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I've been studying Spanish for many years, but I have very few opportunities to use it these days. I would like more opportunities to practice speaking and writing. I am also hoping to work on my accent a bit. I've studied in Spain, but I would love to talk with Spanish speakers from any country so I can become more comfortable with different accents. My language level is a very rough estimate - at the end of my grad program in Spain, I would have told you that I was almost fluent, but these days I have very out of practice. If you are correcting any of my notebook entries, I always appreciate explanations along with the corrections. If I know why you are making a suggestion I am more likely to avoid the same mistakes over and over!
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Spanish
Italian
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EnglishNative
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  • Answered
    I agree with Andi. Reading makes a difference (a big one)!
    0 voted
    September 5, 2014
    0
  • Answered
    It is usually a response to something unexpected or inappropriate. For example, in the US at least, we expect that only the bride will wear white to a wedding. If the bride's sister showed up in a white dress, that would caused some "raised eyebrows."
    0 voted
    September 5, 2014
    0
  • Corrected
    0 voted
    August 7, 2014
    0
  • Posted
    7 Agosto Necesito hacer más para mantener un nivel adecuda de español. Es difícil porque no conozco mucha gente en mi ciudad y ninguna de ellos habla español. También, estoy más cómoda con los acentos de España (incluso el casi-incompredible acento andaluz), porque estudié en España. Desgraciadamente, no hay muchos rucursos diponibles en EEUU con hablantes nativos de España. He visto muchas películas españolas, pero los programas en Univisión o Telemundo no me interesa para nada. ¡Por eso, estoy tan féliz haber encontrado esta página! Espero las correcciones y sugerencias de la comunidad.
    August 7, 2014
    11
    0
  • Commented

    I took a 2 week trip to Rome, Florence, Assisi, and a few other towns. I absolutely loved it. 2 weeks wasn't enough time! I took a semester of Italian and college, but I remember very little. I hope I'll be able to continue studying it at some point. My great-grandparents came to the US from Italy, and I think it would be really neat to learn the language they spoke.

    0 voted
    August 7, 2014
    0
  • Commented

    I wouldn't say one is more difficult than the other. They are just different. Pronunciation and vocabulary will vary a bit depending on what you're learning, but the vast majority is the same.

    0 voted
    August 7, 2014
    0
  • Answered
    It references the book Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook. The book has been incredibly popular (at least here in the US), and has also received a fair amount of criticism. Sandberg addresses the fact that most high-level positions in companies are still held by men. Women have more opportunities outside the home than they did 50 years ago, but they still face many obstacles in juggling their professional and personal lives. I think her argument is that many women focus on starting families during their childbearing years and become less driven to excel in the workplace. Success isn't out of their reach, but women need to "lean in," that is, they need to purse professional success with the same drive and focus as their male counterparts. One of the main criticisms is that Sandberg is an upper-middle class white woman with resources and opportunities that many women don't have access to. It's easy to say that women can have families and high-profile careers when you have the money to hire a nanny and a comfortable financial safety net. Also, not all women are wives and mothers, so what about them?
    0 voted
    August 7, 2014
    3
  • Commented

    It's both interesting and frustrating to notice the shortcomings of our language. I'm a native English speaker from the northeastern US, and the word "Americans" bothers me as well. The Americas are two continents with many countries, so why should any one country claim the word "American" as its own? In my mind, it mirrors the mindset many people in the US tend to have - that we are the sole shining beacon of civilization in the world and everyone must look up to us. 

     

    However, there aren't any suitable alternatives for "American," so I usually try to avoid phrasing my statements in a way that necessitates using it. Like others have suggested, I often identify myself by state and tell people that I'm from New York. I don't use the phrase "New Yorker" though. Many people in New York City think this phrase belongs solely to them - they object when people from the state of New York call themselves New Yorkers if they aren't from New York City. What's a girl to do? ;)

    0 voted
    August 7, 2014
    0
  • Corrected

    my class: use of "but, or, and so"

    I live in Lima and actuallitycurrently* I study accounting and administration. I like studying, but I don't like studying English because it is very difficult for me. I remember the first day of class my teacher talkedspoke in English all class and I don'tdidn't understand. Now, thanks to my constancy I'm in the course "basic 6." Today in my class we learned to use the "but, or and so." The firsts (but) is used forto contrastingor opposites. The second (or) is utilized forto join words, phrases and sentences. Finally, "so" is used forto give a result.

     

    * ¿Quiere decir <em>actualmente</em>, verdad? Cuidado, <em>currently</em> not tiene el mismo significado. 

    0 voted
    August 7, 2014
    0
  • Answered
    Just keep in mind that "How do you do?" sounds very formal in American English. I've only ever used it (or heard it used) when someone is joking around.
    0 voted
    August 6, 2014
    0