Archive for 'Spanish Culture'
Chilean Spanish Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 26, 2008
I went to high school with two Chilean kids and one year I spent Christmas Eve with their families. I ended up learning some Chilean Spanish expressions. Here are some interesting ones: ¿Cachai? – Do you understand? Get it? Agarrar p’al hueveo/leseo/chuleteo – make fun of someone Al tiro – right away, immediately Año de…
Word origins Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 13, 2008
We’re going to start a series today with word origins and history (etymology). 1. cirujano It was around 1340 that the word “cirujano” (surgeon) was registered in the Spanish language, even though cirujano had already appeared in Siete Partidas (1251-1265) by Alfonso X el Sabio: “Y esto que diximos delos orebzes se entiende tanbien delos…
Phone calls in Spanish Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 10, 2008
Today we’re going to have a look at some useful language to talk on the telephone. 1. Saying your telephone number Mi número de teléfono es el … – My phone number is … 2. Answering the phone ¿Sí? ¿Dígame? ¿Diga? ¡Aló! ¿Bueno? (Name of the company), buenos días. 3. Asking after someone – Buenos…
Food vocabulary Posted by Transparent Language on May 27, 2008
Hello there! OK, so a reader e-mailed me last week and asked, “Adir, Spanish is spoken in so many countries, and I just found out that food has several names in different countries, so how do I do to memorize that?” I gave it some thought and the answer to that question is: you don´t…
El voseo Posted by Transparent Language on May 18, 2008
Voseo is the use of the second person singular pronoun vos instead of tú. Vos is used extensively as the primary spoken form of the second-person singular predominantly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and in the Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In the dialect of Argentina and Uruguay (known…
Learning tip: reading newspapers Posted by Transparent Language on May 5, 2008
Not very long ago, breaking news was mostly available in English and the few Spanish-language websites were devoted to local news only. Fortunately, the situation is changing rapidly and nowadays we have very comprehensive sites with updated information. Here´s a list of some interesting sites for you to check out. CNN en español – The…
Chilean Rodeo and Los Huasos Posted by Transparent Language on May 1, 2008
Among all the traditional games and festivals, the rodeo is one of the most exciting, joyful and colorful in Chile. It started many years ago because the farmers needed to arrange their livestock. Each spring the animals are brought down from the hills, where they stay in the winter. This kind of work has to…