Thanks for all the replies guys. The map is very interesting Bob, thanks. I hear what Nigel is saying and I have been doing that to some extent. The idea of watching the same movie in both English and Spanish is a good plan. I think what I am reading here is that the results gained from Rosetta Stone probably wouldn't justify the cost in my case. Main reason I want to understand conversation is to understand the dialog in the old flamenco videos. I can usually figure out the general idea in written Spanish although I am slow at it and have to sometimes use the computer translator which sometimes isn't to good. Word recognition in conversation seems to be my major problem.

Bob very interesting map. Had to laugh at the Portuguese situation. Seems odd the way some Spaniards ignore Portugal not even considering it as another country when they visit.

Reminds me that recently there was a referendum in Catalunya about independence. I believe officially it is illegal but was tolerated. Overwhelming pro support as you would expect from the Catalans. But the point: In a bar in Madrid I heard “it can’t happen, it will ruin the shape of the country”. Maybe that important factor explains the need to include Portugal as their own .

Sam you set yourself a very stiff test but certainly a very enjoyable and rewarding one.

I find listening to Spaniards talking in interviews very difficult. In day to day conversation you can always say “un momento, no entiendo, ......” and when they know you are a foreigner they tend to tone down all that slang and regional variation. I’ve tried listening to flamencos being interviewed but it is largely beyond me.

Some bits of conversation I stumbled on were/are:

They shorten ‘ado’ to ‘ao’. That gives ‘lado’ as ‘lao’, ‘helado’ as ‘helao’ (‘ao’ as ‘ow’ in ‘How’ – apologies for terrible phonetics but hopefully you get it). I even use it now but it caught me out many times.

My wife being Sevillana but working 18 years in a Madrid maintenance aircraft hanger has a rare turn of phrase. But the one that sort of annoys me is when she refers to her mother, sisters, amigas, etc as ‘tio’. Why not ‘tia’. She of course refers to men as ‘tios’ as well.

Now I visit Asturias more than any other part of spain I am beginning to speak like them. One great advantage is they often drop the feminine and masculine so for example ‘gaitas’ become ‘gaites’. I love that because I quite often get my masculine and feminine the wrong way round.

But it is all great fun and you learn so much about the culture.

Good luck with it Sam but most of all hope you enjoy the journey as much as I am.

Thanks Nigel. To complicate matters more, a lot of the gitanos spoke Calo and mixed it in with their Spanish. Some of the conversation among the gypsy singers and guitarist before they start playing must be more Calo than Spanish. I had our bilingual teacher friend (latino) listen to one of these conversations and she didn't understand as much as I did. At least I recognized the word falseta and Siguiriyas.

Manos Lentas wrote:Thanks Nigel. To complicate matters more, a lot of the gitanos spoke Calo and mixed it in with their Spanish.

An additional confusion factor for many in the U.S. who understand Spanish is that commonly used Chicano slang words and expressions also are known variously as "Caló," "Calo" and "Kalo" even though most of those words and expressions were not part of the Caló (originally Zincaló) language of the Gitanos.

-Bob

im surprised that map doesn't show andalucian as it's own dialect. i read on wikipedia that andalusian is so different than the castialian dialect that some linguists consider it it's own language.

Anthony the way I understand it is Castilian Spanish has two major dialects, Castilian and Andaluz. The map is showing different languages. For instance Basque is a different language as is Portuguese, Galacian, and Catalan. This might help http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_di ... _varieties or to further complicate this discussion read this http://gospain.about.com/od/spanishlife/f/languages.htm Now what about Calo? It isn't mentioned as a separate language or even a dialect of Spanish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal%C3%B3_ ... _Romani%29

So now can I learn to understand Spanish flamencos mostly gitano conversation and letra by using Rosetta Stone or any other home study Spanish course? Probably not regardless of the version.

Manos Lentas wrote:So now can I learn to understand Spanish flamencos mostly gitano conversation and letra by using Rosetta Stone or any other home study Spanish course? Probably not regardless of the version.

In addition to issues associated with the various modern dialects of Spanish used in different parts of Spain and the much different and rapidly-dying Caló language of the Gitanos, for those interested in Peteneras and possibly other palos of flamenco originated by Sephardic Jews there is the significantly-different Spanish dialect called Ladino they spoke and wrote in Hebrew script.

-Bob