The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-11-09
4 LESSON IN SPANISH
How Tourists In Mexico Wrestle
With the Language.
A QUEER RESTAURANT ORDER.

The Way an American Woman Shock
ed 4 Waiter With a Demand For .
Dish That the Cook Would Not Pre-
pare.
from the States down to Mexico on
business do not get along better" said
a returned New Yorker. They don't
study Spanish as they should In the
clubs half OF the stock stories are
about these half educated Americans.
1T was in a restaurant where only
Spanish is spoken that a party OF
American tourists assembled. There
were n woman and her two daughters
and. of course, the attendant and pa
tient papa with the wad.
"Let me order said the mater. I
want to use my Spanish And she pro-
ceeded to pull out handy book of
conversation. Let me see,' scanning
he menu: we want oysters. I'm sure.
small fry for each would be just the
thing
Running her fingers through the
leaves, she found that 'chiquita' means
small and 'frita' means fry Perfect
ly simple. 'Chiquita fritas' would
mean small fries She held up her
fingers to indicate four ard said COM
placently to the expectant and polite
waiter:
'Chiquitas fritas.'
1.-The walters eyes bulged out, and
his Latin politeness got a shock. oh.
no. sonora he cried as he backed
away: no chiquitas fritas.
"'Why not? returned the patron.
Don't you have 'em?' for in her sur
prise she had fallen back on her YER
role and consulted her book.
Nothing doing. No end Of gesticu-
lations on the part Of the waiter.
mice country where one can't get
fried oysters piped the woman, and
she added, 4 wonder why?'
"'You can get 'em. ma'am.' said a
mans raucoss voice at an adjoining
table. He continued: You ordered
fried babies, and they don't serve 'em
! in this part of the republic. The
word ''chiquitaS" means babies, a
/ ltI III VI kAGhI, put you iS OIL w.
! X. as to the fritas. If you had asked
| for "ostras fritas" the order would
have gone through all right
| "And she ordered 'em. though she
looked daggers at the stranger, who
was a New Yorker and had lived In
Mexico for twenty years.
at was the same sort Of woman,
continued the traveller. "who tried to
air her Spanish by asking the amount
Of her bill after she had taken her
dinner in a restaurant In the City OF
dressed the head waiter with Como
muchoy intending to ask how much.
Now, the word como not only
means how but also L eat 50 that
the woman had remarked to the wait
er, L eat a good deal This was al
much as to say that the dinner was sc
good that she had eaten all or more
than she ought. In fact, 1t was q
compliment and such a compliment a.
is highly appreciated in any Latir
country.
pressed his delight that his humbl,
viands should have found appreciation
in the sight of the most excellen
sonora. 1t was expressed In tn,
choice phrases that so readily lent
themselves on such occasions through
the Castilian tongue.
But my lady didn't understand !,
word Of the lingo She. meant bust
ness. and she repeated In q loude
tone: Como mucho? Como mucho !
She was sure Of her correct Spanish
but somehow she couldn't get the walt
er to do anything but bow and scrap
and smile.
1.-THE puzzle was solved when tn
proprietor. hearing the excited voices
entered and learned that the lad
merely wanted to pay her bill. Ha'
she known that not Como uucho'
but Que es la cuenta? cWhat | \
account?) is the correct expression sh
would have been saved trouble an,
modification.
Time and again United States con
suls have set forth In federal publica
lions the advantages Of a real know
edge of Spanish to the business mar
The need is growing more emphati
Will every do ouf
trade are growing with Mexico daily
But | guess that federal publication
don't hit the people at large as a ger
eral rule.
zone Of the easiest ways to learn
foreign language Is to read good nov
els 10 that tongue. You get so inter
ested in the story that you just have {
go on to the end to learn whether tn
hero and heroine come out all right.
students of Spanish don't adoI
that method In New York. I guess. fo
you can't find any Spanish novels o
the secondhand bookstore tables U
Or down or across the city. The onl
specimens l have found have bee
, Spanish novels translated from th
, French novels. 1t Is strange. too. fo
: there are many excellent novels nows
days by Spanish writer's.
, 'Of course an instructor is needle
/: to obtain the correct pronunciation. BIT
: on visiting Mexico with good. read
|. knowledge of the language you ca
{ soon acquire the needed pronunciation
. In fact. you have to do IT in order
get along"-New York Sun
ANY coward can fight battle whe
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