Free Spanish Lesson 49. A costly mistake from an incorrect translation

Vocabulario semanal – Weekly Vocabulary

voy a contarles – I’m going to tell you (plural)

por qué es importante – why it’s important

hace unos años – a few years ago

pero ventas – but sales

por fin – finally

se dieron cuenta – they realized

trataba de vender – was trying to sell

por supuesto – of course

nadie quería – nobody wanted

lo que pasaba – what was happening

cambiaron el nombre – they changed the name

empezaron – began / started

mucha gente piensa que – many people think that

a veces – sometimes

más fuerte – louder

no hay sustituto – there isn’t a substitute

el idioma bien – the language well

es como que un instructor – it’s like an instructor

cada paso – every step

palabras individuales – individual words

junto(s) – together

oraciones – sentences

y contestar preguntas – and answer questions

también aprenden – you (plural) also learn

en hablar español – in speaking Spanish

nuestra meta número uno – our number one goal

correctamente – correctly

después de comprar el curso – after purchasing the course

y estamos felices – and we are happy

si podemos ayudarles – if we can help you

This week voy a contarles about a costly textbook case of por qué es importante to know Spanish.

Hace unos años Chevy® decided to start selling the Chevy Nova in Latin America. It was sent down to dealerships pero ventas were incredibly low. For some time Chevy couldn’t figure out why.

Por fin se dieron cuenta that the word “No va” in Spanish means “It doesn’t go”! So, basically Chevy® trataba de vender a car in Latin America that was called “Chevy it doesn’t go”. Por supuesto, you can imagine why nadie quería to buy such a car!

After realizing lo que pasaba, quickly cambiaron el nombre and sales empezaron to rise.

Mucha gente piensa que you can get by speaking English to Spanish speakers. A veces if Spanish speakers don’t understand, the English speaker will speak más fuerte thinking it will help them understand better. No hay sustituto for really learning el idioma bien.

With our Visual Link Spanish™ course, es como que un instructor is walking you through cada paso of learning Spanish. You don’t just learn palabras individuales, instead you learn how to put them juntos to form oraciones as well as ask y contestar preguntas.

También aprenden how to sound like a native speaker, and the subtle nuances en hablar español. Nuestra meta número uno is to help you learn Spanish correctamente using fun and easy methods! Después de comprar el curso, many people e-mail us with Spanish questions y estamos felices si podemos ayudarles.

Good luck in your quest to learn Spanish!

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Written by David S. Clark President/Director, U.S. Institute of Languages. Copyright © 1999-2010 US Institute of Languages All rights reserved.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.