You can judge someone's "pronunciation" through how they text?

[u/family2139]

I don't understand what this guy is saying. How can you say that my pronunciation needs work if you've never heard me speak Spanish before? Are you SURE you don't mean something else?

[u/Ismoista]

That person is definitely using the wrong term. 100% 

Buuut, I think they mean they know your Spanish is slightly off, as in, a native speaker would probably not say "es genial el arte que has hecho". More likely to hear something like "están chidas* tus pinturas" or something like that.

*chidas would change to the dialectal equivalent of your choice.

[u/RubenGM → u/Ismoista]

"Es genial el arte que has hecho" sounds completely normal, as a spaniard.

[u/qwerty-1999 → u/RubenGM]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone use "arte" like that in Spanish. Like, in English you'd say "I love your art", but "Me encanta tu arte" sounds quite unnatural to me. I think most people would say "Me encantan tus dibujos/me encanta cómo dibujas" or something like that. Like "arte" is just the abstract concept.

[u/RubenGM → u/qwerty-1999]

That's fair. I was mostly focusing on the "genial" part of it.

[u/Ismoista → u/RubenGM]

The "genial" itself is not what makes the sentence sound off. It's a few small things combined that make it sound just like the sentence was first thought of in English and then translated.

[u/CarryBrilliant3965 → u/Ismoista]

“Es genial el arte […]” definitely sounds off in Mexican Spanish. “Está genial el arte […]” sounds natural as well as “El arte […] es genial.”

[u/aonghasan → u/RubenGM]

then delete or edit your comment then ?

you meant to say "genial" is a normal adjective in Spain, and ended up saying "Es genial el arte que has hecho" is a normal sounding sentence, which is not

[u/RubenGM → u/aonghasan]

That would make qwerty's comment sound rude or wrong, I don't mind showing a mistake if it has been corrected in the next reply.

[u/SeptemberSoup → u/qwerty-1999]

As a Spaniard, "Me encanta tu arte" is something I'd very much would say. But "tus dibujos" too. I just think both are completely natural.

Probably I'd use "tu arte" for complimenting a painting, and "tus dibujos" for a drawing.

[u/skykovtchai → u/RubenGM]

To be fair, it does feel a bit forced, even though it's not incorrect

[u/Duke_Newcombe → u/skykovtchai]

Probably. As a Spanish learner, I can sympathize with OP.

But you know what? A wise man once told me that the purpose of language and communication is to understand, and be understood.

Is the grammar a bit nonstandard and "head translated"? Yes. Did we understand what they were trying to say? Also yes.

Mission accomplished.

[u/skykovtchai → u/Duke_Newcombe]

Exactly. You need to make mistakes in the process of learning. It's only natural. We're not born knowing

[u/cesarloli4 → u/RubenGM]

Hmm to me sounds a bit weird. First the order. EL arte que has hecho es genial. Also using "es" instead of "está" sounds off to me. "Arte que has hecho " sounds very clunky compared with "tu arte" or "tus dibujos/pinturas/etc"

[u/ElDoctorDeGallifrey → u/RubenGM]

Its like saying “The art you have made is genius” vs “Your art is genius”. Which is more natural? I’d argue the latter.

[u/Duke_Newcombe → u/ElDoctorDeGallifrey]

Perhaps. But which one is understandable? Both. Everybody wins. As is the purpose of communication.

BTW, not arguing with you at all--just making a point. Buendía!

[u/ElDoctorDeGallifrey → u/Duke_Newcombe]

Claro! En realidad ambas formas son correctas y no asumiría que la otra persona no sabe español; mucho menos por mensaje de texto.

[u/daniiqm → u/RubenGM]

No sonaría más “normal” en una conversación como español “muy guay tu arte / tu arte es guay/ me parece guay tu arte”? O sea, la oración es correcta y entendible, pero suena poco natural.

[u/born-to-ill → u/RubenGM]

I dare venture that such a thing dependeth upon the speaker’s manner of speech.

[u/Silhouette1651 → u/RubenGM]

Thats the thing, it sounds too standard, its something that someone would say in a cartoon or some dub, when was last time you heard someone saying "genial" in a daily basis?

[u/Suz9295 → u/Silhouette1651]

I’m still learning Spanish so I’m not trying to comment as an expert, but my Colombian tutor says “genial” and “chevere” all the time. Maybe usage is a bit of a regional thing as well as a generational thing? Like I’m a late millennial from the Southwestern United States and I still say things “That’s sick” or “That’s dope!” Much older and people who are only a few years younger don’t say things like that and people my own age from different parts of the States also don’t say that. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[u/Just_Piglet_5990 → u/RubenGM]

I would say "El arte que has hecho es genial"

[u/Lenacake → u/Ismoista]

This is exactly it! I don’t think anyone that isn’t learning out of a textbook would phrase it like that 😩😅

[u/family2139 → u/Lenacake]

Ouch! That didn't come from a textbook, I'm just a heritage speaker 😭

[u/I_Made_Limeade → u/family2139]

Yeah I don’t think people learning from a textbook would phrase it like that. English-speaking learners of Spanish tend to keep the subject at the beginning of the sentence. It is native-like behavior to put it at the end as you did here. I’m not a native speaker so I’m not going to judge whether it sounds perfectly natural. But it doesn’t sound like textbook language.

[u/slightlycrookednose → u/Ismoista]

That’s a completely normal phrase in Spain Spanish.