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English

I just noticed the blurb about who Spanish Language is for: students, teachers, and linguists. I guess that leaves me out. I'm not a student of Spanish, except to the extent that a non-native speaker is a lifelong student. I am not, and never have been, a teacher of Spanish. And I'm not a linguist.

Is there a fourth category, one that might explain my presence here? something like "Spanish Language aficionados"? I don't live in a Spanish speaking country right now, and that limits my ability to provide answers concerning usage.

This may seem like a vague, philosophical question, but it's not intended that way. I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, someone like me can add that's of value to the community.

Español

Acabo de fijarme an el aviso que indica para quién es la zona de "Spanish Language": para estudiantes, instructores, y lingüistas. No parece incluirme. Yo no soy estudiante de español, a menos de que se considere una persona que lo habla como segundo idioma un estudiante por la vida. No soy, ni jamás he sido, un instructor de español. Y no soy lingüista.

¿Existe una cuarta categoría, algo como aficionado de la lengua española? No vivo en un país hispanohablante hoy en día, y esto pone límites en mi habilidad de contestar dudas en cuanto al empleo del idioma.

Esta duda puede parecer filosófica y abstracta, pero no es mi intención. Trato de entender si hay algo que una persona como yo puede contribuir a la comunidad.

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  • I find myself in that category too. I actually might have trouble responding some questions about why this over this other (like, why subjuntivo here, why this choice of preterito vs something else, etc.) but I think that still there is a lot I could contribute, so I like this question.
    – Diego
    Oct 23, 2014 at 19:47
  • Yeah, I'm going to steer clear of the questions that specifically ask about grammar. I will occasionally put in my 2 cents about "how do you say x" questions, even though I often don't know whether my answer is valid across the Americas and Spain.
    – Walter Mitty
    Oct 25, 2014 at 10:17

2 Answers 2

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What non-native Spanish speakers can contribute to this site:

The point of view of non-native spanish speakers allow them to analyse and understand differently this language and the questions that other non-native speakers could make.

For example, an English speaker that understands the differences between ser and estar is in a better position to help out other Spanish students with such doubts.

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    by "doubts", I assume you mean "questions". PS: good reply.
    – Walter Mitty
    Nov 7, 2014 at 10:52
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The summary statement of any site cannot be all-inclusive of everyone who might find an interest in the site. It's intended rather to be a general statement, so one can, at a glance, determine if the site might interest them.

Adding the word "aficionado" to the topic description might be appropriate, but I suspect it's not necessary as, strictly speaking, everyone who comes here is either a student (by virtue of asking questions) or a teacher (by virtue of answering questions), and often both.

If others feel the topic ought to be updated (in any way, inclusive of this change or not), we can certainly make a change, though!

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  • What I like about your response is that it keeps things simple. Almost every area could add a catchall category for people who are merely interested in the subject matter.
    – Walter Mitty
    Oct 22, 2014 at 14:10

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