Well I didn’t want to confuse anyone with the title, but this is going to be a hard ‘‘word’’ to describe.
Part of my job involves listening over the telephone to people talking about their situations. So a lot of times, I need to give feedback with little verbal cues that are the English equivalent of ‘‘Uh-huh…’’ or, ‘‘Sure,’’ you know, those little words and sounds that indicate you are listening to what someone is saying.
The problem is, whenever I say, ‘‘Uh-huh,’’ in Spanish, with a slight raise in pitch on the ‘‘huh,’’ it comes off as if I didn’t hear the speaker clearly, as if I am asking, in effect, ‘‘What did you just say?’’
This usually results in some unnecessary repetition and miscommunication.
So I just wondered what a good Spanish equivalent to, ‘‘Yes, I’m listening.’’ Would sound like. It has to be something that doesn’t interrupt the flow of conversation on the other end.
This might be a difficult question to answer in writing. But let’s give it a shot, huh?
RGVChicano, thanks. I know I could say something like, ‘‘I understand,’’ but that could interrupt the person talking. I guess I’m looking for something shorter and more subtle… in English when someone is talking to you at length, maybe upset or overwhelmed and needing to vent, and you are listening, you might say,
‘‘Oh’’
‘‘Uh-huh’’
‘‘Mmm-hmmm’’
or something along those lines… short, not actually a word, so it doesn’t interrupt the speaker’s train of thought.
‘‘Ok’’ works sometimes, but it can be taken the wrong way if someone is describing something they most assuredly do NOT think is okay.
Ajá (just make sure it has an affirmative and not an interrogative intonation, you want “ajaaa”, not “¿ajá?”)
sí,
entiendo,
por supuesto (when they say something like “and this is driving me crazy,” which on one hand is to be expected and on the other it’s something they need to say and that it will make them feel better to see that you consider it natural and say “of course” rather than what many relatives say: “you’re exagerating”),
vale (if it’s good enough for Cervantes, it’s good enough for you!)
In Spain some people say “le sigo”, with it’s companion “me he perdido” for when you realize you missed something. With speakers from other locations the “I follow you” led to confusion, though (never had a problem with someone misunderstanding the “I’m lost”).
repeat key words… if the speaker has been unemployed for seventeen months, repeat “seventeen.” If you got it right, it tells them you did; if you didn’t, stopping for clarification right after the confusion takes place is best.
“Vale” is defined by the Real Academia Española as a word used when saying good-bye as in:
RGVChicano–“See you tomorrow, Nava!”
Nava–"¡Vale!"
But it can also be used as affirming
“¡Vale!¡Vale! Yo entiendo tu problema con tu jefe.”
A problem here could be that some Spanish speaking regions don’t use it much as others. From personal experience, we use “Sale” more than “Vale” (as in good-bye). Mis dos peson on vale.
I remember noticing this, but it is a difficult habit to change because so much of this type of communication is intuitive.
In the Dominican Republic at least, ‘OK’ is used to mark the end of a phone call. I’ve been hung up on several times when the person I thought I was in the middle of a conversation with took it to mean I was ending the call. ‘Sí’ works better.
As far as most Latin Americans are concerned ‘vale’ is only used by people from Spain, or Latin Americans who have spent some time in Spain and want to show off.
Well. It depends on the context. Ennit. The two spanish language dictionaries I consulted define the word differently. One states to use “Vale” as meaning closure or good-bye and the other as an affirmation.
To tell you the truth, at least in Norther Mexico, we don’t use “vale” for affirmation or good-bye. I have the same experience as Martha. It sounds like someone trying to pass as a peninsular. I bet if you were to say to a norteño in Mexico, “Vale!” they would respond “Qué vale que?” (“What’s worth what?”). So. I would stay away from a regionalism.
Well. I got that example from a site in Spain. So o o o o…who knows.
When I do telephone consultations with my engineers in Mexico (northern and central), Venezuela, and Argentina, I “get by” with “sí” and “mmm-hmmmm” and “okay.” Of course these are educated people that understand that Spanish isn’t my native language, and so they could just be excercising patience and aguantandome. Not sure what your situation is.
