By the book OR by the Spanish speaking people????

Question

Do you go by what people who have spoken the language for years or "by the book"? It is easier for me to go by what people say than, but other people say it is wrong to say it that way and all?

Answer 1

Spanish can be very different in every regions, many words that people in Mexico use everyday make no sense in Spain and so.

It is important to know where are you looking to speak Spanish and what type of audience you are looking to have in the future. A very good way to learn proper Spanish is to read from Newspaper or classic books.

Answer 2

Do both. Learn by the book then discuss what you learned with real native speakers and see how they feel. This works great with flashcards so you scratch off "Obstante" and "No obstante" like I did since I was told they are never used, or so you can write "Escusado" next to "Inodoro" since that is how they say it in Mexico.

Answer 3

To introduce some grammatical jargon, what you are referring to is prescriptive (by the book) usage or descriptive usage (as it is currently spoken in conversation)

An example of prescriptive usage in English is "It is I." The pronoun "I" must be in the nominative case according to the "book".

The descriptive use is "It's me" using the objective pronoun.

To use the prescriptive usage sounds stilted, but it is correct grammar. Whether the correct usage will sound stilted depends on how common the descriptive use is. If it's just current slang that shortly falls out of disuse, I'd say don't use it. (Dig it, man?)

The bottom line is (as language is for communication) will your audience understand what you are trying to say using one usage or the other?

• jejeje~~Good post! :-) And I can dig it! jejeje :-) - Dee914 Feb 1, 2010

Answer 4

Both. Use ur book and ask spanish speakers for advice

Answer 5

in my opinion you should do both, but keep in mind that just like americans are native in english spanish speakers are native in spanish and dont necessarily focus on grammar or spelling and yes it also does depend on the region.

Answer 6

Remember that language (regardless of which one you are referring to) is evolving constantly.

Use your books to learn from and discover the basics and the nuances, but take advantage of every opportunity that you have to speak with native speakers since they know what "feels" right about their language and how it is used.

Remember that it is difficult to always translate things exactly from one language to another, and some things that you might think are perfectly acceptable or applicable in a conversation, are actually totally wrong due to the translations of coloquialisms and jargon. One example that I heard of, though I am unsure about its veracity, is that in Chile you could say that you choked a chicken (ahogué una gallina), but people will think that you said that you slept with an underage woman (try finding that in a textbook). But, I am not from Chile, and only passed through their briefly on my way back to the States, so it is merely hearsay on my part.

• Oh wow! - justincase Feb 8, 2010