MANY GRINGOS LIVING IN COSTA RICA find Tico Spanish very difficult to understand. Many shy away from trying to learn to speak and understand basic Latin American Spanish with a standard bag of excuses. I have a friend, for example, whose main excuses are 1) I'm not going to try to learn that gibberish. It isn't REAL Spanish. I took Spanish in high school and it was totally different! 2) Spanish is a illogical language. It takes 40 words to say what English can say in three. 3) Why can't they learn to pronounce their own language correctly. It all sounds like Hawaiian - "ahohwah. . . ". Well, to his first excuse, he knows and I know that it is totally bogus. He is 73 years old and took Castillian Spanish which used to be taught as the only Spanish in high schools 60 years ago. His second excuse has a little validity only if one is reading the newspapers or magazines. Spanish speaking writers tend to use very flowery phrases. It sounds more educated and beautiful to them. But normal speakers of either English or Spanish use short cuts, leave out sounds because the word in context is so common and well-understood, etc. His third excuse is the result of two things - we aging folk have a bit of a hearing loss whether we want to admit it or not. Consonants spoken rapidly or slurred over are simply not heard by us. So it words ending in "ado" sound like "ahoh" and so forth. The second problem is that rural speakers of Spanish tend to have an "accent." They really do leave out the "d", pronounce "v", "b", and "p" almost exactly alike, and speak the Spanish equivalent of a southern regional dialect in the United States - like Texas. But he is absolutely wrong when he claims that Spanish is illogical and English is always logical. Languages just develop and change constantly. There is very little logic to language in the sense that there is logic to mathematics. Each language and dialect has its own internal rules which are extremely flexible. And the idea that English is an easy language to learn is ludicrous. The following is a perfect example of how English as a native language is often confusing and very often funny.

Today's Featured Humor : -) - - Strange Signs in London

Strange Signs in London

Spotted on a bathroom of an office:
TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW.

In a Laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES. PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE
LIGHT GOES OUT.

In a London department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS

In an office:
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT
BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN

In an office:
AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN
ON THE DRAINING BOARD

Outside a secondhand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING
YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?

Notice in health food shop window:
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS

Spotted in a safari park:
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR

Seen during a conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE
ON THE 1ST FLOOR

Notice in a farmer's field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES.

Message on a leaflet:
IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS LEAFLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS

On a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR - THE BELL
DOESN'T WORK)

Submitted by Brain J.

Courtesy of http://www.strangecosmos.com/index.html