What you said about the pronunciation of the letter p - "not having so much air" - reminds me of how my hubby corrects me. He wants me to put in "more air" into my pronunciation of the letter "p." I know exactly what you're talking about!
Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, as long as ever you can.
Spanish does not count by hundreds above 900. In English we frequently say nineteen hundred (1900) instead of "one thousand nine hundred." In Spanish the number 1900 can only be expressed as mil novecientos (NEVER diecinueve cientos).
1492 mil cuatrocientos noventa y dos 1987 mil novecientos ochenta y siete
Originally posted by explora: Glad you like it Mrs. B!
Spanish does not count by hundreds above 900. In English we frequently say nineteen hundred (1900) instead of "one thousand nine hundred." In Spanish the number 1900 can only be expressed as mil novecientos (NEVER diecinueve cientos).
1492 mil cuatrocientos noventa y dos 1987 mil novecientos ochenta y siete
Just curious Explora, why the Spanish word of the day?
If you go to Barnes and Nobles you've seen the desk calendars that have 'a word a day.' Spanish, French or other they stock. It's a way to conveniently and easily increase vocabulary by 'a word a day.' If somebody else wants to open up a topic on the board with another language of 'a word a day', I think it'd be educational and it gives the board some diversity from the other topics. It would be nice to see an 'ethnic/regional/international recipe of the day!' A little diversity, Hudson, thanks for asking!
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Those who are not completely familiar with the Spanish language often find themselves in awkward or embarrassing situations by using a word in such a way as to create a double meaning or a sexual innuendo. When a tourist was visiting Argentina, he walked up to a police officer and very innocently asked him where he could 'catch' the bus:
Donde puedo coger el autobus?
What he meant to say was:
Donde puedo tomar el autobus?
Not having a firm grasp on popular Spanish obscenities, he was quite unaware that he had had just made a serious yet entertaining faux pas, since coger does not mean "to catch" in some countries as it might in other Spanish-speaking countries. In some it has one very specific meaning: to 'f...'
Avoid using coger.
I'll find other explanations on how to use coger from other sources and input additional info here.
Coger/Cogerse
Coger is used for physical catching or grasping hold of : coger un tren/autobus/unsa pelota/un ladron/una flor (to catch a train/bus/ball/thief/, to pick a flower, etc). The pronominal form is rare (at least in standard Peninsular language), but it is found in colloquial phrases involving drunkenness: contrast coger un catarro 'to catch a cold' and cogerse una borrachera 'to get drunk.' Coger is universally used in Latin America as a taboo word for the s.e.x act, to the extent that some regions prefer agarrar for 'to cath' (in Spain 'to clutch', 'to seize', but also used for emphasis, as in he agarrado una gripe de cuidado 'I've got a terrible bout of flu.
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Lived in Latin America for over three years in the Military (SOUTHCOM) and as a Civilian. Spent time in every country in central america. Here is some Spanish I learned the hard way.
Hay bastante mujeres afuera los Estados Unidos que son mentirosas, quieren muchas cosas y tarjeta verdes. No confias en las mujeres asi porque son tramposas de pura sepa. Esta "clarinas" ? Cuidate mucho si metas con las extranjeras y sobre todo no case con extranjera.
Today's message is brought to you by the Spanish word "Chuntara". Not sure what it means, but many legal hispanic immigrants I have spoken to seem to use this word to describe latin american residency seekers who marry for residency.
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: January 21, 2008 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Matt Sanchez
Multiculturalism, a soft national identity and the inability to separate the public forum from the private sphere will send this country scaling up a new Tower of Babel.
I went into my local bank to solve a problem. During my stay overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, my financial institution put a block on my account because someone pretending to be me walked into a branch and presented a check. Fortunately, no funds were disbursed because the imposter's signature did not match my signature card – a low-tech solution to the common problem of identity theft. I stood in front of Elena, the bank's customer service representative. She stared at her high-tech computer database and attempted to remove the block from my checking, but the barriers between Elena and myself were going to need more than an authorization code.
After some pecking at the keyboard and several frustrated looks, Elena called over her co-worker for help. Both women watched the screen, not saying a word, and then it began. Before me, the co-worker went into a long, detailed explanation on how accounts are sometimes blocked. You know, the typical customer service stuff. The only problem was that the co-worker was having this conversation in Spanish.
It's annoying enough when the automated voice over the phone asks you to "press 2 for Spanish," but it's excruciating when the bank tellers give you no choice, and you're stuck with a live customer-service version of subtitles.
Now, let's get something straight: I actually speak Spanish. When I lived in Spain, I wrote little articles for a tourist magazine in Spanish. I even taught the language to adults in French-speaking Montreal, but this teller and her boss were not speaking Spanish for me, they were speaking it despite me.
After several minutes of the back-and-forth banter between the two women, it became obvious both actually spoke English better than Spanish. In English, I asked a question, so the co-worker spoke to Elena in Spanish for Elena to translate the response to me.
For a moment I felt as if I were back in Iraq interviewing some city councilman through an interpreter. Those interviews always took forever, and I was never sure how precise the translation was. In bleak Ramadi, I always wondered if anything really important was being left out. But in this bank, in the heart of Manhattan, I knew I was not getting the full story.
I'm not the only one who has experienced this Babel of communication. The London Terrace apartment complex, located in the ultra-liberal Chelsea neighborhood, mandated that all employees will have to speak English on the job. Chelsea is a place where transvestites are considered too conservative if they wear a pearl necklace, but even this liberal stronghold had an issue with "diversity."
The problem was not hearing a different language. I live in Manhattan! The owner of the health-food store speaks Korean; the shoe repair man is Croatian, and there are more Russians and Chinese than there are native New Yorkers.
I'm not offended by different tongues; I make an effort to understand the dialects of New Jersey and Long Island.
This is not just about the decline of customer service or even an upswing in public rudeness. You have to make an effort to be rude, and you have to recognize a customer to give him service. This problem was more a shift in the public sphere, a societal and corporate slow drift that has been shoving customers off a cliff for some time now.
The dirty little secret is that all too often when Spanish-speakers go into these Latin diatribes while on the time clock, they are really just flipping the non-Spanish speaker a linguistic bird. Believe me, I've listened to more than one conversation where people didn't think I understood what was being said, or maybe just did not care.
In the new version of separate but equal, the American public forum, currently ruled by multi-cultural guidelines, has put Spanish on the same level as English. As more and more Americans see themselves as clients entitled to benefits rather than citizens bound to duties, the option of pressing No. 2 for a different language is just another choice on the multi-cultural public menu.
There was a time, even in my recent memory, when speaking another language was something reserved for the privacy of home, or in a community setting. In other words, it was meant to be a bond for people with a similar heritage and history. Would anyone describe English in America that way today?
For these two bilingual bozos, being at work in a bank and dealing with a customer was socially the same as being at home in the kitchen and ignoring the annoying children playing in the living room. When you add the "freedom" of reaffirming "Latino pride" and the self-righteous sense of entitlement, it's safe to say more clients at the bank will be hearing a lot of conversations that simply will not include them. It is up to us, as Americans, to decide if this is the model we want for a nation because others are willing to offer plenty of choices that will be more significant than pressing No. 2 for Spanish.
Beverly..there is no need for that, please don't disrupt this great thread. If you don't like it just ignore it. I for one am enjoying this thread and so do others. Please refrain from posting more of those articles, you already have a thread for that. Thank you
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- God Bless America - God Bless Immigrants - God Bless Poor Misguided Souls Too Mr S.U.
Though cebiche now appears on the menu of upscale US and British restaurants, it is not yet as well established in English as other Spanish food words, such as tapas, and needs some explanation.
The national dish of Peru, and one of which Peruvians are very proud, cebiche (also spelled ceviche) is a kind of fish or seafood salad.
Any fish or seafood used in it is marinated in lemon or lime juice for several hours, which means that the fish is no longer raw: it is effectively pickled. Other traditional ingredients are chilli and chopped onion. Within Peru you will find many variations in the recipe, depending on which part of the country you’re in.
Both words literally mean "to be" but in Spanish, one is used with a condition and one is used for essential character.
SER To be for use with essential characteristics.
ESTAR To be for use with condition.
Let's use as an example: The apple is green. This cound mean if the apple is not ripe or the color of the apple. In Spanish, we would distinguish this by saying:
La manzana está verde. The apple is green (conditional or is it ripe)
or
La manzana es verde The applie is green (like the color of the apple.)
That's a good one Hudson. It can really get sticky using those two words. Most manuals only give one the basics and keep it simple but it can get complicated like para and por which is a little easier to distinguish between using.
Explora you are a f-u-c-k-ing fruitcake. Why don't you try something novel and learn english. Why in the h-el-l should American Citizens learn spanish in order to tell people like you to get out.
Originally posted by Sprint_girl07: Beverly..there is no need for that, please don't disrupt this great thread. If you don't like it just ignore it. I for one am enjoying this thread and so do others. Please refrain from posting more of those articles, you already have a thread for that.
Thank you
Please mind your business and don't tell me what to do, I am NOT your child and I am not stopping you from "enjoying this thread". You people need to realize I live in America not some dictatorship or oligarchy like where you come from. I have 1st Amendment rights that I will exercise wherever and whenever I wish. You people on the other hand need to realize that no thread is off limits to members/posters on a public message board. Please refrain from telling me where or what I can post we already have rules that stipulate that I am allowed to do otherwise.
Here's a suggestion, why don't you ignore my post like any other that you don't like or agree with? Problem solved.
Originally posted by Sprint_girl07: Beverly..there is no need for that, please don't disrupt this great thread. If you don't like it just ignore it. I for one am enjoying this thread and so do others. Please refrain from posting more of those articles, you already have a thread for that. Thank you
Oh well, Sprint, it was worth a try. Thanks for giving it your best shot.
Beverly, If you have a different viewpoint about the Spanish language, start a thread about it, or better yet, add to one of your many pre-existing threads. No disrespect intended, but I don't understand why you feel the need to post the above article here, this thread was clearly an instructional on learning another language, and I was enjoying reading it without news articles. Why can't you respect the rules of the board?
Whatever broadens our horizons, even if it's just learning one word from another language (Spanish or not) is a good exercise. And what's good about the USA is that this is the "land of the free" - if people want to do something, they are free to do so so long as they don't harm/injure other people.
I don't believe that learning a Spanish word is a vote for illegal immigration.
Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, as long as ever you can.
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