Study tip: using DVDs (wisely)!

Posted by adir ferreira

There are hundreds of good Spanish-speaking movies and series/telenovelas on DVD these days and here are some tips so you can get the most out of them.

1. Get your materials ready: pen, notebook and a dictionary. If you’re watching the DVD on your computer, you can also use your text editor.
2. Choose a scene no more than 5 minutes long.
3. Watch the scene in Spanish, without subtitles. Try to write down the words that you understood.
4. Watch the scene in Spanish again, without subtitles. Write a little paragraph (in Spanish or English) about what’s happening in the scene.
5. Now watch the scene with the subtitles in English. Compare the script of the scene with the words and the paragraph you wrote down.
6. Watch the scene in Spanish, without subtitles, a third time. Try and write down more words or expressions in your list.
7. Now watch the scene with the subtitles in Spanish without using the Pause button. Try and add more words/expressions to your list.
8. Watch the scene with the subtitles in Spanish once again and stop to write down words and new expressions.
9. Now that you’ve watched the scene 6 times, try to find out, through context, the definition of the new words that you wrote down.
10. Finally, use your dictionary (Spanish-Spanish if you’re an intermediate or advanced student or bilingual if you’re a beginner) to check for meaning. Remember to always write down words/expressions with the sentences, so they are now out of context.

This is it for today!

Nos vemos prontito.

 

Word origins: terapéutica, jerga e indigente

Posted by adir ferreira

Terapéutica was first found in Spanish from 1555 on, when it appeared in Dioscórides, by Andrés de Laguna.
The word terapéutica was taken by Laguna from vulgar Latin therapeutica, -orum (medicine treaties) and from Greek therapeutikós (the occupation of a service man who had to take care of someone, deriving from therapein). In Spanish, this word always had medical care connotation and, more recently, psychological ones. The word terapeuta (therapist) comes from Greek therapeutes (servant).

Jerga means “slang” and its first meaning was “special language, hard to understand” according to the first edition of Diccionario de la Academia (1734). Today it refers to the language that is used specifically by people who belong to a particular group, or profession. For example, la “jerga médica”.

Jerga comes from gergon, which came from Old French jargon or jergon in the Middle Ages and referred to birds chirping.

Jergon was formed by root garg-, which had an onomatopoeic origin, and meant “to speak confusely”, “to swallow” and has evolved into words like garganta (throat), gargajo (gob) and jeringoza (a child’s playful way of hiding language using the letter p and other obscuring devices), among others.

Indigente is someone who is poverty-stricken and usually lives on the streets, has no documents, etc.
Indigente comes from Latin indigens, -entis, from the verb indigere (to lack something), formed by prefix indu- (an old form of –in) and the verb egere (to be deprived of something).

We see an example of use of this verb in the Vulgate:

Qui dat pauperi non indigebit (He who gives to the poor will lack nothing).

 

Vocabulario: Los Cubiertos

Posted by adir ferreira

Here’s a list for words related to cutlery and setting the table. Click on the link below to listen to the pronunciation.

los-cubiertos

el cuchillo – knife
el mantel – tablecloth
el palillo de dientes, el escarbadientes – toothpick
el platito para el pan – bread plate
el plato – plate
el plato para el postre – dessert plate
el tenedor – fork
el vaso – glass
la copa para agua – water glass
la copa para vino – wine glass
la cuchara – spoon
la servilleta - napkin

 

Rodrigo Santoro

Posted by adir ferreira

Rodrigo Santoro is a Brazilian actor who’s had an international career in movies like Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Love Actually, 300, Redbelt, Che and The Post Grad Survival Guide.

Rodrigo started his career in telenovelas and ended up with a part in Lost’s third season, as Brazilian cook Paulo.

His role in two-part biopic Che, about Argentinean Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara as Raúl Castro has been highly acclaimed internationally. Listen to Mexican Demián Bichir, playing Fidel Castro, and Santoro in an interview where you can practice your listening skills because it is spoken at medium speed.

Here’s another interview with the cast of Che: Benicio del Toro, Rodrigo Santoro, Demián Bichir and Óscar Jaenada.

Nos vemos prontito.

 

CQC - Caiga Quien Caiga

Posted by adir ferreira

CQC (Caiga Quien Caiga) is a humorous and ironic weekly news roundup which reports current affairs, showbiz and sports. The reporters are known for asking politically incorrect questions to celebrities and one of the show’s trademarks is the editing that includes adding cartoons and sound effects to the interviews.

CQC has versions in Argentina, Chile, Brasil, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Israel and rumor has it that an American version is under way.

Check out the format of the program in this video where the reporter talks about machismo in Argentina.