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Por qué habla español en los Estados Unidos?

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Por qué habla español en los Estados Unidos?

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El hombre en este video es un estadunidense quien aprendió español cuando tenía doce años. Él explica la historia de español en los Estados Unidos, y por qué se ha extendido por el país. Lo encontré interesante porque aprendí muchas cosas sobre la influencia de los españoles y su idioma que no sabía antes. También él dice que es posible vivir en algunos lugares en los Estados Unidos sin hablar ingles porque el español es tan prevalente.

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¿Por Qué Se Habla Español en Estados Unidos?

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Encontré este video en YouTube y me encantó. La oradora explica la importancia y aplicación de alternancia de códigos en vida diaria especialmente por las minorías. Explica que alternancia de códigos es más que palabras, pero incluye cultura, comportamiento, y jerga también. Este video se extiende mi entendimiento de alternancia de códigos y su impacto en vida.

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The Cost of Code Switching | Chandra Arthur | TEDxOrlando

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Este video explica la fenómeno de Spanglish específicamente en Miami. El chico enseña jerga de Spanglish que se usan en Miami y también demuestra como habla en Spanglish correctamente. Me interesa porque para él esta patrón de habla es intencional. Su español también tiene el acento del Cuba porque hay muchos cubanos en Florida. Pero la cosa más interesante es el efecto de español en palabras de inglés por ejemplo "irregardless" y "suposably" hacer nuevas palabras únicas a Spanglish.

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SPANGLISH: THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF MIAMI

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Este es un artículo académico que explora cómo ingles ha afectado los españoles cada día. El autor explica que ingles se extiende en muchos aspectos de vida incluyendo trabajo, academia, y comunicaciones interpersonales. El artículo me interesa porque yo podría aplicar los observaciones a me tiempo en España. Como un estadounidense es fácil pensar que ingles y español conocer solo entre en el hemisferio occidental, pero las idiomas tiene mucha interacción por todo el mundo.

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Cuantas personas hablan Guaraní?

a) 1 million
b) 500, 000
c) 4 millones
d) 200, 000

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Este artículo aborda una pregunta filosófico, complicado, la que muchas expertos de lingüística dudan todavía. Qué es la distinción entre una idioma y una dialecto? En una manera sucinta y informativa la autora define una lengua, y como es diferente que un dialecto. Da reglas claras y aplicarlas al español y su dialectos. Me ayuda entender las diferencias más bien y me da una manera evaluar por mi mismo.

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La diferencia entre los conceptos de lengua y dialecto es una cuestión que, desde siempre, ha planteado muchas dudas entre filólogos y lingüísticas. Esto es debido, entre otras razones, a la dificultad de establecer los límites entre ambos términos: ¿cuándo un dialecto pasa a convertirse en lengua?, ¿cuántos dialectos puede tener una lengua? o ¿en qué momento un dialecto pasa a convertirse en una lengua? son algunos de los interrogantes que surgen.

Por otra parte, es muy frecuente que en estos conceptos se entremezclen cuestiones estrictamente lingüísticas con algunos aspectos económico y políticos. En esta lección de unProfesor te explicaremos cuáles son las diferencias entre lengua y dialecto atendiendo a los factores lingüísticos y usando como ejemplo la lengua española y algunos de los dialectos más antiguos de la Península Ibérica.

¿Que es un dialecto?

Siguiendo lo enunciado por el filólogo y dialectólogo Manuel Alvar, un dialecto es aquel "sistema de signos desgajado de una lengua común, viva o desaparecida; normalmente, con una concreta limitación geográfica, pero sin una fuerte diferenciación frente a otros de origen común". Así, también se consideran dialectos todas aquellas variantes lingüísticas que no poseen las características necesarias para llegar a ser lenguas.

No todos los dialectos se desarrollan y evolucionan de la misma manera. Algunos, como el castellano, por ejemplo, con el transcurso de los siglos se convierten en lenguas, mientras que otros, como el aragonés o el leonés, permanecen como tal. En su origen, el castellano, al igual que el aragonés o el leonés, surge de una fragmentación progresiva del latín.

La diferencia radica en que el castellano, de la mano del rey Alfonso X el Sabio, pasó a ser la lengua oficial de la cancillería; es decir, la lengua en la que se redactaban todos los documentos reales, en detrimento del latín. A partir de este momento, el castellano se convierte en la lengua de la cultura y el saber científico y administrativo del siglo XIII. Podemos decir que en esta época se desarrolla un interés lingüístico sin precedentes, que tiene como consecuencia la normalización gráfica del castellano, el cual adquiere un prestigio que relega a un segundo plano al resto de dialectos.

Por tanto, hoy en día, entendemos por dialecto aquella variante lingüística que presenta una serie de peculiaridades fonéticas, morfológicas o sintácticas, que suele desarrollarse en una zona delimitada geográficamente y que no plantea dificultades en la comprensión frente a otras variedades lingüísticas cercanas. Por ejemplo, el andaluz, el murciano o el canario son dialectos del castellano.

En este vídeo de unPROFESOR vamos a descubrirte el origen y la historia de la lengua castellana.

¿Qué es una lengua?

Según Manuel Alvar, una lengua es aquel "sistema lingüístico del que se vale una comunidad hablante y que se caracteriza por estar fuertemente diferenciado, por poseer un alto grado de nivelación, por ser vehículo de una importante tradición literaria y, en ocasiones, por haberse impuesto a sistemas lingüísticos de su mismo origen".

Partiendo de esta definición el castellano es una lengua porque, en primer lugar, cuenta con un gran número de hispanohablantes que se comunican a través de ella. En segundo lugar, el español se diferencia de manera clara y notable con otras lenguas como el portugués o el francés. Asimismo, cuenta con una normalización lingüística basada en los preceptos de organismos creados para velar por el desarrollo lingüístico de esta variedad.

Por ejemplo, la Real Academia Española (RAE) o la Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (ASALE) tienen como función principal cuidar y proteger el uso de la lengua española, creando gramáticas y ortografías que señalen la normativa base que deben seguir tanto la lengua como sus variedades.

Por último, es importante señalar que, de igual modo, el castellano se considera una lengua por contar con una excepcional producción literaria, con obras como el Quijote, una de las obras cumbre de la literatura universal de todos los tiempos.

En este vídeo sabrás cómo se forman las palabras en español y los procesos lingüísticos que hay para la ampliación de la lengua.

Diferencia entre lengua y dialecto

En resumen podemos decir que una lengua puede estar constituida por varios dialectos. La principal diferencia entre los conceptos de lengua y dialecto es que, mientras que las lenguas poseen rasgos y características propias que las diferencian entre sí, los dialectos no presentan diferencias que impidan la comunicación; por ejemplo, un hablante que viva en Extremadura y hable el dialecto extremeño puede comunicarse sin grandes inconvenientes con un hablante de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria que utilice el dialecto canario.

Además, las lenguas tienen una gramática organizada y estructurada en todos sus niveles (ortografía, sintaxis, morfología) mientras que los dialectos no presentan ese grado de estandarización lingüística.

Y, por último, las lenguas son habladas por un gran número de personas frente a los dialectos, los cuales suelen emplearse en un reducido espacio geográfico por un número limitado de hablantes.

Si deseas leer más artículos parecidos a Diferencias entre lengua y dialecto, te recomendamos que entres en nuestra categoría de Gramática y Lingüística.

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La diferencia entre los conceptos de lengua y dialecto es una cuestión que, desde siempre, ha planteado muchas dudas entre filólogos y lingüísticas. Esto es debido, entre otras razones, a la dificultad de establecer los límites entre ambos términos: ¿cuándo un dialecto pasa a convertirse en lengua?, ¿cuántos dialectos puede tener una lengua?

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Cuando hablamos y leímos que hay diferentes lenguas de señas estaba fascinado. No me había ocurrido que existiría más que un idioma para toda la gente sorda. Me gusta este video porque muestra las diferencias entre señales en inglés y español. Creo que es interesante porque son similares a las hablas de inglés y español. Mientras hay diferencias entre los dos, hay semejanzas también.

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American vs Spanish Sign Language: Beginners Vocab

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Este es un video que describe la alcanza del español en el mundo. Tiene estadísticas que muestran el crecimiento, poder, y influenza de la idioma por el mundo. Hay más que 500 millones de personas que hablan español en todo el planeta, y es segunda solo al chino. Elegí este video porque va más allá de las estadísticas y explica cómo el español tiene valor económico. Creo que es crucial a entender todas las implicaciones y beneficios de hablando el español.

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Guaraní es una idioma indígena que tiene más que cuatro millones hablantes en el sur américa. Hay hablantes en muchas países como partes de Brasil, partes de Argentina y claro que sí Paraguay. En Paraguay es una idioma co-oficial con el español. Baja es un video de una mujer hablando el guaraní. Dice algunas palabras como "pero" y "familia" las que son reconocibles.

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Este articulo sintetiza los clasificaciones de actos de habla. Describe cada categoría y proviene un ejemplo. Es muy simple y me gusta un otro definición de las clasificaciones, así que puedo entender más bien. Tiene también una gráfica útil, la que muestra cómo la información está relacionado. Para mí esta gráfica es el parte más útil porque me ayuda a entender las relaciones entre la terminología y el uso práctico.

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Los actos de habla, cuando se realizan mediante una oración gramatical correcta, implica un compromiso con el entorno. Lo más habitual es entablar el acto de habla para solicitar o comunicar una información, expresar gusto o disgusto, disculparse, agradecer, invitar, rogar, o incluso expresar indiferencia...

El propio acto de entablar una comunicación oral con otras personas implica adoptar una postura expresiva, utilizando un lenguaje natural sujeto a ciertas reglas, y que puede estar cargado de distintos elementos emocionales, que se interpretan de manera subjetiva.

A la hora de clasificar los diferentes actos de habla, encontramos tres niveles elementales:

a - Acto locutivo: Que consiste en expresar nuestra información mediante el habla. Hace referencia al propio texto y las propias palabras que son comunicadas.

b - Acto ilocutivo: Que recoge la intención del hablante o la finalidad de lo que quiere conseguir. Como hemos explicado anteriormente, toda locución tiene detrás una intención, que puede ser el simple hecho de transmitir una información, o de pedirla, expresar un sentimiento...etc.

c- Acto perlocutivo: Se conoce como acto perlocutivo a la repuesta obtenida por el acto del habla. Tras las palabras y la intención enviada, se interpreta el efecto conseguido o la reacción causada,

Cuando el acto locutivo y el ilocutivo coinciden y reflejan la misma intención, se dice que el acto de habla es directo. Por ejemplo:

"Ven que quiero darte un abrazo". La locución y la intención es la de conseguir el abrazo.

Mientras, que se conoce como acto de habla indirecto a aquel que utiliza oraciones diferentes al objetivo que trata de alcanzar. Por ejemplo:

"El calefactor está tan alto que no puedo estudiar". En este caso, la locución parece querer transmitir una información, cuando en realidad, indirectamente, lo que se quiere lograr es que la persona que recibe la información tenga un "acto perlocutivo" que consiste en bajar la temperatura, o apagar el calefactor.

Con toda esta información previa, ya podemos clasificar los distintos tipos de actos de habla en función de la intención y dela finalidad buscada:
1 - Representativos o asertivos:
El locutor puede afirmar con seguridad, puede mostrar su conformidad o disconformidad, corrigiendo algún aspecto, o directamente negando con rotundidad. Por ejemplo:
"Claro que si, por supuesto" o "De ninguna manera, no me parece adecuado"
2 - Actos directivos o apelativos:

El emisor ordena mediante el acto de habla que el oyente efectué algún tipo de acción determinada. Que puede ser responder a una pregunta, o directamente ejecutar la acción. Por ejemplo:
"¿Sabes si el profesor ha llegado?" o "Pásame la sal"
3 - Acto compromisorio:

El hablante mediante el acto de habla se compromete a cumplir con algún tipo de acción, obligación o propósito, y asume un compromiso, lo cumpla o no. Por ejemplo:
"Ya lo hago yo" o "Me he equivocado, no volverá a suceder". 4 - Acto declarativo:
La persona que habla se apoya en sus propias palabras para conmemorar un acto que simboliza un cambio o una nueva disposición. Para ello, el hablante, además debe tener la suficiente autoridad como para conseguir su propósito. Por ejemplo:
"Yo te nombro caballero de la orden del Temple" o "Yo os declaro marido y mujer".
5 - Acto expresivo:

El emisor comunica su propio estado anímico, afectivo o emocional, dejando fluir sus sentimientos e interioridades. Por ejemplo:
"No me siento bien" o "Estoy feliz de verte".

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Los actos de habla , cuando se realizan mediante una oración gramatical correcta, implica un compromiso con el entorno. Lo más habitual es entablar el acto de habla para solicitar o comunicar una información, expresar gusto o disgusto, disculparse, agradecer, invitar, rogar, o incluso expresar indiferencia...

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Un concepto desconocido, el deixis es un poco raro y abstracto. Pienso que este video es hace un buen trabajo de explicando el concepto de deixis en todo y cada categoría de los deixis. Habla sobre algunos tipos de deixis, como deixis social, que nosotros no cubrimos en clase, pero esta categoría de deixis me ayuda a distinguir deixis personal más bien. El video es corto, simple, directo, y un buen revista.

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Elegí esta imagen porque condensa mucha información en un formato simple y claro. Creo que es un buen resumen de la información y me ayuda a recordar las relaciones. También tiene ejemplos para cada relación los que son útiles para mí a hacer nuevos ejemplos. Tiene otros partes, pero enfoqué en la columna centra.

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Este artículo da más información sobre el origen de los apellidos. Describe cuatro fuentes de apellidos y su significados. Es interesante aprender sobre los nombres porque son identificadores de nosotros y contribuyen a la identidad. Aprendí que muchos apellidos fueron usados como descripciones de rasgos o geografía para identificar personas.

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Have you ever wondered about your Spanish last name and how it came to be? Spanish surnames ( apellidos) first came into use around the twelfth century, as populations began to expand to the point where it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same first name.

Spanish surnames generally fall into one of four categories:

Patronymic & Matronymic Surnames

Based on a parent's first name, this category of surnames includes some of the most common Hispanic last names.

These Hispanic surnames originated as a way to distinguish between two men of the same given name by also using the name of their father (patronymic) or mother (matronymic). Grammatically, Spanish patronymic surnames were sometimes an unchanged form of the father's given name, with the difference being in pronunciation (e.g. Garcia, Vicente). However, Spanish patronymic surnames were most often formed by adding suffixes meaning "son of, such as -es, -as, -is, or -os (common to Portuguese surnames) or an -ez, -az, -is, or - oz (common to Castilian or Spanish surnames) to the end of the father's name.
Examples:

Leon Alvarez - Leon, son of Alvaro

Eduardo Fernández - Eduardo, son of Fernándo

Pedro Velazquez - Pedro, son of Velasco

Geographical Surnames

Another common type of Hispanic last name, Spanish geographical surnames are often derived from the location of the homestead from which the first bearer and his family came from or resided in.

Medina and Ortega are common geographical Hispanic surnames, as there are quite a few towns in the Spanish speaking world bearing these names. Some Spanish geographic surnames refer to landscape features, such as Vega, meaning "meadow," and Mendoza, meaning "cold mountain," from mendi (mountain) and (h)otz (cold) + a.

Some Spanish geographic surnames also feature the suffix de, meaning "from" or "of."
Examples:

Ricardo de Lugo - Ricardo, from the town of Lugo

Lucas Iglesias - Lucas, who lived near a church (iglesia)

Sebastián Desoto - Sebastián, of 'the grove' (

Occupational Surnames

Occupational Hispanic last names initially derived from the person's job or trade.
Examples:

Roderick Guerrero - Roderick, the warrior or soldier

Lucas Vicario - Lucas, the vicar

Carlos Zapatero - Carlos, the shoemaker

Descriptive Surnames

Based on a unique quality or physical feature of the individual, descriptive surnames often developed in Spanish speaking countries from nicknames or pet names, often based on an individual's physical characteristics or personality.
Examples:

Juan Delgado - John the thin

Aarón Cortes - Aarón, the courteous

Marco Rubio - Marco, the blonde

Why Do Most Hispanic People Use Two Last Names?

Hispanic surnames can be especially important to genealogists because children are commonly given two surnames, one from each parent. The middle name (1st surname) traditionally comes from the father's name ( apellido paterno), and the last name (2nd surname) is the mother's maiden name ( apellido materno). Sometimes, these two surnames may be found separated by y (meaning "and"), although this is no longer as common as it once was.

Recent changes to laws in Spain mean that you may also find the two surnames reversed - first the mother's surname, and then the father's surname. The pattern of mother's surname followed by father's surname is also common usage for Portuguese surnames. In the United States, where the use of two surnames is less common, some families give children the paternal surname, or perhaps hyphenate the two surnames. These naming patterns are, however, only the most common; variations exist.

In the past, Hispanic naming patterns were less consistent. Sometimes, sons took the surname of their father, while daughters took that of their mother. The use of double surnames didn't become common throughout Spain until the 1800s.

Origins and Meanings of 50 Common Hispanic Last Names

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What Is the Meaning of Your Spanish Last Name?

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Have you ever wondered about your Spanish last name and how it came to be? Spanish surnames ( apellidos) first came into use around the twelfth century, as populations began to expand to the point where it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same first name.

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Creo que esta tema es muy interesante y relevante al desarrollo del español. Me interesa la mezcla de idiomas, culturas, y religiones que vienen de la interacción entre los moros y españoles. Esta interacción tuvo un gran impacto a la idioma de español, especialmente por los topónimos. Este articulo describe la historia y influencia de los moros en España, y tiene un listo de palabras que vienen del árabe.

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The main origin of the Romance languages was Latin. Spanish, which is one of the Romance languages, is different from the others. It has a wider lexicon that is made richer by the linguistic elements from the Arabic languages. The Spanish language is one of the most in demand languages for translation services.

The first group of Arabs that crossed the Strait of Gibraltar arrived in 711 and set foot on the Iberian Peninsula. The Moors ruled between their first incursion into the region and 1492. It started with the establishment of the Emirate of Córdoba and ended with the Emirate of Granada.

Overview

The Arab influence is more evident in the southern part of the peninsula. Catalan also has some words that were of Arabic origin, but the Spanish language has more. About 4,000 words of Arabic origin or influenced by Arabic are found in the regional varieties of Spanish, which can be heard if you are to travel around the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula.

Arabic influence in the region did not end with language. In fact, the culture of the Spain was also influenced, as the Moors introduced several cultural innovations like the philosophy of Aristotle, zero (the number), Arabic numbers, chess, algebra and alchemy.

The Muslim presence in the locality also influenced Spanish music, from the musical instruments to melodies. These were later replaced by the guitar and flamenco music. Flamenco has plenty of structural elements that are similar to northern Africa's traditional music. The Arabic influence extended to Spanish cuisine, evident in their use of spices and herbs that originally came from Africa's northern region. The garbanzo bean that is not normally present in European cuisine is featured regularly in many Spanish dishes.

Linguistically, the influence of Arabic in the Spanish language shows up more in the names of places and some names and surnames, as well as in most nouns, but rarely in verbs and adjectives.

Something interesting about the Spanish language is the existence of word pairs, originating from Latin and Arabic. The words may be different but they mean the same thing, For example, migraine is migraña and jaqueca; óleo and aceite for oil, escorpión and alacrán for scorpion and for olive - olive and aceituna.

Guadalajara, La Mancha, Guadalquivir River and Algeciras are just some of the names of places with Arabic origin.

Brief history
Andalusia or Andalucía in Spanish, which is located in southern Spain, figured prominently when the Muslim Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century. It includes the provinces of Seville, which is also its capital, Málaga, Jaén, Huelva, Granada, Córdoba and Almería.

The name of the autonomous community came from Al-Andalus, an Arabic word. It was given that name when the Muslim government was established in the Iberian peninsula in

716, as shown in the inscriptions from the coins (dinars) produced during that time. The coins have Arabic and Latin inscriptions. The former region covers almost the entire Iberian Peninsula during the time of the Moors.

While the Muslim Moors were economic invaders and collected taxes, they also enriched the culture of the region, keeping trade routes open. They brought and introduced many things to Spain. Several Moorish-inspired buildings remain in Andalusia.

The Christian religion was already practiced in the peninsula when the Muslim Moors invaded the region. While they tolerated Christianity, they also wanted to promote their own religion. They imposed the rental of half of the Cathedral of San Vicente in the 750s and created a mosque. The mosque they created was similar to the Abbasid and Umayyad mosques found in Iraq and Syria.

But the interior of the mosque's prayer hall in Andalusia was very novel. The series of columns supported double arcades of arches and piers with alternating white and red wedge-shaped building blocks that made the hall look higher and visually appealing. Today, the Great Mosque of Córdoba is a tourist attraction.

Influence in the language

Before the Moors or the hispanomusulmanes came, the people living in the Iberian Peninsula were speaking Iberian or Peninsular Spanish, commonly called as Castilian. It developed from the Latin language that was spoken by the Romans, which is the reason why it was called a Romance language (not a language of romance, but rather as the language spoken by Romans).

When the Moors, which established the highly powerful Emirate of Córdoba, was able to conquer the region, they introduced their language, Arabic, together with their art and architecture. Speakers of Arabic dominated the area from the Pyrenees to Gibraltar until the 13th century.

Arabic mixed with old Spanish lexicon over time, which evolved into the form of Spanish language that is spoken by the majority of Spanish-speaking countries around the world - Castilian Spanish or Castellano. Even after the Catholic kings were able to expel the Moors from Spain late in the 15th century, Castilian Spanish retained the Arabic loanwords, which are still used today.

The popular Spanish expressions like ''ojalá'' and ''¡Ole!'' are from the Arabic expressions insh'allah and wa'llah, respectively.

The Spanish suffix ''-i'' is used to indicate belonging or relationship. It came for the Arabic masculine adjective marker, meaning that someone is from somewhere. For example, a Zaragocí is from Zaragoza while a Marbellí is from Marbella. An Andalusí means the person is from Andalucía.

A number of Spanish words begin with either an ''a'' or ''al'' as the letter ''L'' becomes silent when followed by another consonant in Arabic. In the languages of the Moors, ''al'' is equivalent to the English article ''the'' and placed at the beginning of each definite noun.

Spanish words with Arabic origin

Most of the Spanish words that originated from Classical Arabic are nouns. These are names of items related to the kitchen and food, animals, nature, hobbies and science. About 4,000 Spanish words were influenced by Classical Arabic language.

Abalorio - cheap jewelry bead (al-baluri)

Acebibe - raisin (azebib)

Aceite - oil (azzayt)

Aceituna - olive (zaytünah)

Adobe - adobe (at-tub)

Ajedrez - chess (šiṭranǧ)

Albahaca - basil (habaqah)

Alcalde - mayor (qāḍī)

Alcoba - alcove (al-quba)

Alcohol - alcohol (kuḥl)

Aldea - small village (ḍay'ah)

Alfil - bishop [in chess] (fīl)

Alfombra - rug or carpet (ḥanbal)

Álgebra - algebra (alǧabru)

Algodón - cotton (qutn)

Algoritmo - algorithm (ḥisābu lḡubār)

Almohada - pillow (miẖaddah)

Alquiler - rent (kirā'

Arrecife - reef (raṣīf)

Asesino - murderer (ḥaššāšīn)

Azafrán - saffron (za'farān)

Azar - chance or luck (az-zahr)

Azúcar - sugar (sukkar)

Barrio - neighborhood (barrī)

Berenjena - aubergine or eggplant (bāḏinǧānah)

Café - coffee (qahwah)

Dado - dice (a'dād)

Fideo - noodles (fidáwš)

Guitarra - guitar (qīṯārah)

Hasta - until (ḥattá)

Hazaña - feat (ḥasanah)

Jabali - wild boar (ǧabalī)

Jarabe - syrup used for medication (šarāb)

Jarra - mug or jar (ǧarrah)

Jirafa - giraffe (zarāfah or zurāfah)

Lima - lime (līmah)

Limón - lemon (laymün)

Marfil - ivory ('aẓm alfíl)

Máscara - mask (masẖarah)

Mazmorra - dungeon (maṭmūrah)

Momia - mummy (mūmiyā)

Naranja - orange (nāranǧ)

Noria - Ferris wheel or waterwheel (nā'ūrah)

Sandia - watermelon (sindiyyah)

Tabaco - tobacco (ṭub[b]āq)

Tarea - task ({ṭrḥ})

Taza - cup or mug (ṭast)

Zanahoria - carrot (safunnárya)

Zoco - Azogue market (souk)

Zumo - fruit juice (zum)

Arabic sounding words

There are a few words in Spanish that are coincidentally similar to Arabic but are of different origin. One is ''el'' that is part of the articles that include la, las, lo and los. They came from the demonstratives of the Latin language such as illa, illud and ille. It is similar to the Arabic ''al'' but not related.

Another one is the Spanish pronoun ''usted,'' which is a shortened version of ''Vuestra merced'' that was used as an old form of address. There were other forms used before such as Voaced, Vuesasted, Su Merced, Vusted, Vuesarced, Vuesa Merced, Uced and Usté that belonged to Renaissance Spanish. But usted did not come from the Arabic term, ''ustādh'' that translates to doctor, professor or mister.

The famous and popular Spanish food ''paella'' did not originate from ''baqiya,'' the Arabic term that means leftovers. The Spanish pronunciation of the dish is similar but it actually is a Catalan term that originated from Latin. Paella is the term used to describe the pan where the dish is cooked. Cognates include Pôele, Padella and Padilla from French, Italian and Spanish languages.

Places in Spain with Arabic names

It would be difficult to avoid places in Spain with names that came from Arabic, since the conquerors ruled the region from the 8th to the 13th centuries. Here are some of them:

Guadalquivir River or the great river came from wadi a1-kabir

Mulhacén, which is the highest mountain in the Iberian Peninsula is named after Ali Muley Hacén Abu al-Hasan, the Sultan of Granada in the 15th century

Pico Almanzor is a mountain in Central Spain that got its name from ''Almanzor'' Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir, the 10th century ruler of Al-Andalus

Cape Trafalgar - Taraf-al-ghar

Albufera - from al-buhayrah, meaning small sea or lagoon

Gibraltar - from Jabal Tariq, an Arabic name meaning mountain of Tariq. The Rock of Gibraltar was named after the first Moor general to land in Iberia, Tariq ibn-Ziyad.

Albacete came from al-basit or the plain while Axarquía, which is located in Málaga came from Ash-sharquía, meaning oriental or eastern region

La Mancha came from the Arabic term for ''no water'' or la'a Ma-anxa

Arabic is one of oldest languages in the world. While the Arabs were ruling Spain, specifically the Iberian Peninsula from the 8th to the 12th centuries, the language was the world's scientific language and those who wanted to advance in their scientific careers had to study Arabic. Literature in Arabic also flourished. In the libraries in Córdoba, about 600,000 handwritten volumes of manuscripts are stored. Thanks to their influence, Spanish has become a very rich language with 437 million first language speakers in 31 countries.

Image Copyright: farbregas / 123RF Stock Photo

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Discovering the Arabic Influence in Spanish Language and Culture

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The main origin of the Romance languages was Latin. Spanish, which is one of the Romance languages, is different from the others. It has a wider lexicon that is made richer by the linguistic elements from the Arabic languages. The Spanish language is one of the most in demand languages for translation services.

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La prueba me ayuda entender algunas faltas en mi entendimiento del uso de por y para. Es un diferencia difícil aún después de muchos años de estudiar porque es muy sutil. Es importante practicar en contextos diferentes que yo usaría típicamente. También este sitio tiene enlaces a otras pruebas sobre las diferencias entre saber/conocer, pedir/preguntar, y otros.

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Por and Para: Quiz #1 - StudySpanish.com

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Learn Spanish grammar with our free helpful lessons and fun exercises at StudySpanish.com. Get started on your way to speaking Spanish conversationally!

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Este artículo ofrece más detalles sobre la evolución e el uso del ñ en español. En realidad es un símbolo que desarrolló desde pereza y conveniencia. Viene de el sonido del doble n en una palabra, que mezcla a formar el ñ. Escritores usó el tilde como un símbolo para el otro n ahorrar papel. Después del tiempo transformó en un sonido distinto. Es un letra único a pocas idiomas pero muy conocido.

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The Spanish letter ñ is original with Spanish and has become one of its most distinctive written features.

As you could probably guess, the ñ came originally from the letter n. The ñ did not exist in the Latin alphabet and was the result of innovations about nine centuries ago.

Beginning in about the 12th century, Spanish scribes (whose job it was to copy documents by hand) used the tilde placed over letters to indicate that a letter was doubled (so that, for example, nn became ñ and aa became ã).

The popularity of the tilde for other letters eventually waned, and by the 14th century, the ñ was the only place it was used. Its origins can be seen in a word such as (which means "year"), as it comes from the Latin word annus with a double n. As the phonetic nature of Spanish became solidified, the ñ came to be used for its sound, not just for words with an nn. A number of Spanish words, such as señal and campaña, that are English cognates use the ñ where English uses "gn," such as in "signal" and "campaign," respectively.

The Spanish ñ has been copied by two other languages that are spoken by minorities in Spain. It is used in Euskara, the Basque language that is unrelated to Spanish, to represent approximately the same sound as it has in Spanish. It is also used in Galician, a language similar to Portuguese. (Portuguese uses nh to represent the same sound.)

Additionally, three centuries of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines led to the adoption of many Spanish words in the national language, Tagalog (also known as Pilipino or Filipino). The ñ is among the letters that have been added to the traditional 20 letters of the language.

And while the ñ isn't part of the English alphabet, it frequently is used by careful writers when using adopted words such as jalapeño, piña colada, or piñata and in the spelling of personal and place names.

In Portuguese, the tilde is placed over vowels to indicate that the sound is nasalized. That use of the tilde has no apparent direct connection with the use of the tilde in Spanish.

After this article was published, this site received additional information from Robert L. Davis, associate professor of Spanish from the University of Oregon:

"Thanks for including the interesting page on the history of the ñ. In a few places you express uncertainty about some of the details of this history; below I offer the information you need to complete the story.

"The reason the "tilde" appears over an N (as in Latin ANNU > Sp. año) and Portuguese vowels (Latin MANU > Po. mão) is that scribes wrote a small letter N over the preceding letter in both cases, to save space in manuscripts (parchment was expensive). As the two languages developed phonetically away from Latin, the double N sound of Latin morphed into the current palatal nasal sound of the Ñ, and Portuguese N between vowels got deleted, leaving its nasal quality on the vowel. So readers and writers began to use the old spelling trick to indicate the new sounds that did not exist in Latin. (It's really nice the way you framed the Ñ as the only Spanish letter of Spanish origin!)

"Also of potential interest to your readers:

"The word "tilde" actually refers to both the squiggle over the Ñ as well as the accent mark used to mark phonetic stress (e.g., café). There is even the verb "tildarse", which means, "to be written with an accent mark, to stress", as in "La palabra 'café' se tilda en la e".

"The unique character of the letter Ñ has led to its becoming a marker of Hispanic identity in recent years. There is now a "generación Ñ", the children of Spanish-speaking parents in the U.S. (parallel to Generation X, etc.), a stylized Ñ is the logo of the Cervantes Institute (http://www.cervantes.es), and so forth.

"The squiggle under the ç in Portuguese and French has a similar origin as the ñ. It is called a "cedille", meaning "little Z." It comes from the diminutive of the Old Spanish name for the letter Z, ceda. It was used to represent the "ts" sound in Old Spanish, which no longer exists in the language. E.g., O.Sp. caça (katsa) = Mod. Sp. caza (casa or catha).

"Restaurants in the U.S. now offer dishes made with a very spicy pepper, the habanero, which is frequently mispronounced and misspelled as habañero. Since the name comes from La Habana, the capital of Cuba, this pepper should not have Ñ. I think the name has been contaminated by jalapeño, which of course is simply a pepper from Jalapa, Mexico."

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Why That Squiggly Mark Over the Spanish Ñ?

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The Spanish letter ñ is original with Spanish and has become one of its most distinctive written features. As you could probably guess, the ñ came originally from the letter n. The ñ did not exist in the Latin alphabet and was the result of innovations about nine centuries ago.

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El video abajo es un recurso fantástico. Contiene la historia completa en un breve tiempo. El narrador explica las conexiones entre el español y las lenguas que la contribuyó al desarrollo. Esta video me ayuda con la cronología y geografía del español. Incluye las influencias de los moros, los romanos, los iberios, los nativos, y más. En todo es un recurso perfecto para repasar la historia completa del español.

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Aquí tenemos una colección de poemas que son interesante porque de sus sintaxis y como lo afectan el significado. Poemas son ejemplos importante del poder del lenguaje. La posición de los adjetivos y el orden de las palabras crean opciones múltiples de significado. En poesía hay más espacio para libertad y estructuras diferentes de oraciones, que crean el arte de palabras.

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Hemos hecho una selección de veinte grandes poemas escritos en español.

1. Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer | Rima XXI

2. Pablo Neruda| 20 poemas de amor y una canción desesperada. Poema 15

3. Gabriela Mistral | Desolación

4. Juan Ramón Jiménez | El viaje definitivo

Todas las tardes el cielo será azul y plácido,
y tocarán, como esta tarde están tocando,
las campanas del campanario.

Se morirán aquellos que me amaron
y el pueblo se hará nuevo cada año;
y lejos del bullicio distinto, sordo, raro
del domingo cerrado,
del coche de las cinco, de las siestas del baño,
en el rincón secreto de mi huerto florido y encalado,
mi espíritu de hoy errará, nostáljico...

5. Rosalía de Castro | Orillas del Sar

6. Miguel Hernández | El niño de la noche

7. Antonio Machado | A un olmo seco

No será, cual los álamos cantores
que guardan el camino y la ribera,
habitado de pardos ruiseñores.

Ejército de hormigas en hilera
va trepando por él, y en sus entrañas
urden sus telas grises las arañas.

Antes que te derribe, olmo del Duero,
con su hacha el leñador, y el carpintero
te convierta en melena de campana,
lanza de carro o yugo de carreta;
antes que rojo en el hogar, mañana,
ardas de alguna mísera caseta,
al borde de un camino;
antes que te descuaje un torbellino
y tronche el soplo de las sierras blancas;
antes que el río hasta la mar te empuje
por valles y barrancas,
olmo, quiero anotar en mi cartera
la gracia de tu rama verdecida.
Mi corazón espera
también, hacia la luz y hacia la vida,
otro milagro de la primavera.

8. Garcilaso de la Vega | Soneto V

Yo no nací sino para quereros;
mi alma os ha cortado a su medida;
por hábito del alma mismo os quiero.

Cuanto tengo confieso yo deberos;
por vos nací, por vos tengo la vida,
por vos he de morir, y por vos muero.

9. Francisco de Quevedo | Definición del amor

Es hielo abrasador, es fuego helado,
es herida que duele y no se siente,
es un soñado bien, un mal presente,
es un breve descanso muy cansado.
Es un descuido que nos da cuidado,
un cobarde con nombre de valiente,
un andar solitario entre la gente,
un amar solamente ser amado.
Es una libertad encarcelada,
que dura hasta el postrero paroxismo;
enfermedad que crece si es curada.
Éste es el niño Amor, éste es su abismo.
¿Mirad cuál amistad tendrá con nada
el que en todo es contrario de sí mismo!

10. Luis de Góngora | Soledades

¡O tú que de venablos impedido
—Muros de abeto, almenas de diamante—,
Bates los montes que de nieve armados
Gigantes de cristal los teme el cielo,
Donde el cuerno, del eco repetido,
Fieras te expone, que — al teñido suelo,
Muertas, pidiendo términos disformes—
Espumoso coral le dan al Tormes!:

Arrima a un frexno el frexno, cuyo acero,
Sangre sudando, en tiempo hará breve
Purpurear la nieve;
Y, en cuanto da el solícito montero,
Al duro robre, al pino levantado
—Émulos vividores de las peñas—
Las formidables señas
Del oso que aun besaba, atravesado,
La asta de tu luciente jabalina,
—O lo sagrado supla de la encina
Lo Augusto del dosel, o de la fuente
La alta cenefa, lo majestuoso
Del sitïal a tu Deidad debido—,
¡O Duque esclarecido!
Templa en sus ondas tu fatiga ardiente,
Y, entregados tus miembros al reposo
Sobre el de grama césped, no desnudo,
Déjate un rato hallar del pie acertado
Que sus errantes pasos ha votado
A la real cadena de tu escudo.

Honre suave, generoso nudo,
Libertad, de Fortuna perseguida;
Que, a tu piedad Euterpe agradecida,
Su canoro dará dulce instrumento,
Cuando la Fama no su trompa al viento.

11. Alfonsina Storni | Alma desnuda

Soy un alma desnuda en estos versos,
Alma desnuda que angustiada y sola
Va dejando sus pétalos dispersos.

Alma que puede ser una amapola,
Que puede ser un lirio, una violeta,
Un peñasco, una selva y una ola.

Alma que como el viento vaga inquieta
Y ruge cuando está sobre los mares,
Y duerme dulcemente en una grieta.

Alma que adora sobre sus altares,
Dioses que no se bajan a cegarla;
Alma que no conoce valladares.

Alma que fuera fácil dominarla
Con sólo un corazón que se partiera
Para en su sangre cálida regarla.

Alma que cuando está en la primavera
Dice al invierno que demora: vuelve,
Caiga tu nieve sobre la pradera.

Alma que cuando nieva se disuelve
En tristezas, clamando por las rosas
con que la primavera nos envuelve.

Alma que a ratos suelta mariposas
A campo abierto, sin fijar distancia,
Y les dice: libad sobre las cosas.

Alma que ha de morir de una fragancia
De un suspiro, de un verso en que se ruega,
Sin perder, a poderlo, su elegancia.

Alma que nada sabe y todo niega
Y negando lo bueno el bien propicia
Porque es negando como más se entrega.

Alma que suele haber como delicia
Palpar las almas, despreciar la huella,
Y sentir en la mano una caricia.

12. Pedro Calderón de la Barca | La vida es sueño, Jornada III, Escena XIX (fragmento final)

Yo sueño que estoy aquí,
destas prisiones cargado;
y soñé que en otro estado
más lisonjero me vi.
¿Qué es la vida? Un frenesí.
¿Qué es la vida? Una ilusión,
una sombra, una ficción,
y el mayor bien es pequeño;
que toda la vida es sueño,
y los sueños, sueños son.

13. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz | De una reflexión cuerda

Y cuando, al golpe de uno y otro tiro
rendido el corazón, daba penoso
señas de dar el último suspiro,

no sé con qué destino prodigioso
volví a mi acuerdo y dije: ¿qué me admiro?
¿Quién en amor ha sido más dichoso?

14. Rubén Darío | Lo fatal

lo que no conocemos y apenas sospechamos,
y la carne que tienta con sus frescos racimos,
y la tumba que aguarda con sus fúnebres ramos,

¡y no saber adónde vamos,
ni de dónde venimos!...

15. José de Espronceda | Canción del pirata (fragmento)

16. Lope de Vega | Canta pájaro amante

Desta suerte el amor canta en el nido;
mas luego que los celos que recela
le tiran flechas de temor de olvido,

huye, teme, sospecha, inquiere, cela,
y hasta que ve que el cazador es ido,
de pensamiento en pensamiento vuela.

17. José Martí | Cultivo una rosa blanca

18. Luis Cernuda | El viento y el alma

19. Octavio Paz | Acabar con todo

Arde en el vasto cielo, laja y nube,
bajo la ciega luz que se desploma
entre estériles peñas.

Arde en la soledad que nos deshace,
tierra de piedra ardiente,
de raíces heladas y sedientas.

Arde, furor oculto,
ceniza que enloquece,
arde invisible, arde
como el mar impotente engendra nubes,
olas como el rencor y espumas pétreas.
Entre mis huesos delirantes, arde;
arde dentro del aire hueco,
horno invisible y puro;
arde como arde el tiempo,
como camina el tiempo entre la muerte,
con sus mismas pisadas y su aliento;
arde como la soledad que te devora,
arde en ti mismo, ardor sin llama,
soledad sin imagen, sed sin labios.
Para acabar con todo,
oh mundo seco,
para acabar con todo.

20. Federico García Lorca | Alma ausente

No te conoce nadie. No. Pero yo te canto.
Yo canto para luego tu perfil y tu gracia.
La madurez insigne de tu conocimiento.
Tu apetencia de muerte y el gusto de su boca.
La tristeza que tuvo tu valiente alegría.

Academia Play es una herramienta de aprendizaje a través del formato vídeo. ¡Con Academia Play conseguirás que tu experiencia de aprendizaje sea épica!

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Hemos hecho una selección de veinte grandes poemas escritos en español. 1. Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer | Rima XXI 2. Pablo Neruda| 20 poemas de amor y una canción desesperada. Poema 15 3. Gabriela Mistral | Desolación 4.

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Explica la diferencia entre cada uso de adjetivos. Cuando está apropiada a ponerlos antes y detrás del sustantivo. Demuestra diferencias en significados en frases comunes . Esto articulo es muy informativo y fácil navegar si tiene preguntas sobre la posición de los adjetivos. Creo que es breve, claro y ilustra el sentido de la tema bien.

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La función dominante de adjetivos consiste en especificar, diferenciar y restringir el significado del nombre a que se refieren y separarlo del resto de los de su clase. La posición estándar y más frecuente es después del sustantivo.

La posición en la que el adjetivo sigue al sustantivo la llamamos posición diferenciadora. La mayoría de los adjetivos de más de dos sílabas normalmente las usamos en posición diferenciadora.

Los adjetivos más populares que se usan en esta posición son los de color, nacionalidad, religión, ideología y cualidades físicas:

un coche negro
un coche americano
una tradición católica
una dictadura fascista
una organización maoísta
un muchacho alto
un vino seco
una plaza redonda

La posición menos frecuente, en la que el adjetivo precede al sustantivo la llamamos posición valorativa. Esta posición responde al deseo de avalorar (dar más valor) a cierta cualidad (inherente) del sustantivo, bien por su importancia (para el hablante), bien por motivos afectivos. En teoría cualquier adjetivo puede usarse como explicativo. En la práctica, por supuesto, muchas veces existen limitaciones semánticas y lógicas.

Característica inherenteBlanca nieve (Snow White)

las mansas ovejas (the docile sheep)
la olorosa rosa (the fragrant rose)
los fieros leones (the fierce lions)
la dulce miel (the sweet honey)

Muchas veces la anteposición no se debe a que la característica sea un rasgo natural de este nombre sino solamente en la mente del hablante. Esto significa que la anteposición a menudo expresa una opinión o visión personal del hablante:

Característica seleccionadami amada mujer (my beloved wife)

la inútil guerra (the useless war)
el cruel asesinato (the cruel murder)

En el lenguaje protocolario, cuando se celebra o distingue una persona, también se puede usar el adjetivo en anteposición:

Muy distinguido profesor
Celebrado escritor

Por eso, los adjetivos que reflejan la opinión y el juicio personal del hablante, como bueno, malo, mejor, peor normalmente se usan en anteposición.

un buen ejemplo
una buena idea
un mal uso
la mejor manera
mi mejor amiga
el peor día de mi vida

Adjetivos cuantificativos siempre preceden al sustantivo:

un día, el primer día, el último día, muchos días, pocos días, bastantes días, suficientes días, cuántos días, algún día, ningún día, ambos días, varios días, etc.

Alguno, os, a, as ('some') se puede separar del sustantivo y posponerse, pero este uso es muy raro:

Libros tengo algunos. (Normalmente hay una pausa entre 'tengo' y 'algunos'.)

Alguno, os, a, as también se puede usar en posposición en oraciones negativas. En este caso significa lo contrario de 'some', 'none':

El presidente del Colegio de Agentes de Seguros de Baleares se halla de vacaciones y en los despachos de la asociación profesional no hay persona alguna que pueda facilitar información.

Posesivos y determinativos átonos también preceden el sustantivo:

Cuando el adjetivo está modificado por una palabra tal como muy, más y tan, el adjetivo normalmente sigue al sustantivo:

Esta es la novela más larga que haya leído.
Este es un plato muy bueno.

Cuando se trata de adjetivos de más de una sílaba, la combinación de adverbio y adjetivo se coloca obligatoriamente detrás del sustantivo:

una novela realmente interesante
una tarea extremadamente difícil

Algunos adjetivos forman una unidad léxica invariable con el sustantivo y tienen una posición fija:

idea fija, última pena, alta mar, puerta falsa, sentido común, Semana Santa, Bellas Artes, Sagrada Biblia, Santos Lugares, Santísima Trinidad, etc.

En algunas ocasiones las dos palabras se han juntado también en la ortografía:

hierbabuena, camposanto, altavoz, librepensador, malhumor, etc.

Las siguientes combinaciones de adjetivos y sustantivos no son lexicalizadas, su posición, sin embargo, es bastante fija:

mala suerte, la pura verdad, pura vida (Costa Rica), rara vez, alta frecuencia, alta tensión, etc.

El adjetivo mero siempre se antepone al sustantivo:

TODOS creemos saber lo que es una democracia y muchos la conciben como una mera aplicación de las matemáticas a la política: la mitad más uno decide, así de fácil.

De acuerdo con su función como adjetivo especificativo o explicativo, algunos adjetivos tienen significados diferentes según se antepongan o se pospongan al sustantivo:

la antigua capital = the former capital; una capital antigua = an ancient, very old capital

ciertas cosas = certain things, some things; cosas ciertas = sure things, true things

un nuevo coche = a new (another) car (doesn't have to be brand new); un coche nuevo = a (brand) new car

la misma cosa = the same thing; la cosa misma = the thing itself

un pobre hombre = a poor (unfortunate) man; un hombre pobre = a poor (penniless) man

un gran hombre = a great man; un hombre grande = a big (tall) man

diferentes libros = various books; libros diferentes = different books

María es media española. = Maria is half Spanish.; Juan es un español medio. = Juan is an average Spaniard.

Esta es una pura mentira. = This is nothing but lies.; Es agua pura. = This is pure water.

Es una simple formalidad. = This is just a formality.; Prefiere una vida simple. = I prefer a simple (plain) life.

Ella se pasa todo el santo día en la casa. = She spends the entire day in the house.; Hoy es el día santo de los musulmanes. = Today is the holy day of the Muslims.

Dame cualquier° libro. = Give me any book.; Hoy el ex-presidente es una persona cualquiera. = Today the ex president is like any other person.

la única manera = the only way; una manera única = a unique form.

una triste vida = a pitiful (pathetic) life; una historia triste = a sad story

°Delante del nombre la forma siempre es 'cualquier': cualquier hombre, cualquier mujer, etc.
ºDespués del nombre siempre es 'cualquiera': un hombre cualquiera, una mujer cualquiera, etc. También cuando se usa como pronombre, se usa la forma cualquiera: Cualquiera puede hacerlo. (Anyone can do it.)

En la lengua literaria los autores juegan mucho con la posición de los adjetivos, algo que no siempre se traduce en diferencias semánticas, y que puede obedecer únicamente a razones estilísticas y rítmicas.

Cuando se usan dos o más adjetivos con un sustantivo, y cado uno de ellos modifica o cualifica por separado al sustantivo, o sea cuando los adjetivos tienen el mismo peso, estos van unidos por la conjunción y:

Es una lámpara moderna y útil.

Cuando se usan dos o más adjetivos con un sustantivo, y existe una jerarquía, o sea cuando cada adjetivo nuevo modifica a la unidad de sustantivo + adjetivo(2) precedente, no se usa y:

La industria petrolera venezolana nacional. =
¿Qué tipo de industria?
La industria petrolera.
¿Qué tipo de industria petrolera?
La industria petrolera venezolana (de Venezuela).
¿Qué tipo de industria petrolera venezolana?
La industria petrolera venezolana nacional. (Comparado con la industria petrolera privada.)

La industria petrolera nacional venezolana. =
¿Qué tipo de industria?
La industria petrolera.
¿Qué tipo de industria petrolera?
La industria petrolera nacional (por ejemplo comparado con la industria petrolera internacional.)
¿La industria petrolera nacional de qué país?
La industria petrolera nacional de Venezuela.

El adjetivo relativo cuyo, cuya, cuyos, cuyas

Cuyo, cuya, cuyos, cuyas (en inglés = 'whose') se usan delante de la palabra a la que se refieren y concuerdan con ella, como otros adjetivos.

Lo que quiero decir es que hay enunciados cuyo sentido principal es ofrecer información,...
Este es el concepto de paisaje cuya protección, gestión y ordenación se pretende en art. 2 y 3.
Hay obras que se quedan en el camino, otras cuyos proyectos se reforman, otras que surgen...
Inspeccioné la excavación de un lago que le construyó su majestad en el occidente de la ciudad cuyas riberas se plantaron con todo tipo de árboles frutales.

Los adjetivos relativos usualmente se tratan con los pronombres relativos porque los dos se pueden sustituir.

Juan, cuya madre trabaja conmigo, es mi amigo. (=Juan, la madre de quien trabaja conmigo, es mi amigo.

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La función dominante de adjetivos consiste en especificar, diferenciar y restringir el significado del nombre a que se refieren y separarlo del resto de los de su clase. La posición estándar y más frecuente es después del sustantivo. La posición en la que el adjetivo sigue al sustantivo la llamamos posición diferenciadora.

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Elijé este articulo porque explica por que usamos el subjuntivo. Contesta la pregunta: qué es el subjuntivo? En vez de explicando como usarlo, el que puede ser un concepto confundido. Creo que este articulo es muy útil si se quiere aprender el subjuntivo en una manera más fácil. También tiene ejemplos y da un equivalente en inglés. Para mí leyendo sobre el subjuntivo en el inglés me ayuda mucho.

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Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips

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by George Millo Ayancan

When you first encounter the Spanish subjunctive, it can feel like its only purpose is to make Spanish harder.

What's the difference between comemos and comamos? Don't they both mean "we eat"? Why does Spanish have two words where English has only one?

It's not just learners of Spanish who struggle here. The subjunctive - sometimes called the "conjunctive" - is found in many European languages - French, Portuguese, Italian, German, and even Welsh, to name just a few. English speakers often struggle to learn it.

The subjunctive is a mood, not a tense. It contrasts with the indicative mood, which is just a fancy word for the "normal" verb forms that are used much more often.

Believe it or not, the Spanish subjunctive doesn't have to be intimidating or difficult.

Most Spanish grammar books explain how to use the subjunctive, but do a bad job of explaining what it actually is. My aim in this article is to give you what the grammar books don't. I want to give you some "a-has" that make you see the subjunctive in a new light, and hopefully make it easier to learn.

My focus will be on the Spanish subjunctive, but the principles I explain should help with the subjunctive in any language.

This article is not:

1. A guide to subjunctive verb forms - i.e. the subjunctive endings for hablar, comer, partir etc.. If that's what you're after, I recommended this resource.

2. A detailed explanation of the subjunctive's every last subtlety and intricacy. Such explanations are helpful, but starting with them would be like building a house from the roof downwards. My aim here is to give you a foundation.

But first, let's look at the wrong way to learn the subjunctive, otherwise known as "how most people do it".

How Not to Learn The Subjunctive Mood

My first brush with the subjunctive was in French, not Spanish. My lessons could be a case study in what not to do:

1. Make the Subjunctive Feel Mysterious and Intimidating

I studied French for about ten years in school. The subjunctive was introduced about halfway through. Yep, that's right: it took five years to get there.

Never mind that French/Spanish/etc. children all use the subjunctive with ease. To them, it's just another part of the language - nothing particularly interesting or special about it.

To me, however, the subjunctive was an enigmatic mystery. I'd heard of it, but no-one would explain what it was. People spoke of it in awestruck whispers, like a superweapon too dangerous to handle. Clearly it was far beyond the capabilities of feeble young minds like my own.

So when we did start learning the subjunctive, it felt like a HUGE deal. I'd been conditioned to expect a scary, intimidating, impossibly difficult challenge.

This is not a mindset that's conducive to learning!

2. Treat the Subjunctive as a List of Rules To Be Memorised.

Okay, so you're not falling for the scare tactics. You've built up to the courage to tackle the subjunctive. How will it be presented to you?

Probably something like this: a long and boring list of rules. Use a subjunctive in a subordinate clause with a change of subject when the first verb is blah, blah blah... Asleep yet?

You might learn a mnemonic like "WEIRDO" to help you remember all these rules. But the focus is always on when to use a subjunctive, with too little attention paid to "why".

As well as being exceptionally boring, this is just about the most slow and ineffective way you can possibly learn the subjunctive. Native speakers don't do it like this! There's a much better way.

The Right Way to Learn the Subjunctive

An analogy: what's the difference between "do" and "make" in English? You might find it obvious, but not everyone agrees.

In Spanish there's just one word - hacer - that means both "do" and "make". Spanish speakers who learn English are often unsure which word to use.

But to a native English speaker, it barely requires thoughts. "Do" and "make" are different words! They mean different things - isn't it obvious?
This is how the subjunctive feels to native Spanish speakers.
You might not always be able to explain the difference (why do we "do the dishes" but "make the bed"?) but still you know what's correct. "Do" and "make" simply feel different.

If they need to choose between habla (indicative) and hable (subjunctive), they don't think about what the "rules" are. They simply pick the word that means what they want to say. The "WEIRDO" mnemonic doesn't factor into their reasoning.

So, if you want to use the subjunctive correctly, this is the first and most important step you must take: you must understand what it means.

Here's where I hope I can be helpful.

What Does The Subjunctive Mean?

Let's stick with the word hablar - "to speak". Ella habla español means "she speaks Spanish", while ella hable español means... "she speaks Spanish", but it's subjunctive.

When should you use each one? What's the difference in meaning?
Indicative:
The easiest way to see the difference is to compare some example sentences:
Subjunctive:

Estoy seguro de que ella habla español (I'm sure she speaks Spanish)

Es cierto que ella habla español. (It's true she speaks Spanish)

Sé que ella habla español (I know she speaks Spanish.)

Espero que ella hable español (I hope she speaks Spanish)

Dudo que ella hable español. (I doubt she speaks Spanish)

Es posible que ella hable español. (It's possible she speaks Spanish)

No hay ninguna posibilidad de que ella hable español. (There's no chance she speaks Spanish.)

Go down the list, and for each sentence ask yourself: "does she speak Spanish?".
This is the fundamental difference between the indicative and the subjunctive.
As should be clear, in the indicative sentences, the answer is "yes" or "probably". In the subjunctive sentences, the answer is "maybe" or "no".

Indicative verbs describe reality: actions, certainty, truth, the concrete.

Subjunctive verbs describe possibility: desires, doubts, wants, the ephemeral.

Now, by itself this doesn't teach you everything you need to know. Some situations don't neatly fit into either category. But grasping this "real" vs. "possible"" distinction is the key to a deep understanding of the subjunctive.

Where English Comes in Handy

At this point it's helpful to take a closer look at the English subjunctive.

Wait, what? You heard me right: English has a subjunctive. We just don't usually notice it, because it's a master of disguise.

Take a look at this sentence:

"If I had the money, I would pay you."

Think about that "had". At first glance, it appears to be the past tense of "to have". But why use the past tense? The speaker isn't talking about the past. They're saying that they don't have money now. This sentence is describing a state of affairs in the present.

It seems there's more to that "had" than meets the eye. Ladies and gentlemen, we're dealing with a subjunctive.

Compare it with the simple sentence "I had money". In this case, had is clearly referring to the past, and is a simple indicative verb. It's the addition of an "if" that shakes things up.

That's the problem: the subjunctive form of "to have" looks just the past tense. In both cases the word is "had", but the meaning is subtly different.

(Note: I often hear Americans using the the conditional perfect "if I would have" instead of the past subjunctive "if I had". For example, an American might say "If you would have told me that, I would have said something."

(I'm not going to get into an argument about prescriptive vs. descriptive grammar. I just want to note that, as a Brit, this really grates my ears. Dear America: please stop saying this. And drop "a long ways" and "on accident" while you're at it.)

The only time the English subjunctive becomes obvious is with the verb "to be". You can see this in the expression "if I were you". "I were" is subjunctive, and without an "if" it sounds ungrammatical.

Spanish, on the other hand, makes the distinction clear for all verbs:

dinero = I had money. (Tenía is indicative.)

Si tuviera dinero = If I had money. (Tuviera is subjunctive. It could also be tuviese, which means the same thing.)

As an exercise, compare these English sentences:

For each sentence, ask yourself: is the speaker talking about the past, present, or future?

How would the meaning of "had", "had had" and "have" change if you dropped the "if" in front of it?

Also notice how the verb in the second clause changes based on the first clause - "would pay" vs. "would have paid", etc.. Can you swap this around and still have it make sense?

Now look at the Spanish translations. Can you see how they follow the same grammatical patterns as their English counterparts?

Si tuviera el dinero, te pagaría.

Si hubiera tenido el dinero, te habría pagado.

Si tenga el dinero, te pagaré.

Thinking about these examples should help you understand what the subjunctive means in both English and Spanish.

More Examples to Help You Understand What The Subjunctive Means

Don't be afraid of your grammar book. I didn't say "never study the rules", I simply recommended that you don't study them first.
That "WEIRDO" acronym isn't completely useless.

But before you get there, let's look at some more real-world uses of the subjunctive. The below examples all helped me to understand what the subjunctive means.

Creo que Benny habla chino - I think Benny speaks Chinese. (indicative)

No creo que Benny hable chino - I don't think Benny speaks Chinese. (subjunctive)

In the first sentence, the implication is that Benny does speak Spanish - as far as the speaker knows. So we use an indicative.

The second sentence introduces an element of doubt. Habla doesn't make sense anymore - we need to switch to the subjunctive hable.

Es que yo quiero bailar - "It's that I want to dance." (indicative)

No es que yo quiera bailar - "It's not that I want to dance." (subjunctive)

"Es que..." is a common Spanish filler phrase. There's no reason why the first sentence can't be indicative - the speaker wants to dance! We're talking about a real, concrete want.

In the second sentence, things are negated. Now the verb "want" is referring to an abstract non-event, so it must use a subjunctive - quiera.

Busco a alguien que tiene una barba - indicative

Busco a alguien que tenga una barba - subjunctive

This is an advanced one! Both sentences mean "I'm looking for someone who has a beard"- but there's a subtle difference.

The first sentence, with the indicative "tiene", implies that you're looking for a specific bearded person. Say your friend Gandalf has gone missing, and you're trying to figure out whether anyone has seen him. In this case you'd use "tiene", because your friend is real, and he really has a beard.

The second sentence, however, implies that you're looking for anyone with a beard - you don't care whom. So who's the subject of the verb "have"? No-one in particular - the action of "having a beard" is a theoretical, abstract possibility, not tied to anything concrete in the real world. So you need the subjunctive "tenga".

This is a great example of how the subjunctive allows for finer shades of meaning that would require extra words to translate precisely into English.

Ella me dijo que ve Juego de Tronos - "she told me that she watches Game of Thrones"

Ella me dijo que vea Juego de Tronos - "she told me to watch Game of Thrones."

This is an example of how the subjunctive is used to describe orders, requests and demands.

The "watches" in the first sentence is a bog-standard indicative. She really does watch Game of Thrones.

The second "watch" is less concrete. I'm not watching Game of Thrones yet (sadly for me). The verb refers to the abstract possibility of me watching it, therefore a subjunctive is in order.

Where To Go From Here?

The subjunctive is a big topic. There are many subtleties that I haven't covered, but I hope I've given you a solid foundation.

It's finally time to dig out your grammar book. Look at the WEIRDO example sentences, contrast with the indicative, and see if it makes sense. I recommend making flashcards to learn the sentence structure.

Just remember the golden rule: focus on the meaning, not rules.

You'll know you've mastered the subjunctive when you no longer realise that you're using it. You won't have to think about it - tenga, hable, sea etc. will come out of your mouth and it won't feel like a big deal. You won't just understand the difference, you'll feel the difference - just like a native speaker would.

Do you have any tips for learning the Spanish subjunctive, or the subjunctive in any other language? What helped you wrap your head around its meaning? Let us know in the comments.

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How to Learn the Spanish Subjunctive: A Simpler Approach

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by George Millo Ayancan When you first encounter the Spanish subjunctive, it can feel like its only purpose is to make Spanish harder. What's the difference between comemos and comamos? Don't they both mean "we eat"? Why does Spanish have two words where English has only one?

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Este articulo tiene un caso interesante de su, el que demuestra la ambigüedad de la palabra. Las periodistas preguntan Fidel Castro: “¿Dónde se encuentra ahora Che Guevara?”, y respondió "En su país." Es una respuesta no claro y lista. El articulo contrasta las habilidades de español en esta oración y las de inglés.

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Hoy vamos con un poco de historia y mucho de inglés. Esta es una de las anécdotas favoritas de Richard Vaughan: en el año 1962, Fidel Castro recibió a un grupo de periodistas españoles. Durante el transcurso de la conferencia de prensa, un periodista español le preguntó: "¿Dónde se encuentra ahora Che Guevara?"

Castro le respondió: "Está en su país".

El periodista quiso aclarar: "¿Quiere decir que está en Cuba, en Argentina, su país natal, o en mi país, España?" Castro sonrió y dijo: "Usted tendrá que encontrar la respuesta a esa pregunta".

En español, su puede dar lugar a confusión, puesto que puede significar de él, de ella, de ellos, de ellas, de usted, o de ustedes. En inglés, afortunadamente, no solemos sufrir confusiones de este tipo, ya que nuestros adjetivos posesivos son más precisos.

Observa:

Adjetivos posesivos en inglés

Así que:

En inglés el sujeto es imprescindible

Otra diferencia importante entre nuestros idiomas es que en inglés siempre tienes que nombrar el sujeto de una frase. Por lo tanto, no podríamos decir Is in his country o Is in her country: el pronombre personal ( he, she, it, you, etc.) es imprescindible.

<tdstyle="border-bottom: 1px solid #9c28af; color: #9c28af; padding: 1% 3%;"> He 's in your country.

Él está en su país (de usted).

En fin, si tenemos todo esto en cuenta, una simple frase como Está en su país en realidad tiene más de dieciséis significados distintos... ¡Ay! ¡Qué fácil es el inglés!, ¿verdad?

Si te ha gustado este artículo, ¡compártelo con tus amigos en las redes sociales! Sólo tienes que hacer clic en el icono correspondiente de la izquierda. ;-)

¡Pon a prueba tu Nivel de inglés!

¡Sigue aprendiendo con Vaughan!

Si quieres seguir mejorando tu inglés de forma económica te recomendamos que empieces por nuestro bestseller "Inglés Gramática Fácil".
Comprar

Observa:

Así que:

<tdstyle="border-bottom: 1px solid #9c28af; color: #9c28af; padding: 1% 3%;"> He 's in your country.

Él está en su país (de usted).

Comprar

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His, her, their, your, el "su" en inglés

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Una anécdota protagonizada por Fidel Castro te ayudará a recordar estos cuatro posesivos en inglés que en castellano se expresan con uno solo. True story. Aprende inglés con el método Vaughan. Elige el programa que mejor se adapte a ti: clases presenciales para niños, jóvenes y adultos, curso online, inmersiones en España, inmersiones en el extranjero, clases 24 horas al día en Vaughan Radio y mucho más.

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Cual de los afijos es un aumentativo?
a) ísimo
b) ito
c) azo
d) cido

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Después de aprendimos sobre las palabras más populares en español, estaba curiosa sobre otras palabras comunes en español que no tengamos en inglés. El articulo hace una lista de palabras españolas que no podemos traducir en inglés. Es interesante a aprender nuevas palabras para pensamientos y sentimientos ya tengo.

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It's right there-right on the tip of your tongue.
What the heck was that silly word you were thinking of?

Have you ever tried to describe something and been unable to find the right words for it?

Of course you have-that's a natural part of learning any language.

Sometimes you even end up using a horribly wrong word or two.

It happens in your native language too, though, doesn't it? Sometimes your language isn't capable of describing a specific situation or item without using ten million extra words.

One of the great things about learning Spanish is that, the more you learn, the more you expand your mind.

For instance, there are numerous words that exist in Spanish that don't have a direct English translation. That means that if you type them into Google for an English equivalent, chances are you'll come up with a smattering of different words or sentences strung together to get the idea across.

That's the point. For some, there's simply not an easy translation. For others, the words may mean something direct in English (literally) but they mean something completely different when spoken in Spanish (context). All in all, you'll be giving your brain tons of new ways to express ideas.

So, now it's time to expand your vocabulary and expand your mind. Here are some wonderfully unique Spanish words that'll introduce you to a world of new ideas and expressions.

Just a quick note: Remember not to simply learn words in isolation! Put these words into sentences, use them in everyday conversations and watch authentic videos to remember them.

One great way to hear authentic Spanish speech is with FluentU. FluentU offers a growing collection of authentic videos, including various clips, movies, music and more. Sign up for a free FluentU trial and boost your Spanish skills!

Some of the first things we teach our children are their colors right? Red, purple, black and so forth.

Have you ever seen a car that isn't quite gray but it isn't quite brown either? I have one, actually, and whenever English-speaking people ask me what color my car is I just shrug. When Spanish-speaking people ask me, I've got an answer.

Pardo - the color between gray and brown.

I have a friend who looks like he's twelve even though he's in his thirties. He doesn't really have substantial facial hair, can't grow a beard and has evidently found the fountain of youth.

I think we can all agree that we know someone or have seen someone like this. Maybe you can envision a boy in your middle school who was so proud of that one little whisker on his chin.

Lampiño - Hairless, but more specifically a man who cannot grow facial hair or has very thin facial hair.

It's interesting that we don't have this word in the English vocabulary. We have words that come close, but most of them are derogatory.

Apparently the Spanish-speakers of the world are much better at describing people's physical features. I feel like having a word like this in English would make it much easier to describe pirates.

Vergüenza Ajena

Have you ever heard of the website People Of Walmart?

If not, you should hop on over there once you're done reading this post. It's full of pictures of people who decided to go to Walmart with no shame. Some of them are in pajamas. Most are wearing clothes that are too tight, inappropriate or downright scary.

Or, if that's not ringing a bell, have you seen the TV show "What Not To Wear?" All episodes feature hidden camera footage of someone walking down the street clearly unaware of how ridiculous or frumpy they look. Of course, you can't say anything if you see something like this in real life. Instead, you just shake your head.

Vergüenza Ajena - To feel embarrassed for someone even if they don't feel embarrassed themselves. This is sometimes referred to as "secondhand embarrassment."

Do you love Tim Burton? Or the sight of blood? Maybe you enjoyed reading "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe. You have a love for something dark and you aren't sure why because, let's be honest, it's a little creepy or gross.

Morbo - A morbid fascination.

This one doesn't happen to me very often because my sweet tooth is out of control. On a rare occasion, I'll take a bite of dark chocolate cake with decadent chocolate frosting and think to myself, "Wow! That's sweet!" Then a minute or two later I'll regret that chocolate cake because my head is pulsing from sweetness overload.

Have you ever felt a little nauseated after seeing a couple being overly affectionate with each other, perhaps smothering each other in kisses on the street corner? This verb works for that, too.

Empalagar - When something's sickening or nauseating because it's too sweet.

Everyone is waiting for the quincena!

That's the bi-monthly payment that many employees receive in the Spanish-speaking world: Once on the 15th of the month, and once at the end of the month. It's almost like saying "a fortnight," but they use 15 days as a marker instead of 14.

For people awaiting paychecks, that first payment of the month always falls on the 15th. Apparently 15 is more significant in Spanish than in English in general!

Quincena - A period of 15 days.

It's sometimes argued that this is the most difficult Spanish word to translate into English. Why? In Spanish literature, especially poetry, this word is used very often to describe how a person feels about nature. However, especially in Spain, it can be used to describe an indescribable charm or magic that isn't limited to nature. You might hear about the duende of flamenco singing, for example.

Duende - The feeling of awe and inspiration had, especially when standing in nature. The overwhelming sense of beauty and magic.

I have two daughters that are under the age of two. Naturally, my house is always a mess. I'm always a day behind and a dollar short.

This is a feeling I'm incredibly familiar with, but there's no real way to describe it in English. Another time I often felt this way was when I was in college and I had two papers, an exam, a project and twenty pages of reading due the next day. Maybe I wouldn't feel this so often if I were more organized...

We can also use this verb when we hear a piece of news that dumbfounds us or stuns us, leaving us speechless and/or bothered.

Aturdir - When something overwhelms, bewilders, or stuns you to the point that you're unable to focus and think straight.

Enmadrarse

While we're on the subject of my daughters, my oldest daughter becomes very frantic when I leave her. Whether I'm leaving for work or just leaving the room, oftentimes she'll panic. Even if her dad is still in the room with her, she'll stress when I'm not with her.

Enmadrarse - When a child is very attached (emotionally) to their mother.

This summer my husband was shadowing a doctor to learn more about his practice. When people asked how we knew the doctor it became really confusing really fast. If only concuñado were a word in English.

Concu ñado - The husband of your spouse's sister or the husband of your sister-in-law.

Another word about family that would solve a lot of confusing explanations.

My daughter has two sets of grandparents, my parents and my husband's parents. We can clearly explain the relationship of both sets of grandparents to my daughter, to me and to my husband (mom and dad and the in-laws). But what are they to each other?

Consuegro - The relationship between two sets of in-laws. My parents and my husband's parents are consuegros.

Have you ever held a mirror in your hand, caught the sun's glare just right and shined it in your older brother's eyes? Let's be honest, who hasn't?

Resol - The reflection of the sun off of a surface or the glare of the sun.

You've been sitting on the porch enjoying the evening. But now the sun has set. The yawns are starting to set in. The evening's coming to an end and you all decide to go indoors.

Recogerse - To go indoors in the evening once the day is over or to go home to rest or go to bed.

After you go shopping, you're beyond excited to wear your new clothes for the first time. At least, that's how I always feel. Sometimes I'll even wait until I know that I'll be around a lot of people so I can show off my new digs.

Estrenar - To wear something for the first time or to break something in.

In English we often call this "going out for coffee." But that's very limiting to just getting coffee. Merendar widens that idea up quite a bit.

Merendar - Going out to have a snack, coffee, brunch or some other small meal.

While living in Argentina, my family loved to go out to eat at the local restaurants. The atmosphere was incredibly different from any restaurant I've been to in the United States.

Once the meal is over in the United States, the waiter usually will bring you the check, you'll pay immediately and you'll leave. In many Spanish cultures, it's very common to stay at the table for hours after the meal is over and just talk over a cup of coffee.

Sobremesa - The conversation that takes place at the dinner table after the meal is over.

Much like sobremesa, puente speaks to the Spanish culture. Now, puente does mean bridge but, in some cases, it's a very specific (and abstract) bridge that we don't talk about much in English.

Puente - When Thursday is a holiday and you take off Friday to bridge the holiday to the weekend, or, likewise, when Tuesday is a holiday and you take off Monday to extend your weekend.

Technically this word can be translated directly into English, but it's a lengthy, wordy phrase. Wouldn't it be nice if we had a single word?

Antier - The day before yesterday.

Antier is a bit antiquated, and anteayer is the more common phrase in modern day.

My neighbor's mom was in town staying with her for a few days. Overall, the weather was pretty nice and sunny. Then all of a sudden it started snowing. She came downstairs and told her daughter, "There's a flight leaving in an hour, I'm out of here!"

Friolento - Someone who's sensitive to the cold. The cold can refer to the weather, drinks or food.

We've all had those nights when we've tossed and turned and tried to sleep but just couldn't convince the sandman to stop at our mattress.

Desvelado - Unable to sleep or sleep-deprived.

You're in a new relationship. You're really starting to fall for this guy/girl. You like them as more than a friend, but jumping from friend to "I love you" is like trying to jump across a wide lake. If only you had a stepping stone.

Te Quiero - More than "I like you," but not quite "I love you."

Usted versus tú is a confusing concept for someone who's just learning Spanish or for someone who speaks no Spanish at all. We don't have a formal and an informal speech in English.

Tutear - When you speak to someone in the informal tú form.

Estadounidense

While I was living in Argentina, I'd have friends ask me about my nationality. "I'm American," I'd reply. "North American or South American?" "North American...I'm from the States..." would be my unsure reply to that follow-up question.

If only I'd known that Spanish has a more specific word for this than English does!

Estadounidense - Someone who's from the United States.

Do you remember Bert and Ernie from "Sesame Street"? Bert had that fabulous unibrow which was really a fuzzy line across his puppet face. He didn't have an entrecejo.

Entrecejo - The space between your eyebrows.

Have you ever seen a car that's literally being held together by zip ties and duct tape? Or maybe someone has made a cake and it looks awful?

Chapuza - A lousy job, a shabby piece of work. When something's put together poorly.

Dar Un Toque

This phrase was probably more applicable before texting was so widely used. But it's still something that I find myself doing when I want someone to call me back and I know they won't answer my initial call.

Dar Un Toque - Calling someone, letting it ring once, then hanging up so the person knows to call you back.

Perhaps it's a good thing that in English we haven't needed this word. It makes sense that, with as much political unrest as there has been in Spanish-speaking countries, there would be a specific Spanish word for someone like Franco.

Golpista - The leader of a military coup.

We all know that person who loves hugs and kisses and affection in general. They may even like to be fussed over. We could be talking about our grandma who loves hugging and kissing us, or our cat who wants your constant attention and petting.

Mimoso - Someone who enjoys being given affection or wants to give affection in the form of physical contact.

Pavonearse

Sometimes, the mimosos in our lives enjoy pavonearse.

Pavonearse - Strutting around like a peacock, acting like they own the place.

Everyone does this a million times a day without even realizing it. Tying our shoes. Washing our hands a certain way. Pouring our cereal first then the milk.

Soler - Doing something out of habit, doing something that you're used to doing.

Maybe if we had a fun word in English like this, children would stop being annoyed when someone else has the same name as them.

Tocayo - Someone who has the same name as you.

This isn't a concept that's uncommon in any culture worldwide. However, Spanish has consolidated another wordy English phrase into a single elegant word.

Amigovio(a) - Friend with benefits.

Well, there you have it!

Next time you can't find the word in English, just drop the Spanish word casually.

"Oh your name's Jessica? My name's Jessica. We're totally tocayas. "

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34 Uniquely Untranslatable Spanish Words You've Gotta Know

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It's right there-right on the tip of your tongue. What the heck was that silly word you were thinking of?

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Un aumentativo es un tipo de sufijo especifico que indica importancia o gran tamaño. El vinculo baja va a una pagina de web con una explicación de los aumentativos en más detalle y también una corta prueba. La prueba es practica divertida de los aumentativos y un versión más especifica de afijos.

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Los aumentativos se forman en español añadiendo los sufijos -ón, -azo, -ote, -achón, -ejón, -errón, -erón, -etón y -atón a nombres, adjetivos e incluso verbos.

Como la palabra indica, los aumentativos se usan para agrandar, expresar generalmente algo de gran tamaño o hablar sobre algo que tiene gran importancia.

A continuación, encontrarás algunos ejemplos con los sufijos más comunes para formar aumentativos.

Las palabras formadas con este sufijo son de género masculino, aunque se deriven de una palabra de género femenino.

La película > el pelicul ón

Además, se también forman nombres a partir de un verbo como es el caso de:

Generalmente, se utiliza este sufijo para expresar golpes o movimientos violentos realizados con el nombre derivado.

Tomate > tomat azo (golpe dado con un tomate)

Pelota > pelot azo (golpe dado con una pelota)

Sin embargo, también se usa -azo para expresar que algo es muy grande desde un punto de vista positivo como:

piso > pis azo (piso grande y muy bonito)

hotel > hotel azo (hotel muy grande y lujoso)

Generalmente se utiliza este sufijo desde un punto de vista despectivo, es decir, negativo.

Algunas palabras formadas con este sufijo son:

Algunos ejemplos de palabras con este sufijo son:

bueno > bon achón ( forma irregular)

Sandra Municio / Practica Español

〈 BIBLIOGRAFÍA: Los post de gramática de Practica Español han sido elaborados siguiendo, entre otras, todas o algunas de las r ecomendaciones de la Real Academia de la Lengua Española y el Instituto Cervantes en "Gramática básica de la RAE, "Gramática práctica del español" y "Las 500 dudas más frecuentes del español". "Gramática de la Lengua Española", de Emilio Alarcos Llorach. "Ortografía de uso del español" y "Gramática didáctica del español", de Leonardo Gómez Torrego. "Breve ortografía escolar" de Manuel Bustos Sousa."Diccionario gramatical" de Emilio M. Martínez Amador. Vademécum del español urgente y Manual de español urgente, de Agencia EFE. Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas (RAE)

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Como la palabra indica, los aumentativos se usan para agrandar, expresar generalmente algo de gran tamaño o hablar sobre algo que tiene gran importancia. A continuación, encontrarás algunos ejemplos con los sufijos más comunes para formar aumentativos. Las palabras formadas con este sufijo son de género masculino, aunque se deriven de una palabra de género femenino.

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Me gusta este artículo porque tiene ejemplos de prefijos y sufijos con sus significados. La explicación de estos afijos con ejemplos es útil para aprender que afijos son apropiados usar en habla. Creo que esta información es muy practica para conversación.  También me ayuda a identificar afijos en palabras ya sé.

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Los prefijos se ubican inmediatamente antes de la palabra que se va a modificar (micro, anti). Los sufijos se ubican inmediatamente después de la raíz…

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Aquí es un video muy cómico de un canción sobre jerigonza. También canta el estribillo en jerigonza. Me recuerda de una canción estadounidense de los "teeny-boppers" como Rebecca Black. Me gusta a escuchar a jerigonza en habla por los hispanohablantes porque es más fácil a entender

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Esta presentación me ayuda entender las diferencias entre un fonema y un alófono. Es corto, claro, y directo. Describe que la diferencia es en el propuesto de la letra. Si la letra cambia el significado de la palabra, entonces es un fonema. En otro lado un sonido diferente no cambia el significado es alófono.

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La diferencia entre los dos sonidos no permite distinguir palabras en espańol y por eso los hablantes tienen dificultades para reconocer las realizaciones como diferentes. Decimos, entonces, que las distintas realizaciones fonéticas corresponden al fonema /b/ y que esas

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Para mi este gráfico es super útil porque incluye ejemplos de los fonemas en palabras. Me gusta como todo parte de la fonología esta en esta gráfico y es fácil a entender. Combina los símbolos lingüísticas con letras que representan los sonidos. Mientras hay unos fonemas que está faltando, el gráfico tiene los más comunes.

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Correspondencia de fonemas y grafías en español

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En este video la chica habla en 20 acentos diferente. Creo que es un buen ejemplo de alófonos españoles. Su voz es muy clara y puedes oír los sonidos diferentes y también los tonos. Es interesante escuchar y comparar los sonidos de acentos diferentes porque algunos son muy similares y otros son completamente diferente. Porque ella cambia el tono y inflexión es fácil oír como lo afecta los sonidos también.

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Elegí este artículo porque es muy útil para entender los diferentes diptongos y hiatos. Me gustan los imágenes que son incluido porque demuestran donde los vocales son formados en la boca. En el fin hay ejemplos de hiatos y diptongos que es muy útil para practicar y reforzar conceptos.

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diptongos más frecuentes combinan una vocal abierta (/a e o/) con una cerrada (/i u/), o viceversa, la cerrada no debe ser tónica. También existen diptongos formados por dos vocales cerradas consecutivas como sucede en ruiseñor o ciudad, estos casos generalmente se resuelven como diptongo creciente.

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Escribir 3 tipos de diferencias entre español de España y español de México.

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Errores comunes de español que son hechos por hablantes de ingles. 

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Errores comunes de español que son hechos por hablantes de ingles. 

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Este articulo explora los errores que hablantes de ingles hacen mucho cuando hablando en español. Incluye errores de léxicas, pronunciación, verbos, y genero. Elegí este articulo porque me enseñó maneras a mejorar mi español y creo que es interesante reflejar sobre los errores que son hecho en una idioma segunda versus la idioma nativa.

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As second-language speakers, we can realistically never hope to reach perfect native level with our Spanish. We can, however, get pretty darn close!

There are a few things that are always dead giveaways that mark you as an English-speaking Spanish learner. But want to take your Spanish to the next level and have native speakers take a step back and ask "Where are you from?" when you speak to them?

Well, take a look at the list below which outlines some of the most common errors made by English speakers who are learning the Spanish language.

Pronunciation

If you want to get technical, you could call this the "phonetics" section. In this section, you will get a quick introduction to some of the "nit-picky" aspects of pronunciation. But, believe me. These things will be some of the first giveaways to your non-native status that native Spanish speakers will hear when you speak to them. So, pay attention if you want to sound more like one of them!

Roll your Rrrrrrrs!

It's something that not everyone can do. And it takes a lot of practice to perfect it, but, this is one thing that almost every Spaniard will point out at one time or another as being something that English speakers just can't seem to get right.

This isn't just the "rr" in words like " " or " " but also the slight trill that you'll hear words such as " " or " ." It's nowhere near as long and exaggerated at the "rr" you'll find in the first two words, but it's still different than the "r" we have in English. It's more fluid, and rolls of the tongue a little quicker.

Don't be so harsh with your inter-vocal consonants

When a "d" comes between two vowels, there's a slight change in the way it's pronounced. One of the common mistakes that English speakers make, is they continue to pronounce it as if it were the hard "d" like in "dog."

If you listen to a native Spanish speaker, you'll realize that when they pronounce the "d" in words like " " or " " it's more of a soft, barely noticeable stop. Most of the time, if they're speaking quickly, it will sound more like "to-o" with a little pause in between the two "O's". The tongue still shoots forward, as it would if the word were pronounced slowly and deliberately, but if the speech is fluid, the sound produced will be very faint.

The same happens with "b" and "g" in words such " " and " ." In these cases, the consonant is heard a little more than the "d" mentioned above, but still not as harshly as it would be in English pronunciation, such as with words like "boat" or "goat."

False Friends

Also called "false cognates" these are words that sound very similar to words that exist in English, but they don't, in fact, mean the same thing!

Sensato/ Sensible

This is one that's really confusing! If a person is " " then he is "sensible." But if he is " " (in Spanish) he is "sensitive" in English!

So, in case you missed that:

Actually/ Actualmente

Actually, this one is pretty confusing too! But, " actualmente " I'm going to explain it to you so you can avoid making one very common mistake.

" Actualmente " means "currently" or "at the present time." If you were to say something along the lines of "actualmente, no me gusta el pescado" hoping to say "Actually, I don't like fish," what you're really saying is "At the current time/ at the moment, I don't like fish."

This may be true for you! Maybe you liked fish yesterday, but today you're just not feeling it. That's fine, you can say that then. But, if what you're trying to say is "In reality, I don't like fish" then you should say something more like "la verdad, no me gusta el pescado."
An example of a sentence with "actualmente" being used correctly would be: "Actualmente Obama es presidente de los Estados Unidos."

Asistir/ Atender

means "to attend." means to assist/ help. What? Really? So all this time I've been saying "Atiendo clases de español" and I should have been saying "Asisto clases de español"?

Yes! These two are very commonly confused by English speakers, so write them down, practice them, log them away in your mind, because they're commonly used, and commonly messed up.

does not mean "exit." So, if you're walking around somewhere in a Spanish speaking country asking for the " " don't be surprised if people look at you funny. You're asking them where is the "success" or "achievement."
By the way "exit" is .

Embarazada

This is one that can lead to some very funny situations if you get it wrong. It sounds similar to the english word "embarrassed" and you may find yourself blushing red with that very feeling when you accidentally tell someone you're pregnant.

If you want to brag about your Spanish-language education, you may not want to do so by telling someone that you are very "educado." While this isn't a bad thing, it has nothing to do with your book-learning or Spanish skills!

is an adjective used to describe someone with good manners. It's like saying "he's polite." ( .)

Of course we were going to have to talk about grammar-the language student's best friend! Surprisingly enough, verb conjugations aren't at the top of the list of things that serve as giveaways of an English-speaker learning Spanish. Below you will find the 5 most common grammatical pitfalls for Spanish language students.

This is something that's an almost completely foreign concept in the English language. Not "gender" itself, but the idea that words have a gender.

This is something that's hard, not only to understand, but to then put into practice, because it's not just the nouns that have a gender. The adjectives associated with them have one too! Note the example again- "lA casA rojA"- all feminine.

If we were to say " el libro rojo " (the red book) you'll see that the article "el" is masculine, as is the adjective "rojo." Not keeping the gender consistent throughout a sentence is a common mistake made by English speakers.

Generally speaking, a noun that ends in "o" is masculine, and one that ends in "a" is feminine! Easy as that! But, of course, there has to be a few exceptions. Some of the most common are:

La mano (the hand- feminine)

El mapa (the map- masculine)

La foto (the picture- feminine) short for "fotografía".

La radio (the radio- feminine)

Another thing to watch out for when talking about gender is when a word both ends and begins with "a." They are feminine words, and will take the feminine article in their plural forms, and also require the adjectives defining them to be feminine. But, in the singular, the article will be masculine: " " the water, " " the soul " " the eagle.

So, you can say " quiero el agua fría " but if you want more than one, you'd say " quiero las aguas frías ."

Am I short, or am I short?

This is a very commonly confused pair of verbs, both meaning "to be." The best way to remember these is:

Example: I am short (Soy baja- I have been short my whole life, and it's not going to change no matter how much milk I drink!). He is handsome. She is nice. They are young, but we are old. These are all things that are used to describe qualities that you would consider to be "permanent" about the person. They aren't going to change-at least not any time soon!

Example: I am angry (Estoy enfadada- I'm not always angry, it's just that right now, I am!) He is tired. We are in the store. You are very handsome today (if you want to emphasize that someone looks especially nice).

Subjunctive

There isn't really enough space here to go too in-depth as to the workings of the subjunctive. But, is it definitely something that English speakers struggle with on a regular basis. If you want to take your Spanish to the next level, it's something you'll have to become familiar with.

I paid $5 for a present for my mother. Two "for's" in one sentence, and two different "for's" in Spanish. Pagué $5 por un regalo para mi madre .

There are lists and shortcuts for remembering which one to use when, but the simplest and most basic way to remember them is:

"Tengo que pasar el parque en el camino a clase."- I have to pass the park on my way to class.

is used to show finality-the end result. Again, looking back at first example "a gift FOR my mother" shows the gifts final destination-it's overall purpose. " ."- I'm going FOR (To- the end of the road is...) my friend's house. Voy para la casa de mi amiga

Another common use of " " is before a verb in infinitive, and in this case it means "in order to." Again, talking about the result of the action. " Para llegar a clase, tengo que pasar por el parque ."- In order to arrive at class, I have to pass through the park.

Using possessive adjectives when talking about the parts of the body

But it's MY head that hurts!

This is a very common in error for English-speaking Spanish learners, and is due to the fact that in English, it's the way it's said! My arm, my head, his leg, her back... We always have to lay claim to body parts. Well, in Spanish you don't have to!

This is because the construction of the sentence will almost always make it clear to the listener whose body part is being referred to. Let's go back to the sentence at the beginning of this section.

"My head hurts." In Spanish this would be said " " means that the hurting is happening to me! Someone else's head isn't going to hurt me, only mine. So there's absolutely no need to repeat myself by saying "To me my head hurts." me duele la cabeza ." Understanding the workings of indirect object pronouns, we see that "

In place of the possessive adjective, in Spanish you simply use the definite article. " Le duele el estomago "- His stomach hurts. " ¡Lávate las manos! "- Wash your hands!

Conclusion

This article is meant to serve as a quick guide to what common pitfalls to be on the lookout for as an English-speaking student of Spanish. There will always be ways in which we give ourselves away, but making it a little more difficult for native Spanish speakers to tell is definitely a great feeling!

These things don't happen overnight. They take a long time, a lot of studying, continuously making the same mistakes, and never giving up. Hopefully this article will help you be more conscious of these very typical errors, and also give you some encouragement in knowing that you're not alone in committing them-it comes with being an English speaker.

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Most Common Pitfalls of English Speakers Learning Spanish

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As second-language speakers, we can realistically never hope to reach perfect native level with our Spanish. We can, however, get pretty darn close! There are a few things that are always dead giveaways that mark you as an English-speaking Spanish learner.

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Las diferencias entre español de México y español de España. 

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Las diferencias entre español de México y español de España. 

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Me interesa mucho este video porque las chicas hablan sobre muchas diferencies léxicas entre los dos piases, España y México. También explican como diferencias existen en las regiones de un país no solo entre países separados. Creo que estas diferencias son las más importantes a entender porque afectan comprehensión en un conversación.

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Diferencias entre el español de MÉXICO y el de ESPAÑA

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Bebes tienen la capacidad distinguir cada sonido que existe, sobre 800. En este video investigadores usan esta información examinar la diferencia en los cerebros entre bebes bilingües y monolingüe. Usando una machina, los investigadores estudian como los bebes responden a sonidos de español y ingles. Descubran que cuando bebes tienen once meses, su capacidad oír los sonidos diferentes está

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How do babies learn language? Irene Zaccari, CC BY-NC-ND

Any adult who has attempted to learn a foreign language can attest to how difficult and confusing it can be. So when a three-year-old growing up in a bilingual household inserts Spanish words into his English sentences, conventional wisdom assumes that he is confusing the two languages.

Research shows that this is not the case.

In fact, early childhood is the best possible time to learn a second language. Children who experience two languages from birth typically become native speakers of both, while adults often struggle with second language learning and rarely attain native-like fluency.

But the question remains: is it confusing for babies to learn two languages simultaneously?

When do babies learn language?

Research shows babies begin to learn language sounds before they're even born. In the womb, a mother's voice is one of the most prominent sounds an unborn baby hears. By the time they're born, newborns can not only tell the difference between their mother's language and another language, but also show a capability of distinguishing between languages.

Language learning depends on the processing of sounds. All the world's languages put together comprise about 800 or so sounds. Each language uses only about 40 language sounds, or "phonemes," which distinguish one language from another.

At birth, the baby brain has an unusual gift: it can tell the difference between all 800 sounds. This means that at this stage infants can learn any language that they're exposed to. Gradually babies figure out which sounds they are hearing the most.

John Mayer, CC BY

Between six and 12 months, infants who grow up in monolingual households become more specialized in the subset of sounds in their native language. In other words, they become "native language specialists." And, by their first birthdays, monolingual infants begin to lose their ability to hear the differences between foreign language sounds.

Studying baby brains

What about those babies who hear two languages from birth? Can a baby brain specialize in two languages? If so, how is this process different then specializing in a single language?

Knowing how the baby brain learns one versus two languages is important for understanding the developmental milestones in learning to speak. For example, parents of bilingual children often wonder what is and isn't typical or expected, or how their child will differ from those children who are learning a single language.

My collaborators and I recently studied the brain processing of language sounds in 11-month-old babies from monolingual (English only) and bilingual (Spanish-English) homes. We used a completely noninvasive technology called magnetoencephalography (MEG), which precisely pinpointed the timing and the location of activity in the brain as the babies listened to Spanish and English syllables.

We found some key differences between infants raised in monolingual versus bilingual homes.

At 11 months of age, just before most babies begin to say their first words, the brain recordings revealed that:

Babies from monolingual English households are specialized to process the sounds of English, and not the sounds of Spanish, an unfamiliar language

Babies from bilingual Spanish-English households are specialized to process the sounds of both languages, Spanish and English.

Our findings show that babies' brains become tuned to whatever language or languages they hear from their caregivers. A monolingual brain becomes tuned to the sounds of one language, and a bilingual brain becomes tuned to the sounds of two languages. By 11 months of age, the activity in the baby brain reflects the language or languages that they have been exposed to.

Is it OK to learn two languages?

This has important implications. Parents of monolingual and bilingual children alike are eager for their little ones to utter the first words. It's an exciting time to learn more about what the baby is thinking. However, a common concern, especially for bilingual parents, is that their child is not learning fast enough.

We found that the bilingual babies showed an equally strong brain response to English sounds as the monolingual babies. This suggests that bilingual babies were learning English at the same rate as the monolingual babies.

Parents of bilingual children also worry that their children will not know as many words as children who are raised with one language.

jakeliefer, CC BY

To some extent, this concern is valid. Bilingual infants split their time between two languages, and thus, on average, hear fewer words in each. However, studies consistently show that bilingual children do not lag behind when both languages are considered.

Vocabulary sizes of bilingual children, when combined across both languages, have been found to be equal to or greater than those of monolingual children.

Another common concern is that bilingualism causes confusion. Part of this concern arises due to "code switching," a speaking behavior in which bilinguals combine both languages.

For example, my four-year-old son, who speaks English, Spanish, and Slovene, goes as far as using the Slovene endings on Spanish and English words. Research shows bilingual children code-switch because bilingual adults around them do too. Code-switching in bilingual adults and children is rule-governed, not haphazard.

Unlike monolingual children, bilingual children have another language from which they can easily borrow if they can't quickly retrieve the appropriate word in one language. Even two-year-olds modulate their language to match the language used by their interlocutor.

Researchers have shown code switching to be part of a bilingual child's normal language development. And it could even be the beginning of what gives them the extra cognitive prowess known as the "bilingual advantage."

Bilingual kids are at an advantage

The good news is young children all around the world can and do acquire two languages simultaneously. In fact, in many parts of the world, being bilingual is the norm rather than an exception.

It is now understood that the constant need to shift attention between languages leads to several cognitive advantages. Research has found that bilingual adults and children show an improved executive functioning of the brain - that is, they are able to shift attention, switch between tasks and solve problems more easily. Bilinguals have also been found to have increased metalinguistic skills (the ability to think about language per se, and understand how it works). There is evidence that being bilingual makes the learning of a third language easier. Further, the accumulating effect of dual language experience is thought to translate into protective effects against cognitive decline with aging and the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

So, if you want your child to know more than one language, it's best to start at an early age, before she even starts speaking her first language. It won't confuse your child, and it could even give her a boost in other forms of cognition.

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Why the baby brain can learn two languages at the same time

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Any adult who has attempted to learn a foreign language can attest to how difficult and confusing it can be. So when a three-year-old growing up in a bilingual household inserts Spanish words into his English sentences, conventional wisdom assumes that he is confusing the two languages.

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La mezcla de idiomas en niños bilingües. 

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La mezcla de idiomas en niños bilingües. 

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Ese reporte habla sobre los resueltos de un experimento con niños bilingües. El propósito era observar como niños mezclan palabras de los dos idiomas para comunicar. Muchas veces usaban sustantivos de ingles en los oraciones españoles, lo que causaban errores del genero. Estos errores no son permanentes, los niños corrigen su habla tan pronto como aprenden las palabras correspondiente en la otra idioma.