Archive for 'Spanish Culture'
Word origin: recordar Posted by Adir on Jun 27, 2009
In the old days, people thought that feelings lived in the heart. For Aristotle, the heart was the core organ in the body and the brain played a supporting role. At the same time people thought the memory was also lodged in the heart, so the Romans started using the word recordari, which comes from…
El Imperativo … con música! Posted by Adir on Jun 24, 2009
I know how it feels to have to learn all those conjugation forms by heart… and there are so many exceptions to the rules… blah blah blah. So, dear reader, to help you learn about the imperative a little more pleasantly, I chose two videos: the first one is Thalia’s Regresa a Mí, where you…
El Tango – Hand in Hand with Carlos Gardel Posted by Adir on Jun 21, 2009
A lot has been written and said about the tango so I’m going to cut to the chase and bring you a video by Carlos Gardel, one of the greatest tangueros of all times. In this song, Mano a Mano (Hand in Hand) he uses tons of lunfardo, a kind of Argentinean slang. I have…
Échame una mano, por favor. Posted by Adir on Jun 11, 2009
My Brazilian students learning English give me such a hard time when they come across the verb ‘get’ because it has so many different meanings. Spanish is no slouch either, because it has the verb ‘echar’. Check out some of its meanings (there are tons!). 1. to throw, to toss, to cast. Echa la pelota…
¡Mexicanismos, güey! Posted by Adir on Jun 4, 2009
By now you already know Spanish is spoken in lots of countries and every one of them has their peculiarities. I am a big fan of the Mexican accent and I have found this video where a kid explains the basics for sounding like a Mexican. Here are some words he uses: Güey – dude…
Word origins: Chiste (joke) Posted by Adir on May 28, 2009
In the early days jokes were not told openly and, if there were people of the opposite sex present, they were told in whispers. To designate these stories, at first obscene ones, the word chiste was used, derived from the verb chistar. Chistar meant “to whisper, to speak in a low voice” or also “to…
Buying, en español – Part I Posted by Adir on May 26, 2009
When you walk into a store in a Spanish-speaking country, you will probably be greeted with an “Hola, ¿todo bien?, or “Hola, buenas.” This greeting requires no formal answer and a simple “hola” is enough. In Latin America, store prices do not include taxes. These are added at the cashier when paying and they add…