| From his late teens Adam Kevil has always had an interest in the Spanish language. Picking up phrases and words from friends and acquaintances in the oilfields of south Texas. He decided early on that he wanted to live in Mexico, part time, someday and that has kept his interest in the Spanish language and culture alive. After moving to Colorado and becoming an auctioneer, in 1986, he hadn’t given much thought to auctioneering in Spanish But, later began to realize that there were more and more Spanish speaking customers at the auctions that he was selling and that a real need for this specialized skill was taking shape. That is when he started teaching himself the numbers in Spanish. He also took some Spanish classes to be able to communicate a little better and memorized several auction phrases that he thought would be useful. When a “bilingual auctioneer” certification course became available, at World Wide College of Auctioneering, he took it, and repeated the class when it came to Colorado in Oct. of the same year. The certification focused on the numbers and plenty of necessary auction terms and phrases, but he continued to try to learn the language through classes and more importantly, through Spanish speaking friends that he had made at the auctions where he was selling. Is he conversationally fluent? Well, “conversationally fluent” seems to be a highly subjective term. Here’s what Adam has to say about this. “I feel that I am still very early in the grasping of this language but, I’ve known some that claimed to be conversationally fluent that have asked me for interpretational help. I do not consider myself fluent in any way. What I will say is that I get along okay. Especially when I have to. I do occasionally need to ask for help when trying to explain something more complex than my limited comprehension, but there is almost always a customer that truly is fluent in both languages attending the auction that is happy to help”.
Adam’s style of selling bilingually is a little different from most. He sells in both languages throughout the entire sale, not just at the end when things slow down. Does it slow down the auction? He doesn’t think so. “When I’m in the mode of really selling bilingually, like at an impounded vehicle auction, I use the numbers in one language as filler words for the other, saying the numbers clearly in each language concurrently. Everyone can understand and no one feels left behind“. Adam sells auctions in English and Spanish several times a month, from intensive bilingual auctions like impounded vehicles and government surplus to antique, estate and decorative arts auctions. |
| Adam Kevil, The Bilingual Auctioneer |
| Adam Kevil Bilingual Auctioneer 719-660-9423 adam@adamkevil.com |