Improve Your Spanish Vocabulary At Home While Watching Your Favorite Movies

If you are planning on spending time in Costa Rica, one easy and enjoyable way that you can try and get your ear more accustomed to the Spanish language is by watching your favorite movies.

I use one of those little pocket recorders all day long to talk to myself (everybody knows I’m crazy anyway) and try to record the Spanish words I hear that I do not know.

You will probably be surprised at how quickly you begin to understand Spanish words.

Then one day a big smile will appear on your face when you realize that; “Hey! That’s not what he just said… They did not translate it properly…”

Because you will eventually come across translations that are not correct and when you do, give yourself a big pat on the back because you are making serious progress and your life will be that much richer and more enjoyable because of it!

One recent example of this was last week when Mayra and I watched the rather dark and amusing movie Cavalry which had some fascinating characters and great acting (Brendan Gleeson plays the leading role of Father James Lavelle) but be warned, both the story and the subliminal message is 100% the-Catholic-church-must-be-destroyed!

The one part of the movie where I literally fell off my chair laughing because of the bad Spanish subtitles was when the suspected killer says to the priest:

“It’s one of those self-fulfilling prophesies…” (“Es una de esas profecías autocumplidas…”)

And the subtitles translated this as:

“Es como una razon de venta de telefonos celulares…” (“It’s like a reason to sell cell phones …”)

Uh?

How ‘self-fulfilling’ was translated as ‘sell cellphones’ is beyond me but, because it was a very serious and crucial part of the movie, it caught me so completely by surprise that I literally slid off my chair and fell to my knees laughing…

Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1: How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, 2: Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore and 3. ¿Cómo Comprar Bienes Raíces en Costa Rica, Sin Perder Su Camisa?

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.