La Palabra

[Dr. Shane]

Word: grande

Pronunciation: GRAHN-deh (Note that the Spanish r here is pronounced with a tap of the tongue against the front of the palate.)

Meaning: big, large

Example: El edificio más grande del mundo va a tener 800 metros de altura.

Translation: The largest building in the world is going to be 800 meters high.

[Gail]

¿Y donde esta este edificio?

Sorry- I'm trying hard to practice. It would be cool if people could join in and Shane could coach us as he goes

[Gail]

Shane, is there a special intonation for questions? In French one can easily turn a sentence into a question by raising the last syllable.

Also- about the order of the words. It is not as important to get the words in the right order in Spanish as it is in English, is it?

[Dr. Shane]

Quote:

is there a special intonation for questions?

Yes. A sentence becomes a question by changing the tone of the voice. That is why it is so important to use question marks when writing.

Quote:

It is not as important to get the words in the right order in Spanish as it is in English, is it?

I was not taught that. I typically speak Spanish among Tex-Mex speakers whose Spanish is quite poor and influenced by English. So I am not really sure about the answer to that question.

[Dr. Shane]

&

Word: y

Pronunciation: ee

Meaning: and

Example: Los perros y los gatos son predadores por naturaleza.

Translation: Dogs and cats are predators by nature.

Warning: When it comes before a word that starts with the sound of the Spanish i, y usually is changed to e. Example: Italia, España e Inglaterra buscan mantener vivas sus opciones. Italy, Spain and England are looking to keep their options alive.

[Dr. Shane]

Word: el zapato

Pronunciation: saw-PAW-toe

Meaning: shoe

Example: Los zapatos de mujer son uno de los placeres de la vida.

Translation: Women's shoes are one of the pleasures of life.

This is one of my wife's favorite words.

[D. Allan]

I know what you mean.

[Dr. Shane]

Word: negro

Pronunciation: NEH-grow (Note that the Spanish r here is pronounced with a tap of the tongue against the front of the palate.)

Meaning: black (by far the most common meaning), dark brown or suntanned, gloomy, awful, furious

Example: Las tiendas locales tienen en existencias miles de zapatos negros.

Translation: The local stores have in stock thousands of black shoes.

[Dr. Shane]

Word: el domingo

Pronunciation: doh-MEEN-goh

Meaning: Sunday

Example: Este domingo, vamos a la playa.

Translation: This Sunday we are going to the beach.

The word comes from the Latin dies solis, meaning "sun's day": the name of a pagan Roman holiday. It is also called Dominica (Latin), the Day of God. The Romance languages, languages derived from the ancient Latin language (such as French, Spanish, and Italian), retain the root.

[Dr. Shane]

Word: frío

Pronunciation: FREE-oh (Note that the Spanish r here is pronounced with a tap of the tongue against the front of the palate.)

Meaning: cold, cool

Example: El clima de Arizona varía considerablemente, desde la severidad del cálido desierto de Sonora hasta las altas y frías montañas en la parte norte del estado.

Translation: The climate of Arizona varies considerably, from the extreme of the hot Sonora Desert to the high and cold mountains in the northern part of the state.

[Dr. Shane]

Word: rojo

Pronunciation: RRO-ho (Note that the Spanish r here is the rr sound, pronounced with a strong trill, depending on where the word appears in the sentence. Note that in most areas, the Spanish j is pronounced with a guttural sound.)

Meaning: red

Example: En el jardín del profesor había un pájaro rojo.

Translation: In the professor's garden there was a red bird.

[nuff sed]

Shane:Since when is el zapato pronounced saw-PAW-toe??? Is Chilean Spanish different than other Spanish? I learned it as sah-PAT-toe. ?No es cierto? Regards, Don

[Gail]

Shane, perhaps this would be a good time to explain the rr in more detail. It is an actual letter of the Spanish alphabet, isn't it?

Also, when a word begins with r it is pronounced rr, etc

What I like about Spanish is that words are pretty well pronouced as spelled, making spelling very easy

[D. Allan]

Quote:

What I like about Spanish is that words are pretty well pronouced as spelled, making spelling very easy.

Wuhd'ehnt eht bee niess ihf ehngleesh whaahz thuh saym? Eevn purrsuhnnahl dihffrehnsihs ehn speech whuhd shho uhp! nobuddee tawks uhlaik.

(everyone could spell differently according to the way they speak!)

[Dr. Shane]

Sorry, I missed a couple of days :sad

Word: la clase

Pronunciation: CLAH-seh

Meaning: class (as in a category or type), class (as in a school)

Example: Las clases privadas pueden también combinarse con otros cursos.

Translation: The private classes can also be done in combination with other courses.

[D. Allan]

Es no problema, profesor. :)

[Dr. Shane]

La Ciudad de México

Word: la ciudad

Pronunciation: syoo-THATH (Each d here is pronounced somewhat like the "th" in "though.")

Meaning: city, town, complex of buildings

Example: La Ciudad de México es el Distrito Federal, capital de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.

Translation: Mexico City is the Federal District, capital of Mexico.

[nuff sed]

Shane: I am still waiting on your commentary in regards to the word Zapato....(as we disagree)...Years ago I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Bernalillo County Headquarters doing some Conference Trust business when I heard a clerk speaking Spanish. She said something about "La problema".....I said, "Whoa, I may be just a dumb gringo but even I know that it is "el" problema." "No", she said, "It is problem-a, ends in A so it must be la problema"

When I insisted she called for the resident "expert" who assured me that I was wrong. I advised him that he should look it up in the dictionary and made my departure ( being out-gunned and out- classed). You might also mention that a common "Yankee" fault in speaking Spanish is the "too-hard " use of the letter "D"... I was preaching in Chile one time and asked the question "Que significa la palabra todo"? ( What is the significance of the word "all"?) Instead of Todo they heard Toro...(bull)... Someone at the back of the church went "Moo".... Regards, Don

[Gail]

Yeah, there are some masculine words that end in "a", like "dia". There are always some exceptions to the rule in languages that one must memorize

I found it interesting that it is "buenos dias" but "buenas noches"

But at least that is better than the example I heard in a restaurant once. The girl said, "Buenos nachos" for Goodnight

[Dr. Shane]

I addressed this in post #122810

Spanish is spoken differently by different groups of people. Even within Mexico those in the north speak differently than those in the capital. It is similar to differences in English. In the United States the word bloke is not used. In England a man that is pi--ed is drunk and in the US he is angry. In Spanish such examples are even more plentiful.

Vulgar language especially varies in Spanish and makes it difficult for some preachers. Some words are are completely nonoffensive in some areas and are completely vulgar in other areas.

In the United States the Spanish that is spoken is sometimes called "spanglish" or in Texas "Tex-Mex" This involves the mixing of the two languages. A truck in Spanish is "camion" but in spanglish is "truca". And there are several other examples. Many Spanish speakers raised in the United States actually learn the spanglish as their first language and can neither speak English or Spanish correctly. I work with many in that category on a daily basis.

[Dr. Shane]

Being without the Internet at home will prevent me from posting on the weekends. We should be connected again by next week at the latest.

Word: el animal

Pronunciation: ah-nee-MAHL (Note that the L of Spanish is pronounced like the first "l" in "little," not the second one.)

Meaning: animal

Example: Un zoológico es un lugar donde los animales salvajes son cuidados y exhibidos al público.

Translation: A zoo is a place where wild animals are cared for and exhibited to the public.

Warning: As in English, the word animal can be used to refer to a brutish person. In that case, use el animal to refer to a male person, la animal to refer to a female one. When referring to nonhuman animals, the masculine form is always used.

[Dr. Shane]

Word: matar

Pronunciation: mah-TAHR (Note that the Spanish r here is pronounced with a tap of the tongue against the front of the palate.)

Meaning: to kill

Example: La policía busca a las personas que mataron a una mujer en su casa.

Translation: The police are looking for the persons who killed a women in her home.

In the Spanish Bible, the shortest verse is the Commandment not to kill. "No mates" Exodo 20:13

[Dr. Shane]

Word: la paz

Pronunciation: pahss in most of Latin America, pahth in most of Spain (Note that in Spain the z in this word ir pronounced much like the "th" in "thin.")

Meaning: peace, peacefulness

Example: Paz en la Tierra a los hombres de buena voluntad.

Translation: Peace on Earth to men of good will.

[Dr. Shane]

Right = la derecha

Left = la izquierda

To Turn = doblar

Right and left are used in political terminology in Spanish just like they are in English.

"La derecha" means the direction right or to stand up right. The word changes form to "el derecho" when its meaning is a civil or human right.

Word: el diccionario

Pronunciation: deek-cyohn-AH-ryoh in most of Latin America, deek-thyoh-AH-ryoh in most of Spain (Note that in Spain the second c in this word is pronounced much like the "th" in "thin." Note that the Spanish r here is pronounced with a tap of the tongue against the front of the palate.)

Meaning: dictionary

Example: El Oxford English Dictionary es considerado el diccionario más importante de la lengua inglesa.

Translation: The Oxford English Dictionary is considered the most important dictionary of the English language.

BTW: I am still without internet at home as I am switching back to dial-up and have discovered my modem no longer works. It will be a few more days before the modem is replaced and hopefully I am back online.

[Dr. Shane]

Word: el sur

Pronunciation: soohr (like "sewer," but note that the Spanish r here is pronounced with a tap of the tongue against the front of the palate.)

Meaning: south

Example: Entran muchos inmigrantes a Ciudad Juárez desde el sur de México.

Translation: Many immigrants to Ciudad Juarez are coming from the southern part of Mexico.

Warning: Sur can also be used as an adjective meaning "south."