Podcast no. 36 - Usted y las Propinas - Transcript answers

[Ben]

This thread refers to Notes in Spanish podcast no.36, and its accompanying transcript and worksheet, which can be obtained here. (http://www.notesinspanish.com/store/)

[kena]

Very interesting podcast about the uses of tu and usted. It should be very useful on my trip to Spain next fall.

I'd say that in French, the use of the formal form is a little bit more widespread. At a twenty-something woman, I systematically use "vous" when speaking to strangers unless they are younger than me, including everyone in the service industry. I'd also use "vous" when talking to slightly older acquaintances, like my friends' parents, a grand-aunt, an older family friend or university teachers over 40. Basically, I'll use "tu" with anyone I'd be comfortable having a beer with, and "vous" with anyone else. And when in doubt, it's always safer to be more formal (whereas I got the feeling from the podcast that using "usted" might be perceived as cold or distant, right?)

[Ben]

...I got the feeling from the podcast that using "usted" might be perceived as cold or distant, right?)

Not necessarily distant and cold, certainly formal - so perhaps slightly strange for someone who expects to be on 'tu' terms with you. They will soon put you right though and won't be offended at all. At the end of the day we all have the convenience of being foreigners and so being able to get away with not getting it perfectly right every now and again ;)

[lumpsuckerpig]

Just to say, problably a bit late really, that I think the transcripts to the podcasts are great, just the thing for taking your understanding up a couple of levels. I thought I was quite literate with regard to reading and understanding Spanish, but the transcripts have quite literally opened my mind up to a new level of the language. Great stuff, keep it up.

[Ben]

That's really great to hear, thanks!

[JohnR]

brother/sister in law - cuñado/cuñada
son/daughter in law - yerno/nuera

Otro podcast muy interesante y útil.

[Ben]

I still get those confused sometimes, but amazingly, so do the Spanish!

[greytop]

I still get those confused sometimes, but amazingly, so do the Spanish! I made this up when working through my Spanish lessons. Hope it helps!

[Pepino]

I'm probably arriving at the party fashionably late, but having already been a big fan of the NIS Podcasts for a few months now, I downloaded my first transcript for this particular edition the other day, and can definitely say it's well worth it. I avoided them in the past, because I'm bone idle by nature and I knew that, if I had a written script available, I would just use it as a mental-crutch to avoid having to work hard to comprehend the spoken Spanish in the Podcast with no notes. (Simply putting the script to one side doesn't figure in my capabilities as I'm far too weak-willed :blush: ). My listening comprehension has been slow to improve in the past because I've "cheated" like this with other resources, such the the Piensa en Español audio magazines that I've had a subscription to over the last year (which incidentally, is desperately expensive for UK subscribers).

With the NIS podcasts, I mistakenly thought I'd have the same problem, but I have to say that I've learned plenty of cool stuff already, and have now downloaded the "Bodas en España" transcript too. My plan now therefore, is to carry on listening to the podcasts as soon as they are made available, and then only buy the transcript a week or so later, when I've made every effort to comprehend as much as I'm ever going to do without written help. That way I get the double-whammy of stretching my listening skills right to their limit (the only way to improve), but the bonus of not having any ongoing gaps where I struggle to understand a particular phrase no matter how many times I listen.

Well done on producing such a great resouce at such a good price! I thorougly recommend them to anyone reading who might not have tried them yet.

[Ben]

Thank you very much! It really is great to hear that they are so useful.

[Marina]

Thanks Pepino for your words!

I'm particulary moved by how much effort you are prepared to put into a single podcast. But on the other hand it shouldn't suprise me that much as the best English teacher (http://www.macmillaneducation.com/authors/Norris.htm) that I've ever had (apart from Ben obviously!!!) used to tell us that repetion is the key for learning. He used to give the example that for learning a new word or collocation one would need to use it in a sentence for, I think it was, 6 or 8 times.

[Pepino]

My pleasure. I feel like my Spanish has improved lots amounts since I stumbled across NFS, and while it's true that I've been working hard on it lately, the quality of the podcasts has seriously helped me immensely.

Btw, I had to smile reading your last post about how much time I'm spending studying, as I'm currently sat at my desk in work, with my phone directed to voicemail, my MP3 player on, and the Bodas en España transcript on my laptop. It's a miracle that I get away with this in the office as I work in a huge open-plan office with people walking around all the time, but hey! Who am I to complain?? ;) Besides, I've pretty much mentally cut off from my UK work life now and I'm just treading water until the 13th Sept when I start the next chapter in Barcelona. 3 weeks today will be my first day in the BCN office, so the fear-factor is enough to make me want to study every spare minute I get! :).

Keep up the good work! And not just on the NIS podcasts, as I also listen to the NFS & CFS podcasts (despite being a terrible cook). Perhaps I should devote a little more time to practicing a few of your recipes before I get to Spain, as it'd be a great way to impress my new flatmate! Can you imagine? A strange guy turns up from England and makes him the best Leche Merengada he's ever tasted? I'd probably earn myself a nice discount on my rent! (Hmmm, Let's not get carried away here! hehe :p )

[Marina]

Perhaps I should devote a little more time to practicing a few of your recipes before I get to Spain, as it'd be a great way to impress my new flatmate! Can you imagine? A strange guy turns up from England and makes him the best Leche Merengada he's ever tasted? I'd probably earn myself a nice discount on my rent! (Hmmm, Let's not get carried away here! hehe :p )

:D:D:D He would be really impressed!!!

[GreyMark]

Okay, I'm getting to this podcast a little late, but still...I was interested that you mentioned the use of "vos" in some countries and you indicated that you would follow up with more. Did you? (I haven't listened to all the podcasts yet, so wouldn't know...) If not, I would certainly appreciate it. They seem to use "vos" in Honduras, but I honestly couldn't make out how they conjugate verbs with "vos" -- is it like "tu"? "usted"? neither? No idea. Plus, in Honduras, the plural "you" seems to just be "ustedes" (though it's possible they use something else and I missed it -- my Spanish needs a lot of work...).

Thanks.

Greymark

[Edith]

My pleasure. I feel like my Spanish has improved lots amounts since I stumbled across NFS

My Spanish has improved too because of the podcasts, especially my listening skills. In November I spent four weeks on Tenerife studying Spanish, which also helped. I'd been on a plateau for two years or so, and until last autumn I felt I wasn't making any real progress.

Repetition is definitely very important, and I´m enternally grateful to Ben and Marina for introducing me to the world of podcasts and iPods! Now I´m able to listen to one and a half hours of spoken Spanish each day as I commute to work and back home. These bus trips, which I used to consider a waste of time, have now become a meaningful part of my daily routine. And of course you can listen to the same podcasts as often as you want, until you understand everything. That is the beauty of it. Just the other day I discovered a new series of podcasts full of rapid-fire tertulias from Mexico which are absolutely great if you´re interested in history:

http://www.frecuenciacero.com.mx/enlahistoria/index.php


Most podcasts are made by volunteers, and I really appreciate the time and effort they put into their work. What a great invention!

By the way, I bet your Spanish has also improved a lot because of your daily interaction with your colleagues and friends in Barcelona. :)

[greytop]

Okay, I'm getting to this podcast a little late, but still...I was interested that you mentioned the use of "vos" in some countries and you indicated that you would follow up with more. Did you? (I haven't listened to all the podcasts yet, so wouldn't know...) If not, I would certainly appreciate it. They seem to use "vos" in Honduras, but I honestly couldn't make out how they conjugate verbs with "vos" -- is it like "tu"? "usted"? neither? No idea. Plus, in Honduras, the plural "you" seems to just be "ustedes" (though it's possible they use something else and I missed it -- my Spanish needs a lot of work...).

Thanks.

GreymarkTry this part of the forum (http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183&highlight=vosotros)

[Edith]

Okay, I'm getting to this podcast a little late, but still...I was interested that you mentioned the use of "vos" in some countries

Argentina is especially famous for using 'vos', here is some info from the WordReference.com forums:


http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=224474

[ValenciaSon]

I guess the faun from Pan's Laberynth is from Argentina, he used "vos" quite a bit:rolleyes:

[tad]

I believe in some areas vos replaces tu directly with the same endings. Argentina for one though use a completely different set, I vaguely remember that 4 present tense the stress is at the end of the word, a la preterite.

[OzSimon]

Not necessarily distant and cold, certainly formal - so perhaps slightly strange for someone who expects to be on 'tu' terms with you. They will soon put you right though and won't be offended at all. At the end of the day we all have the convenience of being foreigners and so being able to get away with not getting it perfectly right every now and again ;)

Not a slow reader, just new to the forum:

I remember learning Spanish while living in Ecuador as an exchange student. Trying to do the right thing and learn all my conjugations I asked my host family about "vosotros" as I hadn't heard it at all in conversation. The reply from my little brother was something like "ah they only use vosotros in Spain!". Impressionable (and wanting to fit in), this seemed to make sense! So, I never learned any of the vosotros conjugations. I'm now seeing I have some work ahead of me..... ;D.

Anyway, if I use ustedes in the forum trust me I'm not being formal (lazy maybe but not formal) ;)....

Chao

OzSimon

[CatherineF]

Hola

Eschuche este podcast ayer y creo que esos temas son muy muy utiles para los extranjeros.

Hace unos anos, estaba en Montreal, en Canada, y compre una cola en una cafeteria. La camarera me traigo mi bebida a la mesa. Teni el argente exacto listo y lo di a la camarera. Cuando ella estuve parada y me miro. No sabia porque. :confused:

Despues de unos secundos, me di cuenta que ella esperaba una propina!

Yo estaba muy desconcertado :blush: y le di casi el precio de la bebida como propino.

Si solamente yo lo sabia antes!

[CatherineF]

Muchas gracias por las correcciones :)

[nohablo]

Hola. I was amused to see people talking about coming late to this podcast...in 2007. I guess that makes me tardísima. Oh well, más vale tarde que nunca.

Anyway, I was listening to the discussion of tú and usted, and I was surprised to hear Marina say that vos is "un poco entre el 'tú' y el 'usted', un poco intermediamente formal." I think she may be mistaken. I've always been told that vos is used instead of tú in Argentina, Uruguay, and perhaps parts of some other countries in Latin America. I've also seen/heard this in the book Streetwise Spanish by Gill and Wegmann and in its accompanying CD. Indeed, on the CD, there's an exercise in which one of the questions is something like "En Uruguay, ¿qué dice un hombre a su amor: 'Mi reina, estoy loco por A) ti o B) vos'"? And the answer is B. So I think vos is the equivalent of tú, not something in between tú and usted.

I just want to add that I love the podcasts and transcripts and am hoping that there will be a new series soon. :thumbs-up:

[Mkingsley]

Cuando Ben y Marina hablan de las propinas Ben dice "nada de nada."

Nada de nada es simplemente "nothing" o algo mas?

Gracias!

[Ben]

'Nada de nada' is nothing, but very emphasized!