Can people that only know 200 or so words in Spanish...?

Question

fully communicate with native Spanish speakers?

Answer 1

Under certain circumstances, yes.

With a few basic words of any foreign language one can communicate within the parameters which are covered by those words.

Should I be in a Spanish speaking area, I can use my basic Spanish (maybe not even 200 words!) to find a restaurant, order a meal, ask for and pay the bill, locate the Ladies' room, hail a taxi, go back to my hotel, pick up messages at the front desk, get some coffee and desert in the hotel coffee shop and to know which side to put facing outward on the door hanger so I am not disturbed in the morning.......

In the context of those defined and very limited circumstances my Spanish would probably serve me just fine.

However I probably would NOT pick up on it if the taxi driver tried to hit on me, unless he used recognizable gestures....nor could I discuss the intricacies of Physics with the students in the coffee shop --- though I probably could figure out that they WERE students and studying Physics!

Limited parameters aside, think I read somewhere that in order to have full communication in a language you would need to understand and speak somewhere around 2000 words in that language. Good luck!

I hope this answer helps!

Alley

Answer 2

Yes, if like some other people said, your 200 words contain a good many verbs. I would say you must learn about 20 verbs. You don't need to learn the past tense or the future tense. Only learn the present tense. For the future, you can always say "I am going to (verb)". I put words on index cards and memorized them as flash cards. I learned about 300 in a couple of months. Learn nouns that you will need to say. For example, sit down and think about what you want to converse about in Spanish, e.g., if you're a athlete and intend to play with other athletes, learn all the nouns and verbs you can about sports and athletics! I survived for several weeks in Mexico. It's true though that native speakers always speak differently from what is taught in language schools, CD's, etc. And native speakers will speak at a rate generally too fast for you to understand, unless you find a friend who will slowly explain to you what is going on. The best thing is for your Spanish friend(s) to know what words *you* know, and then they can use your vocabulary when talking to you. This worked great for me. There is one great CD course: Pimsler. IMO, this is the only one that helps you to understand the language as it is actually spoken.

Answer 3

I would say so....a lot of words in spanish sound the same in english or you get the drift of what they are saying. It's a lot easier understanding what someone says then trying to talk back. If you know 200 or so words in Spanish, I say you should be fine. Just remember to smile a lot and don't say Si to everything..;-)

Answer 4

No. You will not be able to "fully" communicate. However, you will probably be able to get your general idea across in most cases. If you are asking because you are planning a trip to a Spanish speaking culture, go for it. You won't regret it. It will only help you learn more. :)

Answer 5

People can learn more than 200 words in Spanish. It all depends on how much you are willing to put your time in. And try to learn Spanish they speak in Spain not what they speak in Puerto Rico and places that's run by American influence.

Answer 6

Fully? No way, Jose. (pun intended)

It might be enough to let you get around in a Spanish-speaking country, but don't expect any deep and/or long conversations in a language you know only a few hundred words of.

Answer 7

There are some verbs that are very useful in Spanish that cover a lot of meaning. One of them is "romper" which means to break. If you learn how to conjugate this verb you automaically know how to communicate many other iideas. For example, in Spanish instead of saying you ripped your pants (which would require you to know how to conjugate the verb "to rip") you can say I broke my pants (using the verb romper). There are many verbs that have a wider use than in English. Learn these first.

Answer 8

Yes and No
You will be able to understand each other but each Spanish speaking country has their own dialect.
Mexico spanish is very different from Spain spanish and so on...

Answer 9

If within your 200 words, you have words for grammar, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, and have some for past present and future time, along with some general good verbs, I think you could communicate at a basic level and at least succeed in getting yourself be understood.

Answer 10

Fully communicate, no, but communicate, yes. It is amazing how we communicate with our bodies, as well as what we say, so that in reality, only about 20% of what we are saying is truly what comes out of our mouth.