Growing up the first language I learned was English. Even though both of my parents are Native American we do not know or speak the language. In some tribes it’s frowned upon or even forbidden for an outsider to learn the language, unless you’ve lived and grew up on the reservation. I’ve been to the reservation and loved it. I search online and in books about my culture and learned a descent amount of it. I wanted to become more involved in my background but did not have the means or proper resources to do so. I see language not as a spoken word but something that is a part of one’s culture. While researching I found similarities in my culture with the Spanish culture (e.g. There are numerous Native American tribes and each have their own spoken and written language; in the Latin culture Spanish is too written and spoken differently in a variety of Latin countries). Seeing the similarities of two different cultures lead me to pursue in learning how to speak Spanish.
I began learning Spanish around the 1st grade but never really took an interest in it until I started the 5th grade. Ironically learning Spanish helped me understand English. In the Spanish language you learn the basics of a word and how to change it to belong to the person who owns the word.
EX.: Cocinar- To Cook Beber- To Drink *Aplaudir- To Clap
| Yo (I) | Cocino (I cook) | Bebo (I drink) | Aplaudo (I clap) |
| Tύ (You ‘informal’) | Cocinas (You cook) | Bebes (You drink) | Aplaudes (You clap) |
| Ѐl, Ella, Usted (He, She, You ‘formal’) | Cocina (He, She, You cook) | Bebe (He, She, You drink) | Aplaude (He, She, You clap) |
| Nosotros (We) | Cocinamos (We cook) | Bebemos (We drink) | Aplaudimos (We clap) |
| Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes (They <male/female>, You All) | Cocinan (They, You All cook) | Beben (They, You All drink) | Aplauden (They, You All clap) |
*Aplaudir, is a special word. Words that end with an –ir follow the same changes as those that end with an –er; except when changing the word for nosotros (we), and then you add the –ir ending.
I’m not sure how but after learning how to match words (verbs) with the proper owner in Spanish it helped me understand the rules of changing words and writing a proper sentence in English.
EX.:
English
Improper: For you I clap
When I hear/see this sentence it sounds incomplete
Proper: I clap for you
Spanish
Incorrecto: Para tu yo aplaudo
In English the Incorrecto (Improper) sentence translate as “I applaud you for your”, it’s an incomplete sentence in Spanish as well
Correcto: Yo Aplaudo te
If a foreigner spoke to a fluent English speaker and said “For you I clap” that person would understand what the foreigner meant. But in Spanish the fluent speaker would not know. In English the rules of the language are more lenient than Spanish. If someone was to change a single word in a Spanish sentence, that one word would throw the entire meaning of that sentence off unintentionally. It took me a while to become more confident in my writing of English. It’s taking me longer to become more confident in my speech for Spanish. After I mastered these rules of language, I believe I have in my head, it made it easier for me to communicate to others both fluent and non-fluent speakers.
a lawless person or habitual criminal, especially
one who is a fugitive
from the law.
