What a lot of Babel!

Even when talking the same language it’s frequently hard to make oneself understood which is what makes the new television show “Marbella Babel” so very much fun.

The show is hosted by Enrique Moreno, usually presenting sports on RTV Marbella, but due to the current situation and a great idea, he is now guiding us through basic touristic phrases, in Spanish, French, Italian, English, German and Chinese.

It’s an exceedingly fun show and hopefully, thanks to the intense repetition, or attempts at repetition, a few words will sink in. Us Brits aren’t renowned for our language skills; I’m not sure if it’s due to lack of inherent ability or lack of intent, but for those who do like to dabble or would like to try, this show is for you!  If you just want to laugh at our ridiculous attempts, particularly when it comes to the German and Chinese, likewise.

Each Friday evening at 10 pm on RTV Marbella tune in for a new instalment.  So far we’ve recorded 5 episodes and each one is funnier than the previous as we get more ambitious and the phrases get more involved.

Ana María Taburni is Italian and has been living in Marbella for just over a year and makes speaking the language sound absolutely delicious!  Marie Van der Gucht of Unique Marbella, together with her baby Lola, are teaching us French and it’s quite adorable to hear her French accent regardless of the language; who doesn’t love the French accent? Sam Ho, of Sam Ho photography, is in charge of the Chinese – Mandarin Chinese – which provides for much amusement and possibly more than one insult as the rest of us try and copy what he says.  The emphasis and sound of each letter can change the meaning dynamically as I understand it so our pronunciation on some occasions could be quite offensive and also can sound quite “naughty” in English.

Dietmar Förster, the presenter of the German language radio show “INFOMAGAZIN” on 107.6 FM RTV Marbella is in charge of the German, which I have to say, is as hard as the Chinese and equally hysterical.

Our host, Enrique, makes for the final cherry on the top.  Self-professed as being inept at speaking languages his efforts are all the more endearing and undeniably entertaining. As of week two we also have all the phrases written on the screen to help identify what was originally being said in each language as we realised quite early on, if you have to rely on our interpretations, we might laugh a lot but might not learn much.

We all hope you join us and we’d love to have your feedback if it’s positive!  If you’d like to take part in the show feel free to record yourself joining in with the phrases and send it to us and we might just include them in a programme!

Written by

Nicole King

One of Marbella's most glamorous residents, Nicole King offers a taste of the best of what's going on in the Costa del Sol.

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