Deu anys al mateix carrer in Catalan
Two old acquaintances compare how the years went in Catalan. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Fa deu anys que visc en aquest carrer, i encara em perd pels portals nous del final.» — It has been ten years since I live on this street, and I still get confused by the new entrances at its end. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two old acquaintances compare how the years went. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Fa deu anys que visc en aquest carrer, i encara em perd pels portals nous del final.It has been ten years since I live on this street, and I still get confused by the new entrances at its end.
- Els anys corren més que els autobusos. Mentrestant, el mercat ha canviat tres vegades de lloc, i el forn, quatre de forner.Years run faster than buses. Meanwhile the market changed its place three times, and the bakery its baker four.
- A mi m'agrada el canvi: cada cop més famílies amb nens s'hi venen a viure i el barri torna a tenir veu.I like the change: more and more families with children move here, and the quarter finds its voice again.
- Tens raó i no la tens. En els meus temps el carrer dormia a les nou; avui en dia encara canta a mitjanit.Right and not right. In my day the street fell asleep at nine; nowadays it sings at midnight.
- Per a mi el punt de gir va ser la biblioteca nova: fa tres anys que va obrir i sembla un altre poble.For me the turning point was the new library: three years since it opened, and it looks like another town.
- Justament per això hi he d'anar un dia d'aquests amb l'àvia: ella encara el record com era abans, i tot com abans no és tot.That is exactly why I have to go there one of these days with grandma: she remembers what it was, and "everything as before" is not everything.
Lines one by one
| Catalan | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Fa deu anys que visc en aquest carrer, i encara em perd pels portals nous del final. | — | It has been ten years since I live on this street, and I still get confused by the new entrances at its end. |
| Els anys corren més que els autobusos. Mentrestant, el mercat ha canviat tres vegades de lloc, i el forn, quatre de forner. | — | Years run faster than buses. Meanwhile the market changed its place three times, and the bakery its baker four. |
| A mi m'agrada el canvi: cada cop més famílies amb nens s'hi venen a viure i el barri torna a tenir veu. | — | I like the change: more and more families with children move here, and the quarter finds its voice again. |
| Tens raó i no la tens. En els meus temps el carrer dormia a les nou; avui en dia encara canta a mitjanit. | — | Right and not right. In my day the street fell asleep at nine; nowadays it sings at midnight. |
| Per a mi el punt de gir va ser la biblioteca nova: fa tres anys que va obrir i sembla un altre poble. | — | For me the turning point was the new library: three years since it opened, and it looks like another town. |
| Justament per això hi he d'anar un dia d'aquests amb l'àvia: ella encara el record com era abans, i tot com abans no és tot. | — | That is exactly why I have to go there one of these days with grandma: she remembers what it was, and "everything as before" is not everything. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Catalan in this situation?
“Fa deu anys que visc en aquest carrer, i encara em perd pels portals nous del final.” — It has been ten years since I live on this street, and I still get confused by the new entrances at its end.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.