The Language Chronicles: El Choro Lingüístico 💬

[Para español, ver abajo.] This article explains two grammatical concepts that share a characteristic - they use particles that are considered optional in most cases, but they provide an  additional   nuance  or  meaning  if used, all while making you sound like a native Spanish speaker ! The use of se for verbs that aren't usually reflexive, which is known as  se aspectual and puts reflexive pronouns me, te, SE, nos, and os to work. And a phenomenon known as  dativo de interés , dativo ético , dativo aspectual , dativo intensivo or dativo concordado, which involves the use of indirect pronouns  me , te , LE , nos, os. Aspectual SE (and its other forms me, te, nos, os) To illustrate the concept, let's use a very common verb: comer . It's a verb that usually doesn't require a reflexive pronoun. You can say "Mi hermana come pizza", and we all understand it's a  habitual action in the present tense, but if I say "Mi hermana se come la pizza"

Yesterday at the #FAUBAI Conference 2019 in Belém, Brazil, UDEM (Universidad de Monterrey) gave a presentation on the programs they have for refugees. Under their umbrella, they have programs for the typical refugee from Syria (from the perspective of American eyes although the presenter is was M) among others, and it was interesting to hear that even our brothers from Syria with war-torn countries have concerns about the crime rate in Mexico when deciding to come live here (I'm writing as if I was in Mexico now).  When the presenter started talking about those of Mexican descent who were taken to the USA as children, and then how they were supported through a scholarship called ReconoceR, I couldn't help to feel weird as we (returnees and deportees)  were being discussed as the subject of study in a presentation at an International Education Conference. I don't even know if I'm trying to make a point here, but I felt:  1. A huge disconnect being now an International Ed