The Language Chronicles: El Choro Lingüístico 💬

[Bajar para español] Benvinguts i benvingudes! Avui descobrirem la llengua catalana . Aquest és el meu primer article en català i espero que aprengueu una mica sobre aquesta fascinant llengua que va evolucionar del llatí vulgar i compta amb una rica i pròspera tradició literària .    El català es va desenvolupar a la regió coneguda com a Catalunya , a l'est d' Espanya durant l'edat mitjana  entre els segles VIII i X.  Al voltant de deu milions de persones parlen català arreu del món, connectant persones de diferents països i cultures. A més de Catalunya, el català es parla a altres regions d'Espanya com les Illes Balears, la Comunitat Valenciana, la Franja de Ponent a Aragó, així com a Andorra,  parts del sud de França (Catalunya del Nord) i de l'illa italiana  Sardenya a la ciutat de l'Alguer. Aquest conjunt de terres on es parla català es coneix com a “ Països Catalans ”.   Algunes frases comunes en català són: Hola! Com estàs? / ¡Hola! ¿C

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

[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

Note : If you are looking for a thorough review of how to tell time in Spanish, click  here . Why do we say "es la una"  (singular) and  "son las dos" (plural) in Spanish, but say "it's one" ,  "it's two" (only singular) in English? I love questions like these because they get us to question why we say things the way we do in both the language we're learning, but as important, at least to me as a linguist, in our own language. The answer to this question is quite simple in Spanish. Number-gender agreement : es la una (hora implied - feminine singular), son las dos (horas implied - feminine plural). In the past tense, era la una or eran las dos. Question solved! More than likely, though, that didn't really solve the question. We're really wondering why Spanish respects number agreement  with the verb to be , but English doesn't, at least in this case. The real issue, then, is to be found, not in Spanish, but in English!

[Contenido en portugués - Content in Portuguese] Primeiramente, por que existe essa mudança em espanhol? Por conta da  distinção que já se perdeu entre vogais longas e curtas na evolução do latim para as línguas românicas modernas, em latim, as vogais longas também eram, naturalmente, tensas , enquanto as vogais curtas também eram mais relaxadas . O que faz sentido, visto que para manter uma vogal loooooonga, os músculos da boca teriam de ser mais tensos do que para dizer uma vogal curta, e bem mais relaxada. Quando as vogais foram reduzidas de 10 em latim para 5 em espanhol , aconteceram "coisas"; e dentre essas coisas, até uma fase onde chegaram a existir duas vogais que tinham uma qualidade fechada ou aberta ... como no português. Coincidência? Acho que não. Vários idiomas como o português e o catalão , de fato, pararam nessa fase da evolução e ficaram com 7 vogais orais onde o "o" e o "e" curtos do latim viraram "o" e "e" abertos