Matryoshka Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I'm actually trying to beef up my Spanish. I'm thinking of taking a course in medical interpreting, and to shake the dust off my Spanish skills, I'd like to do a lot of reading and watching films. I know I could just get US movies dubbed in Spanish, but I think it would be nice to watch movies made in Spanish. I know about Almodovar's movies and Pan's Labyrinth and Como agua para chocolate, and I may rewatch some of those, but it would be nice to have some new ones (and I know there are other ones I've seen that I'm forgetting). I'd also like a variety of accents - anyone know of any good movies from various Latin American countries? And while I'm at it, any good book recommendations? I've read most everything by Isabel Allende. I like her books set in Chile and elsewhere in South America; I am not so fond of the ones set in the US. It seems most things I find in Spanish are either Literature (with a capital L) or smutty fluff. I liked El amor en los tiempos de cólera okay, but I find GarcÃa Márquez a bit of a slog. Cien años de soledad sits on my shelf unread, along with Don Quixote. I can actually read that medieval Spanish, but it's also a slog, and will not help my Spanish skills for modern interpreting. :) I liked El beso de la mujer araña and the book of Como agua para chocolate. I just bought and plan to read La sombra del viento by Ruiz Zafón, as I heard that was good. Anyway, any opinions on any of these authors and if so, which would be their best book to start with? Some of these I remember hearing about in Lit classes - I'd like to make sure that their books are entertaining as well as edifying. ;) Some others I just saw on the shelf at B&N and have no idea what they're like - in that case I'd like to make sure they're not smutty pulp. I'd like a good plot. I don't like Harlequiin Romances, Twilight or Outlander, and 50 Shades is right out - not looking for Spanish versions of those. Vargas Llosa Borges Carlos Fuentes Cortázar Chiquita by Antonio Orlando RodrÃguez El tiempo entre costuras by MarÃa Dueñas Capitán Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte El hombre que amaba los perros by Leonardo Padura Or anything else you may care to recommend! :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I recently watched La Historia Oficial and la misma Luna and enjoyed them both. Both are available instantly from Netflix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 I recently watched La Historia Oficial and la misma Luna and enjoyed them both. Both are available instantly from Netflix. Yay, thanks - I've got Netflix! I haven't been sure how to search for specific foreign-language movies on there, but if I start watching some, hopefully it'll start suggesting them. Wish I could turn subtitles off, though... I read fast/automatically enough that I can read them by accident, and then I don't listen as well. Read any good books? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Once you put in one foreign language movie, Netflix will suggest others. Does your library have a Spanish section? Mine has lots of young adult things in Spanish like Harry potter, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Once you put in one foreign language movie, Netflix will suggest others. I thought it might, but I needed a place to start. Most of the foreign films I've found on there are in French, Chinese and Hindi. Does your library have a Spanish section? Mine has lots of young adult things in Spanish like Harry potter, etc. No, just a Chinese section. B&N has a Spanish section (that's what I was browsing), but I don't want to just buy and try. I already own Harry Potter in Spanish (dd is reading it now), but like I said, I'd prefer something written in Spanish to begin with. A library in a nearby city has a large Spanish section, so I could ILL a lot of stuff, but it's good to know what you're looking for first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariston Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Do you have HBO? HBO Latino has some dubbed movies but lots of originally Spanish movies which are usually good. Elena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Do you have HBO? HBO Latino has some dubbed movies but lots of originally Spanish movies which are usually good. Elena :( No, no HBO - actually, no cable. Just Netflix. I did start watching La historia oficial last night on Netflix - I got all excited because I found a place to turn off subtitles - but then they didn't turn off anyway. :glare: And then I feel asleep. :sleep: It's hard when I have to wait till everyone else is in bed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Go to rtve.es and pick A la carta. You can watch a ton of very high quality Spanish made series and documentaries. This will help you with picking your general Spanish level up. If you want to focus on being a medical interpreter, find what country or countries most Hispanics come from in your area, e.g., Mexico, Salvador, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico? Then you will need to become familiar with that particular regional variety of Spanish. Maybe by watching soap operas from those countries? Not so much high quality content but it should do the job. Bear in mind the people you will be interpreting for are likely to come from the lower socio economic levels in their country of origin and they are also unlikely to have educated speech. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Good point..I find that I have to listen to a new variety of accent for at least an hour to get used to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 Go to rtve.es and pick A la carta. You can watch a ton of very high quality Spanish made series and documentaries. This will help you with picking your general Spanish level up. Thank you thank you! Any specific recommendations for series? Got any good books I should read? :) If you want to focus on being a medical interpreter, find what country or countries most Hispanics come from in your area, e.g., Mexico, Salvador, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico? Then you will need to become familiar with that particular regional variety of Spanish. Maybe by watching soap operas from those countries? Not so much high quality content but it should do the job. Bear in mind the people you will be interpreting for are likely to come from the lower socio economic levels in their country of origin and they are also unlikely to have educated speech. Good luck! Good point..I find that I have to listen to a new variety of accent for at least an hour to get used to it. I've spent time in Spain and Mexico and have conversed with people from all over Latin America without difficulty... but I admit they have been mostly at least middle class. The Spanish I've had the hardest time understanding has been some Puerto Ricans, but I've had no trouble with others - and that probably is correlated to socio economic level. I am pretty good at parsing different accents/speech patterns in general, so I figure this is at least worth a try. But yeah, listening to different accents is one of the reasons I want to find things from different parts of the Spanish-speaking world. But ahhh - I don't want to watch telenovelas! :bored: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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