'Errrre' you laughing at my bad Spanish pronunciation?

chronicle-tribune.com By KRISTEN HARTY, Minority affairs reporter. kharty@marion.gannett.com

I discovered last week that the world is divided into two sorts of people -- people who can roll their 'r's and people who can't.

I fall into the latter category.

Ray Vasquez was trying not to laugh at me on the first night of Spanish class at the YWCA of Marion. We were going around the table, pronouncing the Spanish vowel sounds and consonant sounds, most of which are very similar to English.

Eventually -- inevitably -- we got to the 'r.'

"Say "errrre," Vasquez said, rolling the sound effortlessly off his tongue.

I already knew I couldn't do it. I know a little French and a little German and used to speak Hebrew pretty fluently. Never could roll a darn 'r.'

So I hesitated, of course. Tried to will my 'r' to roll. Everyone was looking at me and waiting in anticipation.

"ARE," I said. The sound stuck in my throat like an engine that wouldn't start.

Vasquez, who seems to be a very nice man -- pleasant and patient like a good teacher should be -- actually giggled a little bit. I know he couldn't help it.

And truthfully, the class was about evenly split between those who could roll and those who couldn't.

"It's not in your language, so you don't learn how to do it," said Vasquez, a native of Venezuela, who translates and teaches Spanish in a number of Grant County settings. "Don't be afraid to say it wrong because nobody's going to joke about it. This is a learning place."

And anyway, the point of taking the eight-week beginning Spanish class at the YWCA isn't to perfect the language or its pronunciation. The class is designed to give people a little exposure to the Spanish language and culture.

I'm taking it because I always feel ignorant that I don't know the most rudimentary rules of Spanish, and because in Marion there is a pretty good-sized Hispanic population that is growing. It's hard to make friends with people or understand who they are if you don't know anything about their language or culture.

So this is a start, a small effort to expand my horizons just a bit.

And the YWCA class is supposed to be fun, Vasquez said.

"This is the thing I can tell you, Spanish is not difficult to learn," he said. "It's just about patience, perseverance, time and having someone who can help you out."

Sounds like a worthwhile challenge.

As far as learning to roll an 'r,' however, it may be hopeless.

"Say 'carrrrrra,'" Vasquez said.

"CaR-ah," said I. "CaR-ah."

Er....Er...Ugh.

Originally published Sunday, May 25, 2003