Teach Yourself Spanish

I'm having fun reading my own site in other languages. Hit the Japanese flag in my sidebar to reveal the words Babel Fish doesn't know. Everything translates to an entirely new character set except the slang and pronouns, which stick out like sore thumbs.

My English vocabulary's quite good and I also have a basic qualification in Latin. Together, these skills have helped me survive in many foreign countries without speaking a word of the local lingo. Context helps, naturally: when you're in Spain and you see a store with "Electrico Domesticos" above the door and washing machines in the window, you don't need to be C-3PO to know what's going on. Anyone capable of reading my sidebar might find the following translations raise a smile, because they did with me:

¡Bing De Bada!
Un Australiano Oblicuamente
Negro Franco
El Doctor Who
Tomates Putrefactos
Espía Del Torrente
Tapa Cinco Todo

Being English, I never took foreign languages seriously at school. Well... when was I ever going to need one?! As soon as I have both the time and the money simultaneously I plan to enroll in Spanish classes. That New Year's resolution from 2003 may yet come true!