Speak Spanish with Sherlock Holmes – Episode 004

Speak Spanish with Sherlock Holmes – Speaking practice

Podcast episode 4 – SEE ALL EPISODES

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

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Hi, welcome to Speak Spanish with Maria Fernandez.

I’m Maria Fernandez, and this podcast is brought to you by my Spanish learning website, kerapido.com. At kerapido.com you can see the free transcript of this lesson. To get it, tap the link in the episode description on your mobile device.

Today I bring you a very special lesson. We’re going to speak Spanish with Sherlock Holmes.

I’m going to play for you an extract from my audiobook: “Un escándalo en Bohemia” (A Scandal in Bohemia), my Spanish translation and recording of the Sherlock Holmes story.

See also: Maria’s Speak with Sherlock course.

Then we’re going to do a speaking drill. I’m going to guide you through the lines, one by one. I’m going to show you the pronunciation mistakes to avoid, and how to speak fluently, like a native.

Speak Spanish with Sherlock Holmes – Let’s hear it

Let’s listen to our story. It’s about twenty seconds long. Don’t worry if you don’t undestand it. By the end of this audio lesson you’re going to be familiar with plenty of new words.

Para Sherlock Holmes ella es siempre “la” mujer. Rara vez le he oído llamarla por otro nombre. A su parecer ella eclipsa y aventaja a todo su sexo. No es que sintiese algo similar al amor por Irene Adler. Todos los sentimientos, y ése en particular, le resultaban detestables a su mente fría y precisa, pero admirablemente equilibrada.

And this is the English translation:
To Sherlock Holmes she is always “the” woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind.

Let’s listen to our passage once more.

Speak Spanish with Sherlock Holmes – Speaking: Line 1

Now we’re going to practise saying it line by line. Let’s hear the first line:

Para Sherlock Holmes ella es siempre “la” mujer.
The translation is: To Sherlock Holmes she is always “the” woman.
Para Sherlock Holmes ella es siempre “la” mujer.

Let’s say it slowly. Say it after me. Make sure you say the lines out loud, as if you were talking to me:
Para Sherlock Holmes
ella es siempre
“la” mujer

And again:
Para Sherlock Holmes
ella es siempre
“la” mujer

Pronunciation tip

To speak like a native, make sure you run words together. For example, “es siempre”. Notice how I don’t say “es siempre” but “esiempre”, with a long S, rather than two separate sounds: “esiempre”.
Make sure you run those words together. Let’s say our sentence slowly once again.
Para Sherlock Holmes
ella es siempre
“la” mujer

Have a look at
Maria’s Speak with Sherlock course

And now let’s say it a bit faster:
Para Sherlock Holmes ella es siempre “la” mujer.

Remember that at kerapido.com you can see the free transcript of this lesson, including the passage and its translation. To get it, tap the link in the episode description on your mobile device.

Speak Spanish with Sherlock Holmes – Speaking: Line 2

Let’s move on to our second line:
Rara vez le he oído llamarla por otro nombre.
The translation is: I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.
Rara vez le he oído llamarla por otro nombre.

Let’s say it slowly. Say it after me:
Rara vez
le he oído llamarla
por otro nombre

And again:
Rara vez
le he oído llamarla
por otro nombre

Pronunciation tip

Like in the previous line, make sure you run words together. For example, “le he oído”. Notice how I don’t say “le – he” but “lehe”, with a long E, rather than two E sounds: “lehe”.
Make sure you run those words together. Let’s say our sentence slowly once again.
Rara vez
le he oído llamarla
por otro nombre

And now let’s say it a bit faster:
Rara vez le he oído llamarla por otro nombre.

Speak Spanish with Sherlock Holmes – Speaking: Line 3

Let’s move on to our next line:
A su parecer ella eclipsa y aventaja a todo su sexo.
The translation is: In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.
A su parecer ella eclipsa y aventaja a todo su sexo.

Let’s say it slowly. Say it after me:
A su parecer
ella eclipsa y aventaja
a todo su sexo

And again:
A su parecer
ella eclipsa y aventaja
a todo su sexo

Pronunciation tip

Remember that the vowel A, in Spanish, always has the sound: A.
The A is identical in the words: a, parecer, ella, eclipsa, aventaja.

Let’s say our sentence slowly once again. Focus on the sound A:
A su parecer
ella eclipsa y aventaja
a todo su sexo

And now let’s say it a bit faster:
A su parecer ella eclipsa y aventaja a todo su sexo.

Speak Spanish with Sherlock Holmes – Speaking: Line 4

Let’s move on to our next line:
No es que sintiese algo similar al amor por Irene Adler.
The translation is: It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler.
No es que sintiese algo similar al amor por Irene Adler.

Let’s say it slowly. Say it after me:
No es que sintiese
algo similar al amor
por Irene Adler

And again:
No es que sintiese
algo similar al amor
por Irene Adler

Notice how you sound a lot more like a native when you run these three words together:
Similar al amor

Can you say that fast?: “Similar al amor”.

We’re running together the three words: similar – al – amor, “similaralamor”.

Pronunciation tip

The reason why they sound so fast is because “similar” ends in a consonant and the next word “al”starts with a vowel. That’s why native speakers naturally run them together: “similaral”.

And the same happens with the two words: al – amor, “almor”. “Al” ends in a consonant and “amor” starts with a vowel: “alamor”. There’s no gap between them.

And those three words together are: “similaralamor”. Make sure you say them as if they were one long word, instead of three separate words: “similaralamor”. You’ll sound like a native if you run them together.

Let’s say our sentence slowly once again, but running words together.
No es que sintiese
algo similar al amor
por Irene Adler

And now let’s say it a bit faster:
No es que sintiese algo similar al amor por Irene Adler.

Speak Spanish with Sherlock Holmes – Speaking: Line 5

Let’s move on to our last line. This is the longest:
Todos los sentimientos, y ése en particular, le resultaban detestables a su mente fría y precisa, pero admirablemente equilibrada.
The translation is: All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind.
Todos los sentimientos, y ése en particular, le resultaban detestables a su mente fría y precisa, pero admirablemente equilibrada.

Let’s say it slowly. Say it after me:
Todos los sentimientos
y ése en particular
le resultaban detestables
a su mente fría y precisa
pero admirablemente equilibrada

And again:
Todos los sentimientos
y ése en particular
le resultaban detestables
a su mente fría y precisa
pero admirablemente equilibrada

Pronunciation tip

Long words are particularly difficult to pronounce. The fastest way to master them, is to practise saying them out loud individually.

In our line, we’ve got several long words: sentimientos, resultaban, detestables, admirablemente, equilibrada.

Let’s say those words individually a couple of times. Say them out loud after me: sentimientos, resultaban, detestables, admirablemente, equilibrada.

Let’s say our sentence slowly once again.
Todos los sentimientos
y ése en particular
le resultaban detestables
a su mente fría y precisa
pero admirablemente equilibrada

And now let’s say it a bit faster:
Todos los sentimientos, y ése en particular, le resultaban detestables a su mente fría y precisa, pero admirablemente equilibrada.

We’re now going to say the whole passage. Say it out loud after me:

Para Sherlock Holmes ella es siempre “la” mujer. Rara vez le he oído llamarla por otro nombre. A su parecer ella eclipsa y aventaja a todo su sexo. No es que sintiese algo similar al amor por Irene Adler. Todos los sentimientos, y ése en particular, le resultaban detestables a su mente fría y precisa, pero admirablemente equilibrada.

Now let’s listen to the audiobook extract. Notice how much better you can understand it after doing the speaking drills.

Doing speaking drills, like the ones in this lesson, is how I became fluent in English. It’s a lot of fun, and the fastest way to improve your spoken Spanish.

If you want to do more speaking drills with Sherlock Holmes, have a look at my audiobook and ebook. They’re available on Spotify, Audible, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Google Play, Walmart, and all your favourite online stores.

To get them, go here.