# data[].attributes.body
¿Por qué la lengua española está disminuyendo en los Estados Unidos?
A. la gente olvida cómo hablar español
B. La presión social/cultural
C. La gente sólo quiere hablar español
D. A la gente no se le permite hablar español

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo está relacionado con lo que estamos aprendiendo en clase porque discute las tendencias de hispanohablantes en los Estados Unidos. En esta conversación es un debate sobre si la inmigración de los países hispanohablantes amenaza el dominio del inglés. Más concretamente, este artículo muestra que el idioma y la inmigración están vinculados políticamente. El español es el segundo idioma más hablado en los Estados Unidos, con 48,6 millones personas. Aunque los cambios demográficos de los Estados Unidos proyectan que el español habla con creces por 2060, el autor discrepa. En su lugar, argumenta que la población Latina continuará creciendo, pero el número de hablantes españoles no lo hará, y de hecho ellos realmente declinarán. Más concretamente, explica que la consecuencia de las fuerzas culturales que presionan los oradores a renunciar un idioma para conseguir otro, hará que este cambio de idioma del español al inglés.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Political arguments against high Latino immigration into the U.S. often play on fears that Spanish is pushing out English in American society. It's not. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Hidden just beneath the surface of the ongoing heated debate about immigration in the United States lurks an often unspoken concern: language. Specifically, whether immigration from Spanish-speaking countries threatens the English language's dominance.

Language and immigration have long been politically linked in the U.S. When Farmers Branch, Texas, passed an English-only "requirement" in 2006, then-Mayor Tim O'Hare justified it by saying that "we need to address illegal immigration in our city and we need to do it now."

The Farmers Branch city council voted unanimously to drop the controversial ordinance last November, but 31 states and hundreds of towns in the United States still have local English-only or "official English" laws.

The perception that Latino immigration has led Spanish to sideline or even overtake English in the U.S. is widespread. After all, Spanish is the second most dominant language in the country, after English. It is spoken by 48.6 million people: 34.8 million Spanish-speakers age 5 and older of various national-origin backgrounds, 11 million undocumented Latin American immigrants and an estimated 2.8 million non-Latinos who use Spanish in the home.

Census data on U.S. demographic changes project that by 2060 the Latino population in the U.S. - the group most likely to speak Spanish - will grow 115 percent, to 119 million.

But these figures don't tell the whole story. As a linguist, I have studied Spanish-English bilingualism in Texas, California, Florida and beyond, and I can attest that Spanish is not taking over the United States. Far from it: Political fearmongering notwithstanding, Spanish actually holds a rather tenuous position in the country.

From bilingual to monolingual

How can the Latino population be growing rapidly while Spanish-speaking remains stable? The answer lies in oft-overlooked peculiarities of census data and in the particular linguistic history of the United States.

If one looks only at immigration patterns over the past half-century, it is true that the U.S. has been gaining Spanish-speakers. From 1965 to 2015, roughly half of all immigration has come from Latin American countries. This trend added some 30 million people, most of whom came speaking Spanish, to the American populace.

But this is only half the story. While new immigrants bring Spanish with them, research shows that their children tend to become bilinguals who overwhelmingly prefer English. As a result, the same immigrants' grandchildren likely speak English only.

Linguists call this phenomenon " the three-generation pattern." In essence, it means that non-English languages in the U.S. are lost by or during the third generation.

We can see this pattern playing out in data from the Pew Hispanic Center. Surveys show that in 2000, 48 percent of Latino adults aged 50 to 68 spoke "only English" or "English very well," and that 73 percent of Latino children aged 5 to 17 did.

By 2014, those numbers had jumped to 52 percent and 88 percent, respectively. In other words, the shift from Spanish to English is happening nationwide, both over time and between generations.

Why English dominates

Language shift is not a naturally occurring phenomenon. Rather, it is a consequence of cultural forces that pressure speakers to give up one language to get another. These forces include restrictive language laws that formally prohibit the use of Spanish in educational or government settings, as Farmers Branch, Texas, did for 11 years.

Schools also drive the three-generation pattern. Even though Latin American parents often speak to their U.S.-born children in Spanish, those children almost invariably attend English-only schools.

There, they learn that academic success is achieved in English. As a result, first-generation children expand their vocabularies and literacy practices in English, not in Spanish.

They may also encounter negative attitudes toward Spanish from teachers and peers. For example, in October 2017, a New Jersey high school teacher was caught on video reprimanding three students for speaking Spanish, encouraging them, instead, to speak "American." That no such language exists is beside the point - her message was clear.

Social pressure to speak English is so great that Latino immigrant parents may notice resistance to using Spanish at home as early as kindergarten. A generation later, though grandparents may continue to use Spanish in the home, grandchildren will often respond to them in English.

Gosia Wozniacka/AP Images

The numerous blogs, websites and guides dedicated to helping Latino parents navigate this bilingual terrain indicate just how common language shift is.

Indeed, when I ask my own Latino students about when they speak what to whom, the answer is almost always the same: Spanish with elders, English with everyone else.

This pattern seems to hold in small towns and big cities, on the East Coast and on the West, and in towns with large and small Latino populations. From Chicago to Southern California, children of Spanish-speaking immigrants become English-dominant.

The Spanish-to-English shift even occurs in Miami, where over 65 percent of the population is Latino and where speaking Spanish has clear economic benefits. That's why Miami struggles to find enough Spanish-speaking teachers to staff its public schools.

English on the rise

Spanish isn't the only immigrant language that has struggled to keep a foothold in the U.S. Germans, Italians, Poles and Swedes went through similar language shifts in the 19th and 20th centuries. These languages, too, were sometimes seen as a threat to American identity in their time.

Then as now, American anxiety about the role of English in U.S. society was totally unfounded. In the roughly 150,000-year history of human language, there has never been a more secure tongue than English.

More people worldwide do speak Mandarin and Spanish as their first language. But with some 400 million first language speakers and more than 500 million adoptive English speakers, English has a global standing enjoyed by none of the roughly 6,000 other languages spoken worldwide. It has been that way for about half a century.

If Latino immigration declines markedly in the U.S., language shift may actually lead Spanish to disappear across America. English, on the other hand, isn't going anywhere fast.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Spanish use is steady or dropping in US despite high Latino immigration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hidden just beneath the surface of the ongoing heated debate about immigration in the United States lurks an often unspoken concern: language. Specifically, whether immigration from Spanish-speaking countries threatens the English language's dominance. Language and immigration have long been politically linked in the U.S.

# data[].attributes.body
Este video está relacionado con lo que estamos aprendiendo en clase porque habla de bilingüismo. Más concretamente, este video explica que el bilingüismo proporciona muchos beneficios para el cerebro. Aunque la hipótesis del período crítico indica que los niños aprenden idiomas más fácilmente debido a la plasticidad de sus cerebros en desarrollo, la adquisición de un idioma adicional, en general, le da a su cerebro algunas ventajas notables. En primer lugar, el entrenamiento intensificado que recibe un cerebro bilingüe a lo largo de su vida puede retrasar la aparición de enfermedades como alzhéimer y la demencia por cinco años. En segundo lugar, el esfuerzo en la atención fortalece el contexto prefrontal dorsolateral. Esta parte del cerebro desempeña un papel importante en la función ejecutiva: la resolución de problemas, el cambio entre tareas y el enfoque al filtrar la información irrelevante. Aunque el bilingüismo puede no hacerte más inteligente, hay evidencia que tu cerebro sea más saludable, complejo, activamente comprometido y un poco de ejercicio cerebral puede llegar a un largo camino.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mia Nacamulli: The benefits of a bilingual brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's obvious that knowing more than one language can make certain things easier -- like traveling or watching movies without subtitles. But are there other advantages to having a bilingual (or multilingual) brain? Educator Mia Nacamulli details the three types of bilingual brains and shows how knowing more than one language keeps your brain healthy, complex and actively engaged.

# data[].attributes.headline
Trata de los hechos sobre Español en los Estados Unidos 

# data[].attributes.subject
Trata de los hechos sobre Español en los Estados Unidos 

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo es interesante porque discute los hechos sobre español en los Estados Unidos. Primero, el español fue el primer idioma hablado en el territorio moderno de los Estados Unidos. Más concretamente, la lengua española llegó a los Estados Unidos en 1513, cuando Juan Ponce de León se fue a las costas de Florida. En segundo lugar, la primera Constitución de California se publicó en inglés y español. Hasta la guerra mexicano-estadounidense, una gran parte de California era un territorio mexicano y consistía principalmente de hablantes españoles. Como resultado, cuando California creó su primera Constitución en 1849, la escribieron en inglés y español. En tercer lugar, seis nombres estadounidenses tienen orígenes en lengua española, como Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nevada y California. Debido a la larga historia de hispanohablantes en América, este hecho no es sorprendente. Por ejemplo, a Florida se le dio su nombre por Juan Ponce de León. Cuando este explorador llegó a las costas de Florida notó las áreas abundantes de la vida vegetal y así dio la tierra el nombre de Florida (flowery). En general, este artículo fue informativo e interesante, y me sorprendió con hechos que no sabía.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Did you know that the U.S. has no official language?

That's right-not even English!

America may not lead the world in bilingual education-only 25 percent of Americans can hold a conversation in a second language. But that doesn't change the fact that America is a very linguistically diverse country. A 2015 report found at least 350 distinct languages spoken within U.S. borders.

And there's a good chance the first one you're thinking of is Spanish.

Spanish has a long and important history in the U.S. In fact, Spanish speakers' language and heritage have been impacting U.S. history and culture since before the U.S. was even a country.

This relationship can even impact your own Spanish language studies.

Ever get sick of staring at your textbook? Frustrated you can't just pick up, move to Madrid and finally learn Spanish once and for all? Getting acquainted with the exciting (and growing!) Spanish culture and dialects right in your own backyard can light a new fire under your language studies.

Read on for some fascinating and little-known facts about the past, present and future of Spanish in the U.S.

A Tip for Spanish Culture and Language Lovers

Before we dive into our facts, we've got a tip for the Spanish culture and language lovers out there.

If discovering Spanish culture is your kind of thing, you'll also enjoy studying the language through authentic Spanish resources. FluentU is a fun, personalized option where you'll discover real-world Spanish videos -like TV shows, music videos, inspiring talks and much more.

Each video is organized by level and comes with interactive captions, flashcards and exercises. It's an entertaining but effective way to build your skills, all while absorbing native speech and learning about many different regions of the Spanish-speaking world.

1. Spanish was the first European language spoken on modern U.S. territory.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine stirred up controversy when he stated that Spanish was the first European language spoken on U.S. territory.

But, Kaine's facts are correct.

The Spanish language first came to the U.S. in 1513, when the explorer Juan Ponce de León came ashore in present-day Florida. He returned in 1520 for a second voyage.

In fact, the Spanish were also responsible for the first settlement on what's now the U.S.: the city of St. Augustine, Florida, which was founded in 1565. This settlement predated the British lost colony of Roanoake by decades.

English may now predominate in most parts of the U.S., but Spanish has been around for much longer.

2. California's first constitution was published in English and Spanish.

Until the Mexican-American war, a large part of California was Mexican territory. This means that well into the 19th century there was a huge population of Spanish speakers in the territory.

So, when California drafted its first constitution in 1849, they wrote it in both English and Spanish. They even designated an "official translator" for the job: William Edward Petty Hartnell. In fact, the constitution included an article requiring all official state documents to be published in both English and Spanish.

However, the state's official bilingualism was short-lived.

In 1855, English became the official language of primary school education. And in 1879, despite spirited debate, the renewed constitution didn't uphold Spanish language rights.

Today, nearly 30 percent of California residents speak Spanish at home and there's still debate within the state about bilingual rights.

3. Six U.S. state names have Spanish-language origins.

Given the long history of Spanish speakers in U.S. territory, it's not surprising that several U.S. states adopted names derived from Spanish. A Mental Floss article identifies six states that have Spanish-derived names:

Arizona: Scholars aren't clear on exactly where the name Arizona comes from. Some maintain that it's from the Basque aritz onak ("good oak"). Others believe that it came from the Spanish word Arizonac, which itself comes from a native American word meaning "having a little spring."

Still others claim that it comes from the Spanish zona árida (arid zone).

California: California is the name of a fictional paradise created by Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo in his novel "Las Sergas de Esplandián" ("The Adventures of Esplandián").

Colorado: Colorado is a Spanish false friend. Although it looks like the English word "colored," it actually means "bright red."

Florida: When Juan Ponce de León landed on the shores of Florida, he noticed the area's abundant plant life. Thus, he gave the territory the name Florida (Flowery).

Montana: This state name comes from the Spanish montaña (mountain) due to the state's many mountain ranges. However, the origin of its usage is unknown.

Nevada: The Spanish word nevada means "snowfall." It was first used as a name for the Sierra Nevada (literally, "snow-covered mountain range") and later was applied to the whole state.

Spanish explorers named the Río Colorado (Colorado River) after its red waters. Later, the name Colorado was adopted for the entire territory.

Bonus: the name Utah may have come from the word ute, which the Spanish used to refer to the region's indigenous population. And the name Texas is a hispanicization of the indigenous word teysha, a greeting used by many indigenous communities before the arrival of the Spanish.

4. Linguists have identified many different Spanish dialects throughout the U.S.

If you've lived or traveled in the U.S., you've surely noticed the many different English dialects that exist within the country. Northeastern English, for example, has totally different slang than the English in the Deep South or the Midwest.

But did you know that the same is true of Spanish in the U.S.?

The Spanish spoken across the country varies widely by region. And although recent immigration has something to do with this (for example, the prevalence of Cuban Spanish in Miami), some of these regional variations can be traced to 16th and 17th century migration patterns.

For instance, the Spanish spoken in Colorado contains certain elements that are related to the colonial-era Spanish spoken in the region.

5. In 2017, "Despacito" became the first Spanish-language song to top the Billboard Hot 100 since the "Macarena" in 1996.

Unless you're living under a rock, you've undoubtedly heard the wildly popular song "Despacito," by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. "Despacito" became the most-streamed song of all time and a remix featuring Justin Bieber generated popularity in the U.S.

In May 2017, "Despacito" reached the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first Spanish-language song to do so in over a decade.

According to some commentators, the popularity of "Despacito" is part of-and has contributed to-a more general trend of Latin-inspired music booming in the U.S.

6. A majority of second-generation Latinos in the U.S. speak Spanglish "some" or "most" of the time.

"Spanglish" refers to the mixing of English and Spanish by bilingual people. Spanglish takes many forms, such as the insertion of Spanish phrases into English speech or the use of Anglicisms or English loan-words in Spanish speech.

According to a study by the Pew Research Center, nearly 60 percent of young second-generation Hispanic Americans speak Spanglish "some of the time," and more than 25 percent speak it "most of the time."

Although some academics might see Spanglish as a "corruption" of proper Spanish, many young Latinos are proud of Spanglish and embrace it as part of their bilingual, multicultural identity.

The New York Times published an ode to Puerto Rican Spanglish, and Latinx-run sites like Remezcla have produced content aimed specifically at Spanglish-speakers.

7. Around 2050, the U.S. may become the largest Spanish-speaking nation on earth.

The Spanish-speaking population in the U.S. is on the rise.

This is partially due to an influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants from central and south America, and partially due to the prevalence of Spanish-language education in U.S. primary and secondary schools.

As of 2015, the U.S. had 41 million native Spanish speakers, plus 11.6 million bilingual Spanish speakers. Currently, the only country with a larger Spanish-speaking population is Mexico, at 121 million.
Experience Spanish immersion online!
A report from the U.S. Census office predicted that by 2050 the U.S. would have 138 million Spanish speakers, the largest population anywhere on the planet.

If you're learning Spanish in the U.S., you're clearly in good company! The Spanish language has a long history here and it's certainly not going away anytime soon. As Spanish music and culture become more prevalent in the U.S., and as the number of Spanish-speakers continues to grow, the language will become an even greater asset.

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

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Spanish Learning Motivation in Your Backyard: 7 Intriguing Facts About Spanish in the USA

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Did you know that the U.S. has no official language?That's right-not even English!America may not lead the world in bilingual education-only 25 percent of Americans can hold a conversation in a second language. But that doesn't change the fact that America is a very linguistically diverse co

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo está relacionado con lo que estamos aprendiendo en clase porque discute los hechos sobre el Caló o el argot Chicano. Según el artículo, Caló es un dialecto Chicano o argot que se habla por los mexicanos-americanos en el suroeste de los Ángeles y a lo largo de la frontera. Este lenguaje de jerga contiene una combinación de influencias mexicanas, españolas y americanas. Lo más interesante, el Caló fue originalmente hablado por los jóvenes mexicano-americanos en el 1930, donde derivó mezclas únicas de español e inglés. El mexicano Caló eventualmente amplió su influencia, cruzando la frontera en ciudades como el paso, Tucson, y Los Ángeles, donde se le dio un toque Inglés. Lo que es más importante, sin embargo, se convirtió en un identificador de la joven cultura Chicana, en Estados como California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas y nuevo México. Otro dato interesante sobre el Caló es que fue visto como clase baja, criminal (como las palabras fueron intercambiadas en código), y no algo que las mujeres, o aquellos con una educación hablarían. Sin embargo, el movimiento Chicano en la década de 1960 cambió esta visión del argot de Caló. Una vez que los chicanos que estudiaban en las universidades comenzaron a protestar y afirmar su identidad única, el desdén por el argot de Caló comenzó a desaparecer. Caló sigue siendo evidente en la cultura pop como el show de George Lopez, la revista Lowrider, la película mi vida loca y muchos más.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In case you've never heard of it, Caló is a Chicano dialect, or slang, spoken by Mexican-Americans in Southwest, L.A., along the border, and beyond. Like Chicano culture itself, Caló contains a blend of Mexican, Spanish, and American influences. Let's take a look into the language, and what makes it a unique part of the Latino experience.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Things To Know About Caló, a.k.a. Chicano Slang

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In case you've never heard of it, Caló is a Chicano dialect, or slang, spoken by Mexican-Americans in Southwest, L.A., along the border, and beyond. Like Chicano culture itself, Caló contains a blend of Mexican, Spanish, and American influences. Let's take a look into the language, and what makes it a unique part of the Latino experience.

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo es importante porque se relaciona directamente con la pregunta dieciocho en el libro. La sabiduría convencional sostiene que los hablantes de español deben ser capaces de entender el portugués. Sin embargo, este artículo es interesante porque contrarresta esta suposición. Aunque tanto españoles como portugueses tienen elementos latinos y proceden de la Península Ibérica, tienen sus diferencias. Más concretamente, las principales diferencias de los dos idiomas no provienen del vocabulario, sino de sus sonidos. Donde el portugués tiene 37 fonemas, el español sólo tiene 24, por lo que es más difícil para los hablantes españoles para entender el portugués, pero más fácil para los hablantes portugueses para entender el español. Además, el español y el portugués tienen "falsos amigos", que se produce cuando las palabras se ven y suenan igual, pero tienen un significado diferente. Por ejemplo, en español "salsa" significa salsa pero en Portugués "salsa" significa perejil. Por lo tanto, este artículo explica con precisión por qué los hablantes españoles luchan por entender el portugués.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of the most popular beliefs is that Spanish speakers understand Portuguese (and vice-versa). There's even a Wikipedia page comparing the two sister languages. But although Spanish and Portuguese are indeed closely related, things are not as simple as they might seem.

"You speak Spanish, you must understand Portuguese."

I recently received this message in a work-related request. Apparently, if I can write in Spanish, it automatically qualifies me to write in Portuguese.

Only if everything was that simple.

Spanish and Portuguese both have their origins in Latin and both originated in the Iberian Peninsula. It's not entirely clear when each language became independent from the other, but it must've been somewhere between the 14th century and the 16th. D.Dinis, the king of Portugal in the early 14th century, is famous for his poetic verses in Galaico-Portuguese. Camões, the great Portuguese poet, still understood a similar language, but wrote his epic "The Lusiads" (1556) in fully-fledged Portuguese.

However the main difference between the two languages was not in their vocabulary, but rather in their sound. After all, they still share 89% of their vocabulary. But Spanish only has 24 phonemes, whereas European Portuguese has an whooping 37. And what this mean for modern-day speakers? Spanish speakers who have never been exposed to Portuguese will have a hard time understanding the spoken language. Portuguese speakers, on the other hand, have a much easier time dealing with spoken Spanish.

False Friends in Spanish and Portuguese

Apart from the difficulties of the spoken language, Spanish and Portuguese also have distinct grammars. If you don't study each of them individually, I doubt you will be able to write in both. A Spanish speaker and a Portuguese speaker that have never been exposed to each other's languages will understand around 45% of what the other says. In real life, of course, this is not that common. The mutual intelligibility of spoken Portuguese for most Spaniards is around 50%; the Portuguese, from the high of their 37 phonemes, can understand about 58% of what we say.

But rewinding back to the question of vocabulary, we must not forget that what we don't share includes dozens of idioms and cursing words. And this is also why we might have a higher mutual intelligibility in the written form of our languages, which is far more polished. Everyday language gets harder simply because an European Portuguese speaker will hardly understand the interjections or cussing of Chilean Spanish.

Finally, let's not forget the dozens of false friends. Here is a list of my favorite ones, have fun with it!

Salsa: in Spanish, salsa means sauce. In Portuguese, "salsa" means parsley. So imagine my surprise when a Portuguese speaker asked me for "salsa"... and really meant perejil.

Oficina: in Spanish, oficina means office. In Portuguese, an "oficina" is a workshop ( taller in Spanish). By the way, taller sounds like the Portuguese word "talher", which means silverware. The Portuguese word for office is actually "escritório", which means "desk" in Spanish. Confusing, right?

Largo: in Spanish, largo means long. In Portuguese, it means wide.

Acordar: in Spanish, acordar means to remember. In Portuguese, it means "to wake up".

Cola: in means queue in Spanish, but in Portuguese it means glue. Related.

Embarazada: the Spanish word for pregnant is tricky for almost everyone. You probably thought it meant "embarrassed". But relax! It's confusing even for the Portuguese speaking neighbors, who will think the exact same thing.

The bottom line is that although Spanish and Portuguese have fundamental differences, knowing one will help you learning the other. If you already know Portuguese and want to try your hand at Spanish, troubleshoot with one of our online courses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Can Spanish Speakers Understand Portuguese?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One of the most popular beliefs is that Spanish speakers understand Portuguese (and vice-versa). There's even a Wikipedia page comparing the two sister languages. But although Spanish and Portuguese are indeed closely related, things are not as simple as they might seem. I recently received this message in a work-related request.

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo es importante para abordar la respuesta a la pregunta veinte en el libro. Más concretamente, este artículo explica por qué Ladino es significativo y cómo se relaciona con el español. Ladino, también conocido como judeo-español, es un idioma de la población hispana, que fue escrita y hablada por judíos de origen español. Después de que los judíos fueran expulsados de España en 1492, se trasladaron a países mediterráneos que hablaban árabe, Turco y francés, lo que condujo a la influencia de esas lenguas en Ladino. Además, debido a que Ladino fue creado antes de que español hubiera evolucionado completamente, todavía conserva los elementos lingüísticos del español antiguo. Sin embargo, es triste notar que el siglo XX vio una disminución significativa en los oradores de Ladino como resultado de la persecución nazi en el Holocausto. A pesar de este factor, es importante reconocer que Ladino era un idioma español con elementos como el español que evolucionaron horas extras.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Judeo-Spanish -- also known as Ladino -- mixes 16th-century Spanish, Hebrew, Turkish and other languages.

Judeo-Spanish (JS) is a language of Hispanic stock spoken and written by Jews of Spanish origin. Its phonology, morphology, and lexicon derive, for the most part, from pre-16th-century Spanish, and, as with other Jewish languages, the influence of Hebrew is felt, particularly in lexical areas associated with religious observance and practice, and, more restrictedly, in affective and taboo uses of Hebrew words and concepts.

Through contact with the languages of those Mediterranean countries in which the Jews settled after their expulsion from Spain in 1492, a number of lexical items, as well as a smaller number of morphological and syntactical elements, have entered the language from Turkish, Arabic, French, and, to a lesser extent, Italian.

The Expulsion From Spain

Upon leaving Spain whole communities of Jews headed east through Italy to the lands of the Ottoman Empire at the invitation of Sultan Bayazid, and important centers, which survived until the Second World War, grew in present-day Turkey, Greece, Israel, and Egypt, with smaller ones in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, and the island of Rhodes. Their speech is described by linguists as eastern JS.

For a century or so prior to the Expulsion, persecuted Spanish Jews also found shelter in North Africa, and speech communities grew along the northern coast of Morocco. The speech of this region, which bears a marked resemblance to its eastern counterpart both phonetically and in the retention of Old Spanish lexemes, is denominated western.

The 20th-century witnessed the annihilation of many of the eastern Mediterranean communities as a result of Nazi persecution, and in the late 1950s the fear of persecution also threatened many of the Moroccan communities. And so, with the displacement and dispersal of the old JS-speaking communities from their traditional centers, largely towards Israel but also to Europe, North and South America, speakers came into contact with, and eventually adopted, the language of their new surroundings.

Naming Ladino

A current debate on JS nomenclature raises some interesting points about linguistic evolution and linguistic consciousness. In the eastern Mediterranean the language is referred to by a variety of names. In general, two persons who speak the same language do not feel the need to identify to one another the language they are speaking; however, the need for identification does arise when they come into contact with non-native speakers. This could well explain why, following the break-up of traditional communities in the eastern Mediterranean in the early 19th century, the language is confusingly referred to by a variety of names.

Spanyol is perhaps the most commonly used among speakers of the language, with its unmistakable reference to their linguistic and cultural origins. Its widespread use is confirmed by the Modern Hebrew coinage Spanyolit (Spanyol + Heb. suffix for forming language names), the name by which the language was referred to until quite recently in Israel. Ladino, probably the earliest attested name, has the widest currency today, and certainly so in Israel where the largest speech-communities in the modern world are to be found. The term has another application which is discussed below.

The names Judezmo and Judió/Jidió, which are registered in some 19th- and early 20th-century communal publications, clearly have the function of underlining a Jewish identification among speakers. Judezmo is the Spanish word for "Judaism", and, for this reason, is used by certain scholars today who wish, on ideological grounds, to draw a semantic equation between Judezmo and Yiddish; however, it seems rather late in the day to rename the language. Faced by this terminological plurality, scholarship has generally opted for the more descriptive and neutral "Judeo-Spanish."

In the western Mediterranean, the language is frequently referred to as hakitia (formed on Moroccan Arabic haka "to converse" + diminutive suffix), although it is interesting to note that with the renewed impact of Modern Spanish in this area in the 19th century, the term is reserved by speakers to describe an artificial language of humor which abounds in archaic forms of Spanish and Hispanicized Arabisms, or else to the language as spoken in some distant past. However, though it is more similar to Modern Spanish than its eastern counterpart, the language continues to preserve many characteristic features.

Up to the beginning of the 20th century the language was almost always written in Hebrew characters using the standard Hebrew alphabet with some modifications, mostly in the form of diacritical marks, to accommodate Hispanic phonemes. The earliest texts appeared in "square" characters either with or without vowels, but the bulk of printed material is in a cursive (rabbinic) script. Some early manuscripts preserve a cursive script known as solitreo, which is still in use among native speakers in personal correspondence, for example.

Origins of Ladino

Two views about the origins of JS prevail. One holds that Jews in medieval Spain spoke the same language as their non-Jewish contemporaries, while drawing on Hebrew terms to express religio-cultural concepts not current in Spanish (for example, Shabbat), and preserving, at the same time, a number of archaisms. The language thus acquires a separate linguistic identity only after 1492.

The second view, which is gaining greater currency, maintains that JS, while being essentially a form of spoken medieval Spanish, had linguistic features of its own long before 1492, owing not merely to the presence of Hebrew words, but also to the peculiar sociolinguistic conditions which affected Jewish communities during their long history in the Iberian Peninsula, and to the greater linguistic receptivity by Jews to the waning Arabic culture. Thus the Arabic borrowing ahad ("the first [day]") is retained for "Sunday" in preference to the Spanish domingo (from Latin dies Dominicus "the Lord's day"), with its Christian connotation; ahad appears in medieval texts and continues to be in use in both eastern and western JS.

Ladino Literature

The first editions of the JS Bible translations appeared in the 16th century, although these are believed to reflect an earlier tradition elaborated by the Spanish Jews long before their expulsion. The language of these texts is usually referred to in scholarship as Ladino: it is characterized by an artificiality which permeates, especially, the lexicon and syntax, and which is the result of a method of translation where the strictest adherence to the Hebrew original is the rule. It is generally accepted that these texts do not reflect the spoken language, although clearly they share common features with it.

Two centuries later, the first complete Ladino translation of the Old Testament in Hebrew characters (1739-45) was edited in Constantinople by Abraham Assa, and editions of it continued to be produced throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This highly literal method of translation was so widely accepted that it was even adopted by Christian missionaries in 1873 in their JS Bible translation.

The same method is also reflected by translations of liturgical works which first appeared in the sixteenth century and have continued to do so up to the present. Among them are the Ladino translations of the daily and festival prayerbooks, manuscript fragments of which date from before the Expulsion, the Haggadah, and the Pirkei Avot [Ethics of the Patriarchs, a talmudic book]. Halachic [Jewish legal] literature dating from the 16th century also displays this translation language and incorporates much Hebrew phraseology; however, the language does not show the same degree of rigid adherence to Hebrew as that found in the Ladino Bible and liturgical translations. Among these is a selection from Yosef Caro's Shulhan Arukh [a major code of Jewish law] entitled Shulhan Hapan im (Salonica, 1568).

The reader of JS, as opposed to Ladino, literature may be struck by the fact that the language he is reading reflects a spoken rather than a literary variety. The sensation is of a strong tradition of oral literature, which is eventually committed to paper. A notable case is that of the traditional ballads known as romances, which comprise many medieval Spanish examples of the genre, as well as more recent ones based on the traditional model. But JS texts in Hebrew characters also number among the earliest witnesses of Spanish literary activity. The kharjas incorporated into the poetry of such major figures of the Golden Age of Hebrew verse in Spain as Yehudah Halevi in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, are an example of this as is a fifteenth-century fragment of an early JS poem on the biblical story of Joseph, Coplas de Yocef.

The best-known and most widely translated JS work of the post exilic period is the Me'am Lo'ez (1730), which was begun by Yaacov Khuli and continued over a long period, in series form, by a number of different authors writing under the same title. A midrashic work, the Me'am Lo'ez is structured mainly on the Pentateuch and spans the sources of Jewish thought. The beginning of the 19th century saw the growth of a secular literature, which was popular, for the most part, and included a sizable corpus of original compositions such as novels, short stories, plays, and popular histories as well as adaptations of major European novels of the period, where the impact of French on JS is significantly felt. This is also observed in the JS press which began to flourish in the eastern Mediterranean at the same time; only a small number of newspapers continue to appear today.

There can be no doubt, therefore, as to the slow disappearance of JS as a spoken language. Traditional linguistic registers are gradually being overtaken by those of the co-territorial languages, and the language is no longer transmitted to succeeding generations in the normal manner.

Today, only small clusters of native speakers, usually of an advanced age, are to be found scattered around the globe. However, although the spoken language may have been the principal vehicle for the transmission of JS culture up to now, as the language "dies," more and more people seem to be taking to the pen in order to write in and about it.

At first sight this may appear paradoxical. However, a spoken language looks partly to the written word for conservation, and this becomes, in turn, a different vehicle for the transmission of a culture and guards against its annihilation.

Reprinted with permission from The Blackwell Companion to Jewish Culture:From the Eighteenth Century to the Present, Edited by Glenda Ambranson (Blackwell Publishers).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Judeo-Spanish -- also known as Ladino -- mixes 16th-century Spanish, Hebrew, Turkish and other languages. Judeo-Spanish (JS) is a language of Hispanic stock spoken and written by Jews of Spanish origin.

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo es interesante porque está relacionado con la pregunta tres del libro. Durante el siglo 13, el rey Alfonso abogó por que el idioma estándar de España sea el castellano. Sin embargo, aunque castellano (que es un dialecto del latín vulgar) se convirtió en el idioma principal, su uso no se libró de otras lenguas latinas como el catalán y el gallego. Por lo tanto, debido a que otros idiomas como el gallego, el catalán y el euskera son también lenguas oficiales del país, la palabra "castellano" se puede utilizar para establecer el idioma de los otros idiomas de España. Además, es importante utilizar el término "castellano" frente a "español" porque puede tener implicaciones políticas. Más concretamente, el uso de "castellano" es más apropiado porque enfatiza que los otros idiomas de España como el catalán y el euskera son igualmente españoles.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Spanish or Castilian? You'll hear both terms used in referring to the language that originated in Spain and spread to most of Latin America. The same is true in Spanish-speaking countries, where their language can be known as either español or castellano.

To understand why requires a brief look at how the Spanish language developed to its current form. What we know as Spanish is primarily a derivative of Latin, which arrived on the Iberian Peninsula (the peninsula that includes Spain and Portugal) around 2,000 years ago. On the peninsula, Latin adopted some of the vocabulary of indigenous languages, becoming Vulgar Latin. The peninsula's variety of Latin became quite well entrenched, and with various changes (including the addition of thousands of Arabic words), it survived well into the second millennium.

For reasons more political than linguistic, the dialect of Vulgar Latin that was common in what is now the north-central portion of Spain, which includes Castile, spread throughout the region. In the 13th century, King Alfonso supported efforts such as the translation of historic documents that helped the dialect, known as Castilian, become the standard for educated use of the language. He also made that dialect the official language for government administration.

As later rulers pushed the Moors out of Spain, they continued to use Castilian as the official tongue. Further strengthening Castilian's use as a language for educated people was Arte de la lengua castellana by Antonio de Nebrija, what might be called the first Spanish-language textbook and one of the first books to systematically define the grammar of a European language.

Although Castilian became the primary language of the area now known as Spain, its use didn't eliminate the other Latin-based languages in the region. Galician (which has similarities to Portuguese) and Catalan (one of the major languages of Europe with similarities to Spanish, French, and Italian) continue to be used in large numbers today. A non-Latin-based language, Euskara or Basque, whose origins remain unclear, is also spoken by a minority.

In a sense, then, these other languages - Galician, Catalan and Euskara - are Spanish languages and even have official status in their regions, so the term Castilian (and more often castellano) has sometimes been used to differentiate that language from the other languages of Spain.

Today, the term "Castilian" is used in other ways too. Sometimes it is used to distinguish the north-central standard of Spanish from regional variations such as Andalusian (used in southern Spain). Sometimes it is used, not altogether accurately, to distinguish the Spanish of Spain from that of Latin America. And sometimes it is used simply as a synonym for Spanish, especially when referring to the "pure" Spanish promulgated by the Royal Spanish Academy (which itself preferred the term castellano in its dictionaries until the 1920s).

In Spain, a person's choice of terms to refer to the language - castellano or español - sometimes can have political implications. In many parts of Latin America, the Spanish language is known routinely as castellano rather than español. Meet someone new, and she may ask you " ¿Hablas castellano?" rather than " ¿Hablas español?" for "Do you speak Spanish?

Since English speakers frequently use "Castilian" to refer to the Spanish of Spain when contrasted with that of Latin America, you may be interested to know some of the major ​differences between the two. Keep in mind that the language also varies both within Spain and among Latin American countries.

Spaniards usually use vosotros as the plural of , while Latin Americans almost universally use ustedes. In some parts of Latin America, particularly Argentina and parts of Central America, replaces tú.

is very common in Spain, not so in Latin America.

Numerous vocabulary differences separate the hemispheres, although some vocabulary, especially slang, and can vary considerably within individual countries. Among the common differences between Spain and Latin America are that in the former manejar is used to refer to driving, while Latin Americans usually use conducir. Also, a computer is usually called a computadora in Latin America but ordenador in Spain.

In most of Spain, the z (or the c when it comes before e or i) is pronounced much like the "th" in "thin," while in most of Latin America it has the "s" sound.

Despite these differences, native speakers in Spain can converse freely with Latin Americans and vice versa, especially if they avoid slang. In degree, the differences are roughly comparable to those between British English and American English.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Is There a Difference Between Spanish and Castilian?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Spanish or Castilian? You'll hear both terms used in referring to the language that originated in Spain and spread to most of Latin America. The same is true in Spanish-speaking countries, where their language can be known as either español or castellano.

# data[].attributes.headline
Diferencias entre español en Latinoamérica y España

# data[].attributes.subject
Diferencias entre español en Latinoamérica y España

# data[].attributes.body
Este video es similar a lo que estamos aprendiendo en clase porque explica cómo los dialectos españoles de América Latino y España son diferentes. Por ejemplo, en España, "Z" generalmente suena como "TH", así como "C" antes de "E" y "I." Por otro lado, en América Latina, ambos casos suenan como "S."  Otro dato interesante es que en Argentina, "ll" suena como "sh", haciéndolo claramente diferente de otros países latinoamericanos. Según el video, en el Caribe y en las partes meridionales de España, los hablantes de Español cambian la función de "R" convirtiéndolo en una "L." En última instancia, este video demostró que muchos países son únicos porque han creado sus propias características lingüísticas que los diferencian de otros países de habla hispana.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Are There Differences Between Spanish In Latin America And Spain?

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo está relacionado con la pregunta 75 en el libro que pregunta ¿por qué el español tiene tantas palabras para ' you’? Más concretamente, en el artículo explica que cada palabra tiene una función especial en el idioma. El formulario que utilices dependerá del número de personas con las que estés hablando, del dialecto específico que estés hablando y de la formalidad o informalidad de la situación. "Tú" se usa cuando te refieres a una sola persona y son alguien con quien estás familiarizado (lo que lo hace informal) como un amigo, miembro de la familia, o alguien más joven que tu propia edad. "Usted" es similar a tú porque se utiliza cuando se habla con una persona, sin embargo usted es más formal. Usted se utiliza cuando habla con alguien con un estatus social más alto que usted como su jefe, ancianos o un funcionario del gobierno. En algunas regiones como Argentina, Uruguay, etc., los oradores utilizan "vos" en lugar de usted, que es formal e informal. "Vosotros" está acostumbrado a dirigirse informalmente a un grupo de personas. Aunque España no suele utilizar vos, son prácticamente el único país que utiliza vosotros. "Ustedes" se utiliza formalmente en España para dirigirse a un grupo de personas. Sin embargo, en otros países que no usan vosotros, sólo dicen ustedes para las interacciones formales e informales.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Here's an easy trivia question: How many fingers do you have on your left hand?

That's how many ways there are to say "you" in Spanish!

You can say tú, usted, ustedes, vos or vosotros.

And they all mean the same thing: You!

So what's the difference? What's the point of having five different ways to say the same thing?

Ah, that's the catch: All those words might mean "you," but they're all slightly different. Which pronoun you use depends entirely on the situation.

Don't worry! We're here to clear things up.

In this post, we'll take a closer look into every way to say "you" in Spanish, and we'll learn when to properly use each one.

How to Determine Which Spanish Form of "You" to Use

The idea of multiple ways to say "you" might be a strange concept for English-speakers. After all, we only have the one lonely "you," which we use for, well, basically everything. So a class about how to say "you" in English would be pretty short: It's "you." Next lesson!

But in Spanish, there are five words that mean "you," and the differences between them aren't minor. Each word has a specific function in the language, and they're often not interchangeable. Which form you use depends on:

The number of people you're talking to

The specific dialect you're speaking

The formality (or informality) of the situation

So when choosing which "you" to use, you'll have to keep in mind whether you're talking to one person or to many, whether you're in Spain, Mexico or some other Spanish-speaking country and whether you're addressing friends, acquaintances or people of a higher social status than you.

The first two are fairly straightforward, but the last one seems to have a lot of wiggle room. How do you know if a situation is formal or informal? Here are some guidelines to help you decide:

If you're having difficulty determining the most appropriate word to use, err on the side of caution and use the more formal version.

Still not sure? Try the "High-Five Test." It's a quick imagination exercise which helps determine whether the situation is formal or not. Look into your mind's eye and imagine giving the other person a high five, out of nowhere. Just put it there and slap that hand.

How did that feel in your head? Did the other person even meet your palm? Or did he think you were going to strike him and protected himself instead?

Did it feel weird? Or totally normal?

If you can imagine high-fiving the other person without the least bit of awkwardness, then you can talk to them informally. If not, then it's probably best to address them formally.

Two Important Things to Remember About "You" in Spanish

Zeroing in on the correct "you" form is crucial to being understood and not offending anyone. Here are two more really important facts to remember about these pronouns:

Different forms of "you" have different verb conjugations.

For example, the common expression "Have a nice day!" will be different depending on whether you're using tú (informal) or usted (formal):
¡Que tú tengas un buen día!
They both mean the same thing, but the accompanying verb forms depend on which "you" is being used in the sentence.

(Note: For discussion purposes, notice that we don't drop the "you." Many Spanish speakers often simply drop the pronoun altogether. So instead of saying, "Tú tienes suerte" [You are lucky], they simply say, "Tienes suerte," which means the same thing.)

We all know that verb conjugation is a rich field, and luckily, there are plenty of available resources online for learning the ins and outs of it:

Learn the basics of Spanish verb conjugation with FluentU.

For a quick conjugation cheat sheet, click the "Infographic" tab over at Spanish 411.

And for the whole shebang, Spanishdict has an excellent verb conjugator. Just type your verb, press "Enter" and you get the verb's different conjugations in every tense that you can possibly imagine.

The "you" forms change depending on their function in the sentence.

Remember when I said earlier that there are five "you" forms in Spanish? Well, that's the case when "you" is the subject of a sentence.

But as a pronoun, "you" can be placed at different points in a sentence and can function as a direct object, indirect object, the object of a preposition, etc. It's pretty versatile!

In English, this doesn't really matter because "you" is "you" is "you"-regardless of its function in the sentence:

You (subject) are beautiful.

The car hit you (direct object) at 90 mph.

Jake sent you (indirect object) flowers.

In Spanish, though, each of these situations calls for a specific form of the "you."

Let's take tú for example. It changes into te when it's used as an indirect or direct object and into ti when used as an object of the preposition:

Alguien te mandó flores para tu cumpleaños. (Someone sent you flowers for your birthday.)

Este flor es para ti. (This flower is for you.)

So the tú is actually a shapeshifter and changes depending on its function in the sentence. And this goes for the other four forms as well-usted, ustedes, vos, vosotros.

IPFW has a great chart to help you see what these change into when they take on different functions in a sentence. This is just something you need to remember, so study that chart!

To help you memorize which form is used in which situation, try hearing the words in use on FluentU takes real-world videos -like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks-and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

The immersive, entertaining content makes grammar and vocabulary much more memorable, so give it a try if you're struggling to wrap your mind around the grammar of things.

That said, let's look into each of the five forms of "you" in Spanish and learn when to properly unleash them.

Tú (Singular, Informal)

Tú is used when you're referring to a single person and they're somebody you're familiar with -a friend, a family member, a colleague, somebody younger than you or someone your own age.

If the other person's seen you finish off a plate of spaghetti with your face, or if you're talking to your cousin who borrowed and never returned your "Back to the Future" DVDs, you can safely refer to them as tú.

You can also use tú with pets, like when you say, "Tú eres mi vida" (You are my life) to your clueless cat.

Tú is warm and engaging. It's universally recognized in the Spanish-speaking world: Wherever you are, you can use it when talking to an individual you're close with.

Oh, and don't forget the accent mark on top of the u. It's not there to make the word look more exotic. without the accent mark means "your"... as in, "Your DVDs aren't coming back."

Usted (Singular, Formal)

Usted is singular, like tú, which means it's used when you're talking to just one person. The difference is that usted is more formal than tú.

Use usted as a sign of deference to people of a higher social status than you-your boss, elder members of your family, a government official, a teacher or a doctor (in other words, any person you respect and/or really wouldn't want to upset).

Usted is a fusion of the old phrase "vuestra merced," which was used to address superiors in the 15 th and 16 th centuries. It means "your mercy" or "your grace."

Usted can be used and is understood in most of the Spanish-speaking world.

Remember when I said to always err on the side of politeness? When you're initially meeting a person, use usted. Say:

¿Cómo se llama usted? (What is your name?)

It's better to start with usted than to assume familiarity and later have to walk back your tú.

If the other person thinks you're being too formal, he'll let you know by saying "Puedes tutearme," which means you can use the tú form with them. It's like your boss telling you, "Just call me John" after you've been "Mr. Smith-ing" his ears off.

Vos (Singular, Formal and Informal)

Here's where things get fun. In some regions, instead of differentiating between tú and usted, speakers simply use vos when addressing an individual. Vos used to only replace tú but it's increasingly becoming accepted as a replacement for usted as well.

or the use of vos, is used mainly in Latin America, in countries like Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and some parts of Chile and Central America.

One glaring exception for using vos is Spain, which doesn't use the form. They think they're too cool for it. (Kidding!)

Happy Hour Spanish has a map of countries in South America that employ vos. But honestly, the geographic distribution isn't at all that tidy. It's very difficult to pinpoint exactly which places use it because even in a single country, a region may be using vos and just a few miles north, up the mountain or down the valley, you might hear tú in conversation instead.

Remember that which form you use will change the verb's conjugation. With tú, you'd say "Tú eres..." ("You are..."). With vos, you say "Vos sos...", as in:

Vos sos muy bella. (You are very beautiful.)

Vosotros (Plural, Informal)

Vosotros is used to informally address a group of people. It's the "you" in plural form, like the "y'all" of a Texan drawl.

For example:

He preparado un pastel para vosotros. (I have baked a cake for you all.)

If the group you're addressing is composed of women, it becomes vosotras. If you're addressing a mixed or entirely male group, the masculine form, vosotros, is used.

Spain may not use vos, but it definitely uses vosotros. This time, it's practically the only country that uses it.

Remember that although the different Spanish-speaking countries basically understand each other, it's important to know beforehand which type of Spanish you specifically want to learn.

There are differences between dialects, regions and countries. So think of the people you'll likely be conversing with in the future. Will they be from Spain, Mexico or South America? Plan your studies accordingly.

You can get an online tutor from the area, for example. You'll not only learn the nuances from the region, you'll also learn the most appropriate idioms, slang and insights into the culture.

Ustedes (Plural, Formal and Informal)

In Spain, they use vosotros for informal situations and ustedes for more formal ones. But because Latin American countries don't use vosotros, they just say ustedes for both formal and informal interactions with groups of people.

Ustedes is for when you're addressing two or more people, as in:

¿Quieren ustedes ir a la playa? (Do you guys want to go to the beach?)

Which, in landlocked countries like Paraguay and Bolivia, is akin to asking, "Do you want to go abroad?" It all just goes to show you: Context is everything!

Now you know five different ways to say "you" in Spanish! The Spanish language is rich like that. But don't worry if it takes time to get the hang of the nuances. With practice, you'll eventually get there.

Best of luck to you!

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!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
All About You: 5 Ways to Say "You" in Spanish and How to Use Each Correctly

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here's an easy trivia question: How many fingers do you have on your left hand?That's how many ways there are to say "you" in Spanish!You can say tú, usted, ustedes, vos or vosotros.And they all mean the same thing: You!So what's the difference? What's the point of having five differ

# data[].attributes.body
Este video se relaciona con lo que estamos aprendiendo en clase porque describe la clasificación de actos de habla en detalle. El video explica que actos directivos ocurren cuando el orador intenta forzar al oyente a ejecutar una acción. Por ejemplo, la oración “deben terminar sus tareas para mañana,” sugiere que el oyente debe terminar su tarea. Actos compromosivos ocurren cuando los oradores asumen un compromiso, una obligación o un propósito. Por ejemplo, la frase "no voy a fallarte", sugiere que el orador no permitirá que el oyente. Actos declaraciones ocurren cuando el orador tiene la intención de cambiar el estado en el que se encuentra algo. Por ejemplo, en la frase "los declaro marido y mujer", el verbo declaro, cambia el estado de una cosa en el mundo. Por último, actos expresivos ocurren cuando el orador expresa su estado anímico, el de los asuntos de la vida. Por ejemplo, la oración “Hoy, la verdad, no me siento bien” sugiere que el orador no se siente bien.

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo es muy útil para entender los roles semánticos. Más concretamente, este artículo se explican los roles semánticos en detalle y se proporcionan ejemplos para cada rol. La función de instrumento semántica se produce cuando hay un agente actuando sobre el instrumento. Por ejemplo, la oración, “el martillo quebró la ventana” sugiere que una herramienta o instrumento llevó a cabo la acción de romper la ventana. Por otro lado, la función de causa semántica se produce cuando una acción se hace con la voluntad o la conciencia. Por ejemplo, la oración “el viento abrió la puerta” sugiere que no es un agente externo, pero el clima hizo que la puerta se abriera. Por último, los ejemplos en el artículo ayudan al lector a entender los conceptos y serán útiles preparándose para el examen.

# data[].attributes.body
Este video es útil para entender relaciones semánticas. El video define tipos de realciones semánticas incluyendo polisemia, sinonima, y antonimia, y proporciona ejemplos para cada uno. Polisemia es cuando una misma palabra tiene varios significados. Por ejemplo, la palabra "cabo" tiene varios significados, incluyendo: escalafón militar, un cuerda en jerga náutica, y punta de la tierra que penetra en el mar. Sinónima es la relación de identidad o semejanza de significa dos entre determinadas palabras. Por ejemplo, “casa” y “hogar” significan casi lo mismo. Por último, antonimia significa que palabras que tiene un significado opuesto o contrario entre si. Por ejemplo, “niña” y “niño” significa dos cosas diferentes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.entities[].name
Spain Community Clasificación de Palabras

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Creado por alumnado de 2º ESO A (2013-2014)

# data[].attributes.body
Este diagrama está relacionado con lo que estamos aprendiendo en clase porque representa los diferentes tipos de lenguas españolas. El verde claro representa el español, que es el idioma prominente que se habla en toda España. La tonalidad naranja representa el catalán que se habla por 19% de la población. La lengua catalana deriva del latín vulgar y es hablada primaria en el noreste de España. La parte gris representa el euskara que es hablado por 2% de la población. La lengua vasca es única porque es la única lengua no-romance que está presente en España. El azul representa el galego que es hablado por 5% de la población. La lengua galega es aparte de las lenguas ibéricas occidentales que también incluyen la lengua portuguesa. Los otros idiomas que se hablan en España, pero no se consideran lenguas oficiales del país incluyen el Arwanés, asturiano y leonés que están representados por los colores rojo, verde y amarillo.

# data[].attributes.headline
¿Cómo evolucionó el latín en Español?: El Caso Sustantivo 

# data[].attributes.subject
¿Cómo evolucionó el latín en Español?: El Caso Sustantivo 

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo es interesante porque habla de cómo se formaron los sustantivos españoles en relación con el latín. Como aprendimos en clase, el español evolucionó del latín. En Castilla, los sustantivos fueron creados a partir de la forma de un sustantivo Latino utilizado como el objeto directo, conocido como el caso acusativo. Este artículo está relacionado a la pregunta catorce del libro, que trata de la sistema de sustantivos en latín es diferente que español. La cosa principal es cómo español perdió la sistema de casos. Este describe el proceso en que el orden de las palabras es importantísimo para distinguir sujeto y objeto, pero no es el caso en latín. También, en español no hay sustantivos neutros como en latín, solo sustantivos femeninos y masculinos.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How Spanish Nouns Evolved From Latin

As most readers know, Spanish is one of several languages that evolved from Latin, which was the language of the Roman Empire. This language family is relatively young. They are called, collectively, Latinate or Romance languages. The word "Romance" has nothing to do with romantic, but with Roman.

When the Roman Empire fell, the Latin spoken in the various regions of what had been politically unified began to differentiate. This period is known as the Middle Ages. These late forms of spoken Latin are often called proto-Romance, for early Romance language or, more specifically, proto-Spanish, proto-Italian and so forth.

For whatever reason, the Latin spoken in the central part of the Iberian peninsula (Castile), formed its nouns differently than their cousins in Italy. The Italians formed nouns based on the nominative case in Latin, the form used to denote a grammatical subject. In Castile, on the other hand, the nouns were formed from the form of a Latin noun used as the direct object, known as the accusative case. Latin distinguishes singular and plural by various endings in all the various cases.

Let's take one example. The word homo-sapiens comes from the singular form for man in the nominative case (when man is the subject of a clause). Likewise, homines is the plural, which gave rise to uomo and uomi in Italy, for man and men. In Spain, the accusative case, singular and plural was the starting point for the evolution of hominem and homines (the latter is also the accusative plural) to become hombre and hombres.

Here are the principal stages from hominem to hombre: hominem > homne > hombre. The first step involved the weak pronunciation of the final m and the loss of the brief syllable i. This brought the n and the m together. The next step is curious - the place and mode of articulating (pronouncing) this consonant cluster resulted in a b (the bilabial occlusive m brings the lips together and then an r "sprung up" because of the position and mode of pronouncing the n. Try saying them in sequence and you can almost feel the impact the passage of time has on language!

References

The author has more than 20 years' experience teaching and translating Spanish.

This post is part of the series: How Latin Became Spanish

The articles in this series deal with the etymology and evolution of Spanish from its mother tongue. They are written for the non-specialist, for teachers whose students ask the inevitable question "why..." which can only be answered with a "how..."

1. Evolution of Romance Languages

2. Evolution of Spanish From Latin: Why We Say "el agua" and "las aguas"

3. How Latin Became Spanish - Let's Examine the Definite Articles: El, La, Los & Las

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Did Latin Evolve Into Spanish? A Look at Nouns

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This article explains how Spanish derives its nouns from the Latin accusative and contrasts it with the way Italian derives its nouns from the nominative. This brief article uses just one example and keeps the jargon down to a minimum -- bringing life to what is often a dusty subject.

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo es importante porque discute el cambio fonético "metátesis" en detalle. Más concretamente, el artículo explica que la metátesis se puede definir como un cambio fonético condicional que se produce cuando el orador cambia el lugar de los sonidos de una manera lingüística. Por ejemplo, cuando los crocodilo evolucionan en cocodrilo cambia el lugar de los sonidos. Muchos lingüistas han tratado de entender este fenómeno señalando que la metatesis puede ocurrir como resultado de un intento por parte del orador de obtener formas lingüísticas que son más fáciles de pronunciar como "aks" en lugar de "ask."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Tal vez la forma más adecuada de abordar la definición de Metátesis sea revisando de forma previa algunas definiciones, necesarias para entender este cambio fonético dentro de su contexto lingüístico preciso.

Definiciones fundamentales

En este sentido, puede entonces que sea pertinente reparar en la propia definición de Cambio fonético, así también como en el concepto de Cambios fonéticos condicionados, puesto que ambas categorías se encuentran directamente relacionadas con la naturaleza de la Metátesis. A continuación, cada una de estas definiciones:

Cambio fonético

Con respecto al cambio fonético, la Lingüística se ha dado a la tarea de definirlo como toda alteración que se produzca en cuanto a la articulación del sonido de una Lengua. Sin embargo, según apunta esta disciplina, este tipo de cambio no siempre ocurre en el mismo nivel de la Lengua, por lo que se distinguen por lo menos dos dimensiones distintas: por un lado, la Lingüística señala que un cambio fonético puede ocurrir en un nivel puramente fonético, es decir, que se altera la producción de un sonido (casi siempre de forma temporal) sin que dicho cambio llega a inscribirse en la Dimensión de la Lengua, por lo que no sucede también a nivel fonológico; por otro lado, los cambios fonéticos pueden suceder también en un nivel que además del ámbito fonético, también trascienda hacia lo fonológico, es decir, que además de presentarse una alteración en el alófono, sucede un cambio en el fonema relacionado con este sonido, lo cual implica por un lado un cambio fonético permanente, así como la alteración del inventario fonológico de la Lengua en donde tiene lugar.

Cambios fonéticos condicionados

Por otro lado, así como existen diferentes niveles en los que puede ocurrir un Cambio fonético, también pueden encontrarse distintos tipos de cambios fonéticos, cuya principal diferencia serán las causas que los originan. Uno de ellos son los Cambios fonéticos condicionados, los cuales son entendidos por la Lingüística como aquellas alteraciones en la articulación de un sonido que ocurren en un contexto determinado, y casi siempre por la acción de los fonemas adyacentes sobre el sonido que cambia, lo cual implica además que los Cambios fonéticos de este tipo no sucedan como algo aleatorio. Así mismo, la teoría lingüística indica que este tipo de cambios suelen ser de naturaleza temporal, lo cual significaría también que tienen lugar casi siempre en un nivel puramente fonético.

Metátesis

Teniendo presente estas definiciones, quizás sí sea mucho más sencillo aproximarse a la definición de Metátesis, la cual es entendida como un cambio fonético condicionado, consistente en el metaplasmo que ocurre cuando el hablante cambia de lugar los sonidos de una forma lingüística, por ejemplo lo que ocurre en la forma original crocodilo la cual ha evolucionado como cocodrilo:

crocodilo > cocodrilo

En cuanto a las causas que están detrás de este fenómeno lingüístico, algunos autores han señalado que la Metátesis puede darse como consecuencia de un intento del hablante por procurarse formas lingüísticas mucho más fáciles de pronunciar. No obstante, algunos lingüistas que no comparten esta teoría aseguran que dicha información puede no ser precisa, además de que en ningún caso se explica realmente cuál es la facilidad de pronunciación que se logra a través del cambio fonético ocurrido.

Tipos de Metátesis

Igualmente, la Lingüística distingue al menos tres tipos o clases de Metétesis, las cuales varían de acuerdo a la forma específica en la cual ha sucedido el fenómeno lingüístico. Entre ellas se encuentra la Metátesis recíproca, cuando dos fonemas de una palabra intercambian su posición; la Metátesis simple, que es la que tiene lugar cuando es solo uno de los sonidos de una palabra el que cambia de lugar, sin que intercambie posición con ningún otro; Metátesis por contacto, definida como el metaplasmo que tiene lugar cuando los fonemas que intercambian lugar se encuentran dispuestos de forma contigua; Metátesis a distancia, explicada como aquella alteración en el lugar del sonido de una palabra, cuando el fonema que cambia y el que crea influencia en él no se encuentran ubicados de forma contigua en la cadena de sonidos.

Ejemplos de Metátesis

No obstante, puede que la forma más eficiente de explicar este fenómeno lingüístico, conocido como Metátesis, sea a través de la exposición de algunos ejemplos concretos. En este orden de ideas, casi siempre los ejemplos más comunes de Metátesis, en el Español, surgen en la evolución de una palabra del latín a esta lengua. A continuación, algunos de ellos:

Forma lingüística "palabra"

Da acuerdo a lo que señalan algunas fuentes, la forma lingüística "palabra" es un ejemplo de Metátesis. Si se observa su evolución desde el latín, se tendrán los siguientes cambios fonéticos:

Forma lingüística "viuda"

Así mismo, la palabra "viuda" puede ser un ejemplo del fenómeno lingüístico de la Metátesis, puesto que si se observa su evolución, se verá cómo esta palabra presentó una alteración en la posición de sus fonemas, en su cambio de español antiguo al español moderno:

Forma lingüística "costra"

Finalmente, otro ejemplo de Metátesis en el Español, es el ocurrido en la forma "costra", la cual presentó una alteración en el lugar que ocupaban sus fonemas, en su evolución el español antiguo al moderno, tal como puede verse a continuación:

crusta (lat.) > crosta (esp. ant.) > costra

Imagen: pixabay.com

Metátesis (cambio fonético)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tal vez la forma más adecuada de abordar la definición de Metátesis sea revisando de forma previa algunas definiciones, necesarias para entender este cambio fonético dentro de su contexto lingüístico preciso.

# data[].attributes.body
El idioma español ha sido muy influenciado por otros idiomas. Originalmente, español fue derivado del latín en la Península Ibérica. Sin embargo, desde su nacimiento, el español ha prestado muchas palabras de otros idiomas como el ibérico, el celta y el Vasco. Además, el español ha sido influenciado por otras lenguas romances como el portugués. Es importante señalar que el latín es el mayor contribuyente a la lengua española. Otro hecho sorprendente es que el árabe ha influido el idioma español. Cuando los ejércitos árabes invadieron y ocuparon tierras en la Península Ibérica a principios de las 700 CE, impactaron el idioma. Como resultado, alrededor de 8% de las palabras españolas tienen orígenes árabes. Sin embargo, es importante notar que cuando los árabes fueron expulsados de la Península Ibérica, el rey Alfonso declaró que el español sería el idioma oficial que conduce a la versión castellana estándar del español.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Spanish language is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world, with more than 500 million speakers in 21 countries. It is no wonder that so many businesses are taking advantage of professional translation and copy editing services such as Spanish with Style in order to reach this massive audience. But just how did the Spanish language evolve to become the language we know today?

In this article we will trace the evolution of the Spanish language throughout history on its journey from its Latin roots through to its spread across the globe by discussing the following factors:

The Latin Roots of the Spanish Language

The significant impact Arabic has had on the Spanish Language

The canonization of official Castilian Spanish

The Latin Roots of the Spanish Language
The Spanish language was originally derived from Latin on the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans in 210 BC. Over time, the Spanish language began borrowing words and grammar from several other Roman languages such as Iberian, Celtic, Celtiberian and Basque. The Spanish language began to be heavily influenced by many of what we know today as Romance languages such as French, Italian and Portuguese. We are still able to see today just how similar these languages are to each other, and the Spanish language in particular. The largest contributor to most Romance languages and especially the Spanish language is of course, Latin. Some even go as far as to say Latin is both the mother and the father of modern Spanish.
The Significant Impact Arabic has had on the Spanish Language
Surprising to some, Arabic is another language that has heavily influenced Spanish. In the early 700's CE, Arab armies invaded the Iberian Peninsula and began an occupation that lasted hundreds of years. This occupation had a tremendous influence on the modern Spanish language because a significant amount of Arabic words were integrated into Spanish at this time. To this day there are about 4000 words, or 8% of the Spanish language, with Arabic origins.
The Canonization of Official Castilian Spanish
Shortly after the Arabs were expelled from the majority of the Iberian Peninsula in the 13th century, King Alfonso X declared Spanish as the official language of Spain and mandated that all official documents were to be written Spanish. This is where the standard Castilian version of Spanish was formally introduced that is still in use today. It was after this time the Spanish language began to become distinctive from the other Romance languages, particularly Latin, in the way it pronounced its words. The Latin language in general is 'harder' while the Spanish language is 'softer'. For instance, 'stone' in Latin is petra with a hard't' but is piedra in the Spanish language with a soft "d". This change gradually began to take hold throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. During this time the first official book on Spanish language grammar was written called Gramática de la Lengua Castellana and everything changed. In 1492, the Spanish language spread to the far reaches of the Americas with Christopher Columbus. Spanish is now spoken across the majority of South America, Central America and into Mexico and the United States. This widespread growth has transformed the Spanish language into many unique, local dialects and is now one of the most popular languages today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Evolution of the Spanish Language | Spanish with Style

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Spanish language is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world, with more than 500 million speakers in 21 countries. It is no wonder that so many businesses are taking advantage of professional translation and copy editing services such as Spanish with Style in order to reach this massive audience.

# data[].attributes.body
¿Cuándo se utiliza una "a" personal?
A. Cuando se habla de ir a un lugar
B. Cuando su objeto directo es un humano
C. Para especificar una hora o un día
D. Para indicar y manera o método

# data[].attributes.headline
¿Por qué el español utiliza una "a" personal? 

# data[].attributes.subject
¿Por qué el español utiliza una "a" personal? 

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo es importante porque explica por qué en español es importante tener una “a” personal, similar a la pregunta en el libro. La “a” personal en español es una preposición que se utiliza antes de los sustantivos que son objeto directo, humanos, y específicos. Más especifico, cuando el objeto directo es un ser humano, debes recordar poner una “a” entre el verbo y el objeto directo. Por ejemplo, “I see Sonia” se traduce en “Yo veo a Sonia.” Además, el personal “a” a se utiliza si usted está hablando de una o más personas. Sin embargo, lo más importante es que recuerde que la “a” personal es diferente de los otros usos de la preposición “a” en español. Por ejemplo, la frase “yo voy a la playa” no utiliza el personal “a.”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In Spanish, a simple little word like a can mean many different things.

You might see it used in diverse phrases like:

yo voy a la escuela (I go to school)

estoy a pie (I'm standing)

Who know one little letter could be so versatile?

But one of the most important uses of the Spanish word a-and perhaps one of the trickiest-is the personal a.

Have you ever seen Spanish phrases with an a before a person's name? Maybe something like llama a la policia ( call the police), or veo a mi madre ( I see my mother)?

To an English speaker, this a feels superfluous. But in Spanish, it's very important! Read on to learn the ins and outs of the Spanish personal a.

What Is the Personal A?

Spanish and English are similar in many ways, but the personal a is one example of a Spanish grammar rule that has no English equivalent.
The personal a is a preposition that we use when the direct object of a sentence is a person.
Confused? A simple sentence will help clarify the usage of the personal a in Spanish. Let's take the following sentence in English:

I see Sonia.

Sonia is the direct object of the sentence. (To review, the direct object of a sentence is the "recipient" of the verb in the sentence.) Since Sonia is a person, when we translate this sentence into Spanish, we would write it like this:

There's no direct translation for the personal a into English. You simply have to remember that in Spanish, when the direct object of the sentence is a human being, you must insert an a between the verb and the direct object.

The personal a is used exactly the same whether you're talking about one person or multiple people:

When the direct object is a person but the person's name or title begins with el, you can contract a + el to make al. For example:

La mujer llama al doctor. (The woman calls the [male] doctor.)

Since "the doctor" is el doctor, a + el can contract to form al.

In contrast, when we use the feminine article la for a female doctor,there's no need to form a contraction:

La mujer llama a la doctora. (The woman calls the [female] doctor.)

It's important to note that the personal a is different from other usages of the preposition a in Spanish. (As a quick refresher, a preposition is a word that links nouns and pronouns to other words in a sentence. Some examples of English prepositions would be to, on, through, about, with, etc.)

The Spanish preposition a has a few different uses. Frequently, it's used like the English word "to." Take the sentence Yo voy a la playa (I go to the beach). Here, we're not using the personal a. We're simply using the preposition a, meaning "to."

You may also see a used with verbs like gustar and encantar, such as in the phrase:

Check out FluentU's article on verbs like gustar for more information.

When Not to Use the Personal A

There are a couple of exceptions to the personal a usage rule explained above. Here are a few instances when you should avoid using the personal a.

Don't use it when the direct object is an inanimate object.

This preposition is called the personal a because we only use it when referring to human beings! With any other direct object, it's totally superfluous. Compare these two sentences:

Yo veo a una chica. (I see a girl.)

Yo veo una hamburguesa. (I see a hamburger.)

In the second sentence, since the direct object is an inanimate object (a hamburger), there's no need for the personal a.

Don't use it when the direct object is an animal (unless it's a pet).

Generally speaking, it's unnecessary to use the personal a when the direct object of the sentence is an animal.

For example, the sentence "I hear a snake" would be translated as: Yo oigo un serpiente, with no need for a personal a.

However, if the animal in question is a pet-or some other animal about whom the speaker has personal feelings-you may use the personal a.

Ella llama a su perro. (She calls her dog.)

Don't use it when using the verbs tener (to have) or haber (there is/there are).

Even if the direct object is a person, you don't need to use the personal a if the direct object comes after the verbs tener or haber.

For example:

Yo tengo dos hermanos. (I have two brothers.)

Hay 20 estudiantes en la clase. (There are twenty students in the class.)

How to Practice the Personal A

It can be especially difficult to hack Spanish grammar concepts that have no direct translation into English. So, in the case of the personal a, it's super important to practice, practice, practice until it simply comes naturally to you. Luckily, there are many different ways to do this!

1. Listen to native speakers.

As with many aspects of Spanish language learning, one of the absolute best ways to master the Spanish personal a is to listen to and imitate native speakers. If you spend enough time listening to the speech patterns of native Spanish speakers, at some point the personal a will just begin to sound natural to you, too!

There are many ways to listen to (and converse with) native speakers. Consider setting up an online language exchange, find an entertaining TV show in Spanish or-my personal favorite-tune in to a daily Spanish radio show and listen along.

In my opinion, face-to-face language exchanges can be a great way to increase your Spanish fluency. Two of my favorite free resources for finding local conversation partners are Meetup, which can help you find Spanish exchange groups in your area, and Conversation Exchange, which can help you connect with other language learners for one-on-one practice.

2. Practice online.

If you want some more targeted grammar practice, there are many resources around the web to help you practice the personal a. StudySpanish.com features four quizzes on the personal a, so you can make sure you're understanding the concept. If you still want more practice, you can check out this quiz on 123TeachMe.com

Or maybe you're more of an audio learner? The Spanish Dude has a great video on the personal a, which comes with a worksheet (and answer key!) to help you understand this grammar concept.

3. Memorize Spanish phrases.

I love learning Spanish (sayings). They are one of my favorite ways to practice Spanish grammar because they also give me a window into Spanish-speaking cultures. Plus, some of them can be quite poetic, which means that figuring out their true meaning is a bit like deciphering a puzzle!

Once you commit a Spanish saying to memory, you can use it to remind yourself about key grammatical concepts. Luckily, there are many Spanish refranes that make use of the personal a. Here are a few:
1. Amor no respeta ley, ni obedece al rey.
Translation: Love does not respect the law, nor does it obey the king.

Meaning: Love conquers all; love is irrational.

Notice how when the direct object is ley (law), there's no personal a, but when the direct object is el rey, a personal a is added to form the contraction al.
2. El que roba a un ladrón tiene cien años de perdón.
Translation: He who steals from a thief has one hundred years of forgiveness.

Meaning: If you do something mean to a person who isn't nice, your mean action will be forgiven.
3. Haz bien sin mirar a quién.
Translation: Do good without looking at whom.

Meaning: Do good things, regardless of whether or not others will be aware that you're doing them.
4. En las malas se conocen a los amigos.
Translation: In bad times, friends are known.

Meaning: We only know who our true friends are when things are going wrong.
5. Un grano no hace granero, pero ayuda al compañero.
Translation: One grain doesn't make a granary, but it can help a friend.

Meaning: Little things might seem unimportant, but every little bit can make a difference in some way.

These five phrases are great examples of the usage of the personal a. If you commit them to memory, they can help you remember to add a when your direct object is a person.

Hopefully, this article has helped clarify a somewhat tricky vocabulary concept for English-speaking students of Spanish.

Now that you've learned about the personal a, you're going to start noticing it being used everywhere-and you'll be able to work it into your own Spanish as well!

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!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Personal A in Spanish: Unlock the Door to Understanding

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In Spanish, a simple little word like a can mean many different things.You might see it used in diverse phrases like: yo voy a la escuela (I go to school) estoy a pie (I'm standing) a mí me encanta el vino (I love wine) Who know one little letter could be so versatile?But one of the most

# data[].attributes.body
Este enlace es muy útil para ayudar los estudiantes de español con los verbos como “gustar.” Pueden ser difíciles de usar por la gente aprendiendo el idioma porque la estructura y conjugación es un poco extraño. No sigue el modelo de “SVO” y se recomiende que aprendes estos tipos de verbos aparte. Por ejemplo, cuando dices “me gusta el español,” “el español” es el sujeto de “gusta” y “me” es el objeto. Según a la guía, lo más difícil es decir que te gusta a alguien. Por ejemplo, “A Jaime le gusto (Jaime likes me) pero a mí me gustas tú (but I like you).” Esto puede ser muy confuso, pero esta guía va a ayudar los estudiantes aprendiendo español.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Oh, gustar.

You use it to express that you like things-but chances are very slim that you'll ever use gustar to say that you like gustar.

Heck, it's just so darn tricky to figure out how to use it.

Will we English speakers ever get it right or are we doomed to forever receive confused looks and not-so-subtle whispers from the natives?

Out of all of the has been-without a doubt-one of the most challenging for me to master. Back in 2013 I taught at a and he immediately began to grin and exchange nudges and whispers with his tricky concepts in the Spanish language, the verb Spanish language immersion camp in the woods of Minnesota where native Spanish speakers from all around the world came to teach. In an attempt to make small talk with a guy from Barcelona I said: "Me gustan los mosquitos," Argentinean buddy.

So, what should I have said then? Well, first of all, I was trying to directly translate a very cultural phrase that isn't used in Spanish. Second of all, I tried to use a normal sentence pattern for a very abnormal verb. The correct translation (if this phrase actually made any sense translated to begin with) would actually be "Les gusto a los mosquitos."

Strange, huh? Because verbs like defy the normal sentence pattern that we've spent our entire lives learning, they're going to take more effort to dominate than the rest. But don't worry! After years of struggling I've found a method for mastering these rebellious verbs.

How to Dominate Defiant Verbs Like Gustar

Prepare Your Mind for a Break in the Pattern

Use this article to group together all of the verbs that don't follow the familiar "subject + verb + object" formula and you're already one step closer to dominating this difficult grammatical concept.

Anticipate Mistakes

First Things First: Mastering Gustar

Notice a pattern? The indirect object pronouns are what change based on who's doing the liking, not the verbs. The verbs will change, but not based on the subject of the sentence like we're used to.

It's important to note that the Spanish "to like" should be thought of more as "to be pleasing" or "to please" in order to understand how it's placed within the structure of a sentence in relation to the subject. Here's an example:

The books please me.

The literal translation is like "me they please the books."

Instead of following the form:
person who likes + verb + object liked
It follows this form:
indirect object pronoun representing the person who likes + verb + object liked
The big difference is that the verb changes not based upon is doing the liking, but rather it is that's being liked, in this case books. So the object liked becomes the subject. "Books" is what dictates what will happen to , so therefore instead of just here). gustar takes on the third person plural because books is plural. You may have also noticed that in Spanish the article is necessary (

Liking People: Where Gustar Gets Tricky

But what happens when the object liked happens to not be an object, but instead a human being? Now we aren't only working with the and forms. (first person singular), (second person singular) and (third person plural) are also added to the list.

My best guy friend, Jaime, likes me but there's this other guy-Enrique, let's say-that I like but who happens to like my best friend Elena. What would this look like in Spanish if I confronted Enrique? Probably a little bit like a (soap opera)!

Enrique: gustáis las dos pero solo como amigas (I like both of you guys but only as friends).

The same rules still apply here. The conjugation of the verb is still dictated by the object of affection-the loved and not the lover-but the problem that arises is that your mind will want to connect the verb endings with the subject. for example, has the Le gusto, (he/she likes me) (I). It can therefore appear that here are the one liking when in reality you're the one being liked. -o ending which we naturally connect with the first person singular

As I said before, the key to avoiding confusion is to create possible sentences that could arise in conversation and practice them ahead of time. Things can easily become muddled with these types of verbs, but not if you're prepared. Now that you've got the basic concept down, the rest of the verbs should come pretty easily. Here I have a list of other pesky verbs that function just like .

Herd all of these strange and deviant verbs into the same pen and study them apart from the rest!

1. Encantar (to love something)

While this verb be used to refer to the love of people, and means more to be delighted or charmed by someone in certain contexts, is more associated with the love of people while tends to be used more in reference to things. You'll rarely hear amar being used to talk about loving a non-human thing. For example:

The that's placed at the beginning of the sentence is used to either place emphasis on the subject (maybe you didn't like the game but he really did) or to clarify who it was who loved the game if you've been speaking about more than one person (the article could refer to anyone, male or female).

2. Costar (to cost)

The verb costar can be used in two different senses in Spanish. All the more reason to learn it well! The first possible usage has to do with money. Here's an example:

The second usage of this verb refers to difficulty. For example:

Me cuesta subir la cuesta. ( It's difficult for me to go up the hill.)

The literal translation is: It costs me to go up the hill.

3. Molestar (to be a bother)

This false friend has been the cause of much confusion for many English speakers. The correct Spanish equivalent for "molest" is actually

4. Quedar (remain)

Quedar is one of those multi-use types of verbs that will annoy the heck out of you in the beginning. However, once you start to wrap your mind around all of the various uses it becomes indispensable in conversation. Here I've provided two popular uses of this verb in Spanish. In the first sentence, quedar is used to mean "to remain" and in the second it's used to speak of meeting up with people.

The literal translation of this sentence reads like: "Only for me remain three classes more and already I graduate."

The literal translation of this sentence reads like: "At what time have we met?"

Oddly enough, this phrase uses the present perfect to refer to a future event. When translated directly to English it's confusing since it sounds like something that has already happened.

5. Sobrar (to be left over)

Knowing the verb sobrar will automatically add several more Spanish words to your vocabulary. If you know that sobrar means "to be left over" then you can easily deduce that l as sobras is the word for "leftovers." In Spanish schools, the word sobresaliente is used to refer to an outstanding grade (one that goes above and beyond what is necessary to pass). Here's an example of a common usage of the verb sobrar as it relates to being "left over."

In more slang terms, sobrar can be used to say that something is unnecessary. For example, if someone makes a rude or out of place remark in a group someone might say something like this:

Ese comentario sobra. (That remark is unnecessary.)

6. Importar (to be important to)

This verb, like many Spanish verbs, has a couple different meanings including "to import" and "to be of interest." However, the most common usage in Spanish is "to be important to."

7. Aburrir (to bore)

Besides the common meaning of "to bore," this verb can also be used to mean "to tire," "to annoy" or "to irritate." In its reflexive form (aburrirse) the meaning changes to mean "to become bored" in a general sense. Here's an example of the non-reflexive usage of this verb:

The third person singular is used here to refer to the singular noun Remember that in cases like this in Spanish the article must be added before the noun el unlike in English where we simply say "baseball." We saw the same thing back with the example where loswas used rather than just

8. Preocupar (to worry)

Besides the common meaning of "to worry," this verb can also be used to mean "to interest," "to concern" or "to care about." Like many of the verbs in this list, this one also has a reflexive form (preocuparse) which means "to become worried." Here's an example of the non-reflexive usage of this verb:

Unlike the examples I've given you up to this point, here the subject (me) is speaking directly to another person (you) and therefore has taken on the second person form of rather than or

9. Faltar (to be lacking something)

Along with the definition of "to be lacking something," faltar can also be used to refer to attendance. Faltar al trabajo, for example, means "to miss work." However, the most common usage of this word is in reference to lack. Here's an example of this usage:

10. Atraer (to attract)

In its reflexive form, atraerse, refers to the equal attraction between two things. So if we wanted to say that María and Pedro were attracted to each other we would say:

But, alas, attraction is not always reciprocated and that's where the non-reflexive form comes in. Here's an example of its usage:

Hugo no le atrae mucho a Marina . (Marina is not very attracted to Hugo.)

The literal translation of this is: Hugo doesn't attract a lot to Marina

Another colloquial sort of way to express this sentiment is to use the phrase llamar la atención.

The literal translation of this is: Hugo doesn't her call a lot the attention.

11. Convenir (to be in someone's interest)

The verb convenir probably makes you think of two things in English: convene and convenient. In this case, the word "convenient" is kind of helpful in remembering the definition of this Spanish verb. If something is convenient for you then it's probably in your interest (thought not always!). Here's an example of how this verb is used in Spanish:

Los cambios en el horario no me convienen nada. (The changes in the schedule are not in my interest at all.)

If you use when recommending something to another person it can sometimes come off as a little strong because there is a slight connotation of obligation within the verb. For example, if you wanted to politely tell a friend that it might be really good for their health to lose a little weight you would probably opt for:
te vendría bien adelgazar
rather than
te conviene adelgazar
While they have very similar meanings, the first option is more of a casual suggestion while the second one sounds a bit forceful.

12. Parecer (to appear to be)

Aside from its usage as a verb, parecer can also be used as a noun to mean "opinion." Cambiar de parecer and the more commonly used cambiar de opinión both mean to change your mind or have a change of heart. Here's an example of what this Spanish word looks like when functioning as a verb:

Me parece muy buena gente. (They seem to be/appear to be really good people)

13. Doler (o:ue) (to be painful)

It's important to note that the verb doler becomes irregular ( o changes to ue) in many conjugations in the simple present:
nosotros dolemos vosotros doléis
In the following example, however, the verb stays regular:

Después de andar tanto por la calle me dolían los pies. (After walking around so much on the street my feet were hurting me.)

Here we use the imperfect past tense and the third person plural to refer to pies (feet).

14. Picar (to itch)

Picar is yet another Spanish verb with a wide variety of meanings. Let's start with an example of one of its most common uses:

Nos pican mucho las picaduras que tenemos en las piernas. (The bug bites we have on our legs really itch.)

5 Important Phrases That Use These Tricky Verbs

Now that we've learned some of the most commonly used verbs that follow the same pattern as I'll leave you with some extremely popular Spanish phrases whose verbs also follow the same pattern.

1. Volver loco (drive crazy, drive mad)

You've probably heard this phrase before in a reggaeton song.

Here's an example of the usage of this phrase in its reflexive form:

2. Caer bien/mal (to give a good/bad impression to someone)

Both caer fatal and caer gordo can be used to mean that someone has given you a really bad impression or you really don't like them.

Ese tío me ha caído gordo. ( That guy has given me a really bad impression/I really don't like that guy.)

Literal translation: That uncle me has fallen fat.

3. Quedar bien/mal (to suit/to not suit)

This phrase is usually used in reference to style and fashion in general. For example:

4. Dar asco (to be loathsome)

Take the Spanish verb dar then add a noun: this is a common formula for a huge portion of Spanish phrases. Dar asco is just one of many. For example, dar calabazas (give pumpkins) is a colloquial phrase used in Spanish to mean "to reject."

The phrase dar caña is normally used as a command meaning "to get a move on" or "to hurry up." While both these phrases are quite slang in nature, dar asco is an extremely common, everyday sort of Spanish phrase. Here's a usage example:

Literal translation: The spiders me give disgust.

Literal translation: The spiders me give thing.

5. Hacer falta (to be needed/necessary)

The phrase no hace falta is a very common one here in Spain and is used to mean "it's not necessary." When we want to say that something is necessary, this is how the phrase functions in Spanish:

En esta casa hace falta aire acondicionado. (This house needs air conditioning.)

If you haven't already started compiling your list of defiant verbs then this is the time to do so!

Constance Chase is a writer and English teacher living in Madrid, Spain with her Spanish husband, Javier.

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!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Me Gusta! 14 Spanish Verbs That Copycat Gustar's Style of Conjugation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Oh, gustar.You use it to express that you like things-but chances are very slim that you'll ever use gustar to say that you like gustar.

# data[].attributes.body
Este video está relacionado a las lecturas en clase porque describe las diferencias ente oraciones simples solo tienen un sujeto y un verbo. Oraciones compuestas tienen más de uno predicado y se componen de oraciones subordinadas y coordinadas. Las categorías de oraciones subordinadas son sustantivos, adjetivas y adverbiales, con muchos diferentes tipos de adverbiales. Lo que todo tienen en común es que no aparecen aisladas. Un ejemplo sería: "regreso mañana si es que tengo tiempo.” El otro tipo de oraciones compuestas son oraciones coordinadas. En muchos casos, oraciones coordinadas tienen dos cláusulas independientes que están conectados con una palabra como “y” o “pero.”

# data[].attributes.body
Los arboles son instrumentos para ver la estructura gramatical del idioma español. Español es flexible porque permite VSO (verbo, sujeto, objetivo) y VOS (verbo, objeto, sujeto). Sin embargo, SVO es la manera más utilizado porque mantiene la constancia y es más fácil entender cognativamtnte. En la imagen bajo, puedes ver la estructura y orden de las palabras en una oración con SVO: Pepe vio a Pablo enfurecido. El sujeto es Pepe, que vio (verbo) a Pablo (objeto) y describe Pablo como enfurecido (adjetivo que describe el objeto). El árbol muestra esta secuencia en una manera visual que es fácil de entender.

# data[].attributes.body
El latín cerdo no es un idioma diferente, pero puede transformar las palabras. Además, el latín cerdo es un juego de idiomas que implica prefijar, infijar y sufijar. Este artículo es muy interesante porque da ejemplos de diferentes jerigonzas en diferentes idiomas. Por ejemplo, en el idioma de Portugués, utilizan un jerigonza llamado Língua do pê or lenguaje p. Más especifico, en Brasil, la palabra Brasil puede ser pronunciado como Braprasilpil o Brapasilpil. Otro ejemplo es el sueco lenguaje que duplica cada consonante y pone una /o/ entre de los dos consonantes. Más especifico, Ikea puede ser pronunciado como Ikokea. Los juegos de idiomas se utilizan en todo el mundo y cada lugar una manera especial de transformar una palabra.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Today the word morgue conjures up images of an efficient, hygienic room overseen by professionals in lab coats and rubber gloves. Most of us are familiar with its inner workings only from cop shows and crime novels, never having had the desire-or need-to visit one in real life. However, our image of the modern, sterile morgue stands in stark contrast with the room that originally gave rise to the term.

In 18th century Paris, visitors to the Grand Châtelet-a combined court, police headquarters, and prison that served as the seat of common-law jurisdiction in pre-revolutionary France-could descend to the basement basse-geôle and peer in through the grille of the door. There, they would catch a glimpse of a small room where unidentified dead bodies were displayed to the public, strewn across the bare floor. The room became informally known as la morgue, an early definition of which appears in the 1718 Dictionnaire de l'Académie: "A place at the Châtelet, where dead bodies that have been found are open to the public view, in order that they be recognized."

The name for this gruesome room likely had its roots in the Archaic French verb , which means "to look solemnly." Historians think that such rooms had existed in Parisian prisons since the 14th century, initially as a place where newly incarcerated prisoners would be held until identified, but later to deal with the many dead bodies found on the streets or pulled from the River Seine. (In fact, there were so many bodies in the river-both murder victims and suicides-that a huge net was stretched across the river at St. Cloud to catch the bodies as they washed downstream, from which they were transported to the Grand Châtelet.) But it was not until around the turn of the 18th century that the public were invited in and asked to try and identify the dead at la morgue.

The stench emanating from the corpses at the morgue must have been unbearable, and the public exposure to the "bad humors" was one of the reasons for the creation of a new, more hygienic morgue, at the place du Marché-Neuf on the Ile-de-la-Cité in 1804. This new morgue building (by now officially known as La Morgue) was housed in a building styled like a Greek temple that was close to the river, enabling bodies to be transported there by boat. The corpses were now displayed in a purpose-built exhibit room, with plate-glass windows and plenty of natural light, allowing crowds to gather and gawk at the corpses laid out on marble slabs. Refrigeration did not come until the 1880s, so the bodies were kept cool with a constant drip of cold water, lending the cadavers a bloated appearance. The clothes of the deceased were hung from pegs next to the dead as a further aide to their identification.

The central location of the morgue ensured a healthy traffic of people of all classes, becoming a place to see and be seen, and to catch up on the latest gossip. Its popularity as a place of spectacle grew as the 19th century progressed, stoked by being included as a must-see location in most guidebooks to Paris. On the days after a big crime had been committed, as many as 40,000 people flocked through its doors.

The morgue was also written about by luminaries such as Charles Dickens, who touched on it a number of times in his journalism, confessing in The Uncommercial Traveller (a series of sketches written between 1860-9) that it held a gruesome draw: "Whenever I am at Paris, I am dragged by invisible force into the Morgue. I never want to go there, but am always pulled there. One Christmas Day, when I would rather have been anywhere else, I was attracted in, to see an old grey man lying all alone on his cold bed, with a tap of water turned on over his grey hair, and running, drip, drip, drip, down his wretched face until it got to the corner of his mouth, where it took a turn, and made him look sly." Dickens also described the crowds of people flocking to the morgue to gawk at the latest arrivals, idly swapping speculation on causes of death and potential identities: "It was strange to see so much heat and uproar seething about one poor spare white-haired old man, so quiet for evermore."

In 1864, the morgue at the Marché-Neuf was demolished to make way for Baron Haussmann's sweeping re-modeling of Paris. The new morgue building was situated just behind Notre Dame, again in a busy public space, re-affirming its purpose as a place to view and identify dead bodies. However, it was also in this new building that the morgue moved away from pure spectacle and began to be linked with the medical identification of bodies, as well as advances in forensics and the professionalization of policing. The new morgue had an autopsy room, a small laboratory for chemical analysis, and rooms where police and administrators could inspect the bodies and record any murders or suicides. The emphasis shifted-the morgue was no longer purely dependent on the public to identify the bodies; it now had medical, administrative, and investigative officers doing that work, moving it closer to our modern idea of what a morgue is.

By the 1880s the fame of the Paris morgue, and admiration of its now-efficient administrative structures, had spread across the world. The word morgue began to be used to describe places where the dead were kept in both Britain and America, replacing the older "dead house" and becoming synonymous with mortuary. Over time, the word morgue was also adopted in American English, perhaps slightly tongue-in-cheek, for rooms where newspaper or magazine archives are kept-for example, The New York Times morgue, a storehouse for historical clippings, photographs, and other reference materials related to the paper.

The Paris morgue closed its doors to the public in 1907. A combination of factors led to the decision: gradually changing public attitudes to the viewing of dead bodies, concerns over hygiene and the spread of disease, and the increasing professionalization of the police and coroners. Today, the city office that has replaced it is known as the Institut médico-légal de Paris. Meanwhile, the word morgue itself has come a long way-from its roots in a grim spectacle, it's now become a place of professionalism and respect.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Today the word morgue conjures up images of an efficient, hygienic room overseen by professionals in lab coats and rubber gloves. Most of us are familiar with its inner workings only from cop shows and crime novels, never having had the desire-or need-to visit one in real life.

# data[].attributes.body
Este video es beneficial porque explica la morfología en detalle. Hay cuatro componentes: raíz, la vocal temática, TAM y PN. La raíz es el significado básico de una palabra o verbo. Un ejemplo se usa en el video es cantábamos con -cant como el raíz. La vocal temática es la morfema privada del verbo y siempre es /a/ /e/ o /i/. En cantábamos la vocal temática es -a. El tercer componente es TAM, que quiere decir Tiempo (presente, pasado, futuro), Aspecto (imperfecto, condicional, etc.) y Modo (subjuntivo, indicativo, mandato, etc.). En cantábamos, el TAM es -ba, que nos indica que el verbo es pasado, imperfecto y indicativo. Finalmente, PN significa Persona y Numero. Esta nos dice quien es el sujeto del verbo. Por ejemplo, en cantábamos, PN es -mos así es primera persona plural. Es importante a aprender la morfología verbal así podemos entender claramente como funcionan los verbos en español.

# data[].attributes.body
Este foto contiene ejemplos de palabras compuestas. Las palabras compuestas son únicas porque combinan dos o más palabras simples o lexemas, y en la última instancia crean una nueva palabra con un nuevo significado. Por ejemplo, en la imagen, la palabra "girasol" se divide en dos partes, "gira" y "sol." Más especifico, el verbo "girar" corta su /r/ terminando y añade el sustantivo "sol." Hay muchas maneras en que las palabras pueden ser formadas gramaticalmente, como verbo más sustantivo en "girasol."

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo es útil porque explica cómo y por qué se utilizan los diminutivos. Diminutivos o aumentativos utilizan afijos a cambiar ligeramente la significada de la palabra. En muchos casos, los diminutivos se pueden utilizar para describir tamaño. Por ejemplo, el sufijo -ito en "perrito" enfatiza que el perro es muy pequeño. En otros casos, los diminutivos se pueden utilizar para añade emoción o expresa negatividad. Este artículo también es útil porque explica como formar un diminutivo final en ciertas palabras. Por ejemplo, en una palabra española que termina en /o/ o /a/, se corta la vocal y añade -ito o-ita.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Diminutives are commonly used in Spanish, and especially in conversations between friends. Perhaps you've already noticed Spanish diminutives in use - because you've told people you speak 'un poquito' of Spanish instead of.

What is a Spanish diminutive?

A diminutive in Spanish is a word with an added suffix that slightly changes the meaning of the word. Typically, diminutives reference smaller version of something or serve to add an emotional or endearing emphasis. Sometimes they can convey sarcasm or negativity. The closest English equivalent might be adding a "y" to the ending of a word, like "doggy" as opposed to "dog", or just adding "little" in front of a word.

How diminutives are formed

Typically diminutives are formed by adding either to the ending of a noun or adjective. An alternative formation is using 'cito' or 'cita'

Keep in mind that diminutives also agree with the gender of the noun in question. The ending of the diminutive needs to match the gender of the object or person about whom you are speaking. For example, we would call a dog perrito because dog is masculine (el perro) and if we were talking about a female person we would say " pobrecita", and with a male " pobrecito ".

How to from the diminutive ending?

These general rules will help you form the diminutive, though there are always exceptions.

Spanish words ending in O or A

Spanish words ending in E

Spanish words ending in n or r

Words ending in other consonant (besides n or r)

Exceptions and Spelling Changes:

ECITO

In some cases we add ' ecito/ecita' either following a consonant or replacing the final vowel. This is common also in words with c or z.
Watch out for small changes in spelling when the word contains c, z or g.
C to QU

If you are constructing the diminutive and the last letter is c, it is often transformed to 'qu' to keep the harder 'c' sound, as in:
po co -> po quito
cer ca -> cer quita
chi ca -> chi qu ita

Z to C

Similarly, if a word is ending in z, it will likely need to be changed to c in order to smooth the pronunciation as in:
lápi z -> lapi cito
pe z - > pe cecito
cerve za -> cerv c ita

G to GU

When we have words that end in g-a or g-o (as in amigo), instead of just eliminating the a/o and adding 'ito/ita' as we normally would, we also add a ' u' following the g to smooth the transition. For example:

Other diminutive endings

There are a few other endings that can be used in Spanish as diminutives. These include ' illo', ' zuelo', or 'ico'. Sometimes the diminutive used varies based on the country. This is especially the case for ' ico ' which is much more common in countries like Columbia, Cuba and Costa Rica and particular parts in Spain. For example:

bolso -> bols illo
mujer -> mujer zuela (negative)

perro -> perr ito vs perr ico

The Big List of Common diminutives in Spanish and their meanings

The list below highlights some examples of commonly used diminutives in Spanish. Note how the diminutive sometimes changes significantly from the original meaning of the word.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How To Use Diminutives in Spanish: 50+ Examples

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Diminutives are commonly used in Spanish, and especially in conversations between friends. Perhaps you've already noticed Spanish diminutives in use - because you've told people you speak 'un poquito' of Spanish instead of. A diminutive in Spanish is a word with an added suffix that slightly changes the meaning of the word.

# data[].attributes.body
Hemos aprendido que los bebés pueden aprender un idioma con mucha facilidad porque están susceptibles a la distribución de sonidos. Este video habla de nuevas investigaciones que han descubierto que los bebés empiezan a aprender los idiomas en el útero. Los sonidos que los bebés oyen durante esta etapa prenatal afectan como perciben los sonidos después de nacimiento.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Babies Begin Learning Language in the Womb

# data[].attributes.headline
Los Secretos de Aprendiendo Una Nueva Lengua 

# data[].attributes.subject
Los Secretos de Aprendiendo Una Nueva Lengua 

# data[].attributes.body
Este video es sobre los cuatro secretos de aprendiendo una nueva lengua. El primer secreto es el placer. Debes disfrutar la lengua que quieres aprender completamente. El segundo secreto es métodos. Para aprender una lengua, debes crear métodos a largo plazo para que puedes aprender en una manera más rápida y eficaz. El tercer secreto es tener una sistema. Debes planear y salvar quince o más minutos cada día para practicar la lengua. Por ejemplo, una buena idea es a escuchar a un podcast en camino al trabajo. El último secreto es tener paciencia. Es imposible aprender una lengua en un par de meses, pero es posible obtener mejores en una lengua en un par de meses. Por lo tanto, es más importante practicar un poquito cada día.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lýdia Machová: The secrets of learning a new language | TED Talk

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Want to learn a new language but feel daunted or unsure where to begin? You don’t need some special talent or a “language gene,” says Lýdia Machová. In an upbeat, inspiring talk, she reveals the secrets of polyglots (people who speak multiple languages) and shares four principles to help unlock your own hidden language talent -- and have fun while doing it.

# data[].attributes.headline
¿Soy demasiado viejo para aprender un idioma? 

# data[].attributes.subject
¿Soy demasiado viejo para aprender un idioma? 

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo se trata de lo que aprendimos en clase sobre las dificultades de aprender un idioma como un adulto. Según el artículo, hay desventajas de aprender un idioma más tarde en la vida, como las reglas de gramática y la pronunciación. Por otro lado, también hay algunas ventajas. Un ejemplo es que los adultos ya tienen vocabularios extensos, así es más fácil aprender y recordar nuevas palabras.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The brain's neuroplasticity decreases with age, but this shouldn't put off older learners - they do have some advantages

# data[].attributes.body
Este artículo es muy interesante porque aunque los hispanohablantes pueden entenderse entre sí, hay profundo diferencias entre el español hablado en cada país. Hay diferencias en vocabulario, pronunciación y la jerga. Por ejemplo, en España la palabra "coger" no es ofensiva y usualmente significa "agarrar" o "tomar." Pero, en algunas partes de Latinoamérica la palabra, "coger" se considera ofensiva e inapropiado. También hay muchas diferencias en la pronunciación. Más común es el énfasis en "th" en España como "gra-thee-us" en contra de "gra-see-us."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
With 405 million native speakers, Spanish is the second-most commonly spoken language in the world. But while all of those 405 million people might speak the same language, they don't all speak it the same way.

So, let's take a look at the different types of Spanish, where they're spoken, and what that means for organizations doing business in Spanish-speaking countries.

How different are the different types of Spanish?

There's not as much variation between the various Spanish dialects as there is between dialects in other languages. Most Spanish speakers, no matter where they're from, can understand each other simply by speaking more slowly, listening carefully and using context clues for unfamiliar vocabulary.

That said, here are some key facts and statistics about where Spanish spoken and how it differs from place to place:

Spanish in Spain
Number of Speakers: 46.6 million
Where it's spoken: Spain
Spain is the motherland of the Spanish language, of course. But these days, Spanish speakers from Spain are greatly outnumbered by Spanish speakers from other places.

Latin American Spanish

Number of Speakers: More than 418 million
Where it's spoken: The United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America

90% of Spanish speakers are Latin American, though indigenous languages are also spoken throughout Mexico, Central, and South America. In the Latin American market, the largest Spanish-speaking countries are:

Spanish in the United States

Wait a minute . . . the United States! Actually, yes. The current government may be refusing to offer as much in the way of support as previous administrations did, but Spanish speakers in the United States aren't going away. There are at least 50 million Spanish-speakers in the US. New Mexico and Los Angeles even have their own Spanish dialects. And of course, there's also Spanglish, an English-Spanish hybrid that Amherst professor Ilan Stavans has called "a mestizo language."

The key differences between European Spanish and Latin American Spanish

Naturally, there are regional variations in how Spanish is spoken throughout Latin America, and even throughout Spain. But there are some key differences between European Spanish and Latin American Spanish, and that's what we'll be looking at now.

The Many Forms of You in Spanish

One of the most noticeable characteristics that sets European Spanish and Latin American Spanish apart is the many Spanish words for "you." English, of course, only has one word for you, whether you're talking to the Queen or to the person next to you at the bar. And unless you're in the American South (Hi y'all!), if you want to indicate that you're talking to more than one person, you're stuck with relatively awkward phrasings like "you all" or "you guys."

Spanish, on the other hand, uses different pronouns and verb endings to distinguish between you (singular) and you (plural), as well as between you (informal) and you (plural). So, in both Spain and (most of) Latin America, if you're addressing one person informally (say, two friends or family members talking, or an adult talking to a child), you'd use tú. When addressing one person formally, you'd use usted.

But what if there's more than one person? If you're in Spain, you'd address a group of friends or peers as vosotros and a group of people you don't know well or need to show respect to as ustedes.

But in Latin America, they stopped using vosotros in the 1800's. For addressing groups of people, ustedes is used exclusively.

And if you're in Argentina, Uruguay or Paraguay, you'd use vos instead of tú.

Differences in Vocabulary

And that's far from the only vocabulary difference between European Spanish and Latin American Spanish. Usually, this isn't a big deal. In Latin American Spanish and European Spanish, the same words mean the same things most of the time, and context clues are usually enough for the rest of the time.

Even so, there are numerous differences, too many to list here. For example, in Spain, a car is a coche. In Latin America, depending on where you are, it could be an auto or a carro.

Meanwhile, a cellular phone is a teléfono móvil in Spain and a teléfono celular in Latin America. These differences might not matter in casual conversation. But if you're a business, trying to speak to customers in a voice that sounds authentic and natural to them, word choice matters more.

And of course, sometimes vocabulary differences can lead to unintentional embarrassment. For example, consider the word " coger." In Spain, it's a perfectly innocent, inoffensive, commonly used word that means "to take" or "to catch." You could say it in church. You could say it to your grandma.

But in some parts of Latin America, the meaning of "coger" is rather different. And more vulgar. In fact, it corresponds to a certain vulgar four-letter word for the act of sexual intercourse.

Slang

Slang, of course, varies by region, just as it does in English. Again, this is generally not a problem in casual conversation, but it's something marketers, in particular, should be aware of, especially if the younger crowd is your target audience.

Pronunciation differences: You say "gra-see-us-", I say "gra-thee-us."

In Spain, people tend to pronounce "z" sounds as "th" when they come before vowels. "C" is pronounced the same way when it comes before "i" or "e". This is called "distinction."

Other Regional Variations

Of course, "European Spanish" and "Latin American Spanish" are extremely broad categories. Wherever Spanish is spoken, you'll also find plenty of regional variations and idiosyncrasies. Here are some of the most distinctive regional dialects.

Español Rioplatense

Español Rioplatense is spoken in Argentina and Uruguay. It is notable for using an intonation that sounds more like Italian than Spanish. It also uses a "sh" sound instead of a "y" sound for the letter ll.

Español Caribeño

People in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and all along the Caribbean coast of Mexico and Central America speak Español Caribeño. This dialect is one of the most difficult for Spanish speakers from other regions to understand. It is characterized by dropping certain consonants, like s, r, d, and b in the middle or at the end of most words, and by swapping some consonant sounds.

Equatoguinean Spanish

This is Spanish as it's spoken in Equatorial Guinea, a small West African country that was formerly a Spanish colony. It sounds closer to European Spanish than Latin American Spanish, but its grammar and vocabulary has also been influenced by regional African languages. And Equatoguinean Spanish also uses the preposition en when other Spanish dialects would use a.

Need some examples?

Babbel has a video with lots of examples of the different types of Spanish . . . and puppets!

Looking for Spanish translation? Our translation team will ensure your message comes through clearly in all of your target Spanish markets. Check out our comprehensive suite of language services, and contact us to discuss your project!
By Luis García, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
By Hidra92 (Own work) [ GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Spanish Around the World: The Different Types of Spanish and Where They're Spoken - K International

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With 405 million native speakers, Spanish is the second-most commonly spoken language in the world. But while all of those 405 million people might speak the same language, they don't all speak it the same way. So, let's take a look at the different types of Spanish, where they're spoken, and what that means for organizations doing business in Spanish-speaking countries.

# data[].attributes.body
En español, lo más común problema lingüístico en los niños hispanohablantes es la lucha con los "R's." Hemos aprendido que es un sonido vibrante, así hay que ser la acción de "rodar" la lengua contra los alveolos. Muchos anglohablantes aprendiendo español se cuestan con este fenómeno, pero a veces ocurre también en los hablantes de español. Personalmente, me cuesta rodar mis "R's" así esta guía es una técnica para ayudarme. Una de las reglas más importantes para aprender a pronunciar tus "R" es relajar tu lengua, así puedes dejar que vibre. Una vez que completes este paso, puedes colocar la lengua contra la parte posterior de los dientes superiores y empezar a practicar.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For many new Spanish language learners, the absolute hardest part of picking up the language is figuring out just how to roll your r's. Many novice Spanish speakers fear that they will sound stupid or awkward when they attempt it - but you've got to start somewhere! There is a common misconception that if you didn't grow up speaking Spanish and practicing the r roll from a young age, you'll never learn. Well, we're here to say that in this case, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. Have no fear and buckle up; with a little practice you'll be rolling your r's like an expert in no time.

Did you know? Many languages roll their r's besides Spanish - including Czech, Thai, Hungarian, Tagalog, Italian and Portuguese. But, it's not really present in English, so many native-English speakers find it extraordinarily difficult when learning Spanish. Don't feel bad - even many native speakers of these languages have some difficulty with rolling Rs, even well into adulthood. It's tricky!

One thing is for sure: if you visit a Spanish-speaking country and settle for just using the English r as a substitute for the "rr" (rolled double r), you will stick out like a sore thumb. But, you'll be sure to impress the locals if you master it.

Here's one thing that may surprise you: even if you've never uttered a double r in your entire life before now, you have actually used some of the same tongue muscles that Spanish speakers use for the rolled r for other letters! The double 't' when you pronounce matter, putter, or butter quickly (flapping your tongue against the roof of your mouth) is reminiscent of the double r tongue muscle movement. Practice this when you're still getting comfortable with the double r.

Visualize the muscle movements your tongue will have to make to produce the rolled r. This physiological movement is also known as the voiced alveolar trill, or trilled R, and here's how to do it:

1. When English speakers make a typical R sound, is made by the movement made by tongue movement between your bottom lip and your top teeth. Conversely, the Spanish rolled R is produced by vibrating the tongue against the back of your top teeth. Create this picture in the back of your mind and visualize it for a few moments before every time you start to practice.

2. Warm up your tongue and mouth with these vocal exercises, such as blowing a raspberry, then slowly adding a vocal sound. More vocal warm-up exercises can be found here.

3. You will have to relax your tongue in order to get it to vibrate. Focus first on keeping your tongue completely relaxed in your mouth while breathing out.

4. The movement described it step 1 is actually more similar to the tongue placement for the pronunciation of "D" or "T" in English. Practice these letters out loud a few times, and see how different it is from the English "R". Say these a few times to warm up your tongue. Then say some words in quick succession that incorporate this tongue position, like "butter butter butter putter putter putter matter matter matter." Go faster and faster until you hit your max speed, then take a break and repeat.

5. Once you have mastered the proper tongue placement, you are ready to graduate onto practicing with some real Spanish words:

Spanish words with rolled R's

50 Spanish words to practice rolling your R's

If you're looking for more ways to warm up your tongue and get accustomed to the Spanish rolled R sound, practice on these best Spanish tongue twisters.

** Author's note: one of our #1 favorite ways to learn a new language is to listen to audiobooks in that language. Check out our picks here:

Thanks for reading!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 steps to roll your r's if you didn't grow up speaking Spanish - Language Pro

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For many new Spanish language learners, the absolute hardest part of picking up the language is figuring out just how to roll your r's. Many novice Spanish speakers fear that they will sound stupid or awkward when they attempt it - but you've got to start somewhere!

# data[].attributes.body
Un aspecto de español que puede ser difícil para los nuevos estudiantes es los acentos en español escrito, o los tildes. De hecho, uno de cada ocho de las palabras en español tiene un tilde. Pero un pequeña marca puede totalmente cambiar el significado de una palabra. Por ejemplo, sí con tilde significa "yes," pero si sin tilde significa "if." No hay una diferencia en la pronunciación, pero una grande diferencia en significado. Puede parecer que los tildes son excesivos, pero esta regla muestra la importancia de usarlos.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Accents marks in Spanish, rules for stress

# data[].attributes.headline
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre fonemas y alófonos?

# data[].attributes.subject
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre fonemas y alófonos?

# data[].attributes.body
Este video trata de las fonemas y los alófonos. Describe los términos en una manera sencilla y es muy fácil de entender. Cuando aprendimos de los alófonos y fonemas, no entendía la diferencia entre los dos. La fonema es un sonido para diferenciar una palabra de otra. Por ejemplo, “foto” y “voto” tienen un sonido que es diferente (/f/ y /v/). Los alófonos son los various sonidos que corresponden al mismo fonema. Por ejemplo, “caro” y “carro” suenan igual, pero “caro” use [ɾ] por vibrante simple y “carro” use [r] por vibrante multiple.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Español 423 videoclip-- Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/youtube/ -- Create animated videos and animated presentations for free. PowToon is a free tool that allows you to develop cool animated clips and animated presentations for your website, office meeting, sales pitch, nonprofit fundraiser, product launch, video resume, or anything else you could use an animated explainer video.

# data[].attributes.body
Este diagrama muestra como se mueve la boca y la lengua cuando se habla español. En cualquier idioma, los sonidos son productos de este movimiento. Este información es importante de aprender porque si no sabes como pronunciar palabras, es posible que los hablantes de español no vayan entender los que dices. El punto de articulación más difícil para mí es velar, porque se produce en la parte posterior de la gargantua.