Ask Me

The Names of the Months?

2007-12-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

The original Roman Calendar had ten months, Martius, “ March,” marzo, the first month, Mars’ month; Aprilis, “April,” abril, the second month, Aphrodite’s month; Maius, “May,” mayo, the third month, Maia’s month; Junius, “June,” junio, the fourth month, Juno’s month; Quintilis or Julius, “July,” julio, the fifth month, Julius Caesar’s month; Sextilis, “ August,” agosto, the sixth month, Augustus Caesar’s month; September, “September,” septiembre, the seventh month; October, “October,” octubre, the eighth month; November, November, noviembre, the ninth month; December, “December”, diciembre, the tenth month.

Around 700 BC, Roman King Numa Pompilius added two more months: Januarius, “January,” enero, the month of Janus, the God of the two faces, one looking back to history, the other forward to the future; and Februarius, “February,” febrero, the month of purification. Numa Pompilius moved the beginning of the year from March to January, misrepresenting our tenth month with the name of the eighth, the ninth with the seventh, the eleventh with the ninth, and the twelfth with the tenth.

Neither days nor months are capitalized in Spanish.

Does bipolar have a psychiatric connotation in Spanish?

2007-10-29T07:01:00.000-07:00

Q: Does bipolar have a psychiatric connotation in Spanish?
A: According to the DRAE (Diccionario de la Real Academia Española) bipolar means having two poles, as in Earth's Polo Norte and Polo Sur.

The psychiatric condition, bipolarity, in Spanish greatly depends on socioeconomics. For those less-fortunate, the genetic loco (crazy) applies. As we move up in life, loco becomes emocionalmente inestable, emotionally unstable. If we are talking about a ranking member of society, someone with a direct influence on your paycheck, we say Don Pedro tiene sus altibajos (Don Pedro has his ups and downs), fluctuating from apatía, apathy, to euforia.

Medical interpreters say maniaco-depresivo for bipolar. Increasingly in urban settings, people use bipolar, stress on the last syllable.

What is chat in Spanish?

2007-10-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

Raul Guerrero
salonespanol.com

To chat, with a cup of coffee or a cerveza fría (cold beer), is charlar, conversar, hablar. In Mexico and areas under Mexican linguistic influence (parts of Central America, the American South West, for example) they use platicar.

Chatting, as in IM, or IM-ing (IM-ing is like whispering, perfect for furtive, racy exchanges—or slimy, perverted ones, as New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd put it) is chatear.

Whispering = susurro, murmurar.
Furtive = furtivo, stealthy.
Racy = picante, subido de color, sexy.
Exchange = intercambio.
Slimy = Fangoso (muddy), baboso (mucous).

Instant message = Mensaje instantaneo (MI). Spanish-language servers offer: Chatear en tiempo real. But that’s not Spanish, purists complain. That’s nothing but that hybrid, that bastard dialect Spanglish (espanglish in Spanish, notice that languages are not capitalized in Spanish). Well, if you ask Amherst College professor Ilan Stavans, Spanglish is a new language, and, said Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, only dead languages remain uncontaminated. A purist even threatened me physically for defending Spanglish. I had to remind him Castilian borrowed the word ESPAÑOL from the Provencal. Castilian for Spanish until the 11th century was españón.

By the way, speaking of beer, Ernest Hemingway needed three expressions to get by in the Spanish-speaking word: Una cerveza, dame un beso, and llama a mi abogado.

Dame = give me.
Beso = Kiss.
Llama = call.
Abogado = lawyer.

Is Gringo Pejorative?

2007-08-31T06:39:00.000-07:00

You said Gringo is a synonym of American; doesn’t Gringo have a pejorative sense?

Yes and no. Webster does affirm it is often used disparagingly for Americans and Brits. But for the DRAE (Diccionario de la Real Academia Española) gringo refers to a foreigner, especially an English speaker, without a pejorative sense. In some countries, in Ecuador, Bolivia and Honduras, for example, blond nationals are called gringos. According to etymologist Ricardo Soca and his book La fascinante historia de las palabras, in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 20th century it was used for Italian immigrants. More.

Gringo is an alteration of Griego, Spanish for Greek. Up to medieval times, explains Soca, Latin names were expressed with the Greek equivalents. The Catholic Church banned the practice, Greek was soon forgotten, and the expression It’s Greek to me was born. Griego changed to gringo and was used not only for unintelligible language but also for foreigners.

A popular myth circulates the Internet: When Americans invaded Mexico in 1846 wearing green uniforms, Mexicans clamored: Green Go! ¡Fuera verdes!

So, it all comes down to intonation and context. If you are in Latin America and he or she whispers: venga mi gringo (come here, you) you should smile and comply. But if he or she, stone in hand, is crying Gringo Go Home, even though the expression is redundant, run, and preferably in zigzag.

Latino or Hispanic

2007-08-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

Q: Which is correct?

A: Hispanic, from the Latin hispanus, ‘relating to Hispania’. Romans called Iberia (Spain) Hispania. Hispanic, as used in the U.S., implies an association to Spanish-speaking communities, irrespectively of race or national origin. Many recent the label Hispanic for its colonial implications, and prefer Latino. The French coined the term Latin America in the 19th century to justify Napoleon’s pretensions in America. By Napoleon I mean a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon III. Victor Hugo referred to him with great sarcasm as Napoleon the Small, el Chiquito.

Historically, of course, the distinction between Latino and Hispano makes no-sense. Latin was the language Romans spoke and became the prevalent language of Spain. Spanish is a variation of Latin. After the discovery of the New World in 1492 and subsequent conquest, Spanish became the official language of the Americas. Spanish and hispanus are synonymous; therefore Latin and Hispanic are synonymous. But one thing is history and another language. Languages keep changing. Latino in American Spanish has come to symbolized culture. We don’t say Hispanic food but Latin food, and Latin Dance, and Latin literature. Hispanic is used more for statistics. After all the term was coined by a Nixon bureaucrat in the 70s to group immigrants from Latin America, their descendants, and those descendants of Spanish-speaking communities who have lived in what is today the United States since the United States was another territory discovered and conquered by Spain. Once upon a time the American territory was Spain. Then came the Mayflower and the rest, as they say, is history.

Is Castilian Different than Spanish?

2007-08-16T05:34:00.000-07:00

A: The Oxford English Dictionary differentiates Spanish and Castilian, noting that Castilian is the Spanish spoken in Spain. But español and castellano in Spanish are synonymous. Castellano or español is the language of Spain and its former colonial territories in America, most of which became independent republics in the 19th century. Notice that I wrote español, without a capital E. Languages, nationalities, days of the week and months are not capitalized in Spanish. We say inglés for English, francés for French, polaco for Polish, ruso for Russian, farsi for Iranian and vietnamita for Vietnamese.

Oscar Wilde said England and the United States were two countries separated by the same language. Spain and Latin America (including Hispanics in the US) are two worlds joined by one language. Formal Spanish is the same everywhere. There are colloquial differences, of course. Los argentinos y los uruguayos pronounce the ll, the y the g as English speakers pronounce the sh in she. Some bolivianos and ecuatorianos pronounce the ll as the l in Leonor. Most other Spanish-speakers pronounce the ll as the y in yo-yo. Latin Americans pronounce the c, s and z as the English s in Sam, but in Spain the z sounds more like the th in thanks. In Latin America both v and b sound identical to the English b in boy.

What does maricón really mean?

2007-07-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

Q: Hispanic presidential candidate Bill Richardson was recently accused of using the slur against homosexuals maricón, faggot. He said he used it in a playful manner, that where he comes from it is not insulting. What does maricón really mean? What’s the etymology?

A: It means homosexual. It also means lacking spirit or aggressiveness. Maricón derives from Maria. It's the diminutive form used euphemistically for women. Since medieval times it has been used for homosexuals in Romance languages. Governor Richardson is partly right in saying that it’s not offensive in some Spanish-speaking communities. It all depends who says it, and under what circumstances. Playing soccer, for instance, if you miss a clear goal, your teammates will exclaim: Qué maricón, hermano! Literally: What a fogget you are, brother! But what they really meant was: how can you miss, brother? In this case it has nothing to do with sexual orientation.

____________________________________
Español
an irreverent and encyclopedic approach to effective communications in Spanish
Raul Guerrero
Immersion Course Beginners/Intermediate
View Preliminary Chapter Here ON SALE Sep. 1. ____________________________________

Business Spanish

2007-07-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

Q: Writing a business letter, how do you translate Dear Sir?

A: The first definition the dictionary offers for dear is querido, not appropriate for a business letter. Querido, Georgetown University Professor Estelle Irizarry says is closer to my ardent lover than Dear Sir. Estimado or apreciado are the prefered adjectives for salutation. If the addressee is of a higher rank or you want to impress your utmost respect use: distinguido or respetable. Still not satisfied by the manifested subordination? Add the adverb muy, as in Muy distinguido señor Smith, Most distinguished Mr. Smith.

Tools

To Be Permanent or To Be Transient

2007-07-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

Spanish has the permanent soy and the transient estoy as equivalents of 'I am'. Happiness and drunkenness are temporary states unlike ugliness and tackiness, feo/a and pesado/a.

To illustrate the difference between soy and estoy, a schoolteacher used to tell the story of a young man who came drunk every night. The typical neighborhood's old spinster stayed up to chastise the young man, calling him ¡Borracho! ¡Degenerado! One night the young man spat back: Sí, señorita Velasco, he said, I might be drunk, but tomorrow I will be sober, pero usted todavía será fea, but you will continue to be not pretty.

Español
an irreverent and encyclopedic approach to effective communications in Spanish
Raul Guerrero
Immersion Course Beginners/Intermediate
View Preliminary Chapter Here ON SALE Sep. 1.

Adjectives and Other Qualifiers

2007-07-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Contrary to English, adjectives follow the object they qualify, except for emphatic or poetic use, as in criatura bella, “beautiful creature,” and bella criatura, “oh, what a beauty.”

Important qualifiers and cognates to know:
Generoso/a, “generous.”
Tacaño/a, “stingy.”
Agradable, “nice.”
Oodioso/a, “odious, obnoxious.”
Pesado/a, "heavy, tacky, rude.”
Confiable, “trustworthy.
Sospechoso/a, “suspicious.”
Limpio/a, “clean.
Maloliente (most important in odorless societies), “foul-smelling.”

About Gender

2007-07-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

Most nouns ending in “a” are feminine, as violeta.

Nouns ending in umbre, as muchedumbre, “crowd,” and incertidumbre, ”uncertainty”; and those ending in ión, as television and ocupación are also feminine.

Most nouns ending in “o” are masculine. For example: escritorio, "desk," carro, "car," and banco.

Occupations ending in "ista" are neutral. In such cases gender is determined by the articles el, la, “the”; un, una, “a, an.” For example: el taxista, la economista, una pianista, un periodista, “journalist,” el dentista, la accionista, “shareholder,” el contrabandista, “smuggler,” and la columinista.

Most adjectives ending in “e” are also neutral. For example: estudiante and cantante, "singer."

Sexist Plural
Many consider Spanish a sexist language, especially when the plural is concerned, as masculine forms predominate. A student pointed out that she attended a lecture on the contributions women made to linguistics. 90 percent of the participants were women, yet, she recalled angrily, when referring to the group, she had to use the masculine form los participantes.

No more. The language liberation has begun. Freedom fighters neutralized hombre, “man,” as representative of human beings. Sexist expressions such as Los derechos del hombre, “The Rights of Man,” and La historia del hombre, “History of Mankind,” have been transformed to Los derechos humanos and La historia de la humanidad. The masculine plural no longer would comprise men and women. When referring to the citizens of Rome, las romanas must accompany los romanos. U.S. Latinos should translate to las latinas y los latinos de los Estados Unidos. For children of the world we must include las niñas to los niños del mundo or use la niñez.

My student also requested that I stop calling her señorita Smith, “Miss,” since I didn’t address male students as señoritos, “unmarried gentleman.”

I checked with the Spanish Ministry of Social Affairs, the Women’s Institute, and, indeed, from now on señoras should encompass both married and unmarried women as señor, “mister,” does men.

Professional titles, traditionally used in the masculine form, have been feminized, as in doctora, alcaldeza, “mayor,” presidenta and embajadora.

And occupations traditionally relegated to women as enfermeras, “nurses,” secretarias and prostitutas, when expressed in a general sense, should include masculine forms, as in las enfermeras and los efermeros; doctores and doctoras; los ejecutivos and las ejecutivas.

I read an article recently about secretarios and secertarias no longer taking dictation, and another article about how the economic downturn in some countries has more prostitutos and prostitutas walking the streets.

What About Vos?

2007-07-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Once vos denoted utmost formality. It was the “you” reserved for God, “thou.” Now vos is the equivalent of tú in Argentina, Uruguay, some areas of Colombia, the uplands of Ecuador and Central America.

Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges translated Julius Cesar’s exclamation of disbelief when he recognized Brutus among his assassins as ¡Ché, vos! [1] Che is an Argentine colloquialism for friend that doctor Ernesto Guevara popularized worldwide, making it a revolutionary symbol.

[1] Julius Cesar couldn’t have identified his assailants as assassins. The word didn’t arrive to Europe until the eleventh century. There was a murderous Ismaili sect in Syria, part of the Shiite branch of Islam, which fellow Syrians called 'hashish-takers.' From hashish or from the plural with the ending -in, Spanish got asesino and French assassin, which English borrowed in the fourteenth century. The term was applied to murderers irrespective of religious or Eastern connotations.

Tú or Usted?

2007-07-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

Tú is the standard you for people under thirty, colleagues, family and lovers.

Usted is used to address older people, ranking individuals in professional and social hierarchies, political and religious dignitaries, business acquaintances and individuals whom you prefer to keep at bay.

To avoid an unwelcome familiarism, wait until you are invited to use tú. The verb tutear is used for such occasions, as in ¿nos tuteamos?

How do you say virtual in Spanish?

2007-07-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Q: How do you say virtual in Spanish?
A: Virtual, stress on the last syllable. Many think it is another English imposition on Spanish, but it is not. Virtual derives from the Latin virtualis, “by virtue of”. According to DRAE -The Dictionary of the Royal Academy for the Spanish-language [rae.es]: Representación de escenas o imágenes de objetos producida por un sistema informático, que da la sensación de su existencia real. It corresponds to what Webster’s [m-w.com] definition: Being on or simulated on a computer or computer network : as a: occurring or existing primarily online b: of, relating to, or existing within a virtual reality .
Q: Can I tell, then, my future mother-in-law, to avoid lying, that my virtues are virtual?
A: Yes, I said. The risk is appearing oxymoronic and redundant.

Español
an irreverent and encyclopedic approach to effective communications in Spanish
Raul Guerrero
Immersion Course Beginners/Intermediate
View Preliminary Chapter Here ON SALE Sep. 1.