¡Puc parlar un poquet Valenciá!

I went to link this post back to a previous post... but then I realized Ive never posted about Valenciano! How is that possible!?!?!

Well for those who dont know, Valenciano is the official language of the Province of Valencia. It is a mix between castellano (spanish) and French. There are also hints of italian and even english! Actually, Ive decided that if you can speak Valencian, you can probably speak 5 other languages (excluding English)

However; Valencian is not a recognized language by Spain. It fits into the category of Catalan, but Valencians and Catalans disagree (stubborn) and are convinced they are entirely different and unique! (even thought they can understand each other)
Some sensible people will say "yeah, they're they same, who are we kidding!"

my favorite Valencian sign!

In my school, Valencian is the main language used. Some students only learn Castellano in school, and never use it at home. I can also tell when a students home language is Castellano because they use it in impromptu situations where they use their natural reactions or when asking questions in class.

I do pretty well understanding basic Valenciano. I do miss one or two words here and there, which eventually leads me to zone out and take off into mental air space.

Metro signs that teach me Valenciano

But I have picked up some Valenciano, and not completely on purpose! Yes, I  have taken perhaps 3 or 4 classes and even bought the required text book, however, I soon quit due to a questionably crazy professor.
In class I learned: "Bon dia! Jo soc Chelsea. Tinc vinte quart anys. Traballe en un colegi public. Visc en Benimaclet. Soc america. Puc parlar un poquet Valenciá.

But I've also picked it up just by being in class with my students, or reading signs around the city.  Sometimes I use Valenciano on accident! I confuse it with my beloved Castellano
Por ejemplo (warning-  I can NOT spell in Valenciano, this is just a guess!)
Buenos dias- Bon dia
cinco años- cinc anys
donde vamos?-adon anem?
todo- tot
complicado-complicat
comunidad- comunitat
playa- platja
por favor- per favor
adios- adeau
puente- pont
mas o menos- mes o mens
bien- bé
tambien- tambén
calle- carrer
gracias- gracies
acietunas- olives (olives!)
jarra- pitcher (pitcher!)
tuyo- teu
siempre-sempre
chico- xiq (x=ch)
chica- xiquet
horchata-orxata
amigo- amic
poquito- poquet

for the most part, whenever a castellano word ends in ado, the valencians dont have time for all that pronunciation and change it to tat.

Being somewhat "submerged" in my valencian classroom helped me to pick up enough to have a pretend conversation with nora here and there. Now I see how much one really can learn from submersion, I'm a believer!!!