your examples such as my skin is crawling. It made me realize just how much i don't and will ever know in my second language which is Spanish, although i jave no problem communicating. Love your channel bro
That is a good point, coming so young does help, I’ve actually seen cases like this as a teacher but depending on the age, as you mentioned, you can or can’t hear the accent
He venido diciendo esto desde hace mucho tiempo y la gente simplemente no lo entiende, están obsesionados con parecerse a los nativos que al final terminan frustrados. Es imposible tener una fluidez del ciento por ciento en una segunda lengua porque ésta es inherente a las emociones y es precisamente la inherencia la que nos impide llegar a la tan deseada fluidez absoluta y total en el idioma objetivo. Es como una barrera impenetrable. Para dominar otro idioma tendríamos que vaciarnos del primero, o sea, habría que empezar un proceso de “desaprendizaje” para adquirir las nuevas modalidades, sonidos, nuestra lengua tendría que sufrir un proceso de “desadaptacion” para adaptarse a la nueva. Es imposible. Así como es imposible que un extranjero hable así el español. Simplemente no se puede, por mucho que traten, no pueden copiarme ni a mí ni a mis congéneres. Es IMPOSIBLE.
No se trata solo de saberse las palabras, las frases, los sonidos, las expresiones, es mucho, mucho, muchisisisisisimo mas que eso. Imposible. Hay que saber conjugar los verbos en los tiempos correctos, saber donde va el verbo y el sustantivo, el predicado, el objeto, esto y lo otro, no viejo. Imposible. Im-po-si-ble. Esto no se logra con libros de estudio, ni absorbiendo millones de horas de conversaciones en español o inglés, el problema no es ese, el problema es que tu cerebro ya no acepta otras formas de hablar, en ti hay algo que no te permite rebelarte. Imposible.
100% de acuerdo!
I would add "hit the road," baby shower, and "lost in the sauce" to the list. And let's not confuse them with some inner city stuff like crib, gat, whip, beef. And I just learned last week that "slab" is apparently southern slang for car.
Yea the deep slang is another beast, that's why I didn't want to get into it. A lot of people, both natives, and non-natives can get completely lost in the sauce with those lol.
Hi, I grew up in Mexico, and my second language is English. Some of the sayings you mentioned, I wouldn't know how to translate them into English but for the ones that i do:
- Fidget you could say hyperactive or in Spanish hiperactivo o inquieto es lo mismo.
- Describing something as Mushy I would say " avocado - like ", in Spanish aguacatoso lol.
-Hangnail at first I thought you were taking about a dangling/loose nail but in Spanish you could say 'peyejo' which means something like a small piece of dangling skin especially around the nails
-the pot calling the kettle black in Spanish 'el burro hablando de orejas 'the donkey talking about ears'
-Pinch of salt in Spanish 'una pizca de sal 'but pizca in this case means a small portion of something
These are very good translations!
Very good video. I have always thought that you have a very near native accent. I realized years ago that I would never know the entire Spanish language if I lived to be
200 years old. That realization was extremely depressing to me. I read once that there is no such thing as a bilingual person. No one can know 100% of even their own language much less of another language. One time I took a test to check my level of Spanish. It turned out that I had a B2 level. I was so disappointed that I decided to never again take such a test. Also I took a test that I had to pay $35.00 for to take for Medical Interpreter. The test was to translate a paragraph in English to Spanish but no reference material like a dictionary allowed. Sadly I did not pass. If I had I would have then been scheduled for an oral test. I worked at hospital in a non-medical job but sometimes people in my department and others would be called upon to interpret for a non-English speaking patient. We had a Polish, German, Russian speaking plumber in our department. He interpreted several times for patients speaking those languages. I was working Evening shift once and my co-worker got a call asking for a Spanish interpreter. She knew I spoke Spanish so she volunteered me. She insisted that I go up to the patient room to interpret. I was very reluctant to try that but I went up and made a fool of myself. The patient was an elderly lady. The nurse told me to tell the lady that they wanted to take some of her blood. I said to the lady, “Quieren tomar un poco de tu sangre.” She looked at me with a look of horror on her face. I knew I had screwed up big time. She said something in Spanish and the nurse asked me what she said and I had no idea at all. That was so embarrassing that I decided never again would I dare to interpret for anyone.
Oh man that can be very discouraging. If you don't mind me asking, how long had you been learning Spanish before you started helping out with the translations? Also, I don't think it's discouraging to not be able to speak at a native level in terms of perception. We can still reach very high levels in the language and communicate well which is the ultimate goal for most of us.
There is nothing but examples like this in Amharic. To say strengthen, it is not just the word strong. The speaker has to consider what's being strengthened because if it means to build up, then the amharic word is not the one that means "to make stronger." Nearly every sentence is that way. Also one amharic word has many meanings
Very interesting!
La camera es mucho mejor. Buen tema.
Entendí todo ejemplos y vivo en Minnesota.
Gracias por este video !
Gracias a ti Eric!
Another great video, Mike!!
Thanks Bonnie!
I can’t wait for the new videos
I think you all will like them!
I literally dont understand how people have such clear skin
Im no expert and thank you but I’d say fruits, vegetables, and genetics 🤷🏾♂️
My mom would say "cierra los pantalones" for the zipper.
"Doodad, etc" sería "la cosa, o vaina", creo.
But yes, I agree. I grew up with one foreign parent in the house in the US and so I don't actually know a lot of the things you said in this video lol. However, I still had to "acquire" Spanish in my 30s because we didn't use it much in my house.
Anyway, I agree. I also agree that that's the beauty of language learning. I don't feel I need to know every single word in Spanish nor do I feel like I need to translate everything from English to Spanish.
Man, I can't explain why the sun's orbit is X or certain political arguments in English. So not being able to do that in Spanish currently, is ok to me. I just need to be able to have regular conversations with folks and I'll acquire that vocab by reading later on.
That's my biggest tip btw, reading. Reading gives you a lot of what you are saying here.
Agreed 100% here! It's a life long process and that's what makes it fun!
I was just explaining this topic to a friend who said he wanted to be fluent. The English speaking brain and mouth just work differently and it would take years of being in a new environment to change that. The examples of common sayings you gave are tricky because many are references to American culture. So I doubt those would ever translate well.
Very true! At the end of the day if you speak well with a small accent, that is no problem at all and in my opinion it's even better, especially for work or for travel.
I have hit a plateau in my Spanish learning journey. I was picking up phrases hear and there but got busy with a new business venture and stopped making the effort. I need a structured way to go about learning the language again.
At your stage, time and consistent exposure will do the trick!
@@MikeBen thanks for the encouragement, Ben. If you had to lay out a five point learning plan, what would that look like?
Antes de empezar, perdóname por mi escrito. Estoy usando mi computadora entonces no tengo autocorrect (! hay una palabra que no puedo traducir!) Creo que tú tienes razón, pero hay diferencias entre coloquiales y como expresarse en español. Por ejemplo, yo empecé aprendiendo español por que mi novia es de México, y Ecuador. Entonces estoy con la familia de mi novia muchísimo, gracias a Dios, pero porque esto es mi realidad, yo escucho palabras que usan a los nativos reales. En ingles, por supuesto, tenemos palabras que no podemos usar en español, pero definitivamente, hay una forma para decirlo. Por ejemplo, “the early bird gets the worm” en inglés, puede ser dicho como “Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente”. Entonces creo que las expresiones que tenemos en ingles pueden ser dicho en español, pero los nativos tienen una forma diferente para decirlo. ¡También, antes de olvidarme! ¡Muchísimas gracias a ti por tus videos! Sin ti, nunca habría aprendido español como estoy. ¡Me mostraste español con Juan! ¡Veo sus videos cada día! ¡Así que gracias por todo, y espero que tengas un buen día cada dia!
Muchísimas gracias Zach y tu tienes toda la razón. De hecho fue muy punto con el video. Con la cantidad de expresiones que no se traducen iguales, toca mucho tiempo para dominarlas. Es casi impossible y eso esta bien. No hay necesidad de preocuparnos por eso. Todavía se puede aprender el idioma bien y no alcanzar el nivel de un nativo. El acento también no ayuda en ocultar nuestra primera lingua.
I just want to speak well. I do think it’s important to try and improve as you know the language better, but to me it’s more about showing respect than trying to be a native. Even when foreigners speak English well, you can still tell. I’ve never thought any less of them because I could tell they were from another part of the states or another country. As Mike pointed out, he can tell if someone isn’t from Georgia. I live up north and can tell if someone isn’t from Michigan. Doesn’t bother me. If anything it adds to the conversation as I try to learn more about them and where they are from.
This is my point 100% Jack!
I agree, I feel very confident with my Spanish, but still feel nervous when I’m translating for co-workers because I still don’t know everything. I so badly want to be a better speaker, but I often wonder if I will ever be completely satisfied. It’s the same with music, I don’t understand a ton of it.
You will consistently get better, I just think we should take the idea of being at native level fluency out of our minds
Great video! I agree we will never ever sound like a native. But I do think that you can learn the words and phrases eventually if you are forced to. If you lived in México and had to work there with locals for 50 years, you'll probably speak exactly like them, just with an accent. But yeah, not happening without that level of immersion. I know people who moved when they were in early 20s and had to learn the language of the new region/country. When they got much older, they ended up more fluent in the second language than the first.
I disagree...There will always be some slang that only the native born will know. In English for example, you could make up a new slang that only a native born English speaker would understand the gist of that slang.
Well, if you have kids, you know their slang is impenetrable when they reach a certain age 😂
This is a very unique point that I hadn't considered. I've seen the same with non-native English speakers. The only thing is, at the end of the day, even if their English is amazing, I can still tell that English isn't their first language lol
I love this video, Mike. I hear cosa all the time, for doodad or whatchamacallit. Mushy might be blando. As far as phrases like fetching something, it’s just a word that should probably not be said in English unless you’re talking about a dog. 🤣 I hope that your poisoning symptoms go away soon. Thank you for your videos, Mike.
Good points, those may be the translations but to no tengo ni idea jaja. Thank you for the well wishes also!
I just came back from Colombia :) after 3 years of learning the language I finally got the chance to speak only in Spanish for 10 days
I totally agree with what you are saying and I have found myself in a situation like that.
I needed a chair and I needed a chair. I wanted to stand on the chair and grab something from the top shelf... But I had no idea how to say that
However even tough I speak ok Spanish, a lot of people in Colombia tried speaking English to me cause I am white jajajaj
You should work on that...I need a chair to stand on to reach the top shelf.
Saying that for me would be tough also lol. I'd be understood for sure but I may not say it the same way that a native speaker would because I've never had to. I think I have an idea of what would be correct though. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to Colombia, that gringo treatment is a thing for sure lol
@@kcorpora1sure will ! I got a new tutor that I will be working with :)
@@MikeBen
Yea Colombia was amazing and I am thinking of moving there for a short period of time to perfect my Spanish.
Did not enjoy being called a gringo though hahah that actually bothered me. We got enough segregation in America....
I think you asked for video ideas. I guess one would be how to say things like that hahah
Im sure you can pull situations out of your own life and experience. You can talk about times when you found yourself drawing a blank, and not knowing how to put a sentence together.
@@MadManX668 you example is great. I have been in that situation. When I speak I break down the situation and use what I know. I do not know (top shelf instinctively) so I substitute it with (arriba...up there). estar de pie...to stand) I know but I don't have to use it. (alcanzar...to reach) I do know....(the top shelf)...I do not know so I could not use it in real time.
necesito una silla para alcanzar arriba...(leave out estar de pie).
necesito una silla a estarme a pie para alcanzar arriba...(with estar de pie).
This would have been what I would have said in real with my knowledge.
Good stuff
I think this is where living in a Spanish speaking country comes in. People ask all the time if you have to live in a country where your target language is spoken in order to learn it and the short answer is “no”. However, each country has little nuances particular to that country and in order to learn those minor idiosyncrasies, you have to be completely immersed for YEARS. The same way it’s taken me my whole life with 24/7 exposure to get the vocabulary I have in English, it will take the same to get that vocabulary in Spanish. As far as accent goes, you can lose it, but it will take paying for a vocal coach. Actors do it all the time. For me, however, the goal is to communicate well and not necessarily to “sound like a native speaker”.
Good point Shayla, I'm sure with time one can get there. My only push back is that I've seen people who, to me, have developed perfect accents from immersive experiences that you're describing, and there is always one small thing that lets native speakers know that they are not a native speaker, excluding even slang and phrases. Siempre hay algito en el fondo
I gotta say some of the expressions you're saying are pushing my English beyond its limits. I read/watch too much foreign language content. I need to get back to basics some and make sure my English is where it should be.
They may all be southern to be honest lol
Give me the doo dad= “ dame la desa”. Also, I think @0:56 you mean to say: “todavía me falta mucha información”, not: “todavía me hace falta mucha información.” I like the conversation about accents and idioms, but I would argue that beyond knowing specific vocabulary, idiomatic expressions and pronunciation, what really distinguishes a second language speaker from a native speaker is cadence. This is something that’s very difficult to imitate unless it’s your first language.
Thank you for the correction 🙏🏾 and yes the cadence and subtle intonations make a huge difference!
I ran across "piojos" last fall during a reaction to a Shakira performance here on UA-cam. That was the UA-camr's response when an audience member gave Shakira a hat and she put it on.
Lol, I had never come across it but I will be using it now for sure
Mike,
I think I most agree with you regarding accents. It seems to me, the older you are the harder it is to acquire an accent that is indistinguishable from natives. I think that accents sort of sit under the skin.
With regards to the rest, I only agree for about 98% of learners. In my view it is all about exposure and dedication. If one has enough exposure (we are talking years and also, at the right depth/intensity) it is possible to acquire the specialist vocal and idioms etc to pass as native. It requires “going native” and full immersion.
One of the best examples of this is a young woman who is a native French speaker, she does blogs in English, but has learnt and taught herself Norwegian to such a level that the Norwegians in the comments are saying that she can pass as Norwegian.
What I find interesting is the intensity of her self-taught programme. I have not yet seen an English speaker go to those lengths with Spanish learning. Here’s the link.
ua-cam.com/video/uWQYqcFX8JE/v-deo.html
I would love to know what you think of her story.
Her story is very inspiring and she is one of those cases where she's an anomaly in my opinion. I will say however, one of the most liked comments on her video is someone saying that she could pass for a native Norwegian speaker but "A native Norwegian might notice some odd intonation now and then, but that's about it." These small deviations are what I'm referring to here in this video. Even with all of her dedication, which is well respected and admired, they can still tell that there is something a little non-native in her Norwegian, therefore, even with this level of dedication it's tough to hide the fact that the language isn't your native language. Therefore, why stress over trying to reach that level if even with this level of dedication, there is "algito" there that let's native speakers know that it isn't your first language. Speaking well should be the goal in my opinion. You make a great point though and everyone has different end goals when learning a language!
I remember watching a Luca Lampariello video where he was speaking English and several Americans in the comments swore he was native. However, there were just as many Americans saying they could detect an accent. He has an incredible vocabulary and is clearly at a C2 level, however, he does in fact have an accent, albeit a very slight one. When he speaks Spanish, I can’t detect an accent, but I’m not a native Spanish speaker, so a native might pick up some nuance that my ears can’t discern. All that to say that just because one (or several) native(s) can’t tell the difference doesn’t mean that person doesn’t have an accent. Some people just have more discerning ears than others.
@@LadyVioIa Great point Viola!
I think you make excellent points in this video bro and it does give me some relief because I put a lot of pressure on myself to want to achieve this “native” level but I think you missed it a bit.
To speak like a native doesn’t mean you know every word or phase in the language. Someone from PR will not understand the Paraguayan expressions or words for the most basic of things. Does that make them non native? I think one thing a person who is learning a second language needs to understand is you will always be learning. You will always hear a word or phase you just never knew existed. And that is completely ok. We have to change our mindset to understand if we need to ask what does that mean, it doesn’t diminish our level.
Im born and raised in Michigan and don’t know some of the English expressions you just used. I’m still a native English speaker lol.
In any language, whether it be our mother tongue or our 5th language, we will always be learning.
The word the kids used for lice was probably piojo. I learned that word reading a book lol
But I do agree with you about the pronunciation lol even people who speak English at a near native level usually says one word wrong that gives that “ah ha moment” and shows they aren’t native. It just is what it is. And it’s completely ok 🙏🏾
Agreed 100%, there is no need for that pressure. Speaking well with a little accent is perfectly fine and in my opinion actually better. I always think about German English. It isn't their native language but they speak it so well and it sounds great even if it isn't the same as standard American English or English from England. Great points made here!
There are people like Nate (Spanish with Nate), Richard Simcott, Luca Lampariello, Ricky (bilingual blogs)
I get it that it’s not worth it for most people. Putting in the extra hours to sound native. It’s unnecessary for most people. But it’s possible because many people reached that level.
I agree, they’ve all reached very high levels. I do want you to watch all of their videos in other countries. A lot of times, people know that they aren’t native speakers. Ricky is probably the exception but even in Medellin in a barbershop video that he did, some guys just knew. It could have been clothing, idk but they knew. They can definitely fool many people though
Muchas gracicas por sus consejos, pero no queremos oir esto. Vale la pena tratar de hacerlo
De acuerdo pero no se porque no quieren escucharlo. Se puede hablar muy bien, sin parecerse a un nativo. Lo vemos mucho en Inglés.
I have seen a few English speakers have conversations with Spanish natives on UA-cam, and they really couldn't believe that they were from the US. I've also noticed that some English natives have terrible gringo accents, even after studying Spanish for years, but others don't, and they've had less experience.
Very true, but sometimes, I think native speakers have such a low bar for non-native speakers that they compliment us saying, "You sound like you're from (fill in the blank country)" When really they are being nice. They wouldn't actually think that the person was from that country. Sure there are cases but for the most part, its rare. I've even seen some UA-camrs that I think speak at native levels travel to other countries and people can tell that they are not a native speaker. They can almost smell it on you.
Yep our "lingo a foo" 😂😂
They don't want me to get into that lol, they'd be lost lol
@@MikeBen 😂😂
I understand that the native speakers have so many phrases we will never come across, but I have heard native speakers from many languages master English, I am in South FL and everybody you meet English is their second or third language. I think it’s all about who you hangout with and how often
Agreed, I'm not saying we can't master it, I'm simply saying that most will never be confused for a native speaker and that is perfectly fine. It's actually better in my opinion to stop seeking that. The goal should be to simply master the language by speaking well, whether you're perceived as a native speaker or not.
I agree, I follow your content a lot and you are the reason I started studying Spanish everyday because you made it seem like it was possible. I appreciate your content! You have any advice on speaking anxiety? I have a lot of phrases and vocab but I get anxious when I speak and forget stuff
Thanks! And It's normal but it's one of those things that goes away the more you do it.@@SwanTalentManager
In Nicaragua lice is called Piojo Breds 🙌🏽
Gracias hermano!
Oh this lighting 4:27 onward is TEA
Gracias por el consejo!
im dominican we use vaina for everything LMAO
Very true jaja
A little dab will do ya I believe came from an old commercial.
Makes sense, I’m sure Mrs. Bowen got it from there knowing her
Couldn’t disagree more.. we’ve seen plenty examples of folks that sound native in second languages. They certainly are the minority of language learners.
It’s also import- How exactly are we are defining “native”? (I don’t think that was really explained in this video)
While I do agree that reaching a native level is hard, and takes a lot of time. We can’t just neglect that fact that it’s been done repeatedly by people that put in the extreme amount of time and effort to do so.
But I agree, and you’re right most people will not reach this level because most people won’t (or can’t) put in the *extreme* amount of time, effort, and practice it takes to get there. And yes- that’s ok. (I think most people cannot even fathom what it’s like to work that hard at something.. lol)
Anyway, Becoming a native level speaker isn’t for everyone (it isn’t for most tbh) it’s much easier to just become fluent/confident.
I’m not sure if you actually believe this premise yourself, or if you’re just looking for Engagement to boos the algorithm- either way, here is your comment! Lol
Looking forward to more videos from you man !
Cheers from NC
I define being native as speaking with an accent and grammar that wouldn’t make anyone question whether it’s your first language. If that doubt is there, you don’t speak at a native level in the language. Being fluent and being at native level are not mutually exclusive by any means. I always appreciate a differing opinion. Gracias!
❤❤ definitely an interesting topic !
@@MikeBenthere are english native speakers who make me wonder how english is their primary language
Lol, very true @@IanMusa
@@MikeBen ua-cam.com/video/cXOanreu_KQ/v-deo.htmlsi=BLdaKp7jUsoGjq-h here’s a video “Days and Words“ YT channel did on it.
I think it explains my argument fairly well
That's why they call it native and not C2. But if you're really good at accents you can fool natives and shock them! (as I watch this video I see you go into the accent thing a bit - on a more serious note even Luca Lampariello who is an amazing English speaker although he's Italian will slip up sometimes and reveal he's not a native speaker)
Luca is a perfect example of this Paul! the man’s English is amazing and he clearly speaks it better than many native speakers, he still wouldn’t be confused for a native speaker though. We can just tell. Gracias por tu perspectiva!
@@MikeBen Eventually he’ll slip up but I remember I watched a couple videos of his before realizing he wasn’t American. Now that I know he’s Italian I see the slip ups way more. But before it clicked I think my brain was giving him benefit. I remember how impressed I was 😂.
Recently subscribed to your channel brother ! You seem like such an awesome person and that’s very much needed on UA-cam these days hehe. I do have a question. I’m a native english speaker(from New York) and I’ve been learning Spanish more or less 6 months(with the exception I’ve been on and off since 2018 but up until this point I’ve been consistent for 6 months) BUT I’m having trouble piecing together sentences even after reading, listening to Spanish audios , and learning vocabulary. My question is, where do I begin to formulate sentences where most of my input is coming from listening, and reading ? Thanks so much !
You need to get speaking asap my brother. After 6 months speaking needs to be a priority. It will help you constructing those sentences. Check out Italki. Also, practice writing and check yourself with the translator. Try to write about your day or something that peaks your curiosity. Translate it from Spanish to English to see if you translated it correctly and that should help a lot. Speaking is number one though. I really appreciate the compliment as well!!!
@@MikeBen Thanks so much for the advice and claro !
All my mexican friends and I were born here in America but have mexican parents. Guess what!? we sound American.. because we were born here.. it's not a big deal
Agreed, depends on your definition of sounding American though. IDK if that exists uniformly. I get what you're saying though 100%
What about "thingamajig"? Or sayings like "see you later alligator"? Response: After while, crocodile.
Right! How can they learn those things, it's impossible lol
I've run across UA-camrs who I couldn’t tell were not native English speakers. I'll post to this comment section if I remember who they were. What camera are you using?
Please do, I have a few in mind but many either started learning as kids or we perceive them to have reached native levels but native speakers can tell the difference. The camera is a DJI Pocket 3
😢 no 😔 i love spanish so much 🥹
I do as well, this should actually be motivating. There is always something new that we can learn
Fluency is relative. You're extremely fluent for the number of years you've studied. A "native speaking" 3 year old doesn't know everything either. How will you feel 15 years from now with more exposure to the language?
Good point here, I should have specified sounding native like. Being 100% perceived as someone who speaks Spanish as a first language. I don't think it's good to have that as the goal because it is unattainable for many people realistically. Doesn't mean you can't speak the language incredibly well though. Gracias por tu opinion!
What type of camera is you using? It looks great 😎😎😎
Dji pocket 3 and thanks!
La cosita esa
Así puede ser
Most of the phrases you said I have no idea what they mean (after living in Canada for 24 years). 😢😢😢
Don’t be too hard on yourself, a lot of them are more common in the southern United States
@@nelsonstone1369 gracias!
Yea a lot of these are southern I think, no te preocupes. Que vengas a visitar el sur!
I legit dont know half the phrases you said an i grew up in new york i know my skin is crawling but ive never heard a new yorker say it
Yea many of them may be southern, I realize that now that everyone is saying they've never heard them lol.
Lice is piojos
Gracias 🙏🏾
Hey Ben, love your content! But I have to disagree…using the accents across the US, those can change if you are deliberate about it. For example, my dad was raised speaking really ghetto “black” speech. He worked on it and now is extremely articulate. He still can go back to how he spoke around family, but that’s no longer the default.
Also think about how good your accent and the phrases you know in such a short amount of time learning Spanish. Now picture if you actually moved to a Spanish speaking country and lived there for 5-10 years, only spoke Spanish, practiced to get rid of your accent, learned all the sayings and whatnot. I think you’d be indistinguishable from a native, maybe not all natives from that region of the country, but other countries would not know the difference. Anyways, que sigas con el buen contenido! Gracias 🙏🏽
Ps also a lot of the phrases so said foreign to me, definitely not as common in the PNW lol so I think you can get to native-like but might ask what region you’re from.
Also check out superholly, I guarantee she passes as native in both English and Spanish lol
Good point, I think it can be done and we can get close but usually non-native speakers can tell that there is something off. I've even seen them analyze Spanish of Hispanic Americans that grew up speaking Spanish only in the U.S. along with English and they can often tell. You're making a good point though because I've seen cases like the one that you're describing. Also, I think SuperHolly would be different though right because from what I understand her dad spoke to her in Spanish and English as a child so she grew up getting input from both.
Doo dad and whatchamacallit is chingadera (Mexican Spanish )
Tienes razón!
Es acentito sino que los colombianos nos inventamos el -ico para disminuir 🤫 en vez de gatito o patito decimos gatico y patico aunque ya es oficial y es aceptable.😂😂😂
Si pasa muchísimo entre ustedes!
Excuses excuses
Hagale pues. Todavia se puede hablar con fluidez en mi opinion
Number 1 “goober” is a racial slur.
Number 2 colloquial phrases don’t make someone fluent or not fluent in a language per se.
For example a person could be born in Mexico or Columbia or Argentina or something and be completely fluent and native all their lives but then go to Spain and not know ANY of the regional words/phrases. Does that make them any less fluent in Spanish?
I have some friends out here where I live in Phoenix but they grew up in Mexico and I shared some songs from Spain artists to 1 of them and dude wasn’t sure about several things the artists said. And dude been speaking Spanish his whole life. His parents don’t even speak English. Yet we had to look several things up. I’m saying this to say Spanish is a huge diverse language spoken in so many countries. There will always be learning new things involved, but to say that a person can never become fluent… I completely disagree with that.
Wait what lol goobers are a candy (goober is another word for peanut) that you can buy but also a way to call someone silly. You might be thinking of the term G***** Grabber, but alone it’s definitely not a slur in America.
You’re educating me on number one, I may have been ignorant to that. I’ve hear it used amongst all races down here usually referring to someone who is silly or goofy. You make a good point about us not being familiar with different dialects, slang, and variations but I think that specific phrases are different than basic phrases that all native speakers would know but we simply aren’t exposed to. Consider in English, something as simple as earwax is standard for all of us but would be extremely difficult for a native speaker to be exposed to
As a native speaker they should have their own repertoire of colloquialisms and expressions from where they grew up though. But we're comparing native to non native speech. "Being fluent," even though many people define it differently, most people will agree that non-natives can become fluent.
@@MikeBen I commented something but it’s gone 🥲
I bet you the Mexican will be recognized immediately in Spain as a spanish speaking person because that is his or her language as opposed to a gringo learning. I bet the Mexican and Spainiard can pick up each others nuances and slang immediately. Why? because it is their language no matter where they are from.
In the Domincan there are Venezuelans there. They communicate very well with each other because spanish is their language.
Let me give you an old example. Beverly Hillbillies that speak up in the hills country English..."Do you want some vittles? Now an English speak knows that is food...Would a person learning English know that? Of course not, because he or she would not have a feel for the nuances of the language to figure it out naturally, but an English born person would.
Sorry, if you are not born in that language or exposed to while an infant, you will not be 100 percent fluent.
It's definitely true that is extremely difficult, if near impossible, to reach a native level accent in a foreign language. And like you said, it's not a big deal at all.
However, it's very possible to not only reach a native level in the written form of a native language but to even transcend the average native level. Joseph Conrad learned English in two years as his third language and acquired a better grasp of the language than what 99.99% of native English speakers have ever been able to reach. Isaac Deutscher was a polish-born intellectual and author who did the same. There are countless other examples.
In terms of grammar and vocab acquisition, it's certainly not impossible to surpass natives but it takes a lot of time and emphasis on reading advanced literatures of all kinds, as well as conscientiously developing your language skills. And it's especially not difficult depending on the generalized education of the communities that use the language. For example, basic literacy is sadly below acceptable standards in the spanish-speaking world. A large majority of natives do not use or know how to use proper grammar and a large amount can't read or write.
It's really only in the verbal and phonetic realm, in the exclusively acoustic component of language acquisition where you will probably never reach native level.
This is a unique perspective that I should have addressed here because what you’ve said is 100% correct. I’m shocked at how many native speakers struggle with reading and writing but I shouldn’t be, we see it all the time in English as well. Thank you for bringing up this point!
What cámara and lense ?
No lense, just a DJI pocket 3
Doodad. La cosita lol😂
Puede ser jaja
8:45
me da envidia de eso.
tengo envidia de eso.
yo envidio eso.
me ha dado envidia.
The different sayings goes on that can be said.
Good stuff
me tienes envidia porque puedo viajar.
Así es, muchas gracias!
I do know the word for “lice”is “piojos” and the word for “zipper” is “ cremallera” but I don’t know how to say, “Z ip
up your pants.”
It's tough if we've never used them in context. I'll keep these in mind during my language exchange this afternoon.
what type of camera is that?
DJI Osmo Pocket 3
Mas bueno gustar esta cossa vedion pedo yo intedar mucho espaniol Con Ami Amigos de trabajo. Yo sabos mui Personas de muchados llamas esta persones “el Hood Tigre “ Northeno puddo Dubbol V Choi Chikoz!
Gracias pero no entiendo bien
I think your example with the phrases is a little off... It's not that it's impossible to learn them it's just that it takes time. If you think about it, none of us native English speakers knew what some of those phrases meant when we were younger but you learn them over time with context. I have a Mexican friend living in Georgia and when I talk with her she uses a lot of southern phrases that I don't even know😂
Very true in that sense Calvin but what about our accents. I think even if we develop very good accents, most Spanish speakers will be able to tell. Again, this is excluding the people that started learning as a kid. And these southern phrases are common I'm not surprised that your Mexican friend knows them lol.
@@MikeBen yeah, I think I agree that the accent is the hardest to overcome but the vocab and phrases can be learned over time
Just going by the title, of course a non native will never become fluent in another language. I actually don't understand why anyone would even think that. There is someone on youtube now trying to learn different accents, dominican, colombia, mexican, which makes no sense to me how this learner thinks that could ever be accomplished. That would be like me from Baltimore trying to sound Bostonian (Boston) or from down south, right.
I am not sure why learners are taking the spanish language so seriously. You are learning the language to purely communicate every day life and situations effectively. The focus should be to pronounce the words as correctly as possible while learning something new each day. A native spanish speaker could speak so much slang to you you would have no idea what is said. Someone learning English, you could say so much slang that the person would not know what you are saying.
I was just going through a spanish book. Now me instinctively and logically would say "I drank tanto, my head is spinning...bebí tanto la cabeza (my) está girando."
Now I am going through the book and I see it says "me dio vueltas la cabeza...my head is spinning." ...I was like, "wow" so many ways things can be said differently that you don't know in the spanish language.
I sometimes laugh at the expectations of others in learning spanish...Just listen to a latin/hispanic speak English...He or she will never sound like you do in your language.
Just keep improving to communicate!
Good Stuff!!!
Agreed 100%, this is not restrictive, it's actually liberating. Speaking Spanish fluently as a non-native sounding speaker is actually cooler in my opinion!
🫡🫡🫡
Te mereces todo el crédito por este
Piojo
Lice
Of course you’ll never know everything hell I’ve been speaking English for 36 years and I still don’t know every English word! Spanish has too many dialogue for you to be fluent in the language!
Agreed, we can be fluent for sure but native level fluency where you're perceived as a native speaker is close to impossible in my opinion.
Why does accent matter? Lol. If you go to any Asian restaurants in America, what do they sound like? None Americans. White Americans in Georgia don't sound like black Americans in Georgia. No difference
Right, you can always tell when someone isn't a native speaker and that is ok.
Not true!!!
Tell me your opinion
@@MikeBen If u live and go to school in a Spanish speaking country, you will become fully fluent, it may take you 5 years but it will happen!
Fluent yes, I agree. Confused for a native speaker, I disagree but that is ok@@learnsomething6265
@@MikeBen only because of your accent maybe,;but you'll be able to undetstand all the slang that you talked about.
Agreed, the point was being perceived as a native. I think we're in agreement. Que sigamos aprendiendo! @@learnsomething6265
CierrA la cremallera
No lo sabia para nada
Súbete el cierre( México)
Frances!
Starting to watch your videos from the start brother, loving them! just curious why don't you have twitter, or instagramto try to help grow your followers? Twitter/X pays people as well depending on how your posts do
Thank you, I don’t like social media much. I’m never really on my phone too much. In terms of the growth, I’m ok with it growing gradually lol. I actually don’t want to get too popular lol. I didn’t start UA-cam with the intention to be a UA-camr
@@MikeBen that’s cool bro, loving the content anyways! It’s great listening practice
Estoy de acuerdo contigo Mike. I am fluent in 5 languages, I totally get it.