Articles about Spanish

[Marianopolita]

They should be able to find examples easily in the DR and Panama. Is this formal instruction or informal instruction?

The spelling though is usually not good. When I see ads in Spanish or with Spanish words here on the other side of the pond I always look at the spelling. The biggest factor is usually accents are missing. In a simple Spanish phrase the chances of at least one word with an accent is high.


-MP.

 

[Marianopolita]

A few years ago the Gap had t-shirts with the name of a (pseudo) baseball team. On the t-shirt it said - los hurac?ns. I thought to myself a company as big as the Gap could afford to get it right with a big US Hispanic market. They should get the spelling in the plural right.


-MP.

 

[Derfish]

They should be able to find examples easily in the DR and Panama. Is this formal instruction or informal instruction?

The spelling though is usually not good. When I see ads in Spanish or with Spanish words here on the other side of the pond I always look at the spelling. The biggest factor is usually accents are missing. In a simple Spanish phrase the chances of at least one word with an accent is high.


-MP.

EIther and both.

 

[Chirimoya]

A local restaurant does much of its promotion in "English".
It is promoting a Mothers [sic] Month's Brunch where Womens [sic] get 50% off.
It tends to backfire: English speakers roll their eyes and non-English speakers get frustrated because have to ask for the information in Spanish.
Do they really think that publicity in English gives them added sophistication?

 

[Marianopolita]

A local restaurant does much of its promotion in "English".
It is promoting a Mothers [sic] Month's Brunch where Womens [sic] get 50% off.
It tends to backfire: English speakers roll their eyes and non-English speakers get frustrated because have to ask for the information in Spanish.
Do they really think that publicity in English gives them added sophistication?

Yes, I think they do feel a sense of sophistication and especially in a tourist city or area. English has been a powerful language for decades and generates dollars. If one is in an area where the tourism industry is geared towards an English market, one will try anything. However, I think it has to be right. The RAE may not like it but it?s not going to change especially in the digital age that has altered communication drastically.


Your example shows a pathetic display of English. They have to get it right. No one has pointed it out to the owner? I know some bold people would. It shows their limited knowledge of English which has been my experience in the DR tourism industry. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule but in general I find if you know un poquito de ingl?s (and I mean very little) everyone thinks you are bilingual. It?s a classic example of the saying- En tierra de ciegos el tuerto es rey.

 

[Derfish]

Yes, I think they do feel a sense of sophistication and especially in a tourist city or area. English has been a powerful language for decades and generates dollars. If one is in an area where the tourism industry is geared towards an English market, one will try anything. However, I think it has to be right. The RAE may not like it but it?s not going to change especially in the digital age that has altered communication drastically.


Your example shows a pathetic display of English. They have to get it right. No one has pointed it out to the owner? I know some bold people would. It shows their limited knowledge of English which has been my experience in the DR tourism industry. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule but in general I find if you know un poquito de ingl?s (and I mean very little) everyone thinks you are bilingual. It?s a classic example of the saying- En tierra de ciegos el tuerto es rey.

That reminds me of a lawyer's office here in Puerto Plata which had a sign saying "We Speak English." So I sat down with the lawyer and he pulled out a paper and asked my name. I gave him my first name , and then he said "your final number" meaning my last name.


I'll also add that many posters here don't know that plural's aren't made this way!

 

[Marianopolita]

That reminds me of a lawyer's office here in Puerto Plata which had a sign saying "We Speak English." So I sat down with the lawyer and he pulled out a paper and asked my name. I gave him my first name , and then he said "your final number" meaning my last name.


I'll also add that many posters here don't know that plural's aren't made this way!

I don’t understand how he could not ask you what your last name is correctly when in Spanish one would say ?cu?l es tu apellido? The word nombre is not even used because apellido means last name in Spanish. Again it shows a poor command (or no command) of English.

What’s up with you writing plurals with an apostrophe in your sentence?


-MP.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

I find the use of pseudo English names like milady and miladys amusing.
No one would name their daughter Miladys in any English speaking country.
There are thousands of girls and women called "Negra" in the DR.
Nor is the name "Linda" common in Spanish.

I had an American student named "Salada" once. She told me that her father named her that because it meant "beautiful" in Spanish.
I had another named Parisienne who spent a lot of time explaining to everyone "It's pronounced Parisina".

 

[Derfish]

I don’t understand how he could not ask you what your last name is correctly when in Spanish one would say ?cu?l es tu apellido? The word nombre is not even used because apellido means last name in Spanish. Again it shows a poor command (or no command) of English.

What’s up with you writing plurals with an apostrophe in your sentence?


-MP.

Yes, that is what I was pointing out. He pretended who knew English, but thought Final Number meant last name.

The apostrophe in plural was poking fun at a lot of people on this board who think that is how to write plurals in English. Probably 10% here have that problem.
May I also mention a sign in the window of a store in the Haitian area of Miami which said "We speaks Englick" I always said "I hopes they speaks in better than they writes it."
Der Fish

 

[Marianopolita]

Yes, that is what I was pointing out. He pretended who knew English, but thought Final Number meant last name.

The apostrophe in plural was poking fun at a lot of people on this board who think that is how to write plurals in English. Probably 10% here have that problem.
May I also mention a sign in the window of a store in the Haitian area of Miami which said "We speaks Englick" I always said "I hopes they speaks in better than they writes it."
Der Fish

Actually, I don?t think an apostrophe is used to form the plural because of the amount of times one sees incorrect usage on this board and elsewhere. A classic example in many posts is the usage of its vs. it?s. I would say a high percentage of the time you will see it?s when it should be its. That has nothing to do with plurality.

 

[Marianopolita]

?Por qu? en Am?rica Latina no se pronuncia la Z como en Espa?a?

http://www.eluniverso.com/vida-esti...-america-latina-no-se-pronuncia-z-como-espana


Great article on the differences in pronunciation of the letter Z in Latin America and Spain. I find it interesting to read about these comparisons since Spanish is a language with plenty of variations. Depending on where a person is from or the exposure one has had to Spanish the pronunciation will vary. However, if you are in the Americas zapatos does not sound like zapatos in Spain.


-MP.