Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Joseph: “I can hold my own”
Beatriz: ¡Hola!
Joseph: What’s up, everyone?
Beatriz: Bea and Joseph back again.
Joseph: You’re listening to the 23rd lesson of the Peruvian Spanish Series, coming to you on demand from Spanishpod101.com!
Beatriz: Welcome back, world!
Joseph: Bea, great to be back with you for another journey to the land of the Andes, the Amazon rainforest, sprawling coastal deserts and the vibrant capital metropolis, Lima.
Beatriz: Entonces papito, ¿qué es lo que vimos la vez pasada?
Joseph: Last time?
Beatriz: Yes!
Joseph: Well, we had a quick look at how to express past actions.
Beatriz: Claro, usando los verbos “alistarse” y “fijarse.”
Joseph: And what do those sound like in the Preterit Tense?
Beatriz: Yo me aliste. Yo me fije.
Joseph: Right! We also looked at how to say “Let’s beat it!” just like Michael Jackson.
Beatriz: Yes! And today, what are we going to study?
Joseph: We’re going to learn how to tell someone that we speak some Spanish and that the Spanish we speak is from Lima.
Beatriz: Sounds pretty practical.
Joseph: Well, yes! When you think about it, this would be a direct in. I mean, if you were to say this to any Spanish speaker, I guarantee that they would be interested in talking to you.
Beatriz: And that’s such an important step.
Joseph: Yes, yes it is. And today, we’ll listen to this conversation between James, who’s from the U.S. and Aracelli, who’s from Peru. They are at a cultural event sponsored by “La Católica en el Centro Cultural de San Isidro.”
Beatriz: Before we begin, remember that this lesson cross references Newbie Lesson 23.
Joseph: So, to get us rolling here, we’re going to go back to Newbie Lesson 23. There we heard the following conversation:
DIALOGUE - NORMAL
GUILLERMO: ¿Usted puede hablar en español?
JUANA: Sí. Yo puedo hablar un poco del español.
GUILLERMO: Usted habla bien en español.
JUANA: Hablo bien, pero un poco no más.
Joseph: This time with the translation! Ahora incluiremos la traducción.
GUILLERMO: ¿Usted puede hablar en español?
GUILLERMO: “Can you speak Spanish, madam?”
JUANA: Sí. Yo puedo hablar un poco del español.
JUANA: “Yes, I can speak a bit of Spanish.”
GUILLERMO: Usted habla bien en español.
GUILLERMO: “Madam, you speak Spanish well.”
JUANA: Hablo bien, pero un poco no más.
JUANA: “I speak well, but just a bit.”
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Joseph: So, Bea, that to my ear sounds like a pretty universal conversation. Do you think that would be understood in the most parts of the Spanish speaking world?
Beatriz: Yes, I think so. And I think it’s very practical, I mean, imagine only going to a new country.
Joseph: Okay! So, now, let’s switch it up a little bit and listen to how this conversation might sound in Lima, Peru.
DIALOGUE - PERUVIAN
ARACELI: ¿Hablas castellano?
JAMES: Bueno... sí, me puedo defender.
ARACELI: Pero hablas bien, oye, ¿de qué parte?
JAMES: Soy de gringolandia, pero mi dejo es de Lima.
ARACELI: ¡Asú! ¿Cómo es eso? ¿De dónde sacaste ese dejo limeño?
JAMES: Bueno, es que mi profesora es peruana.
Joseph: Once again, slowly! Una vez más, esta vez lentamente.
ARACELI: ¿Hablas castellano?
JAMES: Bueno... sí, me puedo defender.
ARACELI: Pero hablas bien, oye, ¿de qué parte?
JAMES: Soy de gringolandia, pero mi dejo es de Lima.
ARACELI: ¡Asú! ¿Cómo es eso? ¿De dónde sacaste ese dejo limeño?
JAMES: Bueno, es que mi profesora es peruana.
Joseph: This time with the translation! Ahora incluiremos la traducción.
ARACELI: ¿Hablas castellano? “Do you speak Spanish?”
JAMES: Bueno... sí, me puedo defender. “Well, yes, I can hold my own!”
ARACELI: Pero hablas bien, oye, ¿de qué parte? “Hey, listen, you speak well! Where are you from?”
JAMES: Soy de gringolandia, pero mi dejo es de Lima. “I’m from Gringo world, but my accent is from Lima.”
ARACELI: ¡Asú! ¿Cómo es eso? ¿De dónde sacaste ese dejo limeño? “Wow! What’s that? Where did you get that Lima accent?”
JAMES: Bueno, es que mi profesora es peruana.“Well, my teacher’s Peruvian.”
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Joseph: Cuantas veces he tenido esa misma conversación. I’ve had this conversation so many times.
Beatriz: Yes, probably. Taxi drivers get a geek out of asking where are you from.
Joseph: Right, right! And not only where are you from, but where is your Spanish from. Sometimes it’s hard if, you know, if you have a certain accent it’s hard to pare that with a person who’s speaking it, you know?
Beatriz: Yes, yes I know! And you make their day.
Joseph: Right, right!
Beatriz: Okay! Ahora, comparemos las conversaciones.
Joseph: Where should we start?
Beatriz: Justo en el primer verso. In Newbie Lesson 23 Guillermo asks Juana:
GUILLERMO: ¿Usted puede hablar en español?
GUILLERMO: “Can you speak Spanish, madam?”
Beatriz: ¿Usted puede hablar en español?
Joseph: Yes, this sounded quite a bit different in our Peruvian version where Aracelli asks James “¿Hablas castellano?”
Beatriz: I see one major difference.
Joseph: Which is?
Beatriz: Bueno, en la versión peruana reemplazamos la palabra español con “castellano”.
Joseph: And what do both of these words refer to here?
Beatriz: Al idioma español también llamado el idioma castellano.
Joseph: And we can use these words español and castellano interchangeably?
Beatriz: Yes, we can. Sí, podemos. A veces e escucha español pero aveces castellano.
Joseph: One way was explained to me by professor I had from Madrid was that the term español, Spanish, represented the language of a nation built by Franco and so, for her, it was important to call it castellano, which is literally “Castellan”, saying that it’s this version which we generally refer to as Spanish.
Beatriz: You’re right, yes! I mean, in Spain there are many…
Joseph: Well, there’s a number of languages and, I mean, it’s not just all Castellan Spanish, right?
Beatriz: Yes!
Joseph: And you can find out by listening to the Iberian Spanish Series. David and Megan are always talking about the different forms of Spanish within Spain.
Beatriz: Yes, I mean, their accents are so strong also in Spain and we got this Castellan, right? Castellano.
Joseph: You’re going back to that comment that when my professor said, I think that her political views probably had a lot to do with her understanding of this difference between the two names, but nonetheless I think it’s really interesting to consider the implications of having two names for one language.
Beatriz: Yes! So, just to recap, in Newbie Lesson 23 we heard:
GUILLERMO: ¿Usted puede hablar en español?
GUILLERMO: “Can you speak Spanish, madam?”
Beatriz: ¿Usted puede hablar en español? And in today’s Peruvian conversation Aracelli said:
Joseph: ¿Hablas castellano? “Do you speak Spanish?”
Beatriz: Let’s look at the response to this question.
Joseph: Veamosla. In Newbie Lesson 23 Juana responds:
JUANA: Sí. Yo puedo hablar un poco del español.
JUANA: “Yes, I can speak a bit of Spanish.”
Joseph: And this is definitely a clear way to get your point across. But, to my ear it sounds a little too studied, a little too stiff.
Beatriz: Claro y en la versión peruana escuchamos: sí, me puedo defender.
Joseph: This is such a great phrase!
Beatriz: Yes, if you say this to someone, you’re really going to get their attention.
Joseph: Let’s break it down.
Beatriz: Analicemoslo.
Joseph: So, first we have the word “sí” which means:
Beatriz: “Yes” or “Yeah”
Joseph: And then we have the phrase “me puedo defender”, three words, first word “me”.
Beatriz: Pronombre personal.
Joseph: Right! It’s a personal pronoun. And which verb is this being used with?
Beatriz: DEfender.
Joseph: Great! And this looks a lot like the English word “defend”.
Beatriz: Porque es un cognado.
Joseph: All right! But, in between these two words we have the verb “puedo”.
Beatriz: “I can”
Joseph: And it would also be correct to say “puedo defenderme”.
Beatriz: Estás en lo correcto.
Joseph: And are the meanings of “defender” and “defend” identical?
Beatriz: In essence, they are.
Joseph: So, when I say “Me puedo defender” it’s not just like saying “I can defend myself.” but also “I can hold my own.”
Beatriz: Significa que puedo sobrevivir sin problemas con el vocabulario que tengo.
Joseph: Right, right! It means that you can survive on your own with the vocabulary that you have.
Beatriz: Yes, yes. It’s figurative. It’s like saying that speaking Spanish ”es un combate y por eso he aprendido a defenderme”.
Joseph: That’s right, that’s right! So, you know, the image that we get by saying “me defiendo” or “me puedo defender” is like speaking Spanish is some kind of combat, you know? So, you really have to defend yourself. So, back in Newbie Lesson 23 we heard:
JULIA: Sí. Yo puedo hablar un poco del español.
JULIA: “Yes, I can speak a bit of Spanish.”
Joseph: And in our Peruvian version we heard: sí, me puedo defender.
Beatriz: Did you use this phrase when you were learning Spanish?
Joseph: Definitely, definitely. This is like, this was like one of my favorite phrases to use when someone asked me if I spoke Spanish. And I still use it, I still use it even though, you know, I’ve learned a lot of Spanish and I feel really comfortable. I like it because it shows other people that you recognize the playfulness of the language and I find that they’re much more likely to talk to you, you know? It’s a lot easier to have a conversation. So still, when someone asks me ¿Hablas castellano?, I still like to say “Sí, me puedo defender”.
Beatriz: Wow, wow! I mean, I yes remember that you say that also in, for example, you just moved from mom’s house and you start to goad when someone asks you and you say “Me puedo defender”. And you know, I can cook something.
Joseph: Right!
Beatriz: I can survive!
Joseph: I can hold my own, exactly!
Beatriz: Yes! Ahora damas y caballeros probemos el verdadero sabor criollo del habla local.
Joseph: Let’s get a taste of the localisms.
Beatriz: Saboreemos el auténtico sazón de la rica habla peruana.
Joseph: So, in today’s conversation James says “Soy de gringolandia,”. Bea, this is too funny!
Beatriz: Yes, it’s a funny way to refer to the U.S.
Joseph: So, here’s a question. What makes this humorous and not offensive? I mean, seeing that the word Gringo can sometimes be used in a derogatory sense, to refer to a white person in general or someone specifically from the states, we translate this as “I’m from Gringo world.” Now, would you say it’s better to translate it this way or as Gringo land?
Beatriz: Well, I think Gringo world it’s better because it plays off Disneyworld.
Joseph: Okay, okay!
Beatriz: And in Peruvian culture Disney world is unfortunately one of the symbols or a set of ideals that we see to be proper to the culture of the United States.
Joseph: So, it’s kind of like a gear at the American Dream, right? Al sueño americano, ¿no?.
Beatriz: Yes, it’s a bit cliché though. Por lo menos es una crítica bienhumorada sobre el consumismo americano.
Joseph: That’s a very cool way to look at it. So, you’re saying that at least it’s some kind of critique, but with good humor. You know, it’s a good humored critique at, you know, North American consumerism. So, you can call the state “gringolandia” which is similar to Disneylandia, right? So, you have Disney world and now Gringo world. All right! And right after this we hear the word “asu”. I think we’ve talked about this before, but it’s so common that I think we should touch on it again.
Beatriz: Bueno, en primer lugar es una interjección.
Joseph: An interjection, okay! So, this is the kind of word that we need to exclaim.
Beatriz: Yes! ¡Asu!
Joseph: On its own. ¡Asu!
Beatriz: ¡Asu! usually right before we express our surprise at something.
Joseph: ¡Asu!
Beatriz: Yes! Usamos esta interjección en muchas situaciones.
Joseph: ¿Cómo por ejemplo?
Beatriz: It’s hot and you say ¡Asu, qué calor!
Joseph: Okay! So, when it’s really hot you can say ¡Asu, qué calor! Another way that I’ve heard it a lot is when you say something to someone that they didn’t expect. You know, “I just won the lottery.” and you say ¡Asu!
Beatriz: Yes, or I don’t know, I use it to name three dishes or something you say “¡Asu, you’re crazy!”
Joseph: Right, right!
Beatriz: ¡Asu estás loco! O algo así.
Joseph: Okay! And what about the word “dejo”? Aracelli surprised at the Peruvian sound of James Spanish, asks him ¿De dónde sacaste ese dejo limeño? Let’s start with the verb “sacaste”.
Beatriz: El verbo “sacar” es in infinitivo.
Joseph: And it’s usually translated as “to remove” or “to take out”, but here it’s used as figurative.
Beatriz: En este sentido el verbo “sacar” significa “adquirir”.
Joseph: “To acquire”. And if that’s the case, then at this point we can say “Where did you get that “dejo limeño”?”
Beatriz: Yes! ¿De dónde sacaste ese dejo limeño?
Joseph: So, we know that “limeño” is an adjective that means “Limanian” or “Limon”, over pertaining to the city of Lima, but what do you mean by “dejo” here?
Beatriz: En este caso cuando decimos “dejo” nos referimos al acento peculiar del habla de determinada región.
Joseph: So, peculiar accent of a given region speech. So, ¿existe un dejo peruano?
Beatriz: De hecho. Sí, sin duda.
Joseph: So, for talking about a regional accent here, what are some of the other “dejos en el Perú”?
Beatriz: Bueno pues como por ejemplo el dejo serrano.
Joseph: The highland accent.
Beatriz: El dejo norteño.
Joseph: The Northern accent.
Beatriz: Y el dejo limeño.
Joseph: Right! And that brings us back to “el dejo limeño”, the Limanian accent. And, of course, there are many more, right?
Beatriz: Yes, there’re more, like “el dejo de la selva”, the jungle accent.
Joseph: Right, right!
Beatriz: Yes!
Joseph: So, we’ll definitely have to talk about some of those other ones in our future lessons.
Beatriz: Yes!

Outro

Beatriz: All right! And I think that’s it for today! Hasta la próxima.
Joseph: Gracias por acompañarnos. Thanks for joining us. We’ll see you guys soon.
Beatriz: Chao.
Joseph: Nos vedios.

Dialogue - Peruvian

Dialogue - Standard

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