Not sure Solo En Espanol a good idea

viewpoint says on Dec 9, 2004, 03:46:

Solo en Espanol Excellent Idea Not everyone that would want to use this formum speaks english fluently. After all this is a forum for Colombia and the language spoken there is still espanol. I would certainly hope that people whose native language is spanish are as welcome to this website as english speaking people. This new section separates the spanish language traffic from the english which is a great idea and should draw more traffic to the site from "actual real live" Colombians and other spanish speaking peoples rather than dominated by english speaking foreigners (like me).

To put it into proper prospective there are 42,000,000 Colombians in Colombia, few (as a percentage) of which are fluent in english. Does it make sense that we should expect them to come to this site and learn to speak english so they can converse with us (in english) ? Maybe we should learn to speak, read and write in the Colombian language of spanish fluently so that we can communicate with the Colombians in their native lanuage.

After five and one-half years I am still not fluent in spanish. During this period of time I have sent several people to english school in Medellin so that I could communicate with them (fluently) in english but I have come to realize that I can't teach everybody in Colombia to speak english but rather I need to learn the language (spanish) myself so I just keep working at it.

Good job Peter and well throught out !!! I for one will certainly use it to help develope my "spanish" language skills more. I believe that the "Solo en Espanol" link could grow (in time) and generate more traffic than the english language portion. There are certainly more spanish speaking people that would use this site than english speaking. Now you have given them a chance with a comfortable format.

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kernow62 says on Dec 9, 2004, 04:17:

Time will tell so let us give it a chance. It will either prove itself or fail, but without giving it a try we will never know.

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Miguel says on Dec 9, 2004, 05:36:

Exactamente! Tenemos "threads" sobre amistad y politicas; me gustaria charlar en espanol porque quiero aprenderlo mejor. Entonces, Todo En Espanol esta bien conmigo.

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ColombianoX says on Dec 9, 2004, 08:06:

Me parece una excelente idea de que agreguen una sección sólo en castellano. De esa manera tendremos la participación de más colombianos y los que están aprendiendo castellano tendrán la oportunidad de practicarlo .

ColombianoX

'Defensor del Castellano'

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

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Peter (Moderator) says on Dec 9, 2004, 08:10:

Alex, I understand your point. But I created the 'solo en espanol' to empower the non-fluent-in-English Spanish speakers. We'll see how it goes, as Tinto says :) The homepage view will continue to mix all forums, btw.

Poor but snappy

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utopiacowboy says on Dec 9, 2004, 08:10:

Estoy de acuerdo con Colombianox.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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isaactraveler says on Dec 9, 2004, 08:14:

good job peter That forum never occurred to me, even when I noticed that we didnt have many colombianos on here.

It just needs time to build an audience.

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adrimm says on Dec 9, 2004, 08:35:

Broadens the ppl drawn here If we can get more ordinary Colombians (ie. aside from those English-kers who live abroad), then it just broadens our available knowledge pool that must more.

It's also a great place for people learning either language to try to read. I don't think anyone can argue the value of bettering their Spanish skills if they plan to visit Colombia often.

Now, while I'm *not* offering to translate each and every post, if you or someone gets stuck reading a few words here or there in the Spanish posts, and ask me nicely and I'm willing to try to translate it for you. There are a number of us here who may be able to do this periodically (both ways).
:)

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Miguel says on Dec 9, 2004, 08:54:

Estoy de acuerdo con CO X, el jefe Peter, y tambien utopia...para mi no es importa si hay mensajes sobre amistad, guerra, politicas o foros todo en espanol en the home page...

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Mariangela says on Dec 9, 2004, 12:14:

I used it and got some nice replies I was the first to post in the Spanish forum, and got a good response. I am proud of people who want to practice their Spanish. This is a good opportunity for them, and also for the Colombians that feel more comfortable communicating in their own language.
Mariángela

Mariángela

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utopiacowboy says on Dec 9, 2004, 12:19:

Since my wife does not speak English, I have to speak Spanish at home but I really need more work. Your spouse does not want to be correcting you all the time if she can understand what you are saying. I hope everyone will excuse my bad grammar and mispellings! Please feel free to point out glaring errors!

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Save the Wildcats says on Dec 9, 2004, 15:07:

It will be good I think for those of us learning Spanish. I understand pretty well, but really need to work on grammar. I'm hoping to understand some of the stuff in the Spanish forum.

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juancegomez says on Dec 9, 2004, 16:52:

Since not everyone has an average/above average level of English, it looks like a nice idea to me.

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toneloc24 says on Dec 9, 2004, 16:53:

It's a great idea and I will use it, BUT no freaking laughing when I screw up (and I will...many times).

Correct me constructively, and we'll all share a laugh over it. In the end, respectfully, I am trying to learn.....and I'm sensitive. LOL!!!

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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