SPEAKING ANDALUZ

A basic introduction

When considering buying a property in a small Andalucian village, whether for a holiday home or permanent residence, it is important to understand the necessity of learning the language.
Even if you buy in a place where there are other Brits, having a basic grasp of Spanish will go a long way to help you settle in.

There may be those who find they manage with little or no Spanish, but manage is all they do. Furthermore you could miss out on so much local culture and other experiences if you don't at least make an effort.

Some situations are made all the more daunting if you don't understand some of the basics and although there are professional translators who will help you with some of the more bureaucratic necessities, you may feel put off from trying new things, visiting new places or trying to integrate into the community without the help of a little Spanish.

The best tradesmen and other important people in your area will be local Spaniards and they will more than likely have little or no understanding of English and although it is possible to get by with a mixture of sign language and pointing at words, being able to communicate even just a little bit in Spanish will make life so much easier for all concerned.

The Spanish are very welcoming and accommodating and really will appreciate you trying to speak Spanish and they will go out of their way to help you. However a person shouting louder and louder in English will only offend and annoy.

Whether you learn your Spanish before you arrive or take up classes once here, the most important thing to do is to get out and practice a little every day, this will not only build your confidence but you will improve on a daily basis. Do your shopping in the village, use local people and resources even if you have to look up a few words before going out.

A word about accent and dialect

A basic grasp of Spanish will help you no end during the first few months of your new life in Andalucia. However, keep an 'ear' out for the unique accent which is Andaluz. Andaluz can be at times confusing and at worst like nothing you have ever heard before! However once you get the hang of what to listen out for it will get easier.

Andalucia is a very large region so accent and dialect will vary from Cadiz to Almeria. There are a few basic things to look out for though.

Unlike Castilian which is standard Spanish, here in the south 'c' when before an 'e' or an 'i' and the 'z' are often pronounced ad an 's'

It is not uncommon for letters to be swallowed up in the middle of words, the most common letters to be dropped are 'd' and 's'

Enfadado - (enfa'ao)
Despues - (depwe)
Nada - (na'a)

Sometimes whole syllables as well as the odd letter are omitted from either the beginning or end of a word:

Hasta luego - 'ta lueo'
Adiós - (adio')
Buenos días - (bueno' dia')

Because of this constant shortening and swallowing of words, it allows the locals to speak even faster - a joy for the beginner!

You will also come across a variety of local phrases and expressions which may leave you either thinking 'how rude!' or 'what?"

For example, when we first learn Spanish, the basic phrase for 'how are you?' is either, '¿Qué tal?' or '¿Cómo estas?' Here in this part of Spain you will be greeted with some of the following on a daily basis: '¿Qué?' (what) ¿Qué hay? (what is there? ¿Qué dices? (what are you saying?) '¿Qué te pasa? (what's wrong?) All of which are just a variety of ways of asking how you are.

The most confusing thing in the beginning was when passing someone in the street, you would say 'hola' or hello to be greeted with 'adios' or 'hasta luego' (goodbye) I thought this quite rude at first, but when passing someone in the street you can choose from a variety of phrases whether hello or goodbye.
Another confusing use of the language is the word 'venga' which means 'come on'. The locals here use it however to end a conversation but as chats can go on and on, you often here this repeated at least ten times before the conversation does actually end!

This apparent rudeness is something that has taken a while to overcome and is especially noticeable in shops. Often you are greeted by '¿Que?, no hello or anything and it is very rare to hear a please or a thank you from either party.

When ordering, the standard polite phrase is 'quiero' or 'queria' (I want or I would like). It is more common however to here 'dame' (give me!) or 'ponme' (put me) even more worrying when the shop keeper asks '¿Qué más te pongo?' (What else will I put you?!)

The Spanish are very expressive people and think nothing of joining in other people's conversations or having a seemingly heated debate in the middle of the street. They also possess numerous words and phrases for expressing various degrees of surprise:

'madre mia" (my mother), 'joder' (f#*k, but not considered that bad), 'vaya' (go) are all common phrases used to express disbelief or surprise.

Useful phrases and words

This section contains some of the most useful, common and helpful words and phrases used in everyday Spanish. It is intended as a guide to help you through some of the situations you will encounter on your arrival in andalucia.

Getting Started

Hola - hello
Buenos días - good morning
Buenas tardes - good afternoon
Buenas noches - good evening / good night
Adiós - goodbye
Hasta luego - see you later
Hasta hora / pronto - see you soon
Hasta mañana - see you tomorrow
Mañana - morning / tomorrow
Tarde - afternoon / late
Noche - night
Hoy - today
Ayer - yesterday
Semana - week
Mes - month
Año - year
Temprano - early
Por favour - please
Gracias - thank you
De nada - not at all
Perdóneme - excuse me
Me puede ayudar - can you help me
Necesito - I need
Quiero - I want
Me puede repertirlo - can you repeat it
Mas despacito - more slowly
No entiendo - I don't understand
No lo sé - I don't know
Tiene… - do you have
Poco a poco - little by little
Y - and
Pero - but
Grande - big
Pequeño/a - small
Caro/a - expensive
Barato/a - cheap
Buen(o/a) - good
Mal(o/a) - bad
Aquí - here
Allí / ahí - there
Más - more
Menos - less

Question words:

Qué - what
Cuánto - how much
Cuándo - when
Dónde - where
Cómo - how

Numbers

Uno -one once - eleven treinta - thirty
Dos -two doce - twelve cuarenta - fourty
Tres -three trece - thirteen cincuenta - fifty
Cuatro -four catorce - fourteen sesenta - sixty
Cinco -five quince - fifteen setenta - seventy
Seis -six dieciseis - sixteen ochenta - eighty
Siete -seven diecisiete - seventeen noventa - ninety
Ocho -eight dieciocho- eighteen cien - one hundred
Nueve -nine diecinueve - nineteen
Diez -ten veinte - twenty

Personal information

Me llamo - my name is
¿como te llamas? - what is your name?
Tengo . . . años - I am . . . years old
Vivo en . . . - I live in . . .
Mi nombre / apellido / dirección / numero de teléfono es . . . - my name / surname / address / phone number is . . .

Banking

el banco - bank
la cuenta - account
la cuenta corriente - current account
la tarjeta - bank card
el código pin - PIN number
la firma - signature
quiero sacar dinero - I want to take some money out
quiero hacer un ingreso / una transferencía - I want to pay money in / transfer money

Building terms

el edificio - building
la casa - house
la cueva - cave
el suelo - floor
el tejado - roof
el muro - wall (external)
la pared - wall (internal)
el techo - ceiling
la ventana - window
el crystal - glass
el sótano - basement
el patio - courtyard
corral
habitacion - room
la escalera - stairs
el escalón - step
corral - courtyard

la ladrilla - brick
el bloque -
la viga - beam
el gres - floor tile
el azulejo - wall tile
el machimbrao / la ración - ceiling tile
la teja - roof tile
el hormigón - concrete
el cemento - cement
el saco - bag
la grava - aggregate
la gravilla - gravel
la arena - sand
arena fina - fine sand
arena gorda - course sand
la fundación - foundation
la greita - crack
la trinchera - trench
el foso - pit
el pozo negro - cesspit
el yeso - plaster (yeso controlado - workable plaster, yeso rapido - fast setting plaster)
la cal - lime
el mortero - mortar
la pintura - paint
tubo - pipe
el macarrón - conduit
el grifo - tap
el tubo - pipe
el saneamiento - sewer line

la medida - measurement
la dimensión - dimernsion
el superficie - surface area
profundo/a - deep
plano/a - flat
duro/a - hard
blando/a - soft
alto/a - high
thick - gordo
fino/a - fine
amplio/a - wide
ancho/a - narrow

el electicista - electrician
albañil - builder
plumber - fontenero (m)
quotation - preupuesto (m)

Shopping

La tienda de combestibles - grocers
El supermercado - supermarket
La carnicería - butchers
La pescadería - fishmongers
El correos - post office
La farmacia - chemist
El estanco - tobacconists

La carne - meat
El pollo - chicken
Los muslos - chicken legs
Las alas - wings
Las pechugas de pollo - chicken breasts
El cerdo - pork
La magra - pork joint
El lomo - pork loin
El cordero - lamb
Una pierna de cordero - leg of lamb
Chuletas - chops
Filete - fillet/steak
Ternera - beef
Carne picada - mince
Conejo - rabbit
La cabra - goat
Salchicha - sausage

Pescado - fish
El atún - tuna
Caballa - mackerel
Calamares - squid
Gambas - prawns
Mejillones - mussels
Anchoa - anchovies
Cazón - dog fish
Dorada - gilthead bream
Bacalao - cod
Pez espada - swordfish
Lenguado - sole
Sardines - sardines
Rape - monkfish

Fruta - fruit
Manzana - apple
Naranja - orange
Fresa - strawberry
Pera - pear
Cerazas - cherries
Plátano - banana
Pomelo - grapefruit
Limon - lemon
Melocotón - peach
Piña - pineapple
Uvas - grapes

Verduras - vegetables
Cebolla - onion
Col - cabbage
Coliflor - cauliflower
Guisantes - peas
Lechuga - lettuce
Patatas - potatoes
Pepinos - cucumber
Setas - wild mushrooms
Champiñones - mushrooms
Zanahorias - carrots
Tomates - tomatoes
Ajo - garlic

Aceite - oil
Aceitunas - olives
Arroz - rice
Azúcar - sugar
Sal - salt
Harina - flour
Fideos - pasta/noodles
Galletas - biscuits
Helado - ice cream
Huevos - eggs
Jamón - ham
Jamón york - cooked ham
Pan - bread
Barra - French style stick
Pan integral - wholemeal bread
Mantequilla - butter
Queso - cheese

Agua - water
Leche - milk
Té - tea
Café - coffee
Cerveza - beer
Vino blanco - white wine
Vino tinto - red wine
Vino Rosado - rose wine
Zumo - juice

At the Chemist

¿Puede darme algo para . . . ? - Can you give me something for . . .
Dolor de cabeza - headache
Dolor de estómago - stomache ache
Dolor de garganta - sore throat
Picadura / morderdura de . . . - sting / bite by a . . .
Mosquito / abeja / avispa / scorpion / perro / serpiente - mosquito / bee / wasp / scorpion / dog / snake
Quemadura del sol - sunburn
El empacho - indigestion
La diarrea - diarrhoea
Necesito - I need
Una loción / crema antiséptica - antiseptic lotion / cream
Asparinas - aspirin
Parcetamol - paracetamol
Las tiritas - plasters
La venda - bandage
El inhalador - inhaler
Antibióticos - antibiotics
Quiero esta receta - I would like this prescription