February 2000
Welcome to the February edition of Spanish Monthly, the free Internet newsletter
from Transparent Language. It's our way of helping you practice your language
skills, as you learn about the cultures of Spain and Latin America.
This month, we examine two elements of Spanish that are absolutely indispensable
if you want to speak like a native: slang and idioms. These are colorful words
and expressions that cannot be translated literally (Imagine a Spanish speaker
trying to make sense of English idioms like "he has a screw loose" or "it's a
piece of cake"!). Yet, learning these is the secret to achieving true fluency ...
it's the difference between "textbook" and "real-world" language.
If you're not yet familiar with any Spanish slang words or idiomatic expressions, prepare
yourself. You may be surprised at how fascinating-and fun-they can be to learn
and to use. Best of all, learning about slang and idioms will add a whole, new
dimension to your language skills!
Sincerely,
Transparent Language
www.transparent.com
CLARIFICATION:
In our January Spanish Monthly Newsletter, Nikola Tesla was listed as a
Hungarian Scientist. Tesla was born in Smiljan, Croatia in 1856, which was then
a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was of Serbian descent and lived in
the United States after 1884.
En español:
Este informe es una mirada divertida e interesante a la lengua española. La
variedad de vocabulario, dichos, idiomas y jerga que se extiende por el mundo
hispanohablante es una maravilla.
La diferencia más destacada entre el español castellano y el español
latinoamericano es el uso de "vosotros," la forma familiar del pronombre plural
de la segunda persona. Este pronombre está reemplazado con "Ustedes," la forma
formal del pronombre plural de la segunda persona, sin tomar en cuenta la
formalidad, en los países hispanohablantes de América Latina. Varios países en
América Latina, por ejemplo Colombia y Argentina, emplean el pronombre familiar
de "vos" para el pronombre singular de la segunda persona, aunque es solo en
situaciones informales!
Muchos anglicismos han infiltrado la lengua española, como por ejemplo, el uso
del verbo "hangear," de la frase inglesa "to hang out,"
y el uso de la palabra inglés "chance" en lugar de la palabra
española "oportunidad." Ud. estaría de
acuerdo de que estas palabras representan una corrupción del idioma, pero
dejando esto a un lado, los orígenes de algunos de los anglicismos pueden ser
muy interesantes. En Panamá, donde la influencia del idioma inglés es fuerte,
hay un pueblo al lado derecho de la Cuidad de Panamá, en el otro lado del Canal.
Se llama Arraijan. Este nombre se originó porque la gente que hablaba inglés
referían al área como "At right hand." Cuando los
panameños fueron a la Zona del Canal (un área donde vivían los militares
estadounidenses y la gente que trabajaban para la Comisión del Canal de Panamá)
al buscar pequeños arreglos, la gente que hablaba inglés les decían a
los panameños en inglés, "'Come around' later and I'll see if there is
anything for you to do." Ahora estos pequeños
arreglos se llaman "camaroncitos."
Otro giro interesante en la lengua española es la inversión de las sílabas en
una palabra. ¡Si alguien le preguntase, "¿Qué sopá, mopri?,"
quizás Ud. no supiera qué pensar! En realidad, la persona está
diciendo, "¿Qué pasó, primo?"
Y este tema saca otro detalle interesante, el uso de palabras como "primo" como
tratamiento informal. Es semejante al uso de "man" o "dude" en
inglés. Las palabras "tipo/a" y "hombre" son usados por el
mundo hispanohablante. Aquí tiene algunas palabras regionales que Ud. escuchará:
"gallo" significa "guy" en Chile;
"compa" es usado frecuentemente para llamar la atención de amigos en el Caribe y
América Central; y se usa "pana" para dirigirse a amigos en la República
Dominicana.
Ud. se sorprendería de la variedad de vocabulario entre los países
hispanohablantes. La palabra "guagua," por ejemplo, significa "bebé"
en Chile ¡y "autobús" en Cuba! Un embotellamiento de tráfico se llama
"una cola" en Venezuela; en Chile se llama "un taco;" en Panamá
se llama "un tranque;" y en Puerto Rico se llama "un tapón."
Siempre hay más para decir sobre el idioma español y los hechos y giros que lo
hacen interesante, pero espero que Ud. haya disfrutado de esta edición del
informe. ¡Y espero tener noticias suyas con más palabras únicas y cuentos sobre
el lenguaje en su respuesta!
In English:
This newsletter is a fun and interesting look at the Spanish language. The
variety of vocabulary, sayings, idioms and slang that is spread across the
Spanish-speaking world is amazing.
The most prominent difference between Castillian Spanish and Latin American
Spanish is the use of "vosotros," the familiar form of the second person plural
pronoun. This pronoun is replaced with "Ustedes," the formal form of the second
person plural pronoun, in all Latin American countries where Spanish is spoken,
in both formal and informal situations. Although it is only used informally,
some countries in Latin America, namely Colombia and Argentina, substitute the
colloquial pronoun "vos" for the singular second person pronoun!
Many anglicisms have entered into Spanish, such as the use of the verb
"hangear," stemming from the English "to hang out," and the use of
the English word "chance" instead of the Spanish word "oportunidad."
You may agree that these words are a corruption of the Spanish language, but that aside, the
origins of some of the anglicisms can prove to be very interesting. In Panama,
where the influence of the English language is strong, there is a town to "the
right" of Panama City, across the Canal. It is called Arraijan. This name
originated because the English-speaking population in the referred to the area
as "At right hand." When Panamanian people went into the Canal Zone (an area
where the members of the U.S. military and people from the U.S. who worked for
the Panama Canal Commission lived) to look for odd jobs, the English speakers
would tell them in English, "'Come around' later and I'll see if there is
anything for you to do." These odd jobs are now called "camaroncitos."
Another interesting twist to the Spanish language is the inversion of the
syllables in a word. If someone asks to you, "¿Qué sopá, mopri?," you might not
know what to think! They are really saying, "¿Qué pasó, primo?" (What's going
on, man?).
And this brings up another interesting detail, the use of words like "primo" to
address people. It is similar to the use of "man" or "dude" in English. The
words "tipo/a" and "hombre" are used throughout the Spanish-speaking
world. Here are some local words that you might hear: "gallo" means "guy"
in Chile; "compa" is regularly used to address friends in the Caribbean and Central
America; and "pana" is used to a address friends in the Dominican Republic.
You would be surprised at the variation in vocabulary among Spanish-speaking
countries. The word, "guagua," for example, means "baby" in Chile and
"bus" in Cuba! A traffic jam is called "una cola" in Venezuela; in
Chile it is called "un taco;" in Panama it is called "tranque;" and in
Puerto Rico it is called "un tapón."
There is always more to say about Spanish and the interesting facts and twists
that make the language so intriguing, but I hope that you have enjoyed this
edition of the newsletter and that I hear from you with more unique words and
language stories in your response!
