Publishing Online
My First Article - About Learning Spanish
by Daniel A-L Ryan
Daniel A-L Ryan 
Hello there Group Members ...
Valerie was kind enough to invite me to join this group, so I have decided to go out on a limb and post the first article I have written. I used to do a lot of writing in subject areas that are outside the normal frame of reference for most people. I am looking to get back into my writing mode as an avenue to earn income.
About a month ago, I came accross this squeeze page for "Bum Marketing" .. For someone who had no idea what article marketing was or where to even begin to start this guys free information helped me out:
Bum Marketing Method
I submitted my article to GoArticles, Article Dashboard, and Ezine Articles. I am not sure how or why; but Ezine Articles approved my article; even with the fact that I had an affiliate link cloaked by elfurl in my authors bio area. According to their guidelines, they are not supposed to allow this.
If anyone can tell me how to publish an article with an affiliate link and have it accepted by every article directory it is submitted to, that would help me out a lot. That is the piece that is missing from my understanding.
So anyways, the article I wrote is about "The Importance of Learning Spanish". Go ahead and tear it to shreds, pretty hot subject area ;)
------------------------------------
Learning Spanish as a second language is an important consideration with the current state of affairs in our rapidly evolving 21st century worldviews. There are ways to quickly learn Spanish available to you online.
For those who do not live in the desert southwest of Arizona, you might find it surprising to see and witness the sheer number of Spanish speaking individuals relocating to the United States from Mexico.
Then again, perhaps you might not find it surprising with the consistent media coverage surrounding the issue of “illegal immigrationâ€. The likelihood is that you periodically hear people where you live speaking Spanish. Spanish is quickly becoming the second most popular language spoken inside this country.
Interestingly, Spanish is the fourth most common language spoken on the planet, after Mandarin Chinese, English, and Hindustani. For a number of years Spanish has been becoming of greater importance in Europe, where it is often the foreign language of choice after English.
There is a great debate and much confusion taking place in the USA regarding the subject of “illegal immigrationâ€, and it’s impact on our country and economy. One of the ways that a common ground can be found or olive branch of peace offered is by us "gringos" taking a step towards becoming multilingual by learning Spanish.
Whether you are for or against "amnesty" or "guest worker programs†is really an independent and separate issue. Americans need to adapt and evolve in this rapidly changing world of ours. This can be achieved by broadening our own horizons and becoming open to people and cultures that we deem to be foreign.
The number of households in this country that are multi-lingual or that speak Spanish as a second language is increasing. The number of tourists who are flocking from the USA to Mexico is also reaching epic proportions.
It seems the one major barrier preventing a meeting of minds and cultures between Americans and our neighbors to the south is the difference in languages spoken. This is rapidly changing, and statistics show that Americans are studying and learning to speak Spanish in record numbers.
There are a number of reasons why we as Americans should embrace our own “Latin†origins and learn to speak Spanish.
21st century America is multi-cultural and multi-lingual
We as Americans can not go backwards, we can only progress forwards; that is the only direction there is. America was established to be a melting pot of sorts; a country where people from varying backgrounds, with differing ethnic or racial characteristics, and people from different cultural heritages could come together to live in peace and maintain harmony.
A large percentage of this countries workforce speaks Spanish, and the likelihood is that they will not be going anywhere anytime soon. Speaking Spanish in America, or interacting with people who are bi-lingual or multi-lingual is here to stay.
Give your children’s education an advantage by teaching or learning along with them to speak Spanish as a second language. Teach them that intolerance and racial prejudice do not have any place in a 21st century worldview.
Gain a better understanding of English or other languages
Much of English’s vocabulary, up to 80% of our words have their roots in Latin, Spanish, like English is also a Latin or “Romance†language. When you learn to speak Spanish you will find that you gain a better understanding of your vocabulary in English. Spanish and English also share Indo-European roots, you will find their grammars to be similar.
Once you and your children learn to speak Spanish as a second language, you will have a head start in learning any other Latin-based language that might interest you. It will also help you learn Russian or German, since they too have Indo-European roots and have some characteristics that are present in Spanish but not English.
Speak with locals when you travel
Yes, it is perfectly possible to visit the desert southwest of the United States, Mexico, Spain or even Equatorial Guinea without being able to speak a word of Spanish.
You will find that it is much more fun to be able to think like a local and even knowing a little bit of the language the people you are visiting speak can make travel more enjoyable.
When I travel, I like to be able to immerse myself in the culture I am visiting. It makes travel much easier when one can more clearly see through the eyes of the local population. What happens when you can’t read a sign and you need to ask for directions, or if you would like to ask someone a question.
Tour guides can be useful when traveling, but it’s much more fun to be able to get off the beaten path and venture into areas where crowds of tourists seldom venture.
For a time, a few years ago; I did some Photoshop work for a man who had extensively traveled with his wife throughout northern Mexico; into areas that the majority of tourists shall never see. He had thousands of photographic slides that needed to be scanned into the computer for slight color correction, cropping and editing.
He and his wife would travel down to Mexico, getting to know the locals and traveling off the beaten path. This opened up doorways for him to see places most tourists haven’t gone and also to find extremely reasonable prices on unique, one-of-a-kind handcrafted artwork, necklaces, pottery and sculptures.
It also enabled him to gain lodging with families for close to nothing by our standards and food cooked in the homes of locals the same way it has been for a couple of hundred years. There are people in Mexico who still live without many of the conveniences we think of today as modern.
One thing I learned from him, when traveling off of the beaten path in Mexico is that if you are going to take a locals photograph; you must offer to compensate them with a few dollars.
Mexico is extremely culturally rich when it comes to Christianity or Catholicism, and I truly enjoyed seeing all of his photographs of old churches, missions and mountain villages.
Had he and his wife not known how to speak Spanish fluently, this whole segment of their lives experience may never have taken place.
Nobody speaks another language fluently when they are first starting out.
Learning to speak Spanish is easy and can be done quickly
Most high schools require students to take at least two semesters of a foreign language. But why wait for your children to get to high school to begin expanding their cultural horizons and lingual education.
What if you want to learn Spanish yourself ? What if your career path requires that you understand how to speak Spanish and do so fluently ?
In the future, perhaps our schools here in the United States will begin multi-lingual education at an earlier age. It would be a good idea.
Most people who speak Mandarin Chinese or Japanese can also speak English.
Most people who speak Spanish can also speak English “un poco†or “un poquito†meaning “a littleâ€.
Americans have been ‘dumbed down’ for long enough. Do yourself, your children, and this countries future a favor and learn how to speak Spanish.
It is just as much our responsibility as Americans to become accommodating to others as it is for others who have come to this country to blend in and become acculturalized to our society and way of life.
That is the yin/yang of the “illegal immigration†situation as I see it personally.
I can foresee a time in the future when it will be necessary for Americans to not only understand English and Spanish but perhaps even Arabic and Mandarin Chinese.
A final thought for you to muse over:
There are no borders between nations or landmass territories upon this planet when seen from space.
There is only one common ground between us all that needs to be acknowledged foremost, that is the Earth beneath our feet. It does not belong to any of us, if anything we belong to it; and owe our planet a debt of gratitude.
Terrorism, Illegal Immigration, and Drugs are three separate issues; they need to be dealt with as such as well as in tandem with each other; under the heading known as “border securityâ€.
Whichever side of the issues you are on, remember; there are real people and real lives involved here – on every side of any issue.
Do yourself, your children, and your worldview a favor and look into learning Spanish as a second language.
Learn Spanish as a Second Language Today
Jun 1st 2007 12:35
Hello there Group Members ...
Valerie was kind enough to invite me to join this group, so I have decided to go out on a limb and post the first article I have written. I used to do a lot of writing in subject areas that are outside the normal frame of reference for most people. I am looking to get back into my writing mode as an avenue to earn income.
About a month ago, I came accross this squeeze page for "Bum Marketing" .. For someone who had no idea what article marketing was or where to even begin to start this guys free information helped me out:
Bum Marketing Method
I submitted my article to GoArticles, Article Dashboard, and Ezine Articles. I am not sure how or why; but Ezine Articles approved my article; even with the fact that I had an affiliate link cloaked by elfurl in my authors bio area. According to their guidelines, they are not supposed to allow this.
If anyone can tell me how to publish an article with an affiliate link and have it accepted by every article directory it is submitted to, that would help me out a lot. That is the piece that is missing from my understanding.
So anyways, the article I wrote is about "The Importance of Learning Spanish". Go ahead and tear it to shreds, pretty hot subject area ;)
------------------------------------
Learning Spanish as a second language is an important consideration with the current state of affairs in our rapidly evolving 21st century worldviews. There are ways to quickly learn Spanish available to you online.
For those who do not live in the desert southwest of Arizona, you might find it surprising to see and witness the sheer number of Spanish speaking individuals relocating to the United States from Mexico.
Then again, perhaps you might not find it surprising with the consistent media coverage surrounding the issue of “illegal immigrationâ€. The likelihood is that you periodically hear people where you live speaking Spanish. Spanish is quickly becoming the second most popular language spoken inside this country.
Interestingly, Spanish is the fourth most common language spoken on the planet, after Mandarin Chinese, English, and Hindustani. For a number of years Spanish has been becoming of greater importance in Europe, where it is often the foreign language of choice after English.
There is a great debate and much confusion taking place in the USA regarding the subject of “illegal immigrationâ€, and it’s impact on our country and economy. One of the ways that a common ground can be found or olive branch of peace offered is by us "gringos" taking a step towards becoming multilingual by learning Spanish.
Whether you are for or against "amnesty" or "guest worker programs†is really an independent and separate issue. Americans need to adapt and evolve in this rapidly changing world of ours. This can be achieved by broadening our own horizons and becoming open to people and cultures that we deem to be foreign.
The number of households in this country that are multi-lingual or that speak Spanish as a second language is increasing. The number of tourists who are flocking from the USA to Mexico is also reaching epic proportions.
It seems the one major barrier preventing a meeting of minds and cultures between Americans and our neighbors to the south is the difference in languages spoken. This is rapidly changing, and statistics show that Americans are studying and learning to speak Spanish in record numbers.
There are a number of reasons why we as Americans should embrace our own “Latin†origins and learn to speak Spanish.
21st century America is multi-cultural and multi-lingual
We as Americans can not go backwards, we can only progress forwards; that is the only direction there is. America was established to be a melting pot of sorts; a country where people from varying backgrounds, with differing ethnic or racial characteristics, and people from different cultural heritages could come together to live in peace and maintain harmony.
A large percentage of this countries workforce speaks Spanish, and the likelihood is that they will not be going anywhere anytime soon. Speaking Spanish in America, or interacting with people who are bi-lingual or multi-lingual is here to stay.
Give your children’s education an advantage by teaching or learning along with them to speak Spanish as a second language. Teach them that intolerance and racial prejudice do not have any place in a 21st century worldview.
Gain a better understanding of English or other languages
Much of English’s vocabulary, up to 80% of our words have their roots in Latin, Spanish, like English is also a Latin or “Romance†language. When you learn to speak Spanish you will find that you gain a better understanding of your vocabulary in English. Spanish and English also share Indo-European roots, you will find their grammars to be similar.
Once you and your children learn to speak Spanish as a second language, you will have a head start in learning any other Latin-based language that might interest you. It will also help you learn Russian or German, since they too have Indo-European roots and have some characteristics that are present in Spanish but not English.
Speak with locals when you travel
Yes, it is perfectly possible to visit the desert southwest of the United States, Mexico, Spain or even Equatorial Guinea without being able to speak a word of Spanish.
You will find that it is much more fun to be able to think like a local and even knowing a little bit of the language the people you are visiting speak can make travel more enjoyable.
When I travel, I like to be able to immerse myself in the culture I am visiting. It makes travel much easier when one can more clearly see through the eyes of the local population. What happens when you can’t read a sign and you need to ask for directions, or if you would like to ask someone a question.
Tour guides can be useful when traveling, but it’s much more fun to be able to get off the beaten path and venture into areas where crowds of tourists seldom venture.
For a time, a few years ago; I did some Photoshop work for a man who had extensively traveled with his wife throughout northern Mexico; into areas that the majority of tourists shall never see. He had thousands of photographic slides that needed to be scanned into the computer for slight color correction, cropping and editing.
He and his wife would travel down to Mexico, getting to know the locals and traveling off the beaten path. This opened up doorways for him to see places most tourists haven’t gone and also to find extremely reasonable prices on unique, one-of-a-kind handcrafted artwork, necklaces, pottery and sculptures.
It also enabled him to gain lodging with families for close to nothing by our standards and food cooked in the homes of locals the same way it has been for a couple of hundred years. There are people in Mexico who still live without many of the conveniences we think of today as modern.
One thing I learned from him, when traveling off of the beaten path in Mexico is that if you are going to take a locals photograph; you must offer to compensate them with a few dollars.
Mexico is extremely culturally rich when it comes to Christianity or Catholicism, and I truly enjoyed seeing all of his photographs of old churches, missions and mountain villages.
Had he and his wife not known how to speak Spanish fluently, this whole segment of their lives experience may never have taken place.
Nobody speaks another language fluently when they are first starting out.
Learning to speak Spanish is easy and can be done quickly
Most high schools require students to take at least two semesters of a foreign language. But why wait for your children to get to high school to begin expanding their cultural horizons and lingual education.
What if you want to learn Spanish yourself ? What if your career path requires that you understand how to speak Spanish and do so fluently ?
In the future, perhaps our schools here in the United States will begin multi-lingual education at an earlier age. It would be a good idea.
Most people who speak Mandarin Chinese or Japanese can also speak English.
Most people who speak Spanish can also speak English “un poco†or “un poquito†meaning “a littleâ€.
Americans have been ‘dumbed down’ for long enough. Do yourself, your children, and this countries future a favor and learn how to speak Spanish.
It is just as much our responsibility as Americans to become accommodating to others as it is for others who have come to this country to blend in and become acculturalized to our society and way of life.
That is the yin/yang of the “illegal immigration†situation as I see it personally.
I can foresee a time in the future when it will be necessary for Americans to not only understand English and Spanish but perhaps even Arabic and Mandarin Chinese.
A final thought for you to muse over:
There are no borders between nations or landmass territories upon this planet when seen from space.
There is only one common ground between us all that needs to be acknowledged foremost, that is the Earth beneath our feet. It does not belong to any of us, if anything we belong to it; and owe our planet a debt of gratitude.
Terrorism, Illegal Immigration, and Drugs are three separate issues; they need to be dealt with as such as well as in tandem with each other; under the heading known as “border securityâ€.
Whichever side of the issues you are on, remember; there are real people and real lives involved here – on every side of any issue.
Do yourself, your children, and your worldview a favor and look into learning Spanish as a second language.
Learn Spanish as a Second Language Today
Jun 1st 2007 12:35
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Comments
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Beth Schmillen
 Hi Daniel and Jenny! I was just lamenting my lack of a second language while talking to a friend. If you want to earn online as a customer service representative from such sites as liveops.com you can earn more if you are bi-lingual i.e. spanish speaker! I went to High School when French was still the language to learn! LOL! I would love to truly learn to speak french. I can almost read a lttle! But Spanish would be awesome to know. My good friend Angelina is from Mexico and in the early 70s when we we're young mothers she tried to get me to pronounce a few words... i could not roll my R's .... and i was probably to timid then to truly try! Thanks for a wonderful article... Beth Jun 2nd 2007 16:38 |
Hi Daniel,
What a great article you have written.
As an anglishwoman livving in spain - i cannot imagine my life being what it is if i didnt speak a second language. It would be like looking at everything through a pane of glass!
Yes you can visit some parts of Spain, South America and Equitorial Guinea without speaking much Spanish (out of curiosity - I wonder how many people reading this know where Equitorial Guinea is?), but is like going to the States without understand English.
But one issue that you didnt raise and for me is the biggest business reason for learning Spanish is that not only is Spanish thte second most widely spoken language in the Western World, but also - we are looking at South and Central America.
At present these are developing countries - but when they are developed - they will become a hugh economic force. And their principal language is....?....yes you guessed correctly - SPANISH.
In adition - the internet has shrunk the world - if we are dealing globally with our businesses and our lives - we cannot afford to miss out on these global markets because of parochial thinking about language.
My own product site is in fact in English Spanish and German and i deal with people in other countries who wish to deal in spanish. If i didnt - my market would be reduced a great deal. Why be monolingual when you can open up your markets by dealing in two or three!
ApSense is a great example of global thinking. The owners have had to forsight to make the comminity available in Spanish as well as english and there is a significant group of Spanish busines people in the membership!
WAY YO GO APSENSE!
Saludos
Jenny
Jun 1st 2007 14:39