Living Language Ultimate Spanish Pdf Download
Rubie Mccloughan
I created this little corner of the internet because life surprised me. I did learn a second language, and later, I discovered resources that gave me confidence as a teacher and parent. I want my readers to feel the same. You can raise little Spanish-speakers; your classroom can be full of living language that sticks!
All ten, five-minute episodes of the documentary film, Dizhasa Nabani/Lengua Viva/Living Language, premiered last night in San Jeronimo Tlacachahuaya. This is an ancient and important village in the Tlacolula Valley, center of the Catholic diocese. The film is in Zapotec, with Spanish and English subtitles. Just wonderful!
The documentary, produced by Haverford College, Pennsylvania, in collaboration with Moises Garcia Guzman and Dr. Brook Danielle Lillehaugen, professor of linguistics, tells the story about the essential link between language and cultural identity. It features the farming village of Tlacochahuaya where Moises and his family have lived for generations.
I met Moises many years ago in West Los Angeles. We found each other through Facebook. He was living there and working as a Spanish-language customer service translator with Verizon. His mom was in Tlacochahuaya growing garlic on the family farm, while his dad was repatriating after working in L.A., too. We became friends.
Both Moises and Brook hosted the showing of the documentary last night at the Tlacochahuaya cultural center. Townspeople, leaders and Haverford students were there. I brought my young charge, 14- year old Lupita, who had never been to this village, though it is only ten minutes from Teotitlan del Valle.
The Zapotec dialect spoken in Tlacochahuaya is different than that spoken in Teotitlan del Valle. This is a common theme among Zapotec villages. Though they are in close proximity, they have remained isolated from each other, resulting in enough language variation that results in minimal mutual understanding.
My friend Janet Chavez Santiago, who also works with Brook, tells me that many villages have incorporated more Spanish words into the Zapotec language and the original words are lost. As an oral language, Brook, Janet and others have worked together to create a standardized written transliteration and an oral dictionary that is online.
There are sixteen different indigenous languages spoken in the State of Oaxaca, and within each of those language groups there are variations that are significant enough that few are able to understand each other.
I think the key take-away questions for me are: Does language define us? How do we define ourselves? Is language preservation necessary for cultural identity? And, then to ask the ultimate questions: Who am I? Where do I belong? These are the great existential questions of life, continuity and community.
Creating Connection and Meaning between travelers and with indigenous artisans. Meet makers where they live and work. Join small groups of like-minded explorers. Go deep into remote villages. Gain insights. Support cultural heritage and sustainable traditions ie. hand weaving and natural dyeing. Create value and memories. Enjoy hands-on experiences. Make a difference.
Arts organizations, museums, designers, retailers, wholesalers, curators, universities and others come to us to develop artisan relationships, customized itineraries, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
October 27, 28, 29: People and Place Photography Workshop in Teotitln Del Valle with Luvia Lazo, featured in The New Yorker Magazine. Portraits and Street Photography, recipient of Leica Women Foto Project Award Winner 2024. This is an insider's Street and Portrait photography experience. We visit families in their homes to arrange photo sessions, we take you on the back streets where tourists rarely go.
October 30: Day of the Dead in Teotitlan del Valle--Altars and Studio Visits. A one-day immersion into culture, traditions, and meaning in Teotitlan del Valle. In this traditional village, where the native language is still spoken, we take you to meet local artisans who also explain their personal family traditions including who and what is on the altar and why. P.S. We know Teotitlan. We live here!
November 1: Day of the Dead Magic in Mitla--Visit the cemetery with our local host, understand the meaning of the pre-Hispanic altar, help honor the ancestors with offerings, enjoy a traditional meal of mole negro, a feast day speciality in Mitla. A one-day immersion experience.
February 27-March 6: Looking for Frida Kahlo + Diego Rivera in Mexico City: Art History with a Textile Twist. Send us an email. Space limited to 12. A cultural, social and political immersion into what makes Mexico tick. Museums, galleries, delicious food, textile and design extravaganza.
March 12-17: Deep Into the Mixteca Alta: Oaxaca Textile + Folk Art Study Tour 2025. This is cultural immersion at its best! Following the Dominican Route, we visit potteries, churches, Triqui weavers working in natural dyes, a cooperative in Tijaltepec that makes smocked blouses, the expansive Tlaxiaco Saturday Tianguis. Experience another side of Oaxaca.
When you visit Oaxaca immerse yourself in our textile culture: How is indigenous clothing made, what is the best value, most economical, finest available. Suitable for adults only. Set your own dates.
Ruta del Mezcal One-Day Tour. We start the day with pottery, visiting a master, then have lunch with a Traditional Oaxaca Cook who is the master of mole making. In Mitla, we meet with our favorite flying shuttle loom weaver, and then finish off with a mezcal tasting at a palenque you will NEVER find on your own! Schedule at your convenience!
We require 48-hour advance notice for orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after your order is received. Please be sure to send your email address. Where to see natural dyed rugs in Teotitlan del Valle and layout of the Sunday Tlacolula Market, with favorite eating, shopping, ATMs. Click Here to Buy Map After you click, be sure to check PayPal to ensure your email address isn't hidden from us. We fulfill each map order personally. It is not automatic.
But come up to me on the street and ask me a random question and I panic. The bartender at our favorite craft beer bar tried to have a conversation beyond what our names were the other day. Crickets. Trying to talk to the doorman in our apartment building about getting water delivered was a mess that ended up with both of us using Google translate.
I thought that all of those words would come back to me. And they sort of did. I know what the days of the week are. Numbers are firmly memorized. I remember how to say beautiful in about 8 different ways (turns out my grandmother mostly just complimented me in Spanish when we were together).
I also use a few websites where I can get a full understanding of verbs and their conjugations. I usually then have to create sentences or say these a lot rather than simply writing them down. These are my favorites for that.
I think being open to how others have gone from where I am to where I want to be with Spanish is really valuable. I love hearing how other people have learned Spanish in the foreigners in Mexico City Facebook group.
Great post that pretty much sums up how I feel about my Spanish journey! I've been living in Spain for 8 years and I'm stuck at an A2/B1 level and can't seem to get out of it. Like you, I know that I need to increase my vocabulary & definitely improve my grammar. I started talking to a couple of Spanish women that I connected with through italki & it's been an invaluable experience. We talk for 30 minutes in Spanish then 30 minutes in English. To start off with it was a pretty scary experience but now we've been talking for a few months & we're really comfortable with each other so I don't worry as much about making mistakes. I've noticed that my confidence has improved but I'm not sure how much better my Spanish is. I've decided that I need a few lessons, just to give me a kick start onto the next level and then I'll see where I go from there. I 100% agree with you - living in a country definitely isn't a guarantee of being able to speak the language fluently.
I feel like you are speaking directly to me in this post. I'm currently trying to learn Spanish for our upcoming move to Bogota next sumer... and I keep thinking that I'll just "pick it up". Wrong-o. Thanks for the motivation to keep pushing myself and working on mi espaol! ;)
Well put! I've been living in Costa Rica learning Spanish for 2 years now and it can get so frustrating when you feel like you're not progressing like you thought you would. But language is hard, and fluency is elusive. Definitely not something you achieve in a year or two.
I totally agree that getting out of your comfort zone is a huge help (but also one of the hardest). Trying to converse with locals on a daily basis, beyond ordering food or asking how to get around but actually talking about our lives, has been the most helpful for me because the more you do it, the more comfortable you'll feel with the language, and so much of it is just confidence. Private lessons have helped me a lot too if you can find an affordable teacher. Lessons aren't so useful for vocab but they are really the only way I can learn grammar and new tenses, because i have to have someone explain the grammatical logic to me. I started with a month of immersion, and it was so helpful. Now that I feel myself hitting a plateau where u can't get past intermediate to advanced, I'm taking lessons again twice a week. Texting in Spanish helps me too! Haha I ask people to be my texting buddy and converse only in Spanish, and I use Google translate when I need it. Anyway, great article! I totally feel you on all of this!
Thanks Elizabeth! Getting out of my comfort zone is definitely something I need to work on - since I wrote this post I've been trying to do it at least once a day, which can be a challenge since I work from home - but I have already noticed a huge increase in my confidence!
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