Since we're talking about Spanish all the time....

sebasenbogotá says on Aug 30, 2004, 16:04:

Translation
Well first I just want to ask you how did you get the Once Caldas pin from Canada, I mean how could a Canadian dude have one of those.

The translation

1. "I hope you like these little things I picked up for you."

Espero que te gusten estas cositas que te conseguí.


2. "Keep up the great work in school!"

¡Continua con ese buen trabajo en el colegio!

3. "Do you have a CD player or tape player to play your music?" (note: I'm talking about the portable headset type)

¿Tienes un discman o un walkman para oir tu música?


hope it works

adios

Sebas

Suerte ! Sebas

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villdkatta says on Aug 30, 2004, 17:24:

Thank you SO much... Sebas; I really appreciate your help. You're so kind!

My answer to your question: only on E.Bay would you find a Canadian guy selling Once Caldas stuff. I don't know why, but it's common; every time I do a Colombian soccer search the person selling the stuff lives in Canada!

Take care and thanks again!

Kim

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ColombiaBoard says on Aug 30, 2004, 20:35:

How to talk-write to children Always use TU (and Ti Te) instead of USTED. Usted is formal, with children you should use Tu because it´s friendly, more emotional.

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marce says on Aug 30, 2004, 22:59:

A colombian living in Canada Hi,

It may be a Colombian living in Canada who sold it!!! It is common these days...everybody is going to Canada...

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Dolfi says on Aug 31, 2004, 02:26:

In´my impression "usted" is used more frequently in Colombia than anywhere els in the hispanic world. It is common even among friends, and my friend even said "usted" to her cat, which made me laugh.

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Desideria (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Aug 31, 2004, 09:32:

my dog would probably feel slighted if I ever should call him "tu".
I know my mother-in-law refused to answer when my daughter used "tu" talking to her. (She was quite little at the time, and forgotten most of her Spanish; no offense was intended).
As atrevido already said, in Cali only the most educated and upper class uses "tu", everybody else uses "Usted", but "voceo" is becoming increasingly popular in the poorer barrios, due to great influx of people from northern Valle, Caldas, Risaralda and Antioquia provinces where "voceo" is popular.

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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villdkatta says on Aug 31, 2004, 14:59:

thank you all for your input! The tu/ud. issue is confusing, but if I'm going to err, I suppose I should err on the ud. side then? Maybe, better yet, I'll look at his letters and see what my friend uses. Hmmmm.

Thanks again!

Kim

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litost says on Aug 31, 2004, 16:09:

I am from the same region as your kid friend, and we overwhelmingly speak to each other with "usted"... that's the way I talk to my parents, my siblings, friends (occasionally my paisa roots come out and I'll start "voceando"), teachers, coworkers, strangers, etc. The way I learned it, using "tu" was reserved mainly for speaking with the opposite sex if there was some sentimental interest, but even there the "usted" is still widely used.

Eventually I went to Bogota to study and met people from all over the country, and then travelled and met people from other spanish speaking countries, and realized that our use of "usted" for everyone is rather excessive... but I still can't get used to another man talking to me in "tu", much less using it myself to talk to anyone besides some pretty girl :-p

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villdkatta says on Aug 31, 2004, 16:25:

thanks, litost... it is very confusing and the last thing I want to do is be perceived as rude (or just plain weird ;-)

So, would it be really cool for me to learn what this voceando means and how to start using it, or would that be pushing it too much? ;-) The boy is probably laughing his butt off at me anyway.

thanks again,

Kim

P.D. Marce - I think the guy in Canada is definitely of Latin origin. His name is Juan and I typed a little bit of Spanish to him in my e.mail and then he answered me in this big long Spanish sentence that I had to put through the Alta Vista translator to even begin to decipher. (I find it strangely flattering that he thought I spoke Spanish, on a side note.)

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litost says on Aug 31, 2004, 19:06:

It's not like using "tu" will be perceived as rude, maybe a little weird, but com'on, you're not colombian and not even spanish speaking so I'm sure they'll be understanding. If I were you I'd just stick to "usted" for everyone until you get more a feel for the language, and develop more of a relationship with the kid and his family. I think you'd be best off leaving the "voceo" for advanced lessons.

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villdkatta says on Aug 31, 2004, 19:09:

I feel that... I have to overcome the stereotype of a rude, overly familiar American, so that's why I'm worried about using "tu" the wrong way. I really was just kidding about using voceo - I can barely sort out the tu and usted. :-)

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 31, 2004, 20:00:

Litost is right. I use "tu" all the time with everyone - the only person I can remember to use "usted" with is my mother-in-law. Everyone is so happy to speak Spanish with me that they really don't care. Also they know that I learned to speak Spanish with my wife so they understand why I am using "tu" instead of "usted".

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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ShazCas says on Sep 4, 2004, 11:20:

Tu My personal opinion villdkatta is that you should use tu with the boy. He's only young and it means you'll be showing affection towards him. I mean, sure, probably no-one calls him tu, but I think that makes it special that you would. I made personal choices regarding tu and usted (while living in Bogota) after having kept my mouth shut for a few months and learnt. I would never call a child usted, I think it's cold. Pets, yes (even the hamster I'm currently looking after), other adults yes, but not kids.

This is a very complicated issue, and it differs from region to region, but I think the only time you'll possibly offend is if you call strangers, important people and men if you're a man, tu. The rest of the time,people will be patient with any foreigner, I mean, hey, it's not easy, as we all know!!

My husband is now getting used to calling other men tu, and says he wished his mum and sisters didn't call him usted as he finds it cold with family members, but he calls them usted too. Anyway, this issue is not going to get any clearer!!

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