Re: first lesson
 

Is there an abreiviation for the Welsh town,?

Re: first lesson
 

Yes

Dontfeckingothere

Re: first lesson
 

Coín - always gets 'em.

Usually pronounced "coe inn" with emphasis on the "coe". A friend of mine used to live there and swore that was how to pronounce it and that's how the Spanish did.

I suppose it's possible that they did to humour the Brits.

The Welsh town is usually called Llanfair PG

Re: first lesson
 

Good job, I am sure most of the inhabitants would have moved out long ago if the had to write lot as their address.:rofl:

Re: first lesson
 

We have loads here that people struggle with

Xeresa
Xativa
Cullera
Alfauir
Xeraco


What is it with all these X's :D

Re: first lesson
 

Llanfair P.G :)

Re: first lesson
 

I think it's the Valenciana. Makes things even more confusing. Javea or Xabia etc

Re: first lesson
 

and XÃ bia

all those with the X are Valenciano names for the towns

X is barely used at all in Castellano

it doesn't help that the Valenciano X doesn't sound the same as the Castellano J either, so towns can have totally different sounding names depending on what language you are speaking



eta..........note to self - check whole thread before posting

Re: first lesson
 

Polite guffaws from those of us living in the Axarquia;)



though to be fair you did say rarely.........;)


*ahem* barely

Re: first lesson
 

:p

Re: first lesson
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llanfairpwllgwyngyll

Re: first lesson
 

A nightmare!!!! :confused: We have 5 plain direct vowels, not your undecided mixed ones! Was it really so difficult to decide how to pronounce a vowel??? :p

Really, after maybe 20 years learning English (first lesson: alphabet and numbers) plus 11 years living there I'm still not able to pronounce your vowels properly. At least I can communicate, but when I meet your natives for the first time they usually get their eyebrows moving all over the place while trying not to make funny faces. :thumbdown:

BUT, and a very big but... on the other hand your verbs are sooooo easy, they more than compensate for your shy vowels and awful phrasal verbs... not to mention your funny accents :D

It is very hard to become fluent in any second language unless you are lucky enough to be exposed to both of them since you are a baby. Even being fluent there will always be a lot of little things that only natives will know because they are popular culture, such as old celebrities, TV catchphrases, etc that become popular many years before you went there.

¡Buena suerte!

Re: first lesson
 

What's a phrasal verb?

Re: first lesson
 

As a Spanish woman married to a Welsh guy, please let me answer.... I start with jlanfeir... forget all the stuff in the middle which I substitute with lots of jlas an rrrrs, and then finish with a magnificent gogogoj!

The worst thing is that I can't counterattack with Spanish J's an R's as most Welsh people can pronounce them perfectly... not English people though!

For them I simply use the "Perro de San Roque" thingy and my silly honour is saved; I can do the "She sells sea shells in the seashore". :p

"El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Rodríguez se lo ha cortado"

Re: first lesson
 

When you have a verb and then a preposition. Problem is that the preoposition completely changes the meaning the verb would have with another one. Most of them make no sense in Spanish, and some are completely the opposite a Spaniard would use.

That is one of the most difficult things to learn in English for a non native.