Here is my very dusty “Multilingual Blogger” badge. I haven’t used it since last March.
I wish I was multilingual; I’m still a poser. However, I’m trying, and after three years of studying Spanish on Duolingo, I feel more hopeful than ever before. Now, I’ve set myself a goal to get started this month on something I have been talking about. To meet a Spanish speaker who also wants to become more multilingual by working on their English. I would love to share conversation with them. I’ll update on the last Friday of the month, March 29.
In the meantime, today I’m remembering the Portuguese I learned in Brazil last month with this elfchen. These are the words I said the most during my week there!
Eu
não falo
português, mas eu
gosto disso. Bom dia,
Amigo
I
don’t speak
Portuguese, but I
like this. Good morning,
Friend.
Sometimes “I don’t speak…” (e.g Swedish, German) said in a foreign language makes the locals happy and they still respond with a string of chat. “Thank you” and “Hello” people also appreciate to hear.
Terje, so true! And you reminded me, my last line should have been “Abrigado”, which is something I said much more often than Amigo.
Thanks for teaching me about a new poetry form-I had never heard of an elfchen before and had to look it up. It fit your portuguese vocabulary perfectly! I hope you find a Spanish conversation partner, or as we would call it at my dual language school, a bilingual buddy to help each other out.
Marking this one to come back to and try! There are some newcomers in our district, and I think they’d love this!
You always model lifelong learning and encourage me to try new things (the elfchen, not Portuguese). I struggle with Khmer even though I have lived in Phnom Penh for almost six years.
Denise, your perpetual embrace of life and culture is so inspiring. I have never in my life until today read a Portugese elfchen, so I’m thanking you for this new experience with a time stamp of 8:57 a.m. here on the east coast. And tomorrow, I’ll be thanking you for another new experience that you inspired. Stay tuned.
You had me at “Ha!” I hope you find a conversation partner. It is so much a testament to what we always want for students—an authentic purpose. Getting to know someone, honoring their language, works both ways. Your most commonly used Portuguese phrases say a lot about you!
Nice 🙂 I came across Elfchen poetry some time ago and liked it.
I am in awe, Denise! I love your elfchen and it is so great that you translated it for me, lol. Aren’t elfchens the funnest little form? I enjoy these so much.
This is wonderful, Denise! So good to know you were able to learn so much through Duolingo. I’ve seen students use it, but I wasn’t sure its success rate. They should hire you for marketing 🙂
The elfchen is lovely, Denise! Truth simply conveyed. I took four years of French in school and was beginning to dream in French…but iIhaven’t used it and am therefore not multilingual. I love languages, though. I reeeaallly need to learn Spanish. I am picking up a good bit, but nowhere near what I would like to be able to use when talking to school families. I do not look at you as a poser – you even own up in the poem! It’s all part of the learning experience. I always admire your courage.
Ah, Denise, your poem is so inspiring. Love your strive to show your multilinguistic skills!
Hi there! My daughter is learning Portuguese and will travel to Brazil next year. How cool!
I’m really bad at languages. I can read Spanish pretty well, thanks to my middle school students, but I do not speak well at all!
Thanks for sharing!
Denise,
You’re killing it w/ your multilingual goals. And I did recognize some words in your poem. ‘Preciate the translation.
I hope you find a Spanish correspondent! I taught Spanish to business students in India for several years (partly as a means to an end of getting a visa!) How crazy is that?! My Spanish is fading fast these days. I have always been fascinated by the similarity/difference between Portuguese and Spanish, gosto, bom dia and amigo are so similar/same, but I find the pronunciation totally different. A lovely poem. Muchas gracias.