Speaking Spanish is hard

TWO LINGUISTICALLY- AND MUSICALLY-TALENTED Colombian brothers, Juan Andrés and Nicolás Ospina, team up in an acoustic duet about how hard it it to speak and understand Spanish, even for native Spanish speakers. They sing about the words for strawberry (can be fresa, or frutilla), and the other meanings of those words, and how you can get yourself in trouble by drawing parallels or even using the wrong word in the wrong country. An innocent word drop in one Spanish-speaking country can be fighting words in another.

Another great break down is when they talk about how to pronounce the English word eyes, which can sound like “ice” when pronounced by a Spanish speaker, which in turn is hielo, which, they say, sounds like “yellow.”

The song is sung in rapidito Spanish, switching from “gringo accent” — with hard t’s and d’s, and without rolling the r’s — to regional accents, and the music goes from simple strumming and twangy guitar to flamenco and from beat boxing to hand percussion. There’s a Garfunkel and Oates-like quality about this duo, mainly how fast and homegrown their patter is. If you’ve ever thought about how hard it is to speak Spanish (even for a native speaker), you’ll get a big kick out of their video. Fans are clamoring for the musicians to provide the lyrics, and I’ve transcribed (and translated) the chorus below. Catch up with the musicians Juan Andrés and Nicolás on Facebook.

Que difícil es hablar el español
Por que todo lo que dices tiene otra definición
Que dificil es entender el español
Si lo aprendes, no te muevas de región

Que difícil es hablar el español
Por que todo lo que dices tiene otra definición
Que dificil es entender el español
Yo ya me doy por vencido, para mi país me voy

It is so difficult to speak Spanish
Because everything you say means something else as well
It is so difficult to understand Spanish
If you ever learn it, stay where you are

It is so difficult to speak Spanish
Because everything you say means something else as well
It is so difficult to understand Spanish
I myself have given up, I’m going back to my country