Mastering Motorhome Terms in Spanish

[jumartoo]

I must say Spaniards are lazy with language generally speaking, it's just us that we are a bit weird
And you do speak our language and living perfectly integrated so, not lazy at all

We speak Spanglish fluently, I wouldn't say it was Spanish

 

[badgerskins]

We were discussing the speed maybe it was too fast. We tried to go for a medium speed. Did we failed?

It’s true to say to the non native ear it sounds very fast. My wife is Spanish and we spend a lot of time with her family in Northern Spain. For me as a would be learner I hear about one word in five. The addition of a slower pace version would I think be helpful for us to get our ears around. However thank for taking the time it’s really appreciated. Badger

 

[HaylingIslander]

There you go... (Mrs. Peavy's voice)
By the way, that's the formal, polite way... there's a more informal way, but better learn the polite one (we basically don't usually use "por favor" always)

What is the informal way of saying please?

 

[jumar]

What is the informal way of saying please?

It's not overly used.....the same as Thank you....it's just how the Spanish speak. ..it's not rude, or bad manners ..it just the way it is...

 

[carolyn]

It's not overly used.....the same as Thank you....it's just how the Spanish speak. ..it's not rude, or bad manners ..it just the way it is...

I remember when our daughter did her Erasmus year she spent 6 months working in an office in Madrid for an Engineering company, the office manager kept reminding her not to keep saying please and thankyou. Claire said it took some getting used to, as did being called Clara mind but there was no arguing with Felicia. She just said Claire was impossible to pronounce for a Spanish speaker!

I’ve just remembered where the office was, Alcobendas, home of Penelope Cruz! It seems so long ago. Whatsapp hadn’t been invented so I bought my first iphone so that we could do free imessages when she had wifi. Hard to believe.

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[jumartoo]

What is the informal way of saying please?

The kids shorten it to porfa. Maybe the adults do also.

 

[Peavy]

Maybe the adults do also.

Not really, porfa is more, like you said, a kids thing. Sounds weird within adults.

 

[Peavy]

What is the informal way of saying please?

As Martin jumar said is just that we don't use it constantly like you would do.
We only use it when you don't know the person and want to be really polite.
But there's no problem in using it.

 

[Barriesimpson]

As Martin jumar said is just that we don't use it constantly like you would do.
We only use it when you don't know the person and want to be really polite.
But there's no problem in using it.

I always use por favor and gracias. A bit of manners does not cost a lot of money, and people do appreciate it, albeit they may not be used to it, and even if they are savages

 

[jumar]

Sure, in addition to her mother tongue, she's fluent in English, German and Catalan. She also has some good knowledge of French. I have Spanish and Catalan as mother tongue and I'm fluent in English, I'm good with Portuguese too.
We must be very posh or very lucky

I'm very envious of such talented people, don't tell me....I suppose you can play the piano and guitar.... Guess so.... What made it for me was understanding Portuguese....now that's special...well done ..

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[wozie]

black water = aguas negras
grey water = aguas grises
¿Dónde puedo descargar aguas negras/grises, por favor?
EHU = conexión eléctrica / enchufe
¿Hay conexión eléctrica / enchufe?
pitch = parcela (MichaelT )
¿Puedo cambiar de parcela, por favor?

One that not many use here, you all say "aire", but that's french, in Spanish is "área" or "área de autocaravanas"

¿Qué más quieres saber?

Thank you so very much. Currently traveling Spain. Now on way to almeria.

 

[Tony50]

I’m trying to learn Spanish but my course of choice and Duolingo are fairly light on Motorhome jargon. I know some basic words but it would be good to know things like “black water”, “pitch” and “electric hook up” in Spanish.

Also, I’d carefully translated this question into Spanish but can’t post to the Spanish learners board is it locked or something?

I tried with Duolingo for 2 years about a hour or two a day, every day, couldn't get on with it.

 

[jumartoo]

I tried with Duolingo for 2 years about a hour or two a day, every day, couldn't get on with it.

I never liked Duolingo.

I do like Language Transfer. He's a Brit Cypriot and teaches well. The only negative is that he doesn't teach the conjugation of Vosotros and his pronunciation uses S rather than TH (but he explains that Spain uses TH). I think this is strange for a Brit, but .... I don't know why/where he learnt Spanish.

 

[Burgo]

black water = aguas negras
grey water = aguas grises
¿Dónde puedo descargar aguas negras/grises, por favor?
EHU = conexión eléctrica / enchufe
¿Hay conexión eléctrica / enchufe?
pitch = parcela (MichaelT )
¿Puedo cambiar de parcela, por favor?

One that not many use here, you all say "aire", but that's french, in Spanish is "área" or "área de autocaravanas"

¿Qué más quieres saber?

Round this way for electricity we ask for luz, not eléctrica. So for a pitch with hookup it would be "una parcela con luz".
In the event of having to query a power cut you'd tell reception "no tenemos luz" or "no hay luz".

 

[Helen Ariel]

I never liked Duolingo.

I do like Language Transfer. He's a Brit Cypriot and teaches well. The only negative is that he doesn't teach the conjugation of Vosotros and his pronunciation uses S rather than TH (but he explains that Spain uses TH). I think this is strange for a Brit, but .... I don't know why/where he learnt Spanish.

I'm doing Duolingo and language transfer at the moment. Language transfer is much harder but feels like proper learning.

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[Vikdikdok]

My mate reckons just adding an A the the end of a word does the job

 

[Jane And Rog]

Have you tried Google translate?

Of course I have but for jargon terms, I don't trust Google. "Pitch" in English has at least three meanings I can think of before the specific pitch I mean for a camper van.

For example the very next answer after yours states "Pitch would be parcela." yet Google translate claims Paso is the correct word.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Peavy muchas gracias. tu es simpática.

Disclaimer: I have no idea if "simpatica" is the right word in this context but Duolingo seem to want me to use it all the time. Apologies if I just made a pass at you.

 

[jumar]

Of course I have but for jargon terms, I don't trust Google. "Pitch" in English has at least three meanings I can think of before the specific pitch I mean for a camper van.

For example the very next answer after yours states "Pitch would be parcela." yet Google translate claims Paso is the correct word.

Lot, Plot or parcel...Parcela

Pitch is the noun to erect a tent...which has continued in the caravan site terms as the Plot..but perhaps I've lost the Plot..

 

[Peavy]

Peavy muchas gracias. tu es simpática.

Disclaimer: I have no idea if "simpatica" is the right word in this context but Duolingo seem to want me to use it all the time. Apologies if I just made a pass at you.

De nada (you are welcome).
"Simpática" is "nice" for a female, so I'll pass that to Mrs Peavy
For a male is "simpático".
Tú eres simpática/simpático.

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[Jane And Rog]

Oh yes. Well, I believe MHF is welcoming to all types so no harm done.

Either way, thanks

 

[Burgo]

For example the very next answer after yours states "Pitch would be parcela." yet Google translate claims Paso is the correct word.

OK - You need to recognise that Google translate & Duolingo are focused on South American "Spanish".

There are quite a few words and phrases that are different there from Castellano (or indeed Andalucian, Basque, Galician or Catalan variants) here and you can easily find yourself on thin ice if you're unlucky.

As an example, for the phrase "I'll go pick up your mother this afternoon", Google would steer you to say "Iré a buscar a tu madre esta tarde"-which here has an implication of looking or searching for her.

However, another translation here could have you saying "Iré a coger a tu madre esta tarde" - which in English is kind of more directly 'getting' her.

While they both would be OK here in Spain, the latter would probably get you shot in Latin America.

 

[Barriesimpson]

OK - You need to recognise that Google translate & Duolingo are focused on South American "Spanish".

There are quite a few words and phrases that are different there from Castellano (or indeed Andalucian, Basque, Galician or Catalan variants) here and you can easily find yourself on thin ice if you're unlucky.

As an example, for the phrase "I'll go pick up your mother this afternoon", Google would steer you to say "Iré a buscar a tu madre esta tarde"-which here has an implication of looking or searching for her.

However, another translation here could have you saying "Iré a coger a tu madre esta tarde" - which in English is kind of more directly 'getting' her.

While they both would be OK here in Spain, the latter would probably get you shot in Latin America.

In Spanish it would be 'iré a recoger a tu madre esta tarde' just so you don't get shot.

 

[Peavy]

There are quite a few words and phrases that are different there from Castellano (or indeed Andalucian, Basque, Galician or Catalan variants)

I may have not understand correctly your phrase, but Basque, Galician and Catalan are not variants from Spanish, all those are different languages (while Andalucian is a dialect of Spanish).

 

[Barriesimpson]

I may have not understand correctly your phrase, but Basque, Galician and Catalan are not variants from Spanish, all those are different languages (while Andalucian is a dialect of Spanish).

We could discuss that all day, Catalán is not a language (sorry), rather a dialect, and Galician is Spanish with a lot of Portuguese thrown in.

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[Peavy]

We could discuss that all day, Catalán is not a language (sorry), rather a dialect, and Galician is Spanish with a lot of Portuguese thrown in.

No, we are not discussing it, Barrie, because that's something linguists did before us and it's a matter of facts, not opinions

 

[Dutch 68]

There you go... (Mrs. Peavy's voice)
By the way, that's the formal, polite way... there's a more informal way, but better learn the polite one (we basically don't usually use "por favor" always)

Not fast at all lol

 

[G-RMPS]

After two years of Duolingo I still struggle to understand more than isolated words of Spanish Spanish. However I watched some of a Mexican cowboy film last week and that seemed much easier.

I wish there was a ferry from Portsmouth to Mehico!

 

[Barriesimpson]

After two years of Duolingo I still struggle to understand more than isolated words of Spanish Spanish. However I watched some of a Mexican cowboy film last week and that seemed much easier.

I wish there was a ferry from Portsmouth to Mehico!

Spanish is a very easy language to learn because it is phonetic. But I have to confess, I learnt it at 22 years old, in six months, while living in the country - easy when you are young.

 

[G-RMPS]

Is that like fonetic?

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