Learn how to ask "Can you speak English?"
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| Jessi: Hello, and welcome to Hebrew Survival Phrases, brought to you by HebrewPod101.com. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Israel. You'll be surprised at how far a little Hebrew will go. Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by HebrewPod101.com and there you'll find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment! |
| Survival Phrases Lesson 7 - Can You Speak English? |
| In today's lesson, we'll cover another extremely important phrase, "Can you speak English?" Using this phrase as opposed to speaking English with someone is important for many reasons. For one, if the party you're speaking to doesn't understand English, at least they'll be able to understand what you're asking. Furthermore, it shows a lot of respect on your part that you've made an effort to learn even a little bit of the language. For these reasons and many more, we're going to cover this very important phrase. |
| As we saw in previous lessons, in Hebrew, there are different ways to say things depending on the gender of speaker and listener. |
| If a man is spoken to, "Can you speak English?" is ?הַאִם אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר אַנְגְּלִית, Haim ata medaber anglit? Let's break it down by syllable, ?הַאִם אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר אַנְגְּלִית, Haim ata medaber anglit? Now, let's hear it once again, ?הַאִם אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר אַנְגְּלִית, Haim ata medaber anglit? The first word הַאִם, Haim means, "do." The second word אַתָּה, Ata means, "you." The third word מְדַבֵּר, Medaber, which comes from the verb לְדַבֵּר, Ledaber, means,"to speak." Last, we have the word אַנְגְּלִית, Anglit, which in English means "English." Let's break down these words and hear them one more time, הַאִם אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר אַנְגְּלִית, Haim ata medaber anglit. |
| If a woman is spoken to, "Can you speak English?" is ?הַאִם אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת אַנְגְּלִית, Haim at medaberet anglit? Let's break it down by syllable, ?הַאִם אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת אַנְגְּלִית, Haim at medaberet anglit? Now, let's hear it once again, ?הַאִם אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת אַנְגְּלִית, Haim at medaberet anglit? The first word הַאִם, Haim means "do." The second word At means, אַתְּ, "you." The third word מְדַבֶּרֶת, Medaberet, which comes from the verb לְדַבֵּר, Ledaber, means "to speak." Last, we have the word אַנְגְּלִית, Anglit, which in English means "English." Let's break down these words and hear them one more time, הַאִם אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת אַנְגְּלִית, Haim at medaberet anglit. |
| The phrase that we just learned is in the formal tense, which means you should always use the above phrase in situations with people you don't know or elders. |
| When speaking to younger people, it's acceptable to use the informal tense—in which case, if you are speaking to a boy, you will say in Hebrew ?אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר אַנְגְּלִית, Ata medaber anglit? Let's say it slowly now, ?אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר אַנְגְּלִית, Ata medaber anglit? Now, we will break it down by syllable, ?אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר אַנְגְּלִית, Ata medaber anglit? Here it is once again, ?אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר אַנְגְּלִית, Ata medaber anglit? And, if you are speaking to a girl, you will say in Hebrew ?אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת אַנְגְּלִית, At medaberet anglit? Let's say it slowly now, ?אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת אַנְגְּלִית, At medaberet anglit? Now, we will break it down by syllable, ?אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת אַנְגְּלִית, At medaberet anglit? Here it is once again, אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת אַנְגְּלִית. At medaberet anglit? While the difference is minimal, the significance is very important. |
| Please note that, in order to make a question sentence, when we drop the question word הַאִם, Haim, which comes at the beginning of the sentence, we need to emphasize the word אַתָּה, Ata (for male) or אַתְּ, At (for female) so the listener understands that we are asking a question. |
| Before we move on, please remember that הַאִם, Haim followed by the question is the formal way to ask if somebody speaks that language. Dropping the הַאִם, Haim before the actual question is the informal way to ask something. Without הַאִם, Haim is more direct. Do not drop it with people you don't know or with elders. |
| Now, for a change, let's try a different language. Let's try Spanish. "Can you speak Spanish?" If you are a man, you will say ?אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר סְפָרַדִּית, Ata medaber sfaradit? And, if you are a woman, you will say אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת סְפָרַדִּית, At medaberet sfaradit? The word for "Spanish" is סְפָרַדִּית, Sfaradit. Let's break this word down and hear it one more time, סְפָרַדִּית, Sfaradit. Here, just the word for the language changes, the rest is the same. |
| Ok, to close out today's lesson, we would like you to practice what you have just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it out loud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so !בְּהַצְלָחָה, Behatzlacha! which means "Good luck!" in Hebrew. |
| "Do you speak English?" (formal when a male speaker is asked) - ?הַאִם אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר אַנְגְּלִית, Haim ata medaber anglit? |
| "Do you speak English?" (formal when a female speaker is asked) - ?הַאִם אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת אַנְגְּלִית, Haim at medaberet anglit? |
| "Do you speak English?" (informal when a male speaker is asked) - ?אַתָּה מְדַבֵּר אַנְגְּלִית, Ata medaber anglit? |
| "Do you speak English?" (informal when a female speaker is asked) - ?אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת אַנְגְּלִית, At medaberet anglit? |
| Jessi: Alright! That's going to do it for today. Remember to stop by HebrewPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment! |
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