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Old March 20, 2017, 01:54 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Valencia, España
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lordhelmit View Post
I must admit, I was hoping to see some success stories when it comes to fluency, I look at my lady who is only 25 and is completely fluent in both spanish and english, even knowing several more obscure words and idioms and phrases in english.
Being fluent and looking a fool are not mutually incompatible! I think that Angélica, for example, is a professional translator.

I'm not, but to my delight, I was recently told by a Spaniard that, listening to me translate in church, she thought I was Spanish for a couple of weeks and put my errors down to the pressure of translation - which in part is true. I have previously been asked whether I was Argentinian, but it's the first time anyone has mistaken me for a native speaker of their own dialect.

As for obscure words, in certain specialist areas I have a better vocabulary in Spanish than anyone I know, including my Spanish friends and colleagues.

My point is that you shouldn't expect perfection: after all, very few people speak their native language(s) perfectly (and you know you've made a lot of progress when you start picking up native speakers on their errors).
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