Hola! Lector Friends of “Learning Words”, How are you?
Today we are going to know this “beautiful” language that is Spanish or Castilian, but what is the difference from one to the other?
Spanish or Castilian?
Spanish and Castilian are synonymous, Spain is the “cradle” of the language, it dates back to the 13th century when Spain was still known as “Castile” in the Middle Ages, and imposed territory in other lands in 1942 consolidated “Castilian” with the unification of the kingdoms that correspond to today's Spain. The term Spanish comes from medieval Latin Hispaniolus, Latin denomination of the Iberian Hispanic Peninsula.
Within Spain there are other languages depending on the region such as Catalan, Galician and Basque, if you use the term Spanish within Spain they may associate other languages with Spain and not Spanish itself.
The term Spanish is more used here in Latin America and the reason for using Spanish and not Castilian may be more political than usual, it refers to the colonial period, Argentines do not refer to the term “Spanish” but “Castilian”, The Spanish term is common in the Caribbean, Mexico and border areas with another great language, English. In Spain, the use of the terms depends on the region: in the north, people refer to the language as Castilian. In Andalusia and the Canary Islands, the language is called Spanish. The two languages have the same vocabulary, the words are written in the same way and follow the same grammatical rules. Spain developed the first unitary method of teaching the language, which is disseminated throughout the world, through the Instituto Cervantes.
Differences in phrases:
A: ¡Buenos Días Familia! How are you?
B Hi! Are we okay with you?
C: Great. And you guys?
A: We are fine too. We came to make a surprise visit to you.
B: We were delighted last visit.
Argentina
B: Hola! Are we okay?
C: Very well. Do you think?
A: We are fine. We came to make a surprise visit to you.
B: We loved your visit.
Vocabulary differences:
| Spanish from Spain | Latin American Castilian | Portuguese translation |
|---|---|---|
| steel | path (Arg.) / stool (Mex.) / andén (Col.) | sidewalk walk |
| avocado | palta / avocado | avocado |
| alkylate, rent, profit | profit (Mex.) / rent (Col.) | rent, rent |
| renter, arriendo | renta (Mex. e Chile) / arriendo (Col.) | rent |
| apprehend, investigate | investigate | rush |
| arcén | banquina (Arg. Parag. And Urug.) | shoulder, side of the road |
| lift | elevador / lift (Col.) | elevador |
| calabaza | zapallo / ayote (Nic. Cost. Rica e Guat.) / calabaza (Col. and Mex.) | pumpkin |
| calabacin | çalabacite (Mex) / calabacin (Col.) / zapallitos (Par. Chil. Arg. And Uruguay.) | zucchini |
| coach (automobile) | self / car / coach(automobile) | car (automobile) |
| coger, grab, subject, take | to take (Méx.) / Grab (Arg. e Urug. / subject / coger (Col. Per. Ec. Chile. Cuba and PR) | catch, hold |
| chaval | chavo (Méx.) / pibe (Arg.) / chino, niño, muchacho (Col.) | boy, boy, boy, boy, kid. |
| driver, conductor | conductor / chofer | driver, driver, chauffeur |
| eh / ey / oye | che (Arg.) / oye / Eh | ei / aê / aí |
| Judías, habichuelas. | frijoles, porotos (Arg.) | bean |
| mejilla | scarf | cheek |
| mobile (phone), cellular | cell phone | cell phone |
| computer, computer, computer | computadora / computador | computer |
| Santa Claus, Santa Claus | Santa Claus (Méx e Amér. Central) / Viejito Pascuero (Chile) / Santa Claus(Col.) | Santa Claus, Father Christmas |
| prison | trouble | hurry |
| puchero olla pot | hello | pan |
| video | video | video |
| zapatillas (deportivas), tennis | tenis / zapatillas | tennis (Brazil), tennis (footwear) |
Spanish is a Romance language from the Ibero-Romanesque group of the Ibero-Western subfamily that evolved from various Latin dialects spoken in the north-central Iberian Peninsula around the 9th century. Gradually, it spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile (present-day Spain) to the center and south of the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.
Countries that speak Spanish:
Argentina
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Ecuador
Spain
El Salvador
Guatemala
Equatorial Guinea
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Puerto Rico
Dominican Republic
Uruguay
Venezuela
We already know the essentials, but what about the words? pronunciation?
ATTENTION: IN THIS ARTICLE WE WILL USE SPAIN'S PRONUNCIATION, BUT CHANGES IN COUNTRIES WILL BE EXPLAINED.
| Uppercase | Lowercase | Letter Name |
| THE | The | (The) |
| B | B | (be) |
| Ç | ç | (ce) |
| D | d | (in) |
| AND | and | (and) |
| F | f | (efe) |
| G | g | (ge) |
| H | H | (hache) |
| I | i | (i) |
| J | j | (jot) |
| K | k | (ka) |
| L | l | (it) |
| M | m | (eme) |
| N | n | (ene) |
| Ñ | ñ | (eñe) |
| THE | The | (The) |
| FOR | for | (pe) |
| Q | q | (ass) |
| R | r | (miss) |
| s | s | (what if) |
| T | t | (you) |
| U | u | (u) |
| V | v | (uve) |
| W | w | (uve doble) |
| X | x | (equis) |
| Y | y | (ye) |
| Z | z | (zeta) |
Pronunciation of a Brazilian who speaks Spanish:
Pronunciation of a native Domenican in the language
Explanations:
Before the spelling reform carried out by Real Academia Española in 2010, the letters "ch" and "ll" belonged to the alphabet, but they no longer belong.
Each country has its own way of pronouncing it, Spain “LL” sounds like “Lh” from Portuguese, Argentina “Ch or X” sound like “Tea”, Cup, Xerox, on Mexico and other countries has a “Dj” sound as in “aJJetivo” another feature is that only in Mexico the X has a “Ch” sound from the German!
Currently, these letters are called digraphs. There are also other changes related to the letters of the alphabet: the "y" used to be called "i griega", now it can only be named "ye"; the “latin i” can only be called “i”; the "b" will only be called "be", and no longer "be high" or "be wide"; “v = uve” will no longer accept the denominations of “ve baja” or “ve corta”.
For today it is only Personal, but in our Next meeting we will learn expressions!
Add it!
