1.2.16

西班牙語在古巴 -「哈囉篇」(2) / Spanish in Cuba – Greetings (2)


上一篇已經學了數個單字,現在就來學一些有用的短句吧。

We’ll now look at some short and useful Spanish phases.


No hablo español 這是「我不懂西班牙語」的意思。發音為No A-blo es-pan-neoHablo 是「」的意思,而hablohola一樣,h是不發音的,所以hablo的發音是A-blo

No hablo español – It means “I don’t speak Spanish”, pronounced as No A-blo es-pan-neo.  Hablo means “speak”, and just like hola, it’s with a silent “h”, therefore it’s pronounced as A-blo.

-------------------------------------------------------------

¿Usted habla inglés? 「你會說英語嗎?」,發音是Uu-sted A-bla en-glace這句是我個人認為最重要的西文短句,既然我不懂西班牙語,自然要問一問和我對話的人懂不懂英語。

雖然在古巴懂得說英語的人實在太少,但仍然值得一試。而 inglés是「英語」意思。Hablah一樣是不發音的,所以habla的發音是A-bla

¿Usted habla inglés? – “Do you speak English?”, pronounced as Uu-sted A-bla en-glace.  I think this is one of the most useful Spanish phases. 

Since I don’t speak Spanish, it’s natural to ask whether the person I’m talking with speak English at all; most Cubans don’t speak English, but it’s still worth a try.  And inglés means English.

Again it’s with the silent “h”, therefore it’s A-bla instead of Ha-bla.
-------------------------------------------------------------

No entiendo 「我不明白」或「我聽不懂」的意思,發音為 No en-ti-en-do

No entiendo – It means “I don’t understand”, pronounced as No en-ti-en-do.

我經常把這幾句混在一起用,No hablo español ¿Usted habla inglés? 我不懂西班牙語,你會說英語嗎?」或 No entiendo ¿Usted habla inglés?「我聽不懂,你會說英語嗎?」。 事實上,就算說不出全句,只要說出inglés這個字,古巴人就知道你問他們懂不懂英語,或附近有沒有人懂得英語。

I often use these phases together, such as No hablo español ¿Usted habla inglés? – “I don’t understand Spanish, do you speak English?”; or No entiendo ¿Usted habla inglés? – “I don’t understand, do you speak English?”.

In fact, as long as you use the word “inglés”, Cubans know you’re asking whether they can speak English, or someone nearby speaks English.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Cómo estás 「你好嗎?」,發音為Ko-mo s-DAs。它經常是用於Hola之後,變成 “¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?” (「喂,你好嗎?」)

Cómo estás – It means “How are you?”, pronounced as Ko-mo s-Das.  It’s often used after hola, and becomes “¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?” (“Hi, how are you?”).

-------------------------------------------------------------

Bien 「好」的意思,是對¿Cómo estás?的常用回應。發音為bi-en。所以把它們用在一起的話就變成 我問:“¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?”,古巴人答: “Bien”

Bien – It means “good”, and it’s often used as a reply to ¿Cómo estás?, pronounced as bi-en.  Put together with last phase, and it turns into a dialogue like this: I say “¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?” to a Cuban, and he/she replies “Bien”.

-------------------------------------------------------------

¡Hasta luego! 這也是「再見」,發音為 A-si-tah lu-air-goH和以前的一樣是不發音的。古巴的房東向我解釋的時候說雖然Adiós都是再見的意思,但Adiós指很快會再見,而Hasta luego則是有一種「保重」的意味。

¡Hasta luego! – This is also goodbye, pronounced as A-si-tah lu-air-go, just like before, the h is a silent h.  The casa particular’s owner told me that adiós also means goodbye, but it carries the meaning of seeing each other again soon, whereas hasta luego has a hint of farewell to it.






6.1.16

西班牙語在古巴 - 「哈囉篇」(1) / Spanish in Cuba – Greetings (1)

古巴是西語系國家,大部份的古巴人都是完全不懂或只懂很簡單的英語 。所以學一些基本的西班牙語對於旅遊古巴是很有幫助的。

Cuba is a Spanish speaking country and most Cubans speak no English.  Therefore, learning some Spanish prior to setting off for Cuba is advisable.

我嚴重低估了古巴的英文普及度,在出發前只懂得「你好」和「謝謝」兩個字,也很不幸的沒有下載offline的翻譯app,結果我吃了不少苦頭。而我在三個星期內也學了一些單字和短句。我把它們整理成數篇文章和大家分享一下。

I greatly underestimated the English literacy in Cuba; I only knew “hello” and “thank you” in Spanish prior to setting off.  I didn’t download an offline translator app either.  I ended up giving myself a crash course in basic Spanish through practicing with Cubans.  Here’re some words and phases I learned in my 3 weeks travel.



Hola 這是我唯二懂得的西文字之一,意思指「喂」,打招呼的不二選擇。西班牙語中H是不發音的,所以Hola的發音是O-la (柯拿) 在古巴的街上就算你不和古巴人打招呼,很多時他們也會和你一句¡Hola! 事實上,以一個微笑和一句¡Hola!作為開始,很有可能為你贏盡古巴人的友誼!

Hola – This is one of the only 2 Spanish words I knew, means “hi”, the opening of nearly all encounters.  H is not pronounced in Spanish, so hola is pronounced as O-la.  In fact, Cubans often say “¡Hola!” even if you don’t greet them.  Seriously, a smile with “¡Hola!” will go a long way when you’re in Cuba.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Gracias 這個是我懂得的另一個西文字,是「多謝」的意思。所謂「禮多人不怪」,這是我在古巴第二常用的字。它的發音是Gra-ci-as

Gracias – This is the other Spanish word I knew, means “thank you”.  Pronounced as Gra-ci-as.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Si 這是「對」或「是」的意思。它的發音是See

Si – It means “yes” or “correct”, pronounced as See.


-------------------------------------------------------------

No 和英文一樣,是「不對」或「否」的意思,發音也和英文一樣。

No – Same as English, both meaning and pronunciation.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Por favor 這是「請」或「麻煩你」的意思。發音為 Paul-fa-Ba

Por favor – This is “please”.  Pronounced as Paul-fa-Ba.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Disculpe 這是「麻煩,打擾一下」的意思,和英文「excuse me」一樣。發音為dis-Coo-pe

Disciple – This is “excuse me”, when you try to get someone’s attention.  Pronounced as dis-Coo-pe.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Permiso 這也是「excuse me」,不過是「麻煩借過一下」的意思。發音為Per-mi-so

Permiso – This is also “excuse me”, but it’s when you want someone to move aside.  Pronounced as Per-mi-so.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Lo siento 這是「對不起」的意思。發音為lo si-En-toe

Lo siento – It means “sorry”, pronounced as lo si-En-toe.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Adiós 這是「再見」或「拜拜」的意思。發音是A-di-ós (D柯斯)

Adiós – This is “good bye”, pronounced as A-di-ós.

雖然學了這幾個字我也不會聽懂古巴人的回答,所謂「事要一步一步做,飯要一口一口吃」,這是打開話題的一個開始。

I know I still wouldn’t understand what Cubans said to me after learning a few words, but I had to start somewhere, hadn’t I?  Little by little, I’m sure I’ll get there one day.