The Language Chronicles: El Choro Lingüístico 💬

Hoy quiero rescatar de mis recuerdos de Facebook una conversación entre uno de mis contactos y yo cuando puse que la forma " veniste(s) " es tan o más común que la versión normativa " viniste ". Mi contacto comentaba bromeando que él usaba la más vistosa y fonéticamente jocosa palabra " vinites " - ok, no usó exactamente esas palabras, pero esa era la idea. Y claro, su comentario desencadenó mi respuesta sobre un proceso lingüístico llamado metátesis : Ese proceso es muy común en la evolución de los idiomas - evolución pasada y presente. Sucedió con " axe " (" aks ") y " ask " en inglés medio (" ax " todavía está vigente en el inglés vernáculo afroamericano - AVE ), sucedió con " peligro " y "periglo" (de Latín períc[u]lum > periclu > periclo > periglo) y con " palabra " y " parabla " (de Latín paráb[o]la > parabla) en la evolución del latín popular al español, suc

[Contenido en portugués - Content in Portuguese] [Para español, ver abajo.] To learn more about the loss of intervocalic -n-, also a unique characteristic of Portuguese, please see  this entry . To see the most frequent mistakes when learning Portuguese, click here .  -------------------------------------   El enigma de la desaparecida L en portugués explicado Para aprender sobre la caida de la -n- intermedia , también una característica única del portugués, favor de ver  esta entrada . Para ver los errores más frecuentes al aprender portugués, hacer clic  aquí . 

For frequent mistakes in Spanish, click here . If you're on your browser, open the below image in a separate tab for best resolution. Another frequent mistake by Portuguese language learners is the formation of plurals with words ending in -l  - click the link for an explanation that will hopefully make it clear for you.  

You're reading this article in English, so I've made a few assumptions about you in order to write it. I'll make yet another one. I'll assume you've probably heard all or most of the following and understand what they mean: willy-nilly , fifty-fifty , kitty-cat , wishy-washy , that baby seems to be getting uglier and uglier. All of these are examples of reduplication in the English language, and they are so common that we seldom stop to think that we're really duplicating a whole element or part of it. Reduplication happens in all languages, including Spanish. It can be classified into two main categories: complete (a whole word is replicated) and partial reduplication (a part of a word is replicated). The category that is the juiciest in Spanish is the one that uses whole words, but for the sake of completeness, examples of words that duplicate an element and not a whole word in Spanish are: "un notici on ón", "chiqu it ito", "grand o

[Bajar para español] To pave the way for a comparison between the shared simple past tense of “ir” and “ser”, let’s begin with the complex history of “ser”. Its origins combine Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (to be) and *bʰuH- (to become or to grow) via Latin “esse.” Its simple past forms, “fui, fuiste, fue,” link to the *bʰuH- root, which also appears in English "be" and German "bist." Other forms like “es,” “eres”, and “soy” via archaic Latin esum from esse link to *h₁ésti. This phenomenon of filling in gaps in verb conjugations or alternating roots, is called suppletion. Another instance occurred with the Latin verb sedere (to sit) > se(d)ere > Old Spanish seer> “ser” replacing the Latin infinitive “esse”. Examining "ir," the Spanish verb "to go," reveals another case of suppletion. The Latin verb “ire” complemented its conjugations in early Romance or Old Spanish and Galician-Portuguese with other verb forms. In the present tense, speak

why are there stem-changing verbs in Spanish? Short answer : Because of the distinction that was already lost in Vulgar Latin between long and short vowels in the evolution from Latin to modern Spanish.  Long answer : In Latin, long vowels were additionally naturally tense , while short vowels were additionally more relaxed . This makes sense, since to say a loooooong vowel, the muscles of the mouth have to be more tense than when you say a short vowel. When vowels were reduced from 10 in Latin to 5 in Modern Spanish , "things happened";  and among these, there was a phase where there came to be two vowels that had a closed or open quality ... "o" and "e" like in Portuguese.  Coincidence? I think not. Other Romance languages like Galician , Catalan , Italian , and French , in fact, stopped at this stage of evolution during the Vulgar Latin stage, with respect to "o" and "e" and remain today with at least 7 oral vowels , where the

Leí hace poco a alguien muy molesto porque " ocupar " se usa por algunas personas como sinónimo de necesitar , no solo con sustantivos, sino también con verbos: ocupo dinero, ocupo buscar terapia. Su molestia llegaba al grado de exclamar que cómo era posible ese tipo de " tergiversaciones " y acusaba a estas personas de "necesitar" leer más.  Sin embargo - y aquí viene la versión no popular - son supercomunes esas "tergiversaciones" en los idiomas. Por ejemplo:  La palabra carro  o coche ya no quiere decir vehículo no motorizado jalado por animales de carga - ahora quiere decir automóvil.  Avión ya no quiere decir gran ave, como los franceses lo habían entendido inicialmente - hoy día es un vehículo aéreo de gran porte.  Arribar ya no quiere decir llegar a la ribera, o sea llegar a tierra por barco - ahora quiere decir llegar por mar, tierra, aire, etc.  Plegar > llegar inicialmente quería decir doblar las velas cuando una emba

[Bajar para español] Do you know why accent marks are used in Spanish? No, not just because they help you pronounce words. I mean, do you really know why the Real Academia Española   decided to use them in certain cases and not others? In other words, what's the rationale behind the "rules"? Here are some guidelines: Guideline #1: When there is natural stress , no accent marks needed. This happens when the stress (acento tónico in Spanish) naturally falls on the next to last syllable in the most common syllable pattern of the language -   words that end in any vowel + words that end in -n or -s . For example: pa to, a mi go, li bre, supermer ca do, ex per ta, ma dre, sa bia (ia in Spanish counts as one syllable pronounced in a single breath, sa-bia is two syllables) , a gua (ua in Spanish counts as one syllable pronounced in a single breath, a-gua is two syllables), co me, ha bla, di ce, es tu dia , etc.  Why do we include words that end in -n or -s in this category?

« Tal vez », « Quizá(s) », « Puede ser »/« Puede que », « A lo mejor », « De pronto », « Igual (y) », « Chance y », « Capaz   (que)» ,  De repente » All of these essentially mean the same thing - maybe , but here are some observations for each: « Tal vez » is your standard way to say maybe, and it's used in all parts of the Spanish speaking world. The one-word version, «talvez», is not incorrect, but not as common as the two-word version. Most natives think the only correct form is «tal vez». Tal vez no sepan que me encantan los espárrago s . « Quizá(s) » is also used in all countries and just bit more formal than «tal vez». People tend to use «quizá» before a word starting with a consonant ( quizá para ella significa/signifique mucho ) , and «quizás» with words starting with a vowel ( quizás a mí no interesa/interese much o ), but this is certainly not a rule. Literature, especially older literature, tends to favor «quizá(s)», so it does have that "perhaps" f

Here are some mistakes in Spanish that are common among English speakers. Right-click on the image and open in a separate tab for best resolution. Below the image, you will find some resources for the points covered in the infographic.  What other mistakes do you think are common for English speakers learning Spanish? Let me know in the comments! Here are some resources for the points briefly explained above, in case you need a review or wish to learn something new, whatever the case might be:  Expressions with tener.  Dropping personal pronouns in Spanish .  Adjectives with a short and long form . Decoding Ser and Estar: Not your "Permanent vs. Temporary" Guide Does "gente" take a plural or singular verb? Using the verb "gustar" and similar verbs .  Adjectives placement and different meanings .  Contractions in Spanish .  How to say the date in Spanish .  Saying your profession or occupation .  Feminine words that take "el" and exceptions .

Para errores frecuentes al aprender portugués, haz clic aquí . Compartilhe nos comentários com quais outros aspectos do espanhol você tem dificuldade! Clique na imagem com o botão direito e abra em uma aba nova para visualizar o gráfico com maior resolução.

Para erros frequentes ao aprender espanhol, clique aqui . Otro error frecuente de los estudiantes de portugués es la formación de plurales con palabras que terminan en -l - haz clic en el enlace anterior para una explicación que ojalá te ayude a comprenderlo. ¡Comparte en los comentarios qué otros aspectos del portugués te causan dificultad! Haz clic con el botón derecho sobre la imagen y abre una nueva pestaña para ver el gráfico con mejor resolución. Nota 1: En portugués europeo sí es posible utilizar el verbo saber para hablar del sabor que se percibe en una comida, por ejemplo. Nota 2:  En portugués europeo, los pronombres de objeto directo e indirecto son muy comunes incluso en el portugués conversacional, no solamente por escrito, como suele ser el caso en Brasil. Adicionalmente a omitirlos en la versión hablada brasileña, también es común utilizar pronombres personales de tercera persona (ele/ela) después del verbo, en lugar de los de objeto directo, por ejemplo: Eu assisti

This question is worthy of a whole book, so Iet me begin by saying that the sound change from t to tch (as in English CH eese) in syllables ti/te and  d to dj (as in English J eep) in syllables di/de, in  most of Brazil,  is a phenomenon called palatalization, where a sound can be modified in a vowel-consonant "clash" (usually k or t plus semivowel y ) as the sound is " drawn " in the mouth closer to the palate or roof of the mouth. There are several types of palatalization and stages where a sound can end up. The south and northeast of Brazil are notable exceptions , where palatalization doesn't happen and t and d stay as t and d no matter where in the word, just like in Portugal . If you think this sound change is weird , it's actually more common than you think, as it affects or has affected many languages , and is sometimes reflected in spelling , or isn't! In English , it happens with some speakers when they say " gotcha " (got +

¿Cómo surgieron los días de la semana?  (Artigo original em português, clic aqui .) Fue en el Imperio Romano que la astrología introdujo el uso popular de la septimana (“siete mañanas", en latín, semana en español), convención de origen babilónica . Inicialmente, los nombres de los dioses orientales fueron sustituidos por equivalentes latinos . Con el advento del cristianismo, el día del Sol , solis dies , fue sustituido por dominica/dominicus , dia del Señor; y el saturni dies, dia de Saturno , por sabbatum , derivado del hebraico shabbath, o día de descanso consagrado por el Viejo Testamento. Los otros días eran dedicados a: la Luna ; Marte ; Mercurio ; Júpiter y Venus . En Inglaterra , la semana de siete días llegó apenas en el siglo V, bien atrasada en relación al resto de Europa—y adaptada de acuerdo a los dioses anglosajones . Marte fue sustituido por Tiw, dios de la guerra , dando origen a Tuesday ; Mercurio por Woden , dios de la poesía : Wednesday ; Júpiter po

[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