I haven't come across one for Spanish, and one of the reasons I'm writing this is the hope that one of you out there will tell me about some, but I have read some others. Here's one which has quite a lot to say about learning languages, but especially Russian ... it's about lots of other things too and is a terrific read ... here it is ...
The wonderful Elif Batuman , a Turkish speaker with excellent English, learned Russian in the USA and has a lot to say about her struggles.Here she is at a lowish point, and she is wondering why she is struggling to learn another language when she knows two already ...
" I did feel it was somewhat wasteful of me to study Russian literature instead of Turkish literature. I had repeatedly been told in linguistics classes that all languages were universally complex. Didn't that mean that all languages were equally interesting? And I already knew Turkish; it had happened without any work, like a gift, and here I was tossing it away to break my head on a bunch of declensions that came effortlessly to anyone who happened to grow up in Russia."
I think we've all been there ... one thing that motivates me when I study Welsh is this.... I'm doing something pretty badly and slowly, but there's not all that many people that do it at all .... whereas when I study Spanish and French, I am always aware of the fact that I'm doing something not too well that billions of people can already do brilliantly! Ouch!!! That hurts .. and it's a tricky argument to break down.
Later she goes to Samarkand to study Uzbek ...... here's a bit about her textbook ...
Muffazar's (her teacher) teaching materials consisted of a 1973 Soviet textbook that presented the Uzbek language exclusively through the lens of cotton production : a valuable lesson in how monomania structures the world. The unit about months and seasons was about the months and seasons in which cotton was sown or harvested. The unit about families was about the roles played by different family members in the production of cotton.
" Rustam works in a cotton mill all year round, but his younger sister, Nargiza, is still a student. She picks cotton only in the summer, with the other students."
It seems to me that nowadays all school Spanish textbooks present the Spanish language through the lens of parties, beaches, shops and meeting the opposite sex.... preferably all four at once.
So ... there will be more in this fascinating series .... but surely somebody out there will be able to tell me about at least one book that does the job for the Spanish language.. you can use the comments box. Meanwhile, here's the brilliant Vetusta Morla with "Lo que te hace grande" from Mapas" ...
no entienda de cómo y por qué.
Tal vez, lo insignificante ..
se ha visto en un barco de nuez.
Tal vez, lo que te hace grande ..
no sea difícil de ver.
Tal vez, cada guiño esconda ..
la llave que intentas tener.
Ya ves, se nos queda grande ..
y hay riesgo de alarma otra vez.
Tal vez, cuando todo amaine ..
la suerte nos vuelva a vencer.
Y en el vaivén de planes sin marcar ..
cae sobre ti la bomba universal;
no hay colisión, ni ley, ni gravedad
que te pueda hacer caer .. aunque tiren a dar.
Tal vez, las paredes ladren ..
y el techo empiece a correr,
dirán que cayó el gigante
y un charco se ha abierto a tus pies.
Tal vez, lo que te hace grande ..
no entienda de cómo y por qué.
Tal vez, lo que me hace grande ..
es tenerte delante otra vez.
Y en el vaivén de planes sin marcar ..
cae sobre ti la bomba universal;
pero no hay colisión, ni ley, ni gravedad
que te pueda hacer caer .. aunque tiren a dar.
Suena un tambor, retumba en el umbral ..
viene hacia aquí, me atrae como un imán.
No sé lo qué te hace grande,
no entiendo de cómo y por qué.
Suena un tambor, retumba en el umbral ..
viene hacia aquí, me atrae como un imán.
Pero no hay ecuación ni formula genial
que te ayude a comprender .. lo que asoma detrás