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Assimil Spanish | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Mandy Newbie United States Joined 5582 days ago 7 posts - 7 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 7 06 September 2009 at 1:07am | IP Logged | ||
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So, I am getting a little bored with Platiquemos at this point and I have heard that Assimil is more interesting and also intoduces more vocabulary. I have also heard that Assimil teaches Spanish from Spain and not Latin America. My friends speak Latin American Spanish and that is what I want to learn. My question is, if I learn with Assimil, what are the major differences (I already know it will teach the vosotros form)? I dont want to sound like I'm from Spain or confuse myself in the language. Maybe it would just be worthwhile to use it only to learn more vocabulary ? Thanks !
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| jpxt2 Triglot Groupie United States Joined 6731 days ago 46 posts - 52 votes  Speaks: English, Spanish*, French Studies: Mandarin, Catalan, Portuguese, German, Italian | Message 2 of 7 06 September 2009 at 2:06am | IP Logged | ||
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You may be interested to know that it's really hard to say that there is just one "flavor" of Latin American Spanish or even just one variety of Iberian Spanish (even though there is definitely supposed to be just about One True Standard Castillian Spanish that is written and understood everywhere.) But, I'm from South America and I can tell you directly that the formal registers of "Latin American" Spanish and "Iberian" Spanish are practically identical.
In the end, it's really nothing to worry about -- it's all about the same distance as American English to British or Australian English. No matter which accent you pick, you're not gonna have any trouble being understood by people from either side of the pond. In fact, once you get the hang of the language and develop your ear a little, I'm sure you'll be be able to switch to any accent that you please! (Just watch a lot of TV from whichever Spanish-speaking country you fancy!) And as far as "vosotros" goes, it's part and parcel of the language we all learn in school, thus, all well-educated Spanish-speaking South Americans can use it; we're just not accustomed to employing it much in our speech, that's all. Now, when we are talking about less formal, more colloquial speech, yes there are definitely differences in vocabulary, idioms, and accents that border on dialect. But in my opinion, you can easily understand the gamut of these with little effort after some exposure and via paying attention to the context, and well, heck, just asking people what they are talking about when they say this, that or the other phrase that you've never heard! The grammar, though, is the big thing, and that varies very little whether you are in Madrid or in Buenos Aires. And finally, one last thing: ASSiMiL rules! It's DEFINITELY not gonna teach you a lot of far-out, weird, or dialect-specific idioms or vocabulary. I own a lot of ASSiMiL courses, and I always have the impression that they try to stay on pretty neutral ground most of the time. Try it out, and if you like how it works, I guarantee you it will be worth it in the end, trust me! Good luck Edited by jpxt2 on 06 September 2009 at 3:30am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| coyote Diglot Newbie United States Joined 6242 days ago 32 posts - 34 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 3 of 7 09 September 2009 at 7:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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Spanish, like English, has so many different dialects that as long as your Spanish is clear and grammatical, it doesn't make a lot of difference. There is probably as much difference between Cuban and Argentine Spanish as there is Castillian Spanish and Mexican dialects. Edited by coyote on 09 September 2009 at 7:41pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| AntonioJBrown Newbie New Zealand Joined 5544 days ago 10 posts - 16 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Spanish | Message 4 of 7 20 September 2009 at 7:07am | IP Logged | ||
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Currently I listen to pimsleur Spanish in my car. It is OK for a bit of listening
practice, but pretty basic, and as people have stated elsewhere does tend to lack in certain areas such as grammatical explanations. I'm thinking of getting assimil Spanish to try. But I'm kind of confused as to the different product offerings. Obviously since I'm listening to pimsleur my level is still beginner. If I look here http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Ease-Language-Learning-Program s/dp/2700510704 this seems to be the basic course and it priced at around US$40, but when I look at around the amazon site there seems to be other courses which seem to be essentially the same for 5 times the price? So which is the course I'm really looking for? Thanks. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fanatic Octoglot Senior Member Australia speedmathematics.com Joined 7146 days ago 1152 posts - 1818 votes Speaks: English*, German, French, Afrikaans, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch Studies: Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Modern Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 5 of 7 20 September 2009 at 10:23am | IP Logged | ||
That is the course that you need. I have purchased the course for myself and for others and it is excellent value for the money. I used to pay around $180 for Assimil courses and that is still what you can expect to pay if you buy in Australia. Amazon.com is much cheaper, even with the postage. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 Fasulye Heptaglot Winner TAC 2012 Moderator Germany fasulyespolyglotblog Joined 5847 days ago 5460 posts - 6006 votes 1 sounds Speaks: German*, DutchC1, EnglishB2, French, Italian, Spanish, Esperanto Studies: Latin, Danish, Norwegian, Turkish Personal Language Map | Message 6 of 7 20 September 2009 at 10:30am | IP Logged | ||
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$ 180 for an Assimil course? That's very expensive! I bought Assimil Turkish in my German bookshop and payed 24 EUR for the book and 80 EUR for the 4 audio CDs. (We have "Buchpreisbindung" here in Germany.)
Fasulye Edited by Fasulye on 20 September 2009 at 10:33am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Grosse Affe Newbie United States Joined 6836 days ago 32 posts - 47 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 7 of 7 21 September 2009 at 3:57am | IP Logged | ||
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Some confusion on this amazon site. Same conversation was here:
http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?T ID=17004&PN=1 Here is the best method to ensure you get the right product. Go to assimil.com Pick the product you want and copy the ISBN number. Go to amazon.com and search for that exact number. Here is the Spanish with Ease. Note that the amazon picture is wrong. The one I got looks like the one on the assimil website. http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Ease-Language-Learning-Program s/dp/2700510704/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&qid=1253497599&sr=8-1 Edited by Grosse Affe on 21 September 2009 at 4:05am 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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