Vote!
Are you planning a trip to a Latin American country and you don't speak Spanish? Then you've come to the right hombre. I can teach you all the Spanish that you will truly need.
A tourist can get by with knowing only two Spanish words. Beer is called cerveza. Bathroom is called baño. You'll mispronounce cerveza for sure, but if you pronounce it ser-bay-sa they'll understand. Baño is easier. It is pronounced bahn-yo. The third letter is called eñe (pronounced en-yay) and the letter is pronounced like the same letter in the word señor. The wiggly line above it is called a tilde. The word tilde came into the English language from Spanish and Portuguese, which in turn obtained it from Latin.
Of course, you already know the Spanish word for "yes" ... everyone knows. It is sí. You'll notice the acute accent above the letter i. With the accent, sí means yes. Without the accent, si means if. However, they sound the same: like the English word see.
And finally, the word no in Spanish is the same word in English. It is no in both languages. The English no comes from Middle English. The Spanish no comes from Latin. The Spanish language originated as a dialect of Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. This Latin is today called “Vulgar Latin,” as opposed to the Classical Latin used in literature.
I think tourists probably know a few more Spanish words than cerveza and baño, but for those Latinos who work in Central American resorts it probably seems like those are the only words tourists know.
"Mas cerveza por favor." And when they bring it, don't forget to say, "Gracias."
2 comments:
Love your blog. It seems to be that you like to learn a lot and at the same time teach to others. Good for you and I hope that very soon, you will teach us more Spanish words.
Thank you
TA
Three years of high school Española and the only way I made through it was two fine ladies who happened to be cousins. That said, in Florida, Spanish was more or less not "Mexican" Spanish but Cuban Spanish. Add into that I had two "wing ladies that were Puerto Rican and what I may say is that the phrase I remember above all the rest is: "Me vaca es leche"; which if I remember correctly was the phrase: "My cow gives milk". It's been many, many years, but that is what sticks in my mind!
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