The Language Chronicles: El Choro Lingüístico 💬

[Bajar para español.] Did you know that the Dalmatian language breathed its last in 1898 with the passing of its final speaker? Situated along the coast of Croatia in Dalmatia , this minority Romance language, a sister to Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian, found itself linguistically nestled between Romanian and Italian. Let's delve into the world of Romance languages , exploring their diversity and the fascinating tales of languages that are endangered or have faded away. The Extinct Whispers of Dalmatian Dalmatian, once spoken in the picturesque landscapes of Dalmatia, resonates as a testament to the expansive family of Romance languages. With its roots entwined with both Romanian and Italian , Dalmatian holds a unique place in its language family. The last echoes of Dalmatian can be heard in the Lord's Prayer: " Tuota nuester, che te sante intel čil, sait santificuot el naum to. Vigna to raigno. Sait fuot la voluntuot toa, coisa in čil, coisa in tiara. Duote cost

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Como hispanohablantes, nuestro aprendizaje del inglés sigue patrones que, a veces, facilitan la adquisición del idioma, pero también pueden llevar a transferencias lingüísticas negativas. Muchos hemos cometido errores aprendiendo, como omitir palabras —“Today [it] is raining”, “She is [a] teacher”, “Explain [to] me what you said” — y usar palabras incorrectas — "I am married with (to) Maria y “People is (are) late”. En cuanto a vocabulario, a veces nos engañan los falsos cognados (actually es realmente, sensible es sensato) y en la pronunciación, además de confundir vocales largas con cortas (beat vs. bit), hemos pronunciado mal verbos en pasado con -ed por desconocer que existen reglas para su pronunciación.  Sin embargo, ¿te acordabas o ya habías escuchado de estos otros errores que solemos cometer los hispanohablantes? 

[Bajar para español] In Spanish, clitic climbing , known as   " desplazamiento de clíticos ," involves the movement of clitics in sentences   and   is more prevalent in constructions with auxiliary and auxiliary-like verbs . For example, "quiero verte" (I want to see you) becomes "TE quiero ver," where "te" is a direct object pronoun. Similarly, "debo dormirme" (I must go to sleep) becomes "ME debo dormir," with "me" as a reflexive pronoun. Clitic climbing also applies to indirect objects, as seen in "queremos ofrecerle una disculpa" (we want to offer him/her an apology) or "LE queremos ofrecer una disculpa," and an example with "be going to" is "ellas van a ayudarlo" (they are going to help him) or "ellas LO van a ayudar."  Clitics such as "lo(s)," "la(s)," "le(s)," "se," (le+lo=)"se(lo)," "os," and "

The subjunctive mood in Spanish is a nuanced aspect of the language that expresses doubt, subjectivity, uncertainty, and hypothetical situations. It adds depth to communication by indicating feelings, emotions, desires, or possibilities . Understanding its formation, usage, and triggers is essential for achieving fluency and effective communication. Here's a concise explanation, with a trick, to help you navigate the world of subjunctive verbs in the present tense. Formation and Elements of a Subjunctive Sentence To form the subjunctive, begin with the first person present tense conjugation of a verb, like "hablo." Identify the stem by taking off the ending -o ("habl-") and apply the opposite endings: "-ar" verbs take "-e," "-es," "-e," "-emos," "-éis," and "-en," while "-er" and "-ir" verbs take "-a," "-as," "-a," "-amos," "-ái

[Bajar para español.] The Spanish language, like many others, is a treasure trove of rules and exceptions that sometimes leave even its most seasoned speakers bewildered. One such linguistic quirk involves the conjunctions 'y' and 'o,' which take on different forms depending on specific phonetic environments. In this exploration, we'll delve into the intricacies of these transformations and shed light on a lesser-known exception. The Transformations of Conjunction 'Y'  The rule that 'y' ("and") changes to 'e' before a word beginning with the sound /i/ , whatever its spelling , is a familiar one - tela e hi lo (fabric and thread, remember h is silent in Spanish), Yvonne e Y vette , llavero e i mán (keyholder and magnet), Juan e E than - pronounced   /ˈiːθən/, etc. However, one exception beckons the attention of Spanish learners and native speakers alike. "Y" as an Adverb  The exception is the intriguing use of conjunction

[Also see other topics that can be challenging for English-speaking learners, here ] In Spanish, we use two important and common verbs, ser and estar , to talk about different aspects of things and people. These verbs usually have one translation into English (to be) and other languages. Let's break it down:  ESTAR  is used for  incidental, so usually temporary,  conditions - it is like a snapshot of a situation. It comes from Latin stare , which means to stand and is linked to English status , stance , standing , and state . If you know French, you may be surprised to know English stay likely comes from Old French ester (ester>estre>e(s)tre> être) . It describes the condition or state in which something or someone happens to be in.   SER , on the other hand, is used for essential   qualities (not always permanent) and class membership . It expresses   fundamental cha racteristics  and  entity/identity   of what something or someone really is . Very important: such ident

Hablemos de redundancias y pleonasmos . En cualquier lengua hay redundancias, y algunos especialistas hacen una distinción para pleonasmo cuando es una figura retórica  y redundancia cuando es un vicio del lenguaje , pero usualmente son considerados sinónimos. Sin embargo, no por tratarse de una redundancia o pleonasmo automáticamente se debe censurar - o sea, no es ni correcta, ni incorrecta - solo es, y el contexto determinará si se debe omitir o no. Son admisibles en expresiones hechas o frases utilizadas para efectos expresivos o de énfasis . Por ejemplo:  Lo vio con sus propios ojos. Su hermano le pegó a puño cerrado. Lo escribí de mi puño y letra. ¡Cállate la boca! Insistir reiteradamente/insistir e insistir. Todos y cada uno de nosotros. Voló por los aires. Para contrastar, aquí algunos ejemplos de redundancias que simplemente no aportan énfasis ni expresión, y, por lo tanto, se sugiere evitarlas:  Tener #  años de edad;  no es necesario decir "de edad". El día de hoy;

As language learners, we often come across fascinating quirks and intricacies of the languages we study. One such example is the Spanish verb " jugar ," which holds a special place in the Spanish language.  Did you know that "jugar" (yo juego , nosotros jugamos ) - to play - is the only Spanish verb that changes from "u" to "ue" in its present tense conjugation when the "u" is stressed? It follows the same conjugation pattern as verbs like " probar ," ( o-ue changes : pruebo , pruebas , prueba , probamos , probaís , prueban ), " volar ," ( vuelo , vuelas , vuela , volamos , voláis , vuelan ), and " contar " ( cuento , cuentas , cuenta , contamos , contáis , cuentan ). This unique characteristic makes "jugar" stand out from other verbs in the Spanish language. Its history is just as interesting as its conjugation pattern. During the formation period of Spanish, the verb used to be pronounced with a

[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"