If You Could Speak a 2nd Language...By: Stephanie Burkhart
If you could learn another language…
Growing up, I always wanted to learn French. My hometown, Manchester, New Hampshire, is the 2nd largest French speaking city in America. (New Orleans is #1). I love listening to French being spoken. The accents and words have such a natural flow and graceful feel to my ear. I took 3 years of French in high school and I wish I could have taken more.
I have to say my high school offered a wide variety of languages, too. There was German, Spanish, Latin, and Greek.
I have a lot of respect for those who can speak a 2nd language. It requires a talent, a tenancy, a passion for learning, and a dedication that I admire.
For my day job, I work for LAPD as a 911 dispatcher and we staff 4 dedicated lines for Spanish, so if we have a person calling in who only speaks Spanish, we can transfer them to our Spanish lines. Our Spanish interpreters are sharp, witty, have a sense of humor, but also caring, sensitive, and kind – very well rounded if you ask me.
That's how I envisioned my interpreter, Sofia, in "A Polish Heart." She's kind, caring, and sharp. She adores her family and loves her country. When Sofia meets Darrin, she wants to do a good job interpreting for him. Her wholehearted honesty shines through and that's an inner quality, which Darrin can't help but be attracted to.
Question: If you could learn a 2nd language, which one would it be? Why?
A Polish Heart Answers the Question:
Will Sofia's faith give Darrin his heart back?
Enjoy this Excerpt:
The train came to his stop. He walked up the stairs and found Sofia waiting for him, her auburn highlights shining in the sunlight. Her face glowed like a rare gem.
"Hi."
"Hi, yourself," she replied. The warmth of her smile echoed in her voice.
Darrin fell in step beside her and pointed to a busy market square filled with retail shops.
"So, why do you want a prepaid phone?" she asked. Her chocolate eyes sparkled up at him.
"Well, I want something local so you don't have to make an international call to reach me."
"Me?"
"I'd like for you to be able to call me, and I thought it would be smart to put the construction company's number in there as well."
"All right." She paused. "Do you like veal?"
"I do."
"Mama's making breaded veal chops for dinner. She wants me to stop by the local market for a fresh loaf of bread and vegetables. Do you like peppers and corn?"
"Yep."
"Papa also wants me to buy a bottle of his favorite vodka so he can share it with you."
"Really?"
"Interestingly, you have his approval."
"I do? How did that happen?"
"I suspect he was very impressed with the fact you opened the door for me last night."
"I was just being a gentleman."
"Papa says there aren't very many gentlemen left in the world."
Review:
"Sofia and Darrin's story is a heartwarming one. Totally enjoyable read." - Tara Manderino, Amazon Reader
BUY LINKS:
AMAZON: http://amzn.com/B007AS29AO
BARNES & NOBLE:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-polish-heart-stephanie-burkhart/1111503774?ean=2940033247875
SONY EBOOK STORE: https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/stephanie-burkhart/a-polish-heart/_/R-400000000000000712746
SMASHWORDS:
Visit Stephanie Burkhart at:
http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart (@StephBurkhart)
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com
http://sgcardin.blogspot.com
http://www.writing.com/authors/sgcardin
http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart (@StephBurkhart)
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com
http://sgcardin.blogspot.com
http://www.writing.com/authors/sgcardin
Please welcome Stephanie by leaving a comment.
Welcome to Sweet Not Spicy, Stephanie! I envy you for all your travels! You asked about a 2nd language. I took French for a quarter years ago,but don't remember any of it. It would be nice to learn it for real, though I don't think I'll ever get to France!
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://www.chicklitfaves.com
Thanks for having me Morgan. French would be my 2nd language followed by German.
DeleteSmiles
Steph
Hi Steph and Morgan,
ReplyDeleteGreat post about second languages. I took Spanish in high school, but didn't have much opportunity to use it. Seems like Spanish would be the most helpful language to retake, if I had to do it again, because the majority of the ESOL folks here speak Spanish.
Darrin and Sophia's story is heartwarming. I enjoyed it and recommend it.
Maggie
http://mudpiesandmagnolias.blogspot.com
Maggie, Spanish a big language here in Southern California, but I'm no good at it. I can't get the pronoucation and accents down so I gave up! Sigh...
DeleteThanks for stopping by.
Smiles
Steph
Hi, Steph--I'd learn Spanish. Living in Texas, it would be helpful sometimes to know. I can read numerous things on signs, and some phrases, but probably could never learn to speak it. My Spanish professor back in college said I spoke Spanish with a Texas twang. Humph! He thought he was funny.
ReplyDeleteWe traveled to the Mexico interior four times where practically no one speaks English. We enjoyed it because we were forced to figure out things, such as menus--which may be the easiest thing to figure out.But if eithe of us spoke a phrase in Spanish to a citizen, we were often met with quizzical looks. Obviously, we were't that good.
Too bad the violence in Mexico prohibit us from traveling down there any more. It's just too dangersous, although we never felt unsafe and the Mexican population is very warm and generous.
I liked A Polish Heart. Your interpretor heroine, yes, was sweet and kind...and had a lovely sense of humor.
Celia,
DeleteI hear there are gorgeous places in Mexico but the violence is a deterient from visiting. I'd love to visit though. We took a 3 days cruise in 2005 to Ensenda. The landscape was gorgeous, but I was surprised to discover the harbor was kinda junky and there was an odor. Andrew was 3 at the time and would shout, "Why is it so skinty?" all the time. Sigh...
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Steph
Because my mother was from Germany, I learned German,even studied it in college, but I've forgotten most of it by now!
ReplyDeleteHeidi,
DeleteGerman is a challenging language. I spent 7 years in Germany total while in the military. I picked up enough to get by, but I wish I would have been more determined to really learn it.
Smiles
Steph
At the moment I have both German and French CDs in my car to listen to...
ReplyDeleteLiana, were did you get the CD's from? Rosetta stone? I'd be interested in the French one. Are they easy?
DeleteSmiles
Steph
Dear Steph,
ReplyDelete[from the Other Side of the Pond!]
I had the supreme good fortune to pass an exam @ 11 and went to a top Grammar school in England run by [cue: scary music] the Jesuits ...
During those 8 years, there were only 2 Headmasters (both SJ) and the school policy was very simple: foreign languages were ONLY taught by Native Tongue teachers.
I learnt my French from a succession of French teachers, ditto Spanish, ditto Italian (these teachers also doubled up to teach Latin). I didn't take Greek (that was only for A-stream students) but there were 2 Greek teachers on staff.Neither Headmaster ever found a German native whose qualifications were considered 'adequate': result? German was NOT offered on the curriculum at St. Francis Xaviers....
Did it work? It certainly did for me, and the 34 boys in my class. EVERY ONE OF US passed University Entrance exams (taken @ age 17) and we ALL got Straight "A"s in every language exam we sat.
At Uni I was privileged to be tutored by another SJ, who was native-fluent in over 20 languages (I once counted 47 different languages represented by the books on the shelves in his study).
After Uni I taught myself a further 4 languages and I consider myself native fluent in at least 6 (but my German is a little ring-rusty from infrequent use). For the past 6 months I've been working on a new language [although it's actually a very OLD language, historically speaking, LOL].
The British Chancellor (ably assisted by our outrageous tax system)seems hell-bent on persuading people to pack up and leave GB before the country goes bankrupt. I'm packing my bags and planning to move to Ireland - my reasons for learning GAELIC!
Slan go foill!
Paul McDermott
Paul, that's awesome. Thanks for sharing your experience. Inspiring!
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Steph
Stephanie, I speak a little German and a little Spanish. I wish I were fluent in Spanish. I live in Texas, and Spanish would be very helpful. German seemed easy to me, but I must have a mental block against learning Spanish. I do know lots of phrases and words, but can't really "speak" it.
ReplyDeleteCaroline, I think the languages have two different "lingistical" bases. German and English have similiar roots, maybe that's why you picked up on the German? Spanish is a tough one for me, too.
DeleteSmiles
Steph
I fell in love with this sweet and well-written story. I found it very unique and quite engaging.
ReplyDelete