HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE: CARRYING ON THE TRADITION By Sharon Flannery   Raul, and his two beautiful daughters, Tracy and Yessenia (7 and 6 years of age, respectively) are the perfect examples of two generations trying to sustain their beautiful language. You see, Raul moved to the United States when he was 21 years of age, that was over 15 years ago. And since that time he married and has his two daughters, which he is trying to instill the importance of carrying on the tradition of his language. Raul, is fortunate because his family lives here in Ft. Myers and he speaks with them in Spanish on a daily basis. However, his two jobs require him to speak and write in English. Raul estimates that he speaks Spanish/English - - 35 percent/65 percent on a daily basis. When his daughters come home from school, Raul speaks to them in Spanish daily, so that they do not forget the language. Tracy and Yessenia attend a public elementary school and they do not speak Spanish as much as Raul would like them to. He tells me that Yessenia's school mates and friends call her Jessica because they cannot pronounce Yessennia. When I attempt to speak to his daughters in the Spanish Language, I might add I know poco-poco (a little), they look at me smile and giggle. I have tried to tell the girls how lucky they are to know another language and never to forget it because it will help them later in life and something they will cherish later, as well. In the Spanish language there are words that are considered feminine and masculine. For example, you would say "bonita" about or to a girl that she was pretty and a masculine version is "bonito". Also, the word brother is "hermano" and sister is "hermana". Generally, if the vowel ends in a "o" it is masculine and ends with an "a" it is feminine. I am told that depending on the area you are from the pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling varies with different dialects - - traditional Spanish and Quechua. Native Quechua speakers are from the mountain area of Peru; whereas the traditional language is spoken in other parts of Peru. I suppose it is almost like the differences of people from the south, north and mid-west parts of the United States. Many people from other provinces are sometimes surprised when they talk with each other and find how varied their language is. For the purposes of pronunciation for English speakers, the vowel sounds are similar to: ay = eye aw = ou t ey = ei ght iy = ea t oy = Oi nk uy = whea t Consonant sounds are hard to learn. If you sound like a German, making hard consonant sounds while clearing your throat, you are getting close. "ll" and ~n are special letters from the Spanish alphabet; "ll" has an ly sound as in William; ~n sounds like the first n in onion. The accented syllable is similar to Spanish, (with the stress on the second to the last syllable, unless there is an accent mark), except for words that end with "Y". Raul learned English when he attended college after he moved to this country. He tells me the hardest thing to do in English is to write it clearly. He speaks and understands the English language very well. The major difference, of course, is the use of the verb and the adjective, that is the fact that in English we place the adjective first and the noun second. Raul and his daughters, Tracy and Yessenia exemplify the importance of carrying on the tradition of their language. I am sure it is difficult trying to hold on to that tradition, while at the same time trying to do your job, go to school and socialize with friends in a country whose language is different then their heritage.