Help with Spanish translations

[ailysh]

Hello! I hope this is okay to post here. I am attempting to teach my daughters Spanish and learn it at the same time. I've just started. I have no Spanish background, but my husband took Spanish in highschool and has the average American's working knowledge of it. I've used Google translate to translate some commonly used phrases at our house so that I can say them in Spanish and English until we learn what they mean and then just Spanish. I am using Duolingo for myself to learn and I have started integrating more Spanish into our days with Whistlefritz, music cds, flashcards, children's books in Spanish, etc. Whenever we learn a new word, we try to use it in our everyday lives. My daughters are 3, and 8 mos.

 

My question is for those of you who are fluent in Spanish. I know that sometimes computer programs translate phrases in ways that are not typically used in the second language, that is literally rather than conversationally. I don't have enough knowledge of Spanish to know if these phrases are translated properly. If anybody can tell me whether they are translated correctly or offer suggestions, that would be extremely helpful. I don't want to teach myself or my daughters incorrectly! Thanks in advance! Here are the phrases I am starting with:

 

Do you need to use the restroom?

¿Es necesario usar el baño?

 

It is time for bed.

Es hora de dormer.

 

Eat your food, please.

Coma su comida, por favor.

 

Please put away your toys.

Por favor, pongo de lado sus juguetes.

 

You cannot watch tv right now.

No se puede ver la televisión en estos momentos.

 

Please be nice to your sister.

Por favor, ser amable con tu hermana.

 

Let’s go outside to play.

Vamos a ir a jugar afuera.

[Ariston]

First, I love your approach! I think that's one of the best ways to introduce a foreign language into the home. I would highly recommend the book Kid Stuff Spanish. It is basically a list of all the phrases you'd say to a child, exactly like what you're looking for. I put the corrections in red below :)

 

There is also a forum at wordreference.com that is a great place to look up translations. Native Spanish speakers help English speakers and vice versa. Its a very active forum.

 

Spanishdict.com is another good site that not only lists definitions of words, but example of usage in common phrases. Another good tactic is to google the phrase in quotation marks. That will let you know if its widely used or not, or which phrase is more common between two. For instance if you google the phrase "pongo de lado sus juguetes" you will get zero hits, which is a good indication that there's something wrong with it. :)

 

 

Do you need to use the restroom?

¿Es necesario usar el baño? Should be: "Necesitas usar el baño?" (Speaking to both children: Necesitan usar el baño?)

 

It is time for bed.

Es hora de dormir.

 

 

Eat your food, please.

Coma su comida, por favor. Should be: Come tu comida, por favor. (You had it in the formal.)

 

 

Please put away your toys.

Por favor, pongo de lado sus juguetes.

This is the only one that's way off...it means something like "I put your toys sideways."

 

I would say "Guarda tus juguetes" If you are speaking to both of your children, you'd say "Guarden sus juguetes". This would be if you wanted them to put them back in their place, like a toybox.

 

If you wanted to more gernerally say 'clean up your toys' or 'pick up your toys', you could say: "Recoge tus juguetes" (Plural: Recojan sus juguetes")

"Guardar" would be more like putting them back where they belong in a specific place, and "Recoger" would be more like picking up. (Sorry, too much??)

 

You cannot watch tv right now.

No se puede ver la televisión en estos momentos. No puedes ver la televisión ahora. (Or to both children: "No pueden ver....")

 

Please be nice to your sister.

Por favor, ser amable con tu hermana. You could say "sé amable/agradable" but that has more the sense of being friendly than behaving well, --more like 'be friendly to your sister'. You could also say "Trata bien a tu hermana." That would more have the sense you are looking for I think.

 

Let’s go outside to play.

Vamos a ir a jugar afuera. I'd shorten that to "Vamos a jugar afuera."

 

I'm sure of most of these, but I'll call my dad later and ask about "be nice"....i'm not sure what the best way to say that would be. :)

[ailysh]

First, I love your approach! I think that's one of the best ways to introduce a foreign language into the home. I would highly recommend the book Kid Stuff Spanish. It is basically a list of all the phrases you'd say to a child, exactly like what you're looking for. I put the corrections in red below :)

 

There is also a forum at wordreference.com that is a great place to look up translations. Native Spanish speakers help English speakers and vice versa. Its a very active forum.

 

Spanishdict.com is another good site that not only lists definitions of words, but example of usage in common phrases. Another good tactic is to google the phrase in quotation marks. That will let you know if its widely used or not, or which phrase is more common between two. For instance if you google the phrase "pongo de lado sus juguetes" you will get zero hits, which is a good indication that there's something wrong with it. :)

 

 

 

I'm sure of most of these, but I'll call my dad later and ask about "be nice"....i'm not sure what the best way to say that would be. :)

 

 

Thank you sooo much for your help and encouragement! I feel a bit intimidated because I have no Spanish background, but I am trying not to let that show to my daughters. I don't want them to feel self-conscious about speaking in a language they are learning just because I do! So I'm just plunging right in. When I was a music teacher, we would get parents all the time telling us they couldn't sing to their children. We would tell them to sing anyway because children are naturally experimental and un-self-conscious, but they learn to be intimidated about new things from their parents. My 8 month old was laughing so hard at me yesterday because I was trying to learn how to roll my r's. My husband was too. I told him from now on I'm going to practice when he's not here. :lol:

 

You've been a huge help! :hurray: I'm so excited about this!

[Ariston]

No problemo :) FYI I checked with my dad and he said the translations were correct. He said "Sé amable" sounded too formal and he'd say "Sé bueno con tu hermana" or the one I gave ( "trata bien....").

 

Here's the link to the book I think would help you a lot: http://www.amazon.co...n/dp/0978915259 I'm glad to see its gone down in price--it used to be $30, and it is NOT a big book! But for me its been worth it.

 

I grew up in a bilingual household, and although I've spoken since I was little, I was used to being the bumbling one surrounded by native speakers. I was so insecure when I started speaking Spanish with my kids because I make so many mistakes. I can get by and be understood, but I was NOT comfortable being the one modeling for others. What helped me was posting lists around the house with phrases that I use in that area of the house. They would remind me to use Spanish and give me a quick grammar check if I got insecure. (Commands in Spanish are tricky, and that is what is often used with kids.) Eventually I built up my confidence and now its second nature.

 

You seem like you have a great attitude about it I love the music analogy!

 

Your kids are too young for this program, but Visual Link has really helped my son learn how to put sentences together on his own. It might help you as you try to speak around the house: http://www.spanishprograms.com/

 

Also if you have cable TV and allow any screen time, you should be able to put Disney Junior on in Spanish for your 3 year old as the 'second language' option.

 

ETA: Looks like barnes and noble has new for $23, and used from $5: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/kids-stuff-spanish?store=allproducts&keyword=kids+stuff+spanish

[ailysh]

Yay! Thanks again for the links. I put that book on my wishlist. It looks exactly like what I need, with the phonetic spellings. I took German in high school and college, so I'm always pronouncing things the German way. I have to retrain myself. It would probably make more sense for me to teach a language I already know, but I think Spanish is a more practical language to learn. There are definitely more opportunities for exposure here. Plus, I've always wanted to learn it, so here is my excuse. :001_smile:

That's awesome you grew up in a bilingual home and that you are passing that on to your kids. Around here it's pretty rare, though not unheard of. I hope to provide something like that, as much as I am capable anyway, not being bilingual myself (I don't really count the German.)