Every once in a while, I get an urge to try to learn to speak, or at least read Spanish. Recently, Men in Black was on the Telemundo broadcasting network. I tried to watch it but gave up after a few minutes. The dubbing was disappointing because the actors don’t speak Spanish and the dialogue sounds weird.
I enjoyed my basic Spanish courses in my freshman year of college at Huston-Tillotson University (then Huston-Tillotson College). I think I impressed my teachers simply because I could mimic the sound of Spanish. That’s only because our family lived next door to a Spanish-speaking family. As a child, I got so used to hearing it that I must have absorbed the sounds and cadence.
That didn’t help me in actually learning to speak Spanish in college, though. My teacher, Dr. Whitby, gave me a book of jokes and funny stories titled “Risas Y Sonrisas.” I think he gave it to me because I did my homework and, at least on paper, did well on written exams. I found a book with the same name on Amazon that was originally published in the late 1940s. The title can be translated as “Smiles and Laughter.” My teacher translated it more loosely as “Giggles and Grins.” I kept the book for many years, but it got lost in a move. Toward the latter part of the first semester, Dr. Whitby invited a native Spanish-speaker who was a senior to class one day. The idea was for us to use what language skills we had tried to learn to communicate with her. None of us could even bring ourselves to say Como Esta used! I was extremely shy and embarrassed.
When I was working as a consulting psychiatrist, I always used a translator service that health professionals could access by telephone. It was a little awkward, but handy when a Spanish-speaking translator was not available in person.
There are free Spanish lessons on the web and other ways to learn that cost money. I’m leery of both. If I could find a course in Spanish that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, I would consider trying it.
Then I could say some of my favorite Men in Black quotes in Spanish. I found out Tommy Lee Jones (who plays Agent K) actually can speak Spanish. I have to use the Google Translate application:
Men in Black quote:
Edwards: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.
Agent K: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you’ll know tomorrow.
Men in Black quote in Spanish:
Edwards: ¿Por qué el gran secreto? La gente es inteligente. Pueden manejarlo.
Agent K: Una persona es inteligente. Las personas son animales peligrosos, tontos y asustados, y tú lo sabes. Hace mil quinientos años todo el mundo sabía que la Tierra era el centro del universo. Hace quinientos años todo el mundo sabía que la Tierra era plana y hace quince minutos sabíamos que los humanos estábamos solos en este planeta. Imagínate lo que sabrás mañana.
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