burlarse y enseñanza ... ?

Question

Thoughts at a Senior Center Spanish discussion group ... What would be the correct Spanish translations of:

"You can speak Spanish, but you can't teach it well because you sneer too much."

and

"You speak Spanish, but you can't help us improve because you enjoy sneering at our mistakes."

Sounds like you have a bunch of meanies on your hands! - missy8888, May 14, 2012

Welcome to the forum! =) - NikkiLR, May 14, 2012

If you need some curse words with this, send me a PM ;) - comunacho, May 15, 2012

Answer 1

Maybe "Aunque hablas castellano, no ayudas a nadie a aprender con tus comentarios/ actitudes despectivos(as)". "even though you can speak Spanish, you're not helping anyone with your derogatory/demeaning remarks/attitudes"

Yes, bien dicho. - annierats, May 14, 2012

Do you need the 'a' after nadie? - sinsonte, May 18, 2012

Answer 2

I'd change them a little bit.

For the first:

"Si bien tu hablas español, no eres bueno para enseñarlo porque te burlas demasiado de tus alumnos."

The second:

"Tu hablas español, pero como vives burlándote de nuestros errores, no eres de ninguna ayuda."

Guimmys, can you explain the meaning of "como vives burlándote". I understand the "making fun" part. - Esteban3304, May 14, 2012

It's similar to "as you go through life making fun of our errors" - 005faa61, May 18, 2012

Answer 3

No importa que bien usted habla español, lo que importa es que no es posible enseñar si usted está burlando todo el tiempo de nuestros errores.

Not exact,but to convey the feeling..

Answer 4

More background and question for guimmys:

The thoughts came to mind while watching one or two Seniors, by no means the brightest, comment on other Seniors' efforts to express themselves correctly.

Guimmy: What do you think of this variant to your second suggestion? Tu hablas español, pero como te gusta burlándote de errores de otras personas, no eres de ninguna ayuda

Tell em that speaking Spanish doesn't change the fact that they're ignorant dumb*sses, tell em in English. - sinsonte, May 18, 2012

Answer 5

Everyone, thanks very, very much.

Answer 6

I agree with comunacho