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Hay muchas familias de lenguas en el mundo, pero el más grande es la familia Indo-Europeo. La familia tiene un gran zona, de India a Inglaterra. Incluye las ramas como itálica, germánica, eslava, y céltica. Español es parte de la rama itálica. Elegí esa tabla porque muestra el gran tamaño de la familia y como las lenguas han desarrollado de la lengua original indo-europeo.

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Partial tree of Indo-European languages. Branches are in order of first attestation; those to the left are Centum, those to the right are Satem. Languages in red are extinct. White labels indicate...

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La relatividad lingüística y nuestros pensamientos

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La relatividad lingüística y nuestros pensamientos

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Me fascina la idea que nuestra lengua puede afectar la manera en que pensamos. Por ejemplo, en español el “se accidental” hace más común que la gente se olvide quien tiene la falta en un accidente. También, personas hispanohablantes pueden internalizar el género porque las palabras son masculino o femenina. Este artículo da más ejemplos sobre la relatividad lingüística y se trata de las razones psicológicas detrás de por qué esto sucede.

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As I teach linguistics, one of the most intriguing questions for my students is whether all human beings think in a similar way-regardless of the language they use to convey their thoughts-or if the language we speak affects the way we think. This question has entertained philosophers, psychologists, linguists, neuroscientists, and many others for centuries. And everyone has strong opinions about it.

At present, we still lack a definitive answer to this question, but we have gathered evidence (mostly derived from typological analyses of languages and psycholinguistic studies) that can give us a good understanding of the problem. As I will try to show, the evidence argues in favor of a universal groundwork for perception and thought in all human beings, while language is a filter, enhancer, or framer of perception and thought.

The story begins with the first American linguists who described (scientifically) some of the languages spoken by Native Americans. They discovered many awkward differences compared to the languages they had learned in school (ancient Greek, Latin, English, German, and the like). They found sounds never heard in European languages (like ejective consonants), strange meanings encoded in the grammar (like parts of the verb referring to shapes of the objects), or new grammatical categories (like evidentiality, that is, the source of knowledge about the facts in a sentence). Not surprisingly, some of these linguists concluded that such strange linguistic systems should have an effect on the mind of their speakers. Edward Sapir, one of the most influential American linguists, wrote: "The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same worlds with different labels attached" (Sapir, 1949: 162). For centuries, people thought that words were just labels for objects, and that different languages merely attached different strings of sounds to things-or, more accurately, to concepts. Now it was suggested that the world might be perceived differently by people speaking different languages. Or, more radically, that people could only perceive aspects of the world for which their languages have words.

Really? A useful (and instructive) way of testing Sapir's claims focuses on color perception. Color distributes continuously (it depends on the wavelength of the light), but it is perceived categorically. Interestingly, the number of basic terms for colors is far smaller than the number of color tones we can perceive. Moreover, this number differs from one language to another. For instance, Russian has 12 basic terms for colors, whereas Dani, a language spoken in New Guinea, has only two: mili (for cold colors) and mola (for warm colors).

Researchers found that, not surprisingly, Dani people are able to distinguish among different color tones (like red, yellow, and orange) despite labelling them identically ( mola). They also found that people distinguish better between two color tones that are named differently (for instance, blue and green). Because different languages frame the continuum of color in different ways, people speaking different languages are expected to focus differently regarding colors. In some sense, Sapir was half-right.

This effect of framing or filtering is the main effect we can expect-regarding language-from perception and thought. Languages do not limit our ability to perceive the world or to think about the world, but they focus our perception, attention, and thought on specific aspects of the world. This can be useful indeed. Chinese-speaking children learn to count earlier than English-speaking children because Chinese numbers are more regular and transparent than English numbers (in Chinese, "eleven" is "ten one"). Likewise, people speaking some Australian languages orient themselves in space better than English-speaking people (they often know north from south-even in darkness), plausibly because their languages have absolute spatial deictics. This means that when referring to a distant object they do not say "that car" or "that tree over there," but rather "the car to the north" or "the tree to the south." Because they need to know direction in order to correctly assembly utterances in their language, they are more accustomed than us to pay attention to the cardinal points.

So, different languages focus the attention of their speakers on different aspects of the environment-either physical or cultural. But how do we know which aspect? Essentially, we see what's important to the people speaking whatever language. We linguists say that these salient aspects are either lexicalized or grammaticalised. Lexicalizing means that you have words for concepts, which work as shorthands for those concepts. This is useful because you don't need to explain (or paraphrase) the meaning you want to convey. Instead of saying, "that cold and white thing that falls from the sky in the cold days of winter," you just say snow.

Obviously, we do not have words for everything. We only have words for concepts that are important or salient in our culture. This explains why lexicons (or set of words) in languages are all quite different. The lexicon is like a big, open bag: Some words are coined or borrowed because you need them for referring to new objects, and they are put into the bag. Conversely, some objects are not used anymore, and then the words for them are removed from the bag.

Some aspects of the world are encoded by languages even more deeply-to the extent that they are part of language grammars. You need to consider them whenever you build a sentence in that language. Linguists say that they are grammaticalised. Dyirbal, a language spoken in Northern Australia, for example, has four noun classes (like English genders). The assignment of nouns to each class is apparently arbitrary: Class I encompasses nouns for animals and human males; class II encompasses nouns for women, water, fire, and names for fighting objects; class III only encompasses nouns for edible plants; and class IV is like a residual class, where all the remaining names are put together. This grammatical classification of nouns involves a coherent view of the world, including an original mythology. For instance, though animals are assigned to class I, bird nouns are found in class II because Dyirbal people believed birds were the spirits of dead women (nouns for women are found in class II). Likewise, the way people think about time is encoded deeply in the grammar of most languages. In some languages like English, time is tripartite: past, present, and future. However, in a language like Yimas, spoken in New Guinea, there are four types of pasts, from recent events to remote past. And there are languages like Chinese that lack grammatical tense, too.

In summary, language functions as a filter of perception, memory, and attention. Whenever we construct or interpret a linguistic statement, we need to focus on specific aspects of the situation that the statement describes. Interestingly, some brain imaging facilities are now allowing us to examine these effects from a neurobiological perspective. For example, in this interesting paper, the authors prove that language affects the categorical perception of color-and that this effect is stronger in the right visual field than in the left visual field. Discrimination of colors encoded by different words also provokes stronger and faster responses in the left hemisphere language regions than discrimination of colors encoded by the same word. The authors conclude that the left posterior temporoparietal language region may serve as a top-down control source that modulates the activation of the visual cortex.

This is a nice example of current biolinguistic research (in a broader sense) helping to achieve a better and more balanced understanding of classic questions in linguistics-like the relationship between language and thought.

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How the Language We Speak Affects the Way We Think

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As I teach linguistics, one of the most intriguing questions for my students is whether all human beings think in a similar way-regardless of the language they use to convey their thoughts-or if the language we speak affects the way we think. This question has entertained philosophers, psychologists, linguists, neuroscientists, and many others for centuries.

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Cuando aprendes español como adulto, hay factores que pueden hacerlo más difícil, como sus años y su primer lengua. Pero, si los adultos tienen una actitud positiva, motivación, exposición a la lengua, y intelecto maduro, sería más fácil para aprender la lengua. Esto sitio web es genial para mejorar su exposición a una lengua, porque puede conocer a otras personas que hablan la lengua que necesita aprender.

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Conversation Exchange - Language learning with native speakers

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Through Conversation Exchange you can have three types of language exchange: face to face conversation by meeting up with native speakers, Correspondence (pen-pal), text and voice chat

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En realidad, no hay una lengua más fácil para todo el mundo. Cuáles lenguas son las más fáciles depende en muchos factores, como tu lengua nativa, otras lenguas que has aprendido, y la complejidad de una lengua. Por ejemplo, para una persona suya primer lengua es inglés, las lenguas más fáciles son las de la rama germánica, como holandesa, afrikaans, y alemana, y las de la rama romance, como español y francés. Esto video se trata de cuáles son las lenguas más fáciles para personas diferentes.

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Las vocales son el fundamento de una lengua y como hablamos. In español, hay cinco vocales: a, e, i, o, y u. Inglés también usa estas vocales, pero en inglés pueden hacer más que uno sonido. En español, se llama las “vocales cardinales”, y no hay mucho variacion en el pronunciacion de las vocales. Me interesa la idea que idiomas diferentes tienen números diferentes de las vocales, porque los dos idiomas que conozco, inglés y español, tienen las mismas vocales. Aquí tengo algunos ejemplos de lenguas de Europa y cuantas vocales cada lengua tiene.

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What languages in Europe have the most or least phonemes ?

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Comparative table of the number of phonemes (vowels, consonants) in European languages.

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Las fonemas son los sonidos distintivos o contrastivos de una lengua, y es algo abstracta y generalizada. Por otra parte, un alófono es un sonido específico. Entonces, una fonemas puede tener alófonos múltiples. Por ejemplo, la fonema /b/ tiene dos alófonos: [b] y [β]. Los alófonos puede cambiar depende de la palabra, la persona, o la situacion. Este sitio se trata de la diferencia entre fonemas y alófonos.

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Phoneme and allophone

Robert Mannell, Macquarie University, 2008

Topics

The course material for this topic is divided into the sub-topics below.

Additional reading

Students should also read the following: Clark, Yallop & Fletcher (2007) (Chapter 4)

Introduction

Trubetzkoy (1939) wrote

"It is the task of phonology to study which differences in sound are related to differences in meaning in a given language, in which way the discriminative elements ... are related to each other, and the rules according to which they may be combined into words and sentences."

Linguistic units which cannot be substituted for each other without a change in meaning can be referred to as linguistically contrastive or significant units. Such units may be phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic etc.

Logically, this takes the form:-

Phonemes

Phonemes are the linguistically contrastive or significant sounds (or sets of sounds) of a language. Such a contrast is usually demonstrated by the existence of minimal pairs or contrast in identical environment (C.I.E.). Minimal pairs are pairs of words which vary only by the identity of the segment (another word for a single speech sound) at a single location in the word (eg. [mæt] and [kæt]). If two segments contrast in identical environment then they must belong to different phonemes. A paradigm of minimal phonological contrasts is a set of words differing only by one speech sound. In most languages it is rare to find a paradigm that contrasts a complete class of phonemes (eg. all vowels, all consonants, all stops etc.).

eg. the English stop consonants could be defined by the following set of minimally contrasting words:-

i) /pɪn/ vs /bɪn/ vs /tɪn/ vs /dɪn/ vs /kɪn/

Only /ɡ/ does not occur in this paradigm and at least one minimal pair must be found with each of the other 5 stops to prove conclusively that it is not a variant form of one of them.

ii) /ɡɐn/ vs /pɐn/ vs /bɐn/ vs /tɐn/ vs /dɐn/

Again, only five stops belong to this paradigm. A single minimal pair contrasting /ɡ/ and /k/ is required now to fully demonstrate the set of English stop consonants.

iii) /ɡæɪn/ vs /kæɪn/

Sometimes it is not possible to find a minimal pair which would support the contrastiveness of two phonemes and it is necessary to resort to examples of contrast in analogous environment (C.A.E.). C.A.E. is almost a minimal pair, however the pair of words differs by more than just the pair of sounds in question. Preferably, the other points of variation in the pair of words are as remote as possible (and certainly never adjacent and preferably not in the same syllable) from the environment of the pairs of sounds being tested. eg. /ʃ/ vs /ʒ/ in English are usually supported by examples of pairs such as "pressure" [preʃə] vs "treasure" [treʒə], where only the initial consonants differ and are sufficiently remote from the opposition being examined to be considered unlikely to have any conditioning effect on the selection of phones. The only true minimal pairs for these two sounds in English involve at least one word (often a proper noun) that has been borrowed from another language (eg. "Confucian" [kənfjʉːʃən] vs "confusion" [kənfjʉːʒən], and "Aleutian" [əlʉːʃən] vs "allusion" [əlʉːʒən]).

A syntagmatic analysis of a speech sound, on the other hand, identifies a unit's identity within a language. In other words, it indicates all of the locations or contexts within the words of a particular language where the sound can be found.

For example, a syntagm of the phone [n] in English could be in the form:-
( #CnV..., #nV..., ...Vn#, ...VnC#, ...VnV..., etc.)

whilst [ŋ] in English would be:-
(...Vŋ#, ...VŋC#, ...VŋV..., etc)

but would not include the word initial forms of the kind described for [n].

Note that in the above examples, "#" is used to represent a word or syllable boundary, "V" represents any vowel, and "C" represents another consonant.

For example, examples of the type "#CnV..." would include "snow" [snəʉ], "snort" [snoːt] and "snooker" [snʉːkə]. In this case, the only consonant (for English) that can occupy the initial "C" slot is the phoneme /s/, and so the generalised pattern could be rewritten as "#snV...".

Allophones

Allophones are the linguistically non-significant variants of each phoneme. In other words a phoneme may be realised by more than one speech sound and the selection of each variant is usually conditioned by the phonetic environment of the phoneme. Occasionally allophone selection is not conditioned but may vary form person to person and occasion to occasion (ie. free variation).

A phoneme is a set of allophones or individual non-contrastive speech segments. Allophones are sounds, whilst a phoneme is a set of such sounds.

Allophones are usually relatively similar sounds which are in mutually exclusive or complementary distribution (C.D.). The C.D. of two phones means that the two phones can never be found in the same environment (ie. the same environment in the senses of position in the word and the identity of adjacent phonemes). If two sounds are phonetically similar and they are in C.D. then they can be assumed to be allophones of the same phoneme.

eg. in many languages voiced and voiceless stops with the same place of articulation do not contrast linguistically but are rather two phonetic realisations of a single phoneme (ie. /p/=[p,b],/t/=[t,d], and /k/=[k,ɡ]). In other words, voicing is not contrastive (at least for stops) and the selection of the appropriate allophone is in some contexts fully conditioned by phonetic context (eg. word medially and depending upon the voicing of adjacent consonants), and is in some contexts either partially conditioned or even completely unconditioned (eg. word initially, where in some dialects of a language the voiceless allophone is preferred, in others the voiced allophone is preferred, and in others the choice of allophone is a matter of individual choice).

eg. Some French speakers choose to use the alveolar trill [r] when in the village and the more prestigious uvular trill [ʀ] when in Paris. Such a choice is made for sociological reasons.

Phonetic similarity

Allophones must be phonetically similar to each other. In analysis, this means you can assume that highly dissimilar sounds are separate phonemes (even if they are in complementary distribution). For this reason no attempt is made to find minimal pairs which contrast vowels with consonants. Exactly what can be considered phonetically similar may vary somewhat from language family to language family and so the notion of phonetic similarity can seem to be quite unclear at times. Sounds can be phonetically similar from both articulatory and auditory points of view and for this reason one often finds a pair of sounds that vary greatly in their place of articulation but are sufficiently similar auditorily to be considered phonetically similar (eg. [h] and [ç] are voiceless fricatives which are distant in terms of glottal and palatal places of articulation, but which nevertheless are sufficiently similar auditorily to be allophones of a single phoneme in some languages such as Japanese).

eg. In English, /h/ and /ŋ/ are in complementary distribution. /h/ only ever occurs at the beginning of a syllable (head, heart, enhance, perhaps) whilst /ŋ/ only ever occurs at the end of a syllable (sing, singer, finger). They are, however, so dissimilar that no one regards them as allophones of the one phoneme. They vary in place and manner of articulation, as well as voicing. Further the places of articulation (velar vs glottal) are quite remote from each other and /h/ is oral whilst /ŋ/ is nasal.

According to Hockett (1942), "...if a and b are members of one phoneme, they share one or more features". Phonetic similarity is therefore based on the notion of shared features. Such judgments of similarity will vary from language to language and there are no universal criteria of similarity.

The following pairs of sounds might be considered to be similar.

i) two sounds differing only in voicing:
[pb] [td] [kɡ] [ɸβ] [θð] [sz] [ʃʒ] [xɣ] etc...

ii) two sounds differing in manner of articulation only as plosive vs fricative. The sibilant or grooved fricatives [s,z,ʃ,ʒ] are excluded from this category as they are quite different auditorily from the other ("central") fricatives.
[pɸ] [kx] [bβ] [ɡɣ] etc...

iii) Any pairs of consonants close in place of articulation and differing in no other contrastive feature:
[sʃ] [zʒ] [nɲŋ] [lɭ] [lʎ] [mɱ], etc...

iv) Any other pairs of consonants which are close in articulation and differ by one other feature but are nevertheless frequently members of the same phoneme
[lɹ] [cɡ] [tθ] [dð]

In languages where voicing is non-contrastive, two phones differing in voicing and only slightly in place of articulation might be considered similar eg. [cɡ] etc.)

Further, for the purposes of this type of analysis, the place of articulation of the apicodental fricatives [θ,ð] is considered to be close enough to that of the alveolar stops [t,d] to be considered phonetically similar.

v) Any two vowels differing in only one feature or articulated with adjacent tongue positions
[æ ɐ] [i ɪ] [ɐː ɐ] [i y] [ɑ ɑ̃]

Although it is implied above that the notion of "phonetic similarity" is in some way less linguistically abstract (more phonetic?) than the notion of complementary distribution, it is, nevertheless, a quite abstract concept. The are no obvious and consistent acoustic, auditory or articulatory criteria for phonetic similarity. Further, since a notion of similarity implies a continuum the following question must be asked of two phones in complementary distribution. How similar must they be before they are to be considered members of the same phoneme?

There are many examples of very similar phones which are perceived by native speakers to belong to separate phonemes. In English, for example, a word terminal voiceless stop may be either released and aspirated or unreleased. The homorganic voiced stop may also be released or unreleased. Often the unreleased voiced and voiceless stops may actually be identical in every way except that the preceding vowel is lengthened before the phonologically voiced stop. In terms of phonetic similarity, the two unreleased stops may actually be identical and yet be perceived by native speakers to belong to different phonemes.

For example:-
/kɐp/→[kɐpʰ] ... [kɐp̚]
/kɐb/→[kɐˑb] ... [kɐˑb̚] ... [kɐˑp̚]
(nb. " ̚ " means unreleased stop and " ˑ " means partially lengthened vowel)

Conversely, phones which are very dissimilar (at least from certain perspectives) may be felt by native speakers to belong to a single phoneme.

From an articulatory perspective, these phones seem very dissimilar (bilabial, palatal, and glottal) being produced at the extreme ends of the vocal tract. They are, however, relatively similar acoustically and auditorily (they are all relatively weak voiceless fricatives). This kind of phonetic similarity is listener orientated rather than speaker orientated.

Phonemic pattern

A pair of phones in complementary distribution may sometimes be classified into separate phonemes on the basis of phonemic pattern. In other words, is there a group of phonemes which exhibit a similar pattern of distribution (eg. clustering behaviour, morphology, etc.) to one of the phones being examined? In the case of the pair [h], [ŋ] there are some similarities in patterning between [h] and certain fricatives, and between [ŋ] and the nasals.

For example, there is a prefix which when placed before a word commencing with a stop has the effect of negating the original meaning. The prefix has the form /ɪ/ plus the nasal homorganic with the stop.

(free variation in citation form, but homorganic predominating in rapid speech)

Clearly, this pattern suggests that [ŋ] behaves in some instances with the same phonological pattern as the other nasals. It does in fact raise the question of [ŋ] being an allophone of /n/. This was indeed the case until the 1600's, but now there are quite a few minimal pairs which have since crept into the language. ("sin"/"sing", "run"/"rung").

Phonological space

The greater the distance between a phoneme and its nearest neighbours, the greater the scope for allophonic variation. In other words, the larger the number of redundant features (ie. features which when changed will not create another phoneme) the greater the number of allophones which can actually occur.

(nb. + indicates that a feature is present, - indicates that a feature is absent, +/- indicates that a feature is optional)

Changing the feature [-voice] to [+voice] will create /b/, changing the feature [bilabial] will create /t,k/ (or potential allophones of them) and changing the feature [stop] will create /w,f,m/. The only feature with complete freedom of movement is aspiration, and variation of this feature does indeed create the main pair of allophones of this phoneme in English.

The possible varieties of /r/ seem to include variations of manner, place and voicing. The only restrictions are that its allophones may not overlap with those of /l/ and /w/.

The premises of practical phonemics

(This section is after Pike (1947) (chapter 4, pp 57-66), all text below in quotes has been taken from this source)

This section examines some of the basic assumptions behind phonemic analysis. The first four premises are particularly important to remember during the process of phonemic analysis.

"Phonemic analysis cannot be made with phonetic data alone; it must be made with phonetic data plus a series of phonemic premises and procedures".(p65)

"Phonemic procedures... must be founded upon premises concerning the underlying universal characteristics of languages of the world... ." (p57)

1. "Sounds tend to be modified by their environments" (coarticulation, producing allophones)

The actual details of these processes vary from language to language.

2. "Sound systems have a tendency towards phonetic symmetry"

eg. IF unequivocal evidence that [p] vs [b] and [k] vs [ɡ] are separate phonemes then it is likely that [t] vs [d] are separate phonemes

3. "Sounds tend to fluctuate"

Free variation of allophones, eg. sometimes /tas/ = [tas] and sometimes /tas/ = [das]

4. "Characteristic sequences of sounds exert structural pressure on the phonemic interpretation of suspicious segments or suspicious sequences of segments"

For example, in the interpretation of syllable structure:-

If in all non-suspicious words the syllable structure was found to be CV then

which would agree with the CV structure.

All clear syllable initials are found at the start of the words and are always $CV... . All clear syllable finals are found at the end of words and are either ..VC$ or ..V$. There are no unambiguous examples of CC clusters at the start or end of a syllable therefore the most likely analysis would be to place the syllable boundary in [saplam] thus /sap$lam/. In the cases of [maba],[nasaɡ] and [pasak] the most satisfactory syllabification would be to place the medial consonant in the second syllable (placing at the end of the first syllable would require an additional syllable initial $V... which is not unambiguously attested (ie. no words begin with a vowel)).

Some extra premises (Pike lists more but these are the most important)

1. "Every language has consonants and vowels"

2. "Certain kinds of segments may be vowels in one language but consonants in another."
eg. [ia] →/ia/ in language 1 (L1) but [ia] = /ja/ in language 2 (L2)

3. "The dichotomy between vowel and consonant is not strictly an articulatory one but is in part based on distributional characteristics."

4."A long vowel or consonant may in some languages constitute two phonemes."
eg. [aː] →/a/ in L1 and /aa/ in L2

5. "A sequence of two segments may in some languages constitute a single phonetically complex phoneme."
eg. [atsa] →/at$sa/ in L1 and /atsa/ in L2 (nb. $ = syllable boundary)
It may be that L2 only allows open syllables (V and CV) and so the L1 form would be illegal.

6. "Some segments may be non-significant transition sounds"
eg. in English /eɡ/ may be [ʔeɡ], where the glottal stop is phonemically non-significant.

7. "If two segments are sub-members of a single phoneme, the NORM of the phoneme is that sub-member [allophone] which is least limited in its distribution and least modified by its environments."
eg. /n/ → [ŋ] /__ {k/ɡ} and [n] elsewhere (here, [ŋ] is clearly an environmental modification)

8. "In order to be considered sub-members of a single phoneme, two segments must be (a) phonetically similar and (b) mutually exclusive as to the environments in which they occur."

9. "When two phonemic conclusions each appear to be justifiable by the other premises, and each seems to account for all the available facts of all types, that conclusion is assumed to be correct (a) which is the least complex, and (b) which gives to suspicious data an analysis parallel with analogous non-suspicious data, and (c) which appears most plausible in terms of alleged [coarticulations in] specific environments.

Reference

The following books/papers were referred to but aren't required reading.

Hockett, C.F. (1942) "A System of Descriptive Phonology", Language, 18(1), 3-21

Pike, K.L. (1947) Phonemics, U.Michigan

Trubetzkoy, N.S. (1939) "Grundzüge der Phonologie". Travaux du Cercle Linguistique de Prague 7, Reprinted 1958, Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht. Translated into English by C.A.M.Baltaxe 1969 as Principles of Phonology, Berkeley: University of California Press.

Footnotes

1. Homorganic sounds are two or more sounds that have the same place of articulation but which differ in manner of articulation.

2. This pattern reflects Japanese in the mid 20th century. This pattern has undergone recent change.

Content owner: Department of Linguistics Last updated: 05 Jun 2019 9:36am

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Robert Mannell, Macquarie University, 2008 The course material for this topic is divided into the sub-topics below. Students should also read the following: Clark, Yallop & Fletcher (2007) (Chapter 4) Trubetzkoy (1939) wrote "It is the task of phonology to study which differences in sound are related to differences in meaning in a given language, in which way the discriminative elements ...

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Hay muchas alófonos diferentes en español, y pueden ser muy diferente que los alófonos en inglés. Por ejemplo, para la fonema /d/, hay dos alófonos diferentes. El alófono [d] es oclusiva dental sonora, y podemos escucharlo en la palabra “andén”. El alófono [ð] es fricativa dental sonora, y es más suave que [d], como en la palabra “cada”. Este quizlet tiene todos de los alófonos en español, y cuando usas cado alófono.

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Pienso que es muy interesante como la boca hace los sonidos diferentes. Cuál sonido haces depende del punto de articulación, el modo de articulación, y la sonoridad. El punto refiere a la zona de la boca donde los sonidos forman, y hay ocho puntos de articulación. El modo refiere a los obstáculos que se presentan al aire al pasar por la boca, y hay cinco modos de articulación. Finalmente, la sonoridad depende de si las cuerdas vocales vibran o no. Este video no habla de estos conceptos fonéticas, pero podemos mirar la posición de la boca cuando haces un sonido específico.
Pregunta: ¿Cuántos puntos de articulación hay?
A. 5
B. 8
C. 9
D. 3

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Hay juegos de palabras para hispanohablantes se llaman jerigonzas, y son similares a “pig latin” en inglés. Los jerigonzas son diferentes dependiente de su país. En Colombia, pones la silaba pa, pe, pi, po, o pu despues de cada silaba en una palabra, dependiente de la vocal en la palabra. Por ejemplo, la palabra “mesa” se convierte en “mepesapa.” En este video, un chico hispanohablante explica su jerigonza, y habla en la “lengua nueva.”

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Los sufijos son muy importantes a español, porque pueden cambiar el significado o clase gramatical de una palabra. Un tipo de sufijos muy utilizada es los diminutivos, que significan que algo es pequeño o muestran afección. Unos ejemplos de diminutivos son -ito/a, -cito/a, -illo/a, y -cico/a. Otro ejemplo de un sufijo es -dor(a), que puede crear trabajos. Por ejemplo, vender se convierte en vendedor. Este sitio da más ejemplos de sufijos útiles en español.

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Did you know that there are over 200 suffixes in Spanish?
Yes, 200!

You do not need to learn them all at once, but you will definitely encounter most of them on your way to proficiency.

The use of suffixes is one of the most prolific ways to form new words, be it in English, Spanish or almost any other language in the world. It is by no means the only way to create new nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs, but I do think it is the easiest one to learn.

Because of time and space limitations, you will not find an exhaustive list of Spanish suffixes here. Instead, you will get the 18 most helpful, commonly-used ones, along with a brief explanation and lots of examples for each of them.

So let's not waste any more time. Let's get this lesson started. I hope you enjoy it!

Learn Spanish Suffixes with Authentic Videos

Before you dive into 18 of the 200 Spanish suffixes, check them out in action with FluentU!

FluentU takes real-world videos, like music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks, and turns them into Spanish learning experiences.

Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You'll learn Spanish as it's actually spoken by real people.

FluentU has a wide variety of videos-topics like soccer, TV shows, business, movies and even magical realism, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don't know, you can add it to a vocab list.

Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU's robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you're on.

The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you're learning, and it recommends you examples and videos based on the words you've already learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they're learning the same video.

Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Play Store for iOS and Android devices.

Basics down?

Vocab gathered?

Good! Let's learn some Spanish suffixes!

This suffix is probably the most commonly-used diminutive suffix in the Spanish language.

As you may know already, in Spanish we use diminutive suffixes in order to convey smallness or endearment. So, if you want to talk about a little puppy or small dog you would say perrito (from perro). If you want to express your love for your partner you can call them cariñito (from cariño,literally meaning "little love" or "little honey")-which does not mean you love them less!

Generally speaking, we can translate diminutive suffixes as "little" or "dear," and -ito is no exception.

Here you have some examples of -ito and -ita diminutives in sentences:

He comprado un arbolito para el jardín. - I have bought a little tree for the garden.

Mi hermanita está durmiendo. - My little/dear sister is sleeping.

Me gusta jugar a las cocinitas. - I like playing with toy kitchens.

El perrito quiere comer. - The little puppy/dog wants to eat.

As you can see, this is very easy to learn and use. There are, however, two important things you should know about adding this suffix to words:

a. If a word ends in an accented vowel, an unaccented -e, or in the consonants -n or -r, the prefix -ito/-ita changes into . Here you have some examples:

papá (dad) - papacito (although the form papaíto is the norm in Spain, and papito is common in South America).

b. If you have a word which has a masculine and a feminine form, the feminine diminutive is formed by changing the ending -o from the masculine diminutive to -a:

The suffix -illo is another diminutive suffix commonly used in Spain (less in South America), especially in the south and the center. The meaning and use of this suffix are exactly the same as those of -ito.

Have a look at the following examples:

Remember that the same ending rules apply here!

The diminutive suffix -cico is also a substitute for -ito, and it works exactly the same way. Here you have some examples:

This suffix is normally used in the east of Spain (except within Catalonia and the Valencian community) and in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries.

The suffix -u elo is also a diminutive suffix, but it is not a substitute for - ito.

In this case, we have a suffix that denotes a smaller size but adds a somewhat derogatory value to the word. In some instances, though, the suffix has lost its derogatory associations and the new word is now a normal, neutral word.

Even though the basic form is - uelo, it can take three other forms: -zuelo, -ezuelo and -ecezuelo (see the examples below).

Remember that most of the time this suffix has negative connotations and people tend to avoid it in their everyday conversations, so please try not to overuse it.

Here you have some examples:

This suffix is very peculiar because it can act as both a diminutive and augmentative suffix. Besides, it can have positive and negative connotations, so you have to be quite the proficient speaker in order to handle it properly.

There are no rules as to when this suffix will be diminutive, augmentative, positive or negative. The best way to get acquainted with it is by learning a few examples by heart:

amigo (friend) - amigote (buddy, pal, mate; the Real Academia Española treats this word as despective)

The suffix -ucho is another derogatory suffix. However, it does not turn people, animals and things bigger or smaller. It just add a negative connotation to the word.

Since there is not a single English suffix that could be used for translating -ucho, the safest way to get along with it is by learning the new words as independent terms. Here you have a few of them:

The suffix -ón is an augmentative suffix, and it is commonly used to make a word bigger in size or intensity.

Simple as it is, there are, however, a couple of things you should take into account when using this suffix:

a. Feminine words that take the ending -ó n become the same object, just bigger and masculine!* Have a look:

*We also have the feminine alternatives for these feminine nouns (), although they are very seldom used.

Some linguists don't treat the ending -ón in these words as being an augmentative suffix, and they consider these words as new terms that denote something bigger. This should not make any difference to you when you are studying new vocabulary or practicing word formation, because both endings are exactly the same.

b. Adjectives can be made more intense by adding the suffix - ón, and they have a feminine counterpart ending in -o na:

c. You can add this suffix to the root of some Spanish infinitives in order to make a noun meaning a sharp, sudden or abrupt action related to the verb. Have a look:

d. The suffix -ón can add a derogatory value to a word. In these cases both masculine and feminine forms are normally accepted:

Although slightly less used, -azo is another example of a suffix that can be used for different purposes. Its main two functions at the end of a word are:

a. Creating an augmentative:

José ha comprado un cochazo.(José has bought a great/big/super/extraordinary car.)

¡Mi primo tiene unas orejazas enormes! (My cousin has super big ears! - As you can see, you can even add an adjective such as enorme, gigante or muy grande, in order to make the noun even bigger.)

b. Indicating a hit or blow with something.

In this case, you will have masculine nouns almost exclusively, so the common ending will just be -azo. In order to say in Spanish that you accidentally hit something or someone with some part of your body or with an object, use that part of your body or that object and add -azo to it. Watch out for those ending vowels dropping before adding the suffix!

The suffix -udo is one of those augmentative suffixes that Spanish people like to use just for fun. Its meaning is something along the lines of "having a lot of," and it is almost always used with parts of the body and physical qualities.

Although by definition it is a quite despective suffix, it is so broadly used that it is now up to every single person if they want to use a word, the same word, positively or negatively. The next examples simply offer the translation of the words. You have to decide if you want to use them as a possible insult or as an endearing term:

The suffix -ada is very useful in word formation because it can have many different meanings. Although some of these meanings are way outside the scope of this post, it is important that you learn the three most important ones:

a. Use -ada with the meaning "a violent action or a blow with":

b. With the meaning "big quantity of or full of." The English equivalent for this is the suffix "-ful":

c. Add the suffix to an infinitive to convey the meaning of "action or effect of carrying out the infinitive":

The suffix -d or (and its variations -or, -tor, -sor) is one of my favorite suffixes. As you will see below, it can be used for different purposes, but there is something all the words having the suffix -d or have in common: They are nouns or adjectives derived from a verb.

So, what do we use this suffix for? Have a look:

a. To create instruments and household appliances that make the action of the verb they are derived from:

b. To create names of places where you do the action of the infinitives they are derived from:

c. To create occupations and jobs (much like the English "-er" and "-or"):

d. To create adjectives and nouns having a specific quality related to the infinitive they are derived from:

encantar (to bewitch, to charm)

1. encantador / encantadora (charming)

2. encantador (charmer, as in snake charmer, which is encantador de serpientes)

hablar (to talk)

1. (talkative, adjective)

2. (chatterbox, noun)

This suffix is quite useful in Spanish. It may not be the most used of them all, but it is definitely necessary to create new, everyday words. It has two main uses:

a. Use it to form adjectives with the meaning "pertaining to, related to." Its English equivalent is also "-al," so this should be rather easy:

b. Use it to form nouns that indicate a place where the original noun can be found or the abundance of the noun in question:

The suffix -ante is one of those suffixes you should be on good terms with because it can be used with literally thousands of words. Almost every Spanish infinitive can be transformed into a noun and an adjective thanks to this suffix.

The same word will have two different meanings and two different functions. The noun will denote the person or thing carrying out the action of the verb. The adjective can be used to describe something or someone with the qualities inherent to the infinitive, or as a present participle. In this last case, the English equivalent will always be the ending "-ing":

The suffix -ario is another one of the "important, need-to-learn-this!" suffixes. It has four main uses, all of which are equally important. Have a look:

a. Use -ario to indicate profession:

empresario (entrepreneur)

becario (intern, apprentice)

bibliotecario (librarian)

b. Use it to indicate a place:

c. Use it with the meaning "a group of":

abecedario (alphabet, i.e. a group of letters)

recetario (cookbook, i.e. a group of recipes)

poemario (book of poems, i.e. a group of poems)

d. Finally, use -ario with the meaning "pertaining to, related to." In this case, it will very frequently be translated into English as "-ary":

incendiario (incendiary)

The suffix -ero is another example of a prolific suffix from which to create new words. Its four most important functions are:

a. Creating occupations from a noun:

b. Creating the names of some fruit trees from the name of the fruit:

c. Creating adjectives with the meaning "related to":

pescar (to fish for) - pesquero/a (fishing adj., related to fishing)

d. Creating nouns with the meaning of "place in which to keep" (frequently, but not exclusively, related to food):

The suffix -ía is a suffix that is normally added to the suffix -ero to form the double suffix -ería. It has two main uses:

a. It can be used in order to create the names of stores and shops in Spanish. Here you have some examples:

b. It can also be used with the meaning of "related or relating to":

The suffix -m ente is probably one of my students' favorites because it is so universal you can use it with almost any adjective. We use the suffix -mente to transform adjectives into adverbs.

In order to do this, just add the suffix to the feminine singular form of the adjective in question. Most of the times, you will be able to translate the suffix -m ente as the suffix " - ly"in English. Have a look at some examples:

This suffix is another example of an important suffix used every day, everywhere. Generally speaking, it can almost always be translated as "-ist" in English, so, once again, this should not give you a headache when studying.

Even though it has around six main uses, there are two of them that are, by far, the most common and most widely used. Have a look:

a. Use -ista to create names of occupations:

recepcionista (receptionist)

b. Use it to denote people who support or are associated with something (this will normally be a religion, a sports team, a philosophical current, etc.):

madridista (Real Madrid player or supporter)

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, there are over 200 suffixes in the Spanish language. Some are used every day and are absolutely necessary if we want to speak normally, while others are rather rare and only used on very specific occasions.

In the paragraphs above, I have tried to show you how useful a suffix can be, and how from a single, common word, we can build many different terms that vary in meaning and can even change their class (noun, verb, adjective and so on). But above all, I have tried to show you what a great tool suffixes can be for your learning, especially if you are studying new vocabulary.

I hope this post has helped you understand how Spanish word formation works, and how much meaning two or three letters can carry within them.

Now choose one of our other Spanish vocabulary posts here at FluentU, pick up some words at random and try to create a new word by using one or more of the suffixes included in this post. And remember: When in doubt, you can always use a dictionary.

Enjoy your learning!

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Spanish with real-world videos.
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Latch On: 18 Spanish Suffixes You'll Never Want to Let Go Of

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Did you know that there are over 200 suffixes in Spanish?Yes, 200!You do not need to learn them all at once, but you will definitely encounter most of them on your way to proficiency.The use of suffixes is one of the most prolific ways to form new words, be it in English, Spanish or almo

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En cuanto a los verbos, hay tres cosas que cada verbo tiene: tiempo, aspecto, y modo. Tiempo es cuando sucedió la acción, y incluye presente, pasado, y futuro. Aspecto explicar como sucedió la acción, como si un acción acaba de suceder. Los tipos son el perfecto, el imperfecto, y más. Finalmente, los tipos de modo incluye indicativo, subjuntivo, y imperativo. Este tabla muestra la diferencia entre tiempo, aspecto, y modo, y da ejemplos.

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Palabras simples, deriviadas, y compuestas

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Palabras simples, deriviadas, y compuestas

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Hay tres tipos de palabras: simples, derivadas, y compuestas. Las palabras simples constituyen solo un raíz, como sol. Palabras derivadas constituyen un raíz y afijos - prefijos o sufijos. Un ejemplo es la palabra vendedor. Finalmente, los palabras compuestas son dos palabras juntas, como ventiseís. Este video explica más la diferencia entre estos tipos de palabras.

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PALABRAS SIMPLES, COMPUESTAS, DERIVADAS, FAMILIA DE PALABRAS Y CAMPO SEMÁNTICO

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Pronombres de sujeto en español: Una de las primeras cosas que alguién aprende en el español es que no necesita incluir un pronombre de sujeto en cada oración. Por ejemplo, la oración “Voy al cine” tiene sentido gramaticalmente, sin el pronombre de sujeto “yo.” Es porque los conjugaciones de los verbos son mucho más específicos en español que en inglés. En el presente, inglés tiene solo dos conjugaciones, mientras español tiene cinco. Este artículo habla de cuando debe usar un pronombre, y cuando no debes. Lo usa para emfásis, clarificación, y cuando hay un cambio del sujeto. Es un recurso útil para aprendices de español.

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Subject pronouns in Spanish are a lot like medicine-they're often essential, but their use should be avoided when they're not necessary.

Overuse of subject pronouns-the equivalent of words such as "he," "she" and "they"-is common among English speakers learning Spanish. It's important to remember that in Spanish the verb forms often make subject pronouns unnecessary, and when that's the case the pronouns shouldn't be used unless there's a reason to.

Here is a sampling of sentences where pronouns are unnecessary. In all these examples, the context or verb forms make clear who is performing the action of the verb.

Voy al supermercado. I am going to the supermarket. (The verb can refer only to the person speaking.)

¿Adónde vas? Where are you going? (The verb vas necessarily refers to the person being spoken to.)

Roberto no está en casa. ¿Fue al supermercado? Roberto isn't at home. Did he go to the supermarket? (Standing alone, the second sentence might be unclear about who the subject is. But in context, it is obvious that Roberto is being referred to.)

Nieva. It is snowing. (Nevar, the verb for "to snow," is used only in the third-person singular form and doesn't need an accompanying subject.)

Of course, not all sentences will be as clear as those are without explicit reference to the subject. Here are the subject pronouns in Spanish with their English equivalents:

yo - I

tú - you (informal or familiar singular)

usted - you (formal singular)

él, ella - he, she

nosotros, nosotras - we (the first form refers to a group of males or males and females, while the second form refers to females only)

vosotros, vosotras - you (informal or familiar plural; the first form refers to a group of males or males and females, while the second form refers to females only; this pronoun is seldom used in most parts of Latin America)

ustedes - you (formal plural)

ellos, ellas - they (the first form refers to a group of males or males and females, while the second form refers to females only)

See the lesson on for distinguishing which form of "you" should be used.

Note that there is no pronoun listed for "it" as a subject; in sentences where we'd use the subject "it" in English, the use of the third-person verb nearly always makes a pronoun unnecessary.

To avoid ambiguity: Context doesn't always make clear who the subject is, and some verb forms are ambiguous. Yo tenía un coche. (I had a car. Out of context, tenía could mean "I had," "you had," "he had" or "she had." If the context makes the subjects clear, the pronouns normally wouldn't be used.) Juan y María son alumnos. Él estudia mucho. (John and Mary are students. He studies a lot. Without the pronoun, it is impossible to tell whom the second sentence refers to.)

For emphasis: In English, unlike Spanish, we often use verbal stress to emphasize a pronoun. For example, if a strong emphasis is placed on the "I" in " I am going to the supermarket," the understood meaning of the sentence might be "I (and not somebody else) am going to the supermarket" or possibly "I am going to the supermarket (and I'm proud of myself)." In Spanish, one could similarly add an emphasis by using the grammatically unnecessary pronoun: Yo voy al supermercado. Similarly, haz tú lo que tú quieres could be understood as " you do what you want (and see if I care)."

Change of subject: When contrasting two subjects, the pronouns are frequently used. Yo estudio y él escucha el estéreo. I'm studying and he's listening to the stereo. Nosotros somos pobres, pero él es rico. (We're poor, but he's rich.) Note that in English you might use intonation - putting stress on "we're" and "he's" - to add emphasis. But such stress in Spanish would be unnecessary, as using the pronouns takes care of adding the emphasis.

Even where not strictly necessary, usted and ustedes are sometimes included and can add a degree of politeness. ¿Cómo está (usted)? How are you? Espero que (ustedes) vayan al cine. I hope you are going to the movies.

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How Are Subject Pronouns in Spanish Like Medicine?

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Subject pronouns in Spanish are a lot like medicine-they're often essential, but their use should be avoided when they're not necessary. Overuse of subject pronouns-the equivalent of words such as "he," "she" and "they"-is common among English speakers learning Spanish.

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Verbos tipo-gustar en inglés vs. español

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Verbos tipo-gustar en inglés vs. español

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En español, hay tres tipos de verbos: normal, reflexivo, y “tipo-gustar.” Verbos de el último tipo siguen la estructura gramatical del verbo gustar. Hay un pronombre de objeto indirecto, el verbo, y el sujeto. Es difícil para entender para los angloparlantes porque no tenemos esta estructura de verbos como español. Sin embargo, si tenemos verbos tipo-gustar, pero el orden de palabras es diferente que los en español. Este artículo se trata de verbos tipo-gustar y unos ejemplos en inglés. También da los verbos tipo-gustar más común en español, que es útil para alguien aprendiendo español.

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Did you know that gustar is not the most common 'verb like gustar'?

Before I tell you what the most common verb in this category is, I'll explain the question a little further and how I discovered the answer.

Spanish verbs can be grouped into 3 basic structures: normal, reflexive and 'verbs like gustar '.

It seems a shame that this third category doesn't have a better name. But, nonetheless, this verb structure is extremely useful and will be the focus of the rest of the post.
As an aside, this verb category likely gets its English name due to 'gustar' being the most commonly used verb to introduce this topic in Spanish classrooms.
So how do 'verbs like gustar ' work?

Printable Version: Download this PDF version of the most common verbs like gustar to use as a study reference.

How to form 'verbs like gustar'

At first look, the structure of these verbs appears strange but we actually have this sentence structure in English.

Two examples in English would be:

It occurred to me...

The idea seems strange to me...

In Spanish the structure is no different. All you have to do is mentally switch the action of the verb onto yourself (or whoever is receiving the action of the verb).

A few examples with gustar:
English: I like the movie.
English: I don't like cheese.
Literal translation: To me cheese is not pleasing.
Español: No me gusta el queso. Literal translation: The movie is pleasing to me (or more specifically 'to me the movie is pleasing').
Español: Me gusta la película.
If you want to apply these verbs to someone other than yourself, you need to use one of the following 'indirect object pronouns':

Here are a few examples with these indirect objects pronouns in action:

For more details on how to use this verb structure refer back to the podcast on 'How To Use Verbs Like Gustar To Express Your Ideas'. In that episode I go into a lot more depth on how to use these types of verbs.

The importance of high frequency

One of the guiding principles of Real Fast Spanish is that you should learn high frequency words ahead of low frequency words. That's not to say you should ignore low frequency words altogether but what you should do is make a strategic effort to learn high frequency words deliberately.

Moreover, this principle is used as a filter for decision making. It means that when you are first starting out there are hundreds of words you could learn but you can reduce the mental load and increase your ability to communicate more effectively by focusing on the most useful words first.

The reason that this idea is so important is because it speeds up the rate of reaching a conversational level of Spanish.

In this post, I'm going to continue with this guiding principle and provide the most frequently occurring verbs that behave like gustar.

How I determined the most common verbs like gustar

While researching this post I looked high and low to see if a ranking of 'verbs like gustar' had already been done somewhere on the internet.

I looked to the search engines, I looked to frequency studies I have used in the past, I looked in forums and I looked in a few books on the subject of Spanish word frequency.

In the end, I couldn't find what I was looking for.

One of the biggest problems with frequency studies is that often they don't take conjugation into consideration.

For example, in a typical frequency study the words quiero and queries count as two occurrences of the verb querer as opposed to one occurrence for two separate words. This approach makes it difficult to figure out the order of frequency for a specific verb structure such as the subject of this post.
As a matter of interest, the highest occurring 3-gram in English is 'I don't' or 'I do not'. In the data they still counted the contraction of 'do' and 'not' as two sequential words.
So what I decided to do was go about finding the most common 'verbs like gustar' by reviewing the data with the help of a person who has dedicated a career to data analysis- mi novia.

We used a set of data known as ' n-grams ' for the Spanish language.

Put simply, an 'n-gram' is a sequence of 'n' words in any given language. For example, the phrase or sequence of words 'I love you' is a 3-gram in English. And this 3-gram 'I love you' occurs more often than the 3-gram 'I love baskets' or a more random 3-gram 'red high curve'.

Said in another way, the study of 'n-grams' is the study of the occurrence of sequences of words as opposed to individual words on their own.

The next step in determining the frequency of 'verbs like gustar' was to look for 2-grams in Spanish with an indirect object pronoun ( me, te, le, nos etc.) in secession with a verb in the present 3rd person singular or 3rd person plural conjugations.

We then had to remove 2-grams such as ' me dice' which means ' he says to me' because it doesn't follow the structure we are looking for: ' it ___ to me'. Once we removed these 2-grams, we were left with the set of verbs we were looking for.

We later reviewed the data for past imperfect and past simple conjugations to make sure the list doesn't change drastically for different verb tenses.

The results: the most commonly occurring verbs like gustar

The results of the data analysis showed the most commonly occurring 'verbs like gustar' in Spanish in order are:

A few notes on the results:

Parecer is actually the most common 'verb like gustar' if you only use the data for the present tense.

Dar is the most common when you include past conjugations.

1. Dar - to give
So in the next section I will give a few examples to reflect the occurrence of these tenses.
2. Gustar - to like 3. Hacer - to do
How to use these verbs in a Spanish sentence
4. Parecer - to seem 5. Ir - to go 6. Permitir - to permit / allow 7. Interesar - to interest English: It doesn't interest me to go to the beach today.
8. Quedar - to remain Español: No me interesa ir a la playa hoy. 9. Pasar - to pass
This section is the most important part of this post because it's where you put all of the above information into action.
10. Llamar - to call English: What catches your attention in this book?
11. Ocurrir - to occur Español: ¿Qué te llama la atención de este libro? 12. Importar - to be important 13. Dejar - to leave English: This story leaves me with some questions.
14. Llevar - to take Español: Esta historia me deja con algunas preguntas. 15. Poner - to put
Choose a number of these examples and work through them for yourself. Create your own sentences then try them out in your next Spanish conversation.
16. Faltar - to be missing 17. Tocar - to touch 18. Costar - to cost English: What costs you the most to learn Spanish?.19. Venir - to come 20. Encantar - to love Español: ¿Qué es lo que te cuesta más aprender del español? 21. Ofrecer - to offer English: This weekend offers me an opportunity to relax. 22. Servir - to serve 23. Llegar - to arrive English: If a difficult time comes, remember your dream. 24. Resultar - to result English: I still find it difficult to believe his story. 25. Preocupar - to worry
Español: Todavía me resulta difícil creer su historia.
Español: Si te llega un momento difícil, recuerda tu sueño.
Español: E ste fin de semana me ofrece la oportunidad de relajarme.
You can learn about other uses of the Spanish verb dar here.

Learn about other uses of the Spanish verb hacer here.

Learn about other uses of the Spanish verb quedar here.

Learn about other uses of the Spanish verb pasar here.

Ocurrir and pasar are almost completely interchangeable when they are used in this structure. The only difference is that ocurrir is slightly more formal.

Learn about other uses of the Spanish verb llevar here.

Learn about other uses of the Spanish verb poner here.

When you love something or someone in a non-romantic way use this verb.

Verbs like gustar - Practice quiz

To test your knowledge of everything you have read above about verbs like gustar, I have written a practice quiz.

The quiz will help you practice constructions and conjugations with the verbs from the top 25 list.

You can access practice quiz by clicking on the image on the right, or this link:

Practice quiz: Click here to test your knowledge of 'Verbs Like Gustar'.

Summary

'Verbs like gustar' is a great topic to focus your Spanish studies on. And with this post, you now have list of verbs that are essential to know, practice and use.

The best thing about this verb structure is you only have to know the conjugations for the 3rd person singular and the 3rd person plural.

My challenge to you is:

1. Choose five verbs from the list that you haven't used or seen yet.

2. Learn the present, past imperfect and past simple conjugations in the 3rd person for these verbs.

3. Use them as often as you can for the next two weeks.

Once you have these verbs covered, come back and choose another five and go again. ¡ Te viene bien saber estos verbos muy bien!

What sentences can you create using 'verbs like '?

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Did you know that gustar is not the most common 'verb like gustar'? Before I tell you what the most common verb in this category is, I'll explain the question a little further and how I discovered the answer. Spanish verbs can be grouped into 3 basic structures: normal, reflexive and 'verbs like gustar '.

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Cada lengua tiene un orden de palabras más común. Cuando hablemos del orden de palabras, estamos hablando de la estructura del sujeto,  el verbo, y el objeto en un oración. El orden más común en español es sujeto, verbo, y objeto, o SVO. El orden más común en inglés es también SVO. Por otra parte, el orden más común del mundo es SOV. Este video muestra que el orden de palabras no es algo universal, y la estructura cambia de lengua a lengua.

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Grammar of Sentences: Word Order (Lesson 3 of 4)

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La palabra “se” es algo que no tiene una traducción exacta en inglés, porque “se” significa un montón de cosas. Dependiente de la oración, “se” puede tener su propia función, y simplemente puede ser parte del verbo. Los uso de “se” incluyen la voz pasiva, impersonal, reflexivo, recíproco, inherente, como objeto indirecto, se “sin culpa,” se de consumo total, se de “volverse,” y se que cambia el significado del verbo original. Este tabla tiene los usos diferentes de “se,” y como podemos clasificarlos.

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Hay muchas influencias lingüísticos y culturales de árabe en España y español. Los moros, quienes fueron un gente árabe de África, invadieron la península ibérica en 711, y se quedaron en España hasta 1492, durante aproximadamente 700 años. Hay muchos contribuciones léxicas del árabe - más de 4,000. Este video tiene una mujer que habla árabe y una que habla español, y hablan de los similaridades entre sus lenguas.

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Latín vulgar fue la lengua hablada por la gente durante el imperio romano. Es importante a español porque tenía muchas influencias a español y otras lenguas romances. Por ejemplo, cada lengua romance tiene un tiempo pasado basado en el verbo habere (haber en español), que no existía en el latín clásico. Muestra que latín vulgar si existía, y fue importante a estas lenguas. Este video muestra cómo sonaba el latín vulgar, y por que es importante a otras lenguas.

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What Latin Sounded Like - and how we know

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En español, los dobletes lingüísticos son dos palabras que son relacionadas de la misma palabra en latín. Sin embargo, las palabras son un poco diferente y tienen significados diferentes. Es porque una es de latín vulgar, y ha tenido muchos cambios a lo largo de los años, y la otra es un préstamo del latín mucho más nueva. Este blog habla de los dobletes lingüísticos, y explica más sobre el desarrollo.

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While looking at Spanish "doublets" like forma 'form' and horma 'cobbler's shoe form' (both from Latin forma), or delicado 'delicate' and delgado 'thin' (both from delicatus), I was struck by the fact that Spanish almost always imposes a difference of meaning on words derived from a single Latin source. The only exception I know of is the synonyms f lama 'flame' and llama 'flame', both from Latin flama.

Another pair that comes close to synonymy , though not all the way, is apertura vs. abertura, which both mean 'opening'. I was moved to post about these words when I looked up the subtle differences between their meanings. Abertura, the older word (derived from abrir 'to open'), refers to the act of opening, a physical opening or hole, a mountain pass, or candor ('openness'). The newer apertura (from Latin apertura) refers to a show's opening, an opening mechanism, or a chess opening. Either word can be used to refer to a camera aperture.

This intimidating list of meanings makes me wonder how good a second language learner you'd have to be to get this right, and also whether native speakers ever confuse the two words. Any of you care to weigh in?

For good measure, Spanish also has obertura, meaning 'overture' in the musical sense (i.e. the opening to an opera or other long work), a borrowing from French. Personally, that's about all the openness I can take.

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While looking at Spanish "doublets" like forma 'form' and horma 'cobbler's shoe form' (both from Latin forma), or delicado 'delicate' and delgado 'thin' (both from delicatus), I was struck by the fact that Spanish almost always imposes a difference of meaning on words derived from a single Latin source.

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Un sustrato es un lengua que existía en un región antes del invacion a otras personas. Por ejemplo, el sustrato antes del invacion de los romanos fue las lenguas de los tribus germánicas, y el sustrato en América Latín fue las lenguas de los nativos, como náhuatl, guaraní, y quechua. Un hecho interesante sobre los sustratos es que la mayoría de las palabras del sustrato refieren a los realidades físicas de la vida en el lugar. Por ejemplo, este sitio tienen ejemplos de palabras en español de las lenguas nativos en América Latín, y son nombres de plantas, animales, y cosas así.

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What are some Spanish language words?

Many words in Spanish are indigenous words that were incorporated into the language during colonization under the Spanish Empire. Among the languages that contributed words to Spanish are Nahuatl, Arawak, Guaraní, Quechua, Tupi, Carib, and Maya. Below are a couple of examples of common Spanish words that didn't exist in the Spanish language until the discovery of the New World!

aguacate (Nahuatl): avocado

canoa (Taíno Arawak): canoe

chocolate (Nahuatl): chocolate

guacamole (Nahuatl): guacamole

hamaca (Taíno Arawak): hammock

huracán (Taíno Arawak): hurricane

llama (animal, Quechua): llama

Tabaco (Taíno Arawak): tobacco

Many of the words contributed to the Spanish language from indigenous languages are food words, which makes sense since the tropical fruits and vegetables found in the New World were unknown to Europeans and so had no translation.

Did you know... that tomatoes and potatoes were introduced to Europe only after the discovery of the New World? That means that the traditional European diet of "meat and potatoes" is relatively new, and that Italian cuisine was nothing like it is today. Imagine Italian food with no tomatoes or tomato sauce!

¿Sabías que... los tomates y las papas sólo fueron introducidas a Europa después del descubrimiento del Nuevo Mundo? Eso significa que la dieta tradicional Europea de comer "carne y papa" es bastante novedosa, y que la cocina italiana no se parecía en nada a la que conocemos hoy día. ¡Imagínate comer comida italiana sin tomates o salsa de tomate!

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Many words in Spanish are indigenous words that were incorporated into the language during colonization under the Spanish Empire. Among the languages that contributed words to Spanish are Nahuatl, Arawak, Guaraní, Quechua, Tupi, Carib, and Maya. Below are a couple of examples of common Spanish words that didn't exist in the Spanish language until the discovery of the New World!

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Un verbo frasal es un frase que tiene un verbo y un preposición. Hay muchos ejemplos en inglés, como ask for, bring about, y carry on. Pero los verbos frasales son importantes en español también, y hay muchos verbos que necesitan un preposición antes del verbo. Algunos ejemplos son enamorarse de, pensar en, y soñar con. Este artículo tiene muchos ejemplos de los verbos frasales más comunes en español, que son importantes para entender y hablar la lengua.

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Blow up. Flip out. Take off.
What the heck are these phrases considered, grammatically speaking?

Maybe you never exactly knew how to define them in English.

Moving on to Spanish studies, do you know the difference between echar and echar a?

Are they expressions? Idioms?

Well, yes, perhaps in a sense. But, more specifically, they're an essential part of grammar called phrasal verbs.

English has a ton of phrasal verbs, but Spanish is also full of them.

Don't worry. I'm going to explain everything you need to know here.

Learn these easy verb phrases to give your Spanish the kick in the butt it needs.

What Are Phrasal Verbs?

Phrasal verbs are verbs that change their meaning when a preposition or an adverb is added to them. Take "blow up" for example. Blow up doesn't mean that you're tilting your head back and blowing air towards the sky (unless you are, in which case you probably need to get a hobby).

Blow up means explode. "The Martians blew up the moon." Of course, this doesn't mean that they put a giant fan under it and blew the moon higher in the universe. No, they exploded it.

Phrasal verbs are constructed by adding a preposition or an adverb to the main verb.
Main verb + preposition/adverb = new meaning
Blow + up = explode

Flip + out = go crazy

Take + off = leave the ground

See, it's easy. And it's the same thing in Spanish. A preposition ( de, con, and a are the most common) is added to a main verb to change the meaning of the verb. Take for example reírse. Reírse mean "to laugh." But when you add the preposition de to it, reírse de, it means "to make fun of" or "to laugh at someone or something."

Reírse + de = to make fun of, to laugh at

Me reí del chiste. (I laughed at the joke.)

Another example is dar con. By itself, dar means "to give." But when combined with the preposition con, it means "to come upon or to find."

Dar + con = to come upon, to find

Silvia dio con la solución a su problema. (Silvia found the solution to her problem.)

Why Learn Phrasal Verbs?

Phrasal verbs are an essential part of Spanish grammar. Many times the best or most common way to express an idea is by using a phrasal verb. You might already know acabar de, but if you don't, this is by far the simplest, easiest and most common way to say that you have just done something. Yup, it's a phrasal verb.

You need to know phrasal verbs because the difference between echar a and echar could mean you've just started a beautiful new relationship with a handsome Spaniard or that you've thrown it away. This tiny change has a huge impact on the meaning of the sentence.

With practice, you'll have no problem distinguishing phrasal verbs in writing and in speech. Soon, using them will become second nature.

Here are 15 essential Spanish phrasal verbs to get you started.

To get started, we're going to explore the Verbs of Action and Reaction.

Note that all of these expressions must be followed by an infinitive.

Meaning: to start to, to begin to

Echar a is used with verbs of movement. You can speak about a new feeling if you make it reflexive: echarse a.

Me eché a investigar sobre los verbos con complemento preposicional en español. (I started investigating about phrasal verbs in Spanish.)

Pero cuando me di cuenta de lo fáciles que son, me eché a llorar. (But when I realized how easy they were, I began to cry.)

Meaning: to fail to, to stop, to neglect to

You'll hear this very often in the command form.

Así que me dije-"¡Deja de estudiar!" (So I told myself, "Stop studying!")

Meaning: to have just

Use this verb when you want to say that you've just finished doing something. I hope you never have to use it to say this:

Acabo de suspender mi examen de verbos. (I just failed my test on Spanish verbs.)

Meaning: to return to doing something

This is the most common way to say that you're going to begin something again.

Así que volví a estudiarlos. (So I started to study them again.)

5. Estar para

Meaning (Spain): to be about to

Meaning (Latin America): to be in the mood for

This is a tricky one. Not only are there a couple regional usage variations to keep in mind here, but you'll also need to be careful not to confuse estar para with the next phrasal verb on this list.

Y ahora estoy para ir a España y practicar lo que aprendí. (And now I'm about to travel to Spain and practice what I learned.)

Next up, we're going to explore some Verbs of the Mind.

Meaning (Spain): to be in favor of

Meaning (Latin America): to be about to

In Spain, this is a great way to express what you would like to do. Use it to express your preferences. It's strong but not rude. Like when you're tired of museums. In Latin America, use it when you're on the verge of doing something at the moment.

Me aburre el Reina Sofía; estoy por ir a Kapitol. (The Reina Sofia is boring; I say we go to Kapitol.)

Meaning (Spain): to think about, to have an opinion about

Once you learn this phrase, you'll find yourself using it in all sorts of situations. This is the best way to express what you think about something. Be careful not to mix it up with the next phrasal verb on this list.

¿Qué piensas de la chica de los tacones azules? (What do you think about the girl with the blue heels?)

Meaning: to think of, to direct your thoughts to

This differs from the previous verb because it often implies intention. Use this to express what's occupying your thoughts. Like the girl with the blue heels.

No puedo dejar de pensar en ti. (I can't stop thinking about you.)

Meaning: to dream about

You probably already know soñar, but you might not know that when you're talking about your dreams, you must use con. Note that you can follow con with either a noun or a verb.

Soñé con bailar con ella toda la noche. (I dreamed about dancing with her all night.)

10. Contar con

Meaning: to rely on, to count on

This is a great way to let someone know how important they are to you. Especially when you forget where you put her number.

¿Diego tiene el número? Sabía que podía contar con él. (Diego has the number? I knew I could count on him.)

Alright, now let's move on to some Verbs of the Heart.

11. Reírse de

Meaning: to make fun of, to laugh at

This construction is absolutely essential if you want to express that you thought something was funny. Or you need to tell your friends why you're at the bar.

Mi novia se rió de mí. (My girlfriend was laughing at me.)

12. Alegrarse de

Meaning: to be glad to

When you get bored with estar feliz, that old Spanish 101 phrase, alegrarse de is useful for saying that you're happy about something. Like that you and your girlfriend have made up.

Me alegro de hacer las paces con mi novia. (I'm glad to make up with my girlfriend. / Making up with my girlfriend makes me happy.)

13. Enamorarse de

Meaning: to fall in love with

How could you travel to any Spanish-speaking country without knowing this verb?!

Al verla hacer una tortilla, me enamoré de ella de nuevo. (When I saw her making a tortilla, I fell in love with her all over again.)

14. Casarse con

Meaning: to marry

It's a common mistake to leave out the preposition in this construction, but when you want to indicate that a person got married to someone, you have to use con.

Pero se casó con mi mejor amigo cuando le cantó una canción de Jarabe de Palo. (But she married my best friend when he sang her a Jarabe de Palo song.)

15. Echar de menos

Meaning: to miss

You'll hear this expression often in Spain. It's interchangeable with extrañar. Don't forget to add a before the object.

Ahora que me ha dejado, echo de menos a Mercedes más que nunca. (Now that she has left me, I miss Mercedes more than ever.)

That's it!

Now all it takes is a little practice and you'll be speaking like a local in no time.

And once you get a grip on these 15 Spanish phrasal verbs, you'll be more than ready to win over the man or woman of your dreams, fall in love, get married and miss them when they go away on business trips.

Now, keep studying to take your Spanish to the next level!

And One More Thing...

If you like learning memorable Spanish lessons that help you speak more like a native, then you'll love FluentU.

FluentU takes real-world videos like music videos, commercials, news, and inspiring talks and turns them into Spanish learning experiences.

Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You'll learn Spanish as it's actually spoken by real people.

FluentU has a wide variety of videos-topics like soccer, TV shows, business, movies and even magical realism, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don't know, you can add it to a vocab list.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU's Learn Mode. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you're on.

The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you're learning, and it recommends you examples and videos based on the words you've already learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they're learning the same video.

Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes store or get it on Google Play for Android devices.

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Spanish with real-world videos.
Experience Spanish immersion online!

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15 Spanish Phrasal Verbs That You'll Hear Absolutely Everywhere

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Blow up. Flip out. Take off. What the heck are these phrases considered, grammatically speaking? Maybe you never exactly knew how to define them in English. Moving on to Spanish studies, do you know the difference between echar and echar a? Are they expressions? Idioms? Well, yes, per

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Implicaturas conversacionales son las inferencias que hacemos en una conversación. Por ejemplo, si alguién dice, “tengo mucho que hacer” si otra persona le pide que haga algo, podemos inferir que la primera persona no puede hacerlo. El concepto de implicatura conversacional es una idea del lingüista Paul Grice. Este video es muy largo, pero da un montón de buena información sobre implicatura y como lo usamos en la vida.

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Netflix & Chill: Crash Course Philosophy #27

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Según el lingüista Paul Grice, hay cuatro aspectos del comportamiento en la interacción. Los cuatros son la máxima cantidad, la máxima de calidad, la máxima de relación, y la máxima de manera. Cada máxima tiene reglas para que no viola la máxima. Por ejemplo, la máxima de cantidad dice que necesitamos proporcionar tanta información como sea requerida, y no proporcionar más información. Este video tiene ejemplos de cuando alguién viola la máxima, conocida como “burlar” o “flout” la máxima.

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La distinción entre la polisemia y la homonimia

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La distinción entre la polisemia y la homonimia

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La distinción entre la polisemia y la homonimia es central en el estudio de la semántica, pero puede ser difícil distinguirlas. Las homonimias son palabras que se pronuncian de la misma manera, pero tienen significados diferentes, como el papa (pope) y la papa (potato). Sin embargo, polisemia es la relación entre significados de una sola palabra, como simple (fácil) y simple (sin sabor). Este infografía explica la diferencia entre los conceptos.

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¿Cuál de las siguientes no es una de las máximas definidas por Paul Grice?

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¿Cuál de las siguientes no es una de las máximas definidas por Paul Grice?

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A. Máxima de relación
B. Máxima de calidad
C. Máxima de forma
D. Máxima de cantidad

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Hay muchas lenguas en América Latin que han sobrevivido el imperio español. Estas lenguas incluyen Guaraní, Quechua, Náhuatl, Aymara, y muchos más. El razón principal que las lenguas han sobrevivido es porque la meta principal para los españoles era explotar los recursos de la tierra en vez de asentamentar. Esta video es sobre una lengua que ha sobrevivido, se llama Náhuatl, que se habla en partes de México. Náhuatl es una lengua muy interesante.

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Learning Nahuatl with my dad! | Superholly

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Me fascina el concepto de que cada país tiene su propia forma de lenguaje de señas, porque es algo difícil para entender la gente no habla lenguaje de señas. El razón que hay muchas formas diferentes de lenguaje de señas es que son constructos sociales. Este video muestra las diferencias entre tipas de lenguas de señas de Dinamarca, Inglaterra, Los Estados Unidos y Alemania.

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Denmark, British, American, and Germany Sign Language by Deaf Furs

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Cada país, e incluso los regiones dentro de los países, tienen su propia forma de español. El acento afecta las frases, la gramática, y la pronunciación de las palabras. Por ejemplo, en el norte de españa, hay un distinción entre los sonidos “th” y “s”, que se llama seseo. También, en mucho del Caribe, la letra la letra s al final de una sílaba no se pronuncia. Este video muestra las diferencias entre acentos en el mundo hispanohablante, y es como un juego porque puedes adivinar de dónde es el hablante.

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Spanish Accents from Different Countries [Guess the Dialect]

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El español es el segundo idioma más hablado del mundo, menos que el mandarín pero más que el inglés. Por eso, hay 20 países en el mundo donde español es una lengua oficial. La mayoría de estes países son en América Latin, pero hay hispanohablantes en todo el mundo. Los razones principales son el imperio español, y ahora la migración moderno. Este sitio tiene mapas de cada país en que se habla español, así que podemos ver el montón de lugares en que se habla español.

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Spanish for Kids Spanish Speaking Countries

Map of Spain

Map of Mexico & Central America

Map of South America

Countries of South America Capital

Map of Caribbean

Previous

Countries That Speak Spanish

The maps above are provided for official Spanish speaking countries only. Although not officially recognized or sanctioned by the government, Spanish is spoken by significant populations in many other nations and territories. In these areas, public services and information are widely available in Spanish, as are multiple forms of print and broadcast media. To test your knowledge of Spanish culture, you may want to take our online Spanish test.

Spanish was spoken in the United States long before the United States existed! If you look at an old map of what is now the United States, you will observe that huge areas of the American Southwest and all of Florida was previously part of New Spain. Spanish is the most popular foreign language in United States. Spanish is the mother tongue of 41 million people who live in the USA. In addition, 11 million Americans speak Spanish as second-language. The United States now has the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world. Soon the USA will have more Mexicans than Mexico!

Spanish Speaking Countries Map

Even within a single language there are major differences in speech. The term dialect refers to those differences in intonation and pronunciation. When traveling in Spanish speaking countries and capitals, one will soon discover words and expressions which are used extensively in some countries are noticeably absent in others. Regardless of the county you find yourself in, you will need to be comfortable with Spanish dialogues if you wish to communicate with anyone!

Spanish has a colorful history that spans continents and centuries. The same way English speakers from London use some words differently from those in New York or Sidney, there are very common expressions and vocabulary in Spain or Mexico which would be completely new and somehow strange for a Spanish native from Peru or Guatemala. To shout "be careful" or "watch out" to someone in Mexico, one simply shouts "aguas". This has no meaning in any other county. I have discovered about 1,000 similar examples in my thirty years of traveling and living in Spanish speaking countries and capitals.

Map of Countries in Spanish

If you study Spanish in Mexico, you will learn some words which you will never hear in Spain. You will also hear many Spanish idioms which you will only be able to use in Mexico. Of course, you will learn more than just words! You will also learn to distinguish between masculine and feminine genders, and a few thousand rules of grammar. All of this knowledge will be very helpful to you when you travel to other Spanish speaking countries and capitals. However, don't expect to be able to understand anyone the first week you arrive in Spain if you learned Spanish in Mexico. My wife is a native Spanish speaker and she had a very difficult time understanding many people during our travels through Spain.

It goes without saying that a strong knowledge of Standard Spanish will help you communicate with Spanish speakers throughout the world despite the huge variety of accents, expressions, local idioms, and mispronunciations which are unique to every Spanish speaking country or region. It is much easier to speak to a well educated person from a Spanish speaking country than to speak with someone in the street. In fact, it is often impossible to understand street Spanish in any country if you are not a native of that Spanish Speaking country. Realizing what number of individuals communicate in Spanish is less noteworthy without the setting of the language's history. Spanish is a Romance language that developed from Vulgar (Common) Latin. It began on the Iberian Peninsula - the southwest corner of Europe which incorporates present-day Spain and Portugal. The Castilian continuation of Vulgar Latin (from Spain's Castile locale) blended with the Arabic lingo spoken by the Moors, who vanquished portions of the district, to frame what turned into the institutionalized Spanish language during the 1200s. The Andalusian tongue of Spanish sprung up around a similar time, is as yet spoken in parts of southern Spain.

Spanish Countries Map

There are in excess of 400 million local speakers of Spanish, making it second just to Chinese as far as the most communicated in dialects on the planet. English is simply behind Spanish, with around 360 million local speakers. Spanish is the third most examined language on the planet, after English and French. Notwithstanding the 400 million local speakers, barely short of 9 million individuals around the globe communicate in Spanish as a subsequent language. There are numerous Spanish talking nations on the planet, as Spanish is the official language of the accompanying 20 nations, just as Puerto Rico: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela. In spite of the fact that it is anything but an official language, Spanish is regularly spoken in the United States, Belize, Andorra and Gibraltar.

In the United States, in excess of 41 million individuals communicate in Spanish as a first language (about 13% of the populace). The number of Spanish speaking people in the USA keeps growing because over two million illegal immigrants arrive each year! Also, the U.S. is home to about 12 million bilingual Spanish speakers. This makes the USA the second-biggest Spanish speaking nation on the planet, yet many predict the USA will be the biggest Spanish speaking nation by 2030. Americans who don't as of now communicate in Spanish are attempting to learn it. Spanish is the most contemplated language in the U.S. Truth be told, half of American undergrads and over 70% of K-12 understudies learn Spanish - that is fundamentally more than the 12% of understudies and 15% of K-12 understudies who select to learn French, the second most contemplated language.

Spanish Country Map

Spain is the place the Spanish language began, so normally it's the center point of Spanish speakers in Europe. In any case, with 46 million Spanish speakers, Spain has fallen behind the U.S. to turn into the nation with the third biggest Spanish talking populace. In Europe, Spanish is likewise generally spoken in Andorra and Gibraltar, yet their official dialects are Catalan and English, separately. In Switzerland, around 150,000 individuals, or 2.2% of the populace, communicate in Spanish also. It's one of 24 official dialects in the European Union, and is likewise spoken by little pockets of individuals in other European nations, for example, Italy, Germany, France and the U.K. With 121 million local speakers, Mexico has the biggest populace of Spanish speakers on the planet, yet the U.S. is making up for lost time rapidly. Spanish is the official language of Mexico, notwithstanding numerous nations in Central and South America. Two of the biggest Spanish talking nations in South America are Colombia (around 46 million Spanish speakers) and Argentina (around 41 million Spanish speakers). Generally 60% of the Latin American populace communicates in Spanish, trailed by Portuguese (about 34%) and a little level of different dialects, for example, French, English and Mayan dialects.

In spite of the fact that by far most of Spanish speakers dwell in the Americas and Europe, there are individuals who communicate in Spanish in different pieces of the world too. One nation that stands out is, where Spanish was an official language from the late sixteenth century until 1987. The Philippines were under Spanish guideline from 1565-1898, however even after the part of the arrangement American War, it remained a co-official language with English until 1987, when it was assigned as a discretionary language. Today, roughly 3 million Filipinos communicate in Spanish, on the off chance that you incorporate speakers of Chavacano - a Spanish-based Creole language. In Africa, Spanish is one of three authority dialects in Equatorial Guinea, where almost 68% of the populace talks it. Spanish is likewise spoken in regions in northern Africa constrained by Spain, and in Morocco, which is geologically near Spain. At long last, there are little networks of Spanish speakers in Angola and South Sudan.

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Spanish for Kids Spanish Speaking Countries Map of Spain Map of Mexico & Central America Map of South America Countries of South America Capital Map of Caribbean Previous The maps above are provided for official Spanish speaking countries only. Although not officially recognized or sanctioned by the government, Spanish is spoken by significant populations in many other nations and territories.

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Los Estados Unidos tiene el quinto más grande población de hablantes de español como primera lengua de todos los países en el mundo. Hay aproximadamente 43 millones de hispanohablantes en EEUU quienes hablan español como primera lengua, y 12 millones de hablantes bilingües. Este video es importante porque muestra que español es parte de la cultura de los EEUU, aunque mucha de la gente piensa que el inglés es la lengua más importante en el país.

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There's Nothing More American Than Speaking Spanish. Here's Why.

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Los Estados Unidos es un país de inmigrantes, y de los 10 países con más inmigrantes en los EEUU, 5 son paises hispanohablantes. Los paises hispanohablantes que contribuyen el más cantidad de inmigrantes son México, Cuba, y El Salvador. También, hay regiones en los EEUU con poblaciones de hispanohablantes más grande que otros. Los estados que tienen más hispanohablantes son Texas, California, Nueva York, y Florida. Este video habla más de este información y es muy educativo.

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Alternancia de códigos, o “code-switching” en inglés, es cuando alguién cambia de un variedad de lengua a otro. Hay tres tipos de alternancia de códigos: interoracional (entre oraciones o cláusulas), intraoracional (dentro de la oración), y marcadores discursivos (que son como interjecciones en otra lengua). Podemos ver “code-switching) español e inglés, pero también puede ser entre dialectos o formas de una lengua. Este video se trate de “code-switching” en el comunidad negro en los EEUU, y muestra que el concepto se usa en muchos situaciones diferentes.

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What Is Code-Switching? | Between The Lines

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En la lingüística, los préstamos son palabras en una lengua que vienen de otra lengua. Préstamos culturales son expresiones que describen variados aspectos culturales que no se encuentran en la otra lengua y cultura. Hay tres tipos de préstamos léxicos: préstamos no adoptados (heavy duty), adoptados fonológicamentes (crismes), y adoptados fonológicamentes y morfológicamentes (mapiar). Este sitio da mucho más ejemplos de préstamos léxicos de inglés en español.

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Are they speaking English?
No, they couldn't be. But that word sounded so darn familiar.

You're speaking Spanish with native speakers, and all of sudden something odd happened. You can hardly make sense of it. But-ah, again!-there's another strangely familiar word that sounds distinctly un-Spanish.

You start to question yourself. Are you mishearing? Are they trying to make it easier for you to understand? Are you in some sort of alternate universe? The answers are no, no and probably not.

The reason those words sound so un-Spanish is probably that they aren't Spanish at all-at least not originally. Spanish has borrowed a number of words from the English language.

So while you may study up on idioms, travel phrases and restaurant vocabulary for your impending trip, and you may even know slang to sound like a true Argentine, Mexican, Ecuadorian or Spaniard, you can also actually use some familiar English-language words while speaking Spanish.

What Are Loanwords and Why Are They Noteworthy?

It's no secret that all languages borrow words from other languages. After all, some very useful words begin in one language and other languages need them too.

These words that are taken from one language and used as-is in their adopted language are known as "loanwords."

More specifically, we can call words that originally came from English but are now borrowed by other languages "Anglicisms." This term indicates their English origin.

It's important to be familiar with loanwords, and Anglicisms in particular, because they make learning and remembering new vocabulary words much easier. After all, you already know the word in English, so memorizing the same word in Spanish will be a breeze!

Just take a look at the English loanwords that we've put together here, and you'll know what we mean!

The following words all came from English (most recently-they may have some deeper linguistic origins) and are now used in Spanish.

Some of these words have multiple spellings included. This is because they often appear spelled in multiple ways. There's no real proper way to spell it. One version is usually closer to the English language while the other is made more traditionally Spanish.

Keep in mind that, regardless of the spelling, you'll need to pronounce all of these words with a good, solid Spanish accent.
-Fashion and Lifestyle-
While this word will look familiar to English speakers, it actually has a slightly different meaning from its English-language counterpart. In Spanish, panty or panti actually refers to pantyhose or tights.

In English, "smoking" is a verb, but in Spanish it's a noun. Smoking or esmoquin refers to a tuxedo or dinner jacket. Need an easy way to remember this? Think of the English term "smoking jacket."

Both spellings refer to the synthetic fabric.

Though it's sometimes known as a perforación, the word piercing is often used to refer to-you guessed it-a piercing of any shape, size or body part.
-Sports-
Taken from the English word "football," this word is used to refer to soccer (or what everyone everywhere, aside from people in the U.S.A., calls "football").

6. Básquetbol

While it's sometimes called baloncesto, which uses the natural Spanish vocabulary choices for ball (balón) and basket (cesto), basketball is also known as básquetbol throughout Latin America.

No surprises here. Tenis means "tennis." Be sure to place the emphasis on the second syllable ( tenis) in Spanish.

This is another straightforward one. Hockey means "hockey" in both Spanish and English.

This is identical in meaning and spelling-but not in pronunciation, of course-in both Spanish and English.

10. Waterpolo

Here's a twist. Waterpolo is the Spanish equivalent of our "water polo." Note the slight difference in spacing. Captivating, no?

Yup, golf is still golf.

While the English word "surf" is usually used as a verb to refer to the sport, in Spanish surf is actually a noun referring to the sport, so it's more similar in meaning to the English word "surfing."

This one is a bit tricky. In English, "footing" usually refers to the placement of your feet. However, in Spanish, it's a noun meaning "jogging."

14. Spinning

This indoor cycling is exhausting in either language.

Gol means "goal."
-Computers and Technology-
"Tweet," "retweet," "twitter," "hashtag" and pretty much any other Twitter-affiliated term will be the same in both Spanish and English.

Though sometimes called correo electrónico, email is also frequently used to refer to email. Pronounce both the e and the mail strongly.

When referring to an online post (though not other types of posts), post is equivalent to the English word "post."

Chat is used to refer to online chats or chatrooms.

While this is technically a noun, it's used to refer to clicking anything online. Hacer clic means "to click."

Link can be used to refer to online links, but not other sorts of links such as connections or chains.

22. Internet

This is the same in both Spanish and English.

Again, the meaning is identical in both Spanish and English.

Though the abbreviation is the same, in Spanish the full name is actually disco de video digital.

Unlike the rest of the abbreviations yet to come, this one's letters are pronounced with a more Englishy accent, dee-vee-dee.

This abbreviation is taken directly from English. To say the full words in Spanish, you would say disco compacto, so clearly the abbreviation is derived from English or it would be DC.

This abbreviation, along with all of the following, must be read out loud in Spanish letters with classic Spanish pronunciation.

This abbreviation also comes from the English abbreviation. After all, sistema de posicionamiento global doesn't quite lend itself to the abbreviation GPS.

This is used to refer to a personal computer in both Spanish and English.

In both Spanish and English, this refers to "frequently asked questions" that webpages often post.
-Food and Drink-
What with margaritas, piña coladas and sangria, you'd think English had taken more drinks from Spanish than vice versa. However, drinks know no language boundaries and English-language drink names are now common in Spanish. Whiskey and güisqui are both used to refer to whiskey.

30. Gin-tonic

Gin-tonic is a gin and tonic.

31. Bloody Mary

This is a brunch favorite in either language.

Cocktail and cóctel are both used to mean "cocktail" or "mixed drink."

No matter which way you spell it, it's the same delicious dish that we English-speakers know and love all too well.

While tocino and tocineta are commonly used in Latin America, beicon, béicon and/or bacón are frequently used in Spain to refer to the salty meat.

In both English and Spanish, this refers to an outdoor meal beloved by cartoon bears.
-People-
Though historically used to mean a New Englander, this term in modern Spanish now usually refers to any American (sometimes as a pejorative).

In both Spanish and English, this term refers to someone trying to be trendy or superior to others.

38. Gángster

Gángster means "gangster."

39. Hooligan

While there are many Spanish terms that are equivalent to the English word "hooligan," the loanword hooligan is more used to refer to trouble-making students or young people.

This is the same in both languages. Peace, man. Both the i and y are pronounced like the Spanish letter i.

This is the same in both Spanish and English.

Líder is derived from the English word "leader."

While in English we more frequently call them "bartenders," the Spanish word barman comes from the old-timey English term "barman" or "barkeep."

These words can be used to refer to a rock musician or fan.
-Music-
This is the same in both Spanish and English.

Funk in Spanish refers to the style of music.

Blues in Spanish refers to the style of music, not the color group.

Pop in Spanish refers to the style of music but not soda, the noise or the verb.

This mostly refers to the music style though it can occasionally be used to refer to a person.

House refers to a style of music, but it does not mean "house" as in the place where you live.

Heavy is used to refer to heavy metal music.

52. Breakdance / Breikdans

Breakdance and Breikdans are used to refer to the dance style.
-Locations-
In Spanish, the word bar can be used to mean "bar," as it does in English, a place where people go to drink.

Club can be used to refer to virtually any type of club, from golf clubs to yacht clubs to nightclubs-most often nightclubs.

Pub means the same in both Spanish and English.

In Spanish camping and cámping can be used to mean "camping," "campground" or "campsite."

In English, "parking" is a verb to refer to the act of parking a car. However, in Spanish it is a noun used to refer to a parking lot.
-Other-
58. Bestseller / Béstseller

In both Spanish and English, this word is used to refer to popular books.

These terms are used to refer to comic strips and comic books.

Though sometimes referred to as pasatiempo, a hobby is often called a hobby.

Boicot comes from the English word "boycott."

Bol comes from the English word "bowl." Whether it's filled with helado (ice cream) or something else is a moot point.

In Spanish, this term refers to a heart bypass but not a road bypass.

64. Overbooking

This word has the same meaning in both Spanish and English. Once you've gotten bumped from a flight because of it, it's a term you'll never forget.

65. Marketing

Used exclusively as a noun in Spanish, this refers to the commercial field of marketing and the act of marketing a product or service.

Though sometimes called hostelería, catering or cátering can also be used to refer to caterers themselves, their businesses and the general services they offer.

Zapping is a colloquial term used for channel surfing

Whether in Spanish or English, this is an agreeable term.

As you can see, Spanish uses a lot of English words.

With new terms entering each language daily, the overlap between these two great languages will only grow with time.

Learn them as you go-they're basically freebie vocabulary words!

And One More Thing...

If you like learning colorful, memorable Spanish lessons like this one, then you'll love FluentU.

FluentU takes real-world videos like music videos, commercials, news, and inspiring talks and turns them into Spanish learning experiences.

Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You'll learn Spanish as it's actually spoken by real people.

FluentU has a wide variety of videos-topics like soccer, TV shows, business, movies and even magical realism, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don't know, you can add it to a vocab list.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU's Learn Mode. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you're on.

The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you're learning, and it recommends you examples and videos based on the words you've already learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they're learning the same video.

Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU App from the iTunes store. The Android app is coming soon!

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Spanish with real-world videos.
Experience Spanish immersion online!

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Double Agents: 68 Sneaky English Words Undercover as Spanish Words

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Are they speaking English?No, they couldn't be. But that word sounded so darn familiar.You're speaking Spanish with native speakers, and all of sudden something odd happened. You can hardly make sense of it. But-ah, again!-there's another strangely familiar word that sounds distinctly un-Spa