by Aldus Marius on Thu Apr 14, 2005 5:33 am
Salvete omnes...
Sed Mari:
>> I know very little Spanish, and wish I knew less.
Sed Scribonius Martialis:
> Eh? That's an unusual attitude.
Spanish was my first language; I learned English preparatory to entering kindergarten. After that, Spanish was something my Mater worried about far more than I did. She tried Spanish-at-Home; she tried Spanish-on-Sundays. I hated those almost as much as I hated "family dinners", and for the same reasons: They were an artificial exercise, filled with corrections and awkward silences. The adults were so concerned about how a thing was said that they didn't respond at all to what was being said. As far as I was concerned, that totally invalidated Spanish in my household as a means of actual communication. I've already told you how I feel about that. So when I reached adulthood, I promtly set about forgetting what little Spanish I still knew.
Spanish is a euphonic and graceful language; Medieval Spanish got my vote for "Most Beautiful Antique Language". I could listen to my high-school teacher, Mr. Christiansen, speak it all day. But it was also the language of those awkward conversations; of tacky telenovelas; and of family arguments. So it has left a very bad taste in my mouth.
I will still read Spanish literature. Inside my head I can make it sound like Mr. Christiansen, the memory of whose Castilian still makes me melt; and, of course, when reading it doesn't matter what I sound like at all. But I will not speak it, except for a dog's sake.
You see, all the Spanish I speak nowadays I (re)learned from scratch for the express purpose of chewing Spanish-speaking people out about how they treat their dogs. Of course I wish no dogs were being maltreated or abused by their owners, chained, beaten, starved for affection, left out alone in the cold; and if this were so, then clearly I would not need Spanish at all.
Hopefully this goes a little way towards explaining my comment.
In fide,
Aldus Marius Peregrinus.