Are you learning French, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese? If and that are easy and hard to remember in these languages

French -If -Si?

 I learned French at school. The English word if, in French is si. 

That, as in I know that (not that one over there) is que. After a verb, que or that is an adverb. That when pointing to something can be a pronoun, or determiner.

French & Spanish Links

French and Spanish are nearby languages, physically as well as metaphorically. Think of the southern border of France being next to Spain. When it comes to learning Spanish, the same words are used for if and that, si for if, que for that (after a verb such as know that).

Italian - Se and Che

However, when learning Italian on Duolingo I kept making mistakes. I kept typing si for if. But the Italian for if is se. The Italian for that is not que but che. It sounds the same, but is written differently. I am now trying to remember the right word using the words of the hit song che sera sera, whatever will be will be.

Italian and Portuguese

I thought I would check on two similar languages, Italian and Portugese. It turns out that in both the constructions, using if or that, French and Spanish are a pair. The other two romance languages, Italian and Portugese, are different, but paired with each other.

So for me it is easier to learn French and then Spanish. Then Italian and Portuguese. Or if I learned French or Spanish first, just remember that Italian and Portugese are different.

I checked the two versions of Portuguese, used in Portugal in Europe, and Brazil in South America. They are a match with each other.

Yes - Si

Yes in French is si. Yes in Spanish is si. Yes in Portuguese is sim. Yes in italian is si.

I was using Translate google. 

To make it clear, here is a list

English - French - Spanish - Italian - Portuguese

if - si - si - se - se

that - que - que  - che - che

yes - oui/si (emphastic) - si - si - sim 

Useful Websites

Duolingo (to learn online, for free, French, Spanish, Italian and Brazilian Portugese)

Translate Google (to translate words, phrases and short paragraphs) French, Spanish, Italian, Portugese used in Portugal and Portuguese used in Brazil)

Please share with friends the links to useful posts on my blogs.

Misadventures With The Wrong Language Group, Wrong Coach, Wrong Taxi

Flag of France from Wikipedia.

Problem
Have you ever lost your tour group or had trouble finding your coach or taxi in a car park during a travel trip?

Story of My Misadventure
I once joined an English speaking group on a guided tour of a stately home in France - and I stopped to take a photo. We had joined the English tour group of the stately home. I did not know the guide or the other people on the guided tour, and neither the guide nor the other guests knew me.

 I was with a group who had an English speaking guide - easy, ok?

I saw a group at the end of the gallery and ran up. From the back of the crowd I worked my way forward. When I could hear, I realised the guide was speaking German!

 Okay, so maybe we had some Germans in our group. Eventually I asked him if he could repeat his story in English. He told me, "You are with the wrong group. This is a German group."

I tried three different group before I found the English group.


If only they had carried flags!

That's one story of my French misadventure. It was not my only misadventure. Call me Miss Adventure.
Flags are very handy.

Learn A Language
On the other hand, if I had learned to speak German fluently, I could have stayed with the German speaking group. But then I would have my husband, got back to the car park at the wrong time and boarded the wrong coach.

You also need flags on coaches. Several time I have been on a tour and the guide has told us to remember our coach number plate. Trying to remember a coach number plate is much harder than recognizing a flag.

Identifying A Taxi In India
As for a taxi, I once remembered the ending of a taxi number plate in India. When I emerged from the museum, which had four exits and four car parks, I discovered that all taxis had number plates ending with the same two digits or letters.

If only I had brought with a little Union Jack and Blutac to stick it on the front windscreen. It is easy enough to take a picture or flag from a magazine or newspaper or free map and keep it in your handbag or travel bag to add to your suitcase or taxi windscreen.

Useful Websites
For a free learn online language website for French, German and English from other languages, try:
duolingo.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.