The Spanish Sampler
Welcome to Dreambook, a nifty new free service from:
New Dream Network, Dreamhost, and Dreamservers!If you have a minute, please sign my Dreambook too!
| Name: | Josuah |
| E-mail address: | lolo@spaingrammar.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.spaingrammar.com |
| Comments: | Wow this web site is going to be very useful for me as I am living in Spain now! |
| Name: | victor |
| E-mail address: | jilamon@aol.com |
| Comments: | Very intresting material.I allready speak spanish nonetheless i feel that this is priceless info. |
| Name: | Tiara Davis |
| E-mail address: | babydolltiara@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Hey Armond. I have really enjoyed spanish 101. It's almost the end of the term. Sadness. I hope I am able to get into 102. We'll see.
I can't wait until I can go back and visit Mexico. I can't remember where I was exactly, all I know is it was just over the border. We enntered around Tusan AZ. But I had a lot of fun. It would be fun to go back, and be able to understand the language. Well I have to get going. See you around. |
| Name: | Zonnia IIngrahamZ |
| E-mail address: | zonnia35@msn.com |
| Name: | George Fredericks |
| E-mail address: | frederico2@yahoo.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://none |
| Comments: | Hello Senor Armand,
I like this varied website with all it includes. My favorite page is the family tree of Indo-European languages and the flowchart that goes with it. I admire your guitar playing. My 5 year-old daughter likes that Santa Claus on the Xmas page. Geo and Company, Fairfield, Iowa |
| Name: | Eric Van der Wyk |
| E-mail address: | eric@vanderwyk.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.myspace.com/kingtet |
| Comments: |
 |
| Name: | Richard M. Williams |
| E-mail address: | rmwilliams4@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | I think a five string guitar with no frets is called a vihuela,which evolved before the guitar. I saw one in a mariachi band many years ago in Virginia Beach. Also,I was wondering if 1-2 years of Spanish should be required for degrees in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, etc., considering the number of Spanish speaking residents in America. Keep up the good work. Áëàãîñëîâåíèå Richard |
| Name: | Armand A. Gagnon |
| E-mail address: | linguist29@comcast.net |
| Homepage URL: | http://thespanishsampler.com |
| Comments: | Hello Everybody out there in Cyber-Land who has taken the time to read my webpages and have signed in on my Guestbook here. I appreciate it so much! It is a pleasure for me, with the advent and recent popularity of Google, to be able to reach so many people worldwide. I have enjoyed and savored the numerous e-mails and the many kind comments about linguatics.com contained within them. Indeed, I have endeavored to trace the history of some of our world's treasured holidays in an objective and impartial manner as is feasible, free from any religious affiliations or prideful nationalistic fervor, found so often in many of our contemporary history textbooks. After all, the roots of words often contain a hidden, undeniable kernel of truth within them. I hope to stimulate interest in world languages, too, through my webpages. I also want to thank personally Susan Carkin of Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon for her having taken the time out of her busy schedule to read my webpages on Holidays thru Historiolinguistics and, especially, for her having mentioned my webpage in her letter of professional recommendation for me. I am always open to any feedback, comments, or questions anytime from anybody out there. I just began my latest holiday webpage entitled "New Year's Day Around the World", which should be a lot of fun to research and to write, coming up soon.
Mil y una gracias a todos ustedes de mi parte.... Merci tout le monde pour avoir lu mes pages ici.... Sincerely, Armand Gagnon Springfield, Oregon December of 2006 |
| Name: | Eric Perrenoud |
| Comments: | Hola Maestro,
Thought I'd finally check out your website. It's a good way to distract me from doing my tarea. It's been a pleasure having you as a professor at LCC. |
| Name: | Eric Van der Wyk |
| E-mail address: | eric@vanderwyk.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.kingtet.com |
| Comments: | Armand, your book is destined for success! I'm glad it's finally available. What serious student of Spanish is not going to cherish this?
love and light, King Tet |
| Name: | Liza Rosa-Diazq |
| E-mail address: | vida_integrity@yahoo.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.comcast.net/home.html |
| Comments: | Hola Senor Gagnon,
Thank you for correcting my tarea, and for giving me the opportunity to check out your web site. I am very impressed, and it seems that you have a big fan base. I happened to go to school with Jim Croce's son J.R. He was a very talented young boy when I knew him. He always went around school waring his grey trench coat, and dark sunglasses, playing the piano when ever the auditorium was open. I even remember the way he walked. Any way. I thought it interesting that you love instrument so much, particularly the guitar, and that you admire Jim Croce and his band. I will continue to explore your web site, I am excited to find out more. Take it easy, and see you in class next week. Caio! |
| Name: | Marwan Basmajian |
| E-mail address: | mbproducts@aol.com |
| Comments: | Awesome ghost story on Thanksgiving, should be published...A truly original short story. |
| Name: | Tennille Yamashita |
| E-mail address: | Tennilley@gmail.com |
| Comments: | Hola Armand!
I was just stopping by your website to say hi. I was in your spanish class last year. Your website has grown mucho since then! It is really great. I am down in California now and am planning on going to Spain in the summer to do an intensive language program. I'm planning on falling in love with the country and culture so I don't have to come back to Oregon! Keep up the good work. I hope your son and wife are doing fabulous. Have a great term Senor. |
| Name: | Em Echocat |
| E-mail address: | emecho@gmail.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.magikalfaces.com |
| Comments: | Hi Mr. Gagnon,
I am so impressed with your site. What a wonderful compiliation of material. I have yet to find a source that had so much history all in one place on the origins of 'Dias de los Muertos' and Halloween. Thank you for sharing this knowledge with the world and for your explainations that point out the differences between the pagan thoughts of the afterworld and the Christian ideas of hell. It is refreshing to find a site that I can agree with! Thank you for your work. Brightest blessings, Em |
| Name: | Floyd Simmons |
| E-mail address: | fsimmons79@hotmail.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://cgmsonline.tripod.com |
| Comments: | Dear A. Gagnon,
It is really informative and interesting the web pages you have written. Much of the Internet is one big billboard selling this or that, push this button to pay here, etc. Your site here is very educational and historically top-notch. Most of the world wide web is all business matters. Your Thanksgiving page really tells the Pilgrim story as it most likely actually was. Your Alaska web page doesn't candy-coat how the Eskimos have been mistreated. But most of all, I like your Halloween page the most. Who would have known that Halloween was a New Years celebration origianlly? The word roots and their derivations make this a unique History of the Holidays, not to be found anywhere that I can find. That red-headed boy with Santa and such adds a family, home-spun touch to your website too. I am not into Spanish, but I love the word histories you have exposed here. Great site! Good work! Floyd from Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Name: | Tracy Larson |
| E-mail address: | TLarson54190@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | I like the way the book turned out. I hope the book makes a lot of money for you and the family. Life should give you break. Life give you lemonds you make lemonaid... Work hard and get that book out there. The hard part is done, now marketing HARD??? or EEEASY ??? You decide !!!!!
Got It Made TLarson |
| Name: | Patricia Shade |
| E-mail address: | pmshade@charter.net |
| Comments: | Hi,
I really enjoy your class and am learning more spanish than I ever have before (not just lists of words etc.) I hope my tarea was better this last time. Learning to focus, and about "shifting gears" and all... Wow, I am going back to your Hopi report/essay to finish reading it, but I wanted to be sure to sign in. Pat Shade |
| Name: | Chuck Sanders |
| E-mail address: | sandersons2@earthlink.net |
| Homepage URL: | http:// NONE |
| Comments: | Hello Mr. Gagnon,
I did a GOOGLE search on the History of the Guitar and ran across your meticulously detailed historical account of the guitar, from its remotest of origins buried in antiquity thru the lute to the 5-string Renaissance guitar to our modern instrument. Your account here is the most complete and thorough anecdote I have found on the guitar thus far on the Internet. Cheers to you, my friend! I have been playing and perfoming on guitar for 20+ years now. I had never heard of Francesco Corbbetta before. Nice dedication to Jim Croce's lead guitarist Maury M. I had never known that this other guitarist was Jim's main back-up. Also, you made me aware of how Segovia never got involved in flanenco gypsy music, something I had never before realized. I saw Andres Segovia perform in Washington D.C. in 1979. You didn't mention Jimi Hendrix, however, but I guess you can't include every great guitarist out there. Thank you for the well researched history on the instrument. The other links on the Net mostly claim that there is little info on the remote history of the guitar. They should read your essay. Are you a guitarist too?. I'll check out your other webpages very soon. CS Martinsburg, West Virginia |
| Name: | Mary Muehleisen |
| E-mail address: | remembermaury@aol.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.maurymuehleisen.com |
| Comments: | Dear Armand,
I've visited your website many times, but this will be my first visit to your "Dreambook" guestbook. Beyond getting to know you through correspondence and phonecalls, it has been my pleasure to get to know you through your writings and the thoughts shared here by others. Perhaps one day we will meet. I hope so. If not, I am looking forward to being one of the first to purchase your upcoming book. Can't wait to learn to speak Spanish. Your friend, Mary |
| Name: | Richard M. Williams |
| E-mail address: | rmwilliams4@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | Really GOOD teachers are few and far between. I flunked Spanish in high school but done very well when I took it in college. One semester I had an Enlish teacher in high school who unknowingly gave me the courage to take Latin.When I went to college I took a year of German and later one semester of Russian,which I dropped due to it being a late evening class.Then I found my grade point average was too low to graduate.So I tried Spanish one last time in summer school (10 hours of work for 9 hours of credit). Graduated in 1962.Encourage ALL your students. |
| Name: | Tennille Yamashita |
| E-mail address: | Tennilley@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Hola Senor!
your web page is FANTASTIC!! how do you find the time to work on this?? it is very interesting, and im glad to see that someone has such a passion about thoughts/ideas/things such as these. Maybe one day you can teach a class on all of this stuff! it is VERY interesting. I would definitely take it! Keep up the good work!! see you in class!! |
| Name: | Preston Brandenburg |
| E-mail address: | brandenfamily@earthlink.net |
| Homepage URL: | http://none |
| Comments: | I happened to spot your SONG OF THE SOUTH essay on this website,about Brer Rabbit and Unca Remus, from Disney in 1946. I decided to check out the rest of the website that it reffered me to. My question is: why do you include this essay critiquing a film among your webpages which treat only the holidays and foreign languages? I noted too that you mention 1940s films in your About the Author section. Moving movie, haven't seen it in many years. I think I can understand some of the richness in our English language from the historical articles on word history your wrote. This is a good web find and thanks..Preston
Pocatello, Idaho |
| Name: | Salisbury Miles |
| E-mail address: | smtopaz@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | Greetings! I read your informative page on the dawn of Halloween and its prehistoric settings. I had not the slightest idea that All Hallowed Evening was originally a New Year's celebration by the Celts.The tones of autumn were well painted in the reading. Good job with it. I would like to know more of where jack-o-lanterns came from and their connection to a blinded Irish Jack and his pact with the devil. |
| Name: | Santa Claus |
| E-mail address: | santafm@myexcel.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.naturallysantainc.com |
| Comments: | Dear Armond: You are a constant source of great information. It has been my pleasure to share information with you over the years. Even with my over 1700 years of knowledge, I can still learn from a friend like you. Give my love to the family. Tristan must be taller than Mom by now.
|
| Name: | John W. Van Kerk |
| E-mail address: | vankerk42@yahoo.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.geocities.com/vankerk42 |
| Comments: | I am glad that you have included so many quotes on your page. I am no longer in the education field. I am a freelance translator. My research is now centered on trying to find English to Spanish computer terminology. |
| Name: | R.J.Wilkins |
| E-mail address: | canoeman2@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | Bravo! on your biting and sincere essay about corruption within academia.I like the play on words with "academic". I hold similar views myself, and have seen much the same nonsense in other HR situations, in different industries. I'll read your other pages as each holiday comes along thru the year. |
| Name: | Timothy Foust |
| E-mail address: | taf@concord.edu |
| Comments: | I must say that your website is very interesting. I suppose these are all examples of your writing, if so bravo, and how very interesting a lot of your points of view run parellel with my own. The spanish sampler is indeed a web find and i will look forward to more thorough investigation of the articles as I am able.
--Tim |
| Name: | Zach |
| E-mail address: | bluetongueskinks@wmconnect.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.bluetongueskinks.net |
| Comments: | Great site! Like your class too. |
| Name: | Charity |
| E-mail address: | wednesdaychild74 |
| Comments: | This is to a man who's passions for knowledge beyond the ho-hum teachings of today led him to search out a better way to pass on this passion. This is to a man who's ability to fluctuate his teaching styles to the numerous different learning styles of his students found an unbelievable common ground amongst them all. This is to a teacher who not only teaches he infects his students with his passion to truly learn. He changes lives beyond the classroom. You never forget a teacher like him he is a diamond amid a sea of coal. Thank You Armand |
| Name: | lucy |
| E-mail address: | lucy@lucyspage.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.lucyspage.com |
| Comments: | Hi, just a quick buzz to say how much i liked your site, keep up the good work, lucy :-) |
| Name: | Tara Allred |
| E-mail address: | t.alright@attbi.net |
| Comments: | I like the day of the dead page, good work. |
| Name: | Bernie Lee Peoples |
| E-mail address: | bernieleepeoples@msn.com |
| Homepage URL: | http://soontocome.? |
| Comments: | Miestro Armand, you are the Lingoman! You are the writer of the books, not I, so I shant write one now! May you obtain everything you desire that life has to offer, as I'm convinced you will, do to your tireless efforts on behalf of others. Carry-on! Lingoman! |
| Name: | Christiana Lobo |
| E-mail address: | lobo@yahoo.com |
| Comments: | Hey Armand! Thanks for being a good friend to me and my mom.Thank you for having Tristan.Im glad that I came over and asked to play with Tristan. Thanks for taking me places. Thanks for letting me go camping with you, Lisa and Tristan.It was fun.I hope I get to go again sometime. Tristan is really fun to play with. He is sometimes nice to play with when he isn't in a bad mood. Kiki Rose is my favorite cat, then Pumpkin, then Cinnamon, then Midnight.I like Kiki because she is a cool color.Then I like Pumpkin cause he matches the HALLOWEEN colors.Then I like Cinnamon cause she looks like cinnamon. Then I like Midnight cause he looks like MIDNIGHT or HALLOWEEN .I like your yard cause it has a lot of SHADE.Well, got to GO! BYE. Love you all .BYE BYE |
| Name: | Mike Holland |
| E-mail address: | mholland@earhlink.net |
| Comments: | I too am from California, so I read the webpage on "California Dreamin'". Pretty cool with the Lewis & Clark history, then the Hollywood scene moving up North too. I like your sense of humor, sort of tongue-and-cheek! The tone of your essay, comparing CA with the Pacific Northwest, smacks of short story writer O.Henry. Hilarious in the end. Neat website!! Good info on Spanish! |
| Name: | Elle |
| E-mail address: | elle@andalusian-horses.org |
| Homepage URL: | http://www.andalusian-horses.org |
| Comments: | Lovely web site. Enjoyable. |
| Name: | Amanda N Heaven |
| E-mail address: | aheaven@juno.com |
| Comments: | Wow, Armand, you've got me excited about the upcoming book. It is wonderful the way you are truly excited about helping other people learn. Glad to have met you. Great website! |
| Name: | Omar Brandon |
| E-mail address: | brandonomsy@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Mr Gagnon. Very informative website here you have. That "sample" from your Spanish book that you sent me really helped me to get through those tough bilingual exams I had to take. Thanks a million! My favorite page is the "California Dreaming" one, though it's the only webpage on your site not about word histories or other languages or Spanish. The various quotes from famous people are fascinating, especially yours. When does the book come out?
Take care and keep on teaching. Best Wishes, O. Brandon |
| Name: | Tami Root |
| E-mail address: | princess_buggles@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | You have a great web page! I really enjoyed your class last term and can't wait for the rest of this term! Muchas Gracis Senor! |
| Name: | Dan Bartolini |
| E-mail address: | bartoman2@attbi.com |
| Comments: | Armand, beautiful web page! I found the writings to be very interesting. I also find it very helpful to understand my professors various backgrounds. I am looking forward to learning from you.
"Muchos Gracias", Dan Bartolini |
| Name: | Lindsay Fletchall |
| E-mail address: | nativeamwoman@aol.com |
| Comments: | Nice website. Cant't wait until I can get my hands on your book. |
| Name: | Heidi Gray |
| E-mail address: | hidnmrkspants@prodigy.net |
| Comments: | Senor Gagnon!! Your page is very awesome and so informative. Thanks so much for coming back to WOU this year and I hope you continue to teach here!! Your approach to teaching the Spanish is language is like no others, very unique!! Thank you so much for continuing my love for the Spanish language. I hope to continue taking classes from you, here at Western.
Thanks again, Heidi |
| Name: | Shanna Elliott |
| E-mail address: | elliotts00@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Armand, Your web site is great! I will be sure to visit
again and again. You are an amazing teacher with a great sense of humor. Keep up the great work! |
| Name: | Daniela Renken |
| E-mail address: | drenken3@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | Armand..Nice website. I really love your Spanish 102 class at LCC. The college, and we students too, are so lucky to have you. They are crazy not to hire you on full-time and to teach 2nd year Spanish to us. Gracias, Daniela |
| Name: | Wesley Carroway |
| E-mail address: | wcarroway@usa.net |
| Homepage URL: | http://none |
| Comments: | Señor Gagnon: I scanned all of your webpages on this site.
The history & origins of Christmas and other "holy days", as you put them, are interesting, especially from a lingüistic historical perspective. All of those interrelated roots of words makes it fascinating to try and comprehend. Thanks for the samples of your book "The Spanish Sampler". You have definately put the material across in a different light. Most other textbooks are hum- drum, to say the least! Let me know if I can order a copy off of your website when it comes out. Muchas gracias, profesor. An aspiring Spanish-speaker... WC |
| Name: | Ryan Garbutt |
| E-mail address: | RjGarb@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | hey Armand how are things? liked the site, very informative
and easy to read and understand. see ya in class ryan |
| Name: | Georgia C. Reynolds |
| E-mail address: | georgia.reynolds@mciworld.com |
| Comments: | Armand, I am so proud of you as a teacher. You are
breaking all of us students who struggled with the memorization of Spanish vocabulary by following your hearts' teaching methods. You will always have a place in my heart as a teacher with integrity. Thank you. |
| Name: | Salina Wilde |
| E-mail address: | sandler20@netscape.net |
| Comments: | Professor Gagnon, this is a beautiful web site and you are a
wonderful teacher. Thanks so much for coming to WOU and I look forward to continuing my Spanish studies with you! |
| Name: | Samantha Fleming |
| E-mail address: | SmallJane@hotmail.com |
| Comments: | your web page is awsome!! There are alot of things that i
have learned that i did know that through your style of teaching thank you so much!! Samantha :) |
| Name: | Kristi Link |
| E-mail address: | umberolio@aol.com |
| Comments: | Well, as a new student at Western and in your class, I am at
once frightened of spanish and interested to see how I fare in your class. It was fun to be in a class with you. Now I think it will be fun to take a class from you. Great idea to watch a spanish speaking news broadcast. |
| Name: | Andrea |
| E-mail address: | wizardoz@aasp.net |
| Homepage URL: | http://wizardoz.home.att.net/index.html |
| Comments: | Armand,
Your work is vey interesting, enlightening, and inspiring. It is a pleasure to read your views and opinions. I am especially fond of the summary,"Language is habit, coupled with environment". Thank You. Please continue and write me when you publish additions. I await your book with rested eyes and an open mind. |
[ Sign my Dreambook | Back to The Spanish Sampler ]