Learn Spanish Blog

In English speaking countries, and especially in the United States, there is a distinct separation between church and state. Often it gets to the point where people simply avoid talking about religion altogether. In Latin America, this is quite different. I have experienced this first hand because I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, during a two year period, in a few Latin American countries. I lived among the native people and did not have any full English conversations for all but two months that I lived there. This is one of the chief reasons I have come to love the Latin people, culture, and Spanish language so much.

In regard to the religion of Latin America, I would guess by my experience that about 90 to 95% of Latin Americans are of the Catholic faith. In Latin America, they take their religion quite seriously. Many are devout church-goers (I would guess more so than in the US) but there are still many who claim to be religious who only go to church a few times a year. Many Latin Americans claim to have dreams and visions about the Virgin Mary and several other Catholic saints.

Unlike the United States, in Latin America the Catholic Church is very involved in the government, the schools, and other civic organizations. There is not a clear separation of church and state like in the U.S.

One of the things that surprised me the most is that in some Latin American countries, they celebrate “mes morado” [mes more-daw-though], or translated into English — “purple month”. Every year in October, some of them dress in their purple “habits” (robes) and wear them during the whole month as a symbol of their religious devotion.  Not many of the population do this; I would say about 5 to 10% of the people wore them. Basically, enough people wore them to catch the attention of a foreigner like me.

Another interesting cultural note is that some of the more religiously dedicated people go on “campañas” [com-pawn-yaws] maybe once a year with their religious groups. A “campaña” is a type of religious trek they take. I talked to a few people personally who had been involved with “campañas”; they said they would hike for a few days with a large group of people usually up into a mountain to some sort of religious shrine and then they would pray and worship.

Even though I was a missionary for a different church, I came to respect the Catholic Church and the many Catholics I became good friends with (not to mention all of the people from other religions as well).

Now to change the topic just a little, I saw on the news a while ago a story about a Latin American family living in the U.S;  Mixed in with the story was a little Latin girl who claimed to have a vision about the Virgin Mary. To some people not familiar with the Latin culture, the story may have sounded very unusual.  However, knowing the Latin culture, you would now realize that this is a fairly common occurrence.

To all of our international subscribers, please write in and tell us about religion in your countries. We would love to hear from you!

To learn more about Spanish culture and Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

For this week’s culture discussion, I want to talk about a very common mistake that many of us “Gringo’s” make. Just as a quick reminder from our newsletter of about a month ago, the word “Gringo” basically means “foreigner”.

Anyway, the mistake I want to talk about is a phrase I have heard misused so many times that I wanted let you know about it so you can say it correctly. Many times a native Spanish speaker will begin speaking with an English speaker in Spanish. The English speaker will say, wanting to sound clever and knowledgeable in Spanish, “No habla español.” What the English speaker is trying to articulate is, “I don’t speak Spanish”, but what is actually said is, “You don’t speak Spanish.” There is a huge difference between these two phrases. Instead of letting them know that you do not speak Spanish, you are telling them that they don’t speak Spanish.

Here is how to say it correctly. The next time a native Spanish speaker begins speaking Spanish, you should say, “No hablo español.” This means “I don’t speak Spanish” and is correctly pronounced [No aw-blow es-pan-yohl]. There is only a one letter difference between the two phrases, but it completely changes the meaning. The word “habla” (with an “a” on the end) means “you speak” and the word “hablo” (with an “o” on the end) means “I speak”. Remember, “I don’t speak Spanish” is “No hablo español.”

Now, let’s change the situation just a little. Let’s say a native Spanish speaker directly asks you if you are able to speak Spanish — “¿Habla español?” Here is a easy but effective answer for them. You can say “Hablo un poquito” which translates to “I speak a little” and is pronounced [Aw-blow oon poh-key-toh].

Remember to continue to practice your Spanish with native Spanish speakers. Apart from a formal program, this really is the best way to improve your Spanish. Remember to use the “Comprehending Native Speakers” section in your Visual Link Spanish™ manual (a component of  your complete course) to get through almost any situation with a native Spanish speaker.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website  www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit  our website www.spanishprograms.com

You cannot always translate phrases directly from English to Spanish and expect to get them right or make sense. By the same token, you cannot take words that sound the same in both languages and suppose they have the same meaning. That is why a course like our Visual Link Spanish™ program is so valuable – it teaches you the proper use of words, correct pronunciation, how to build sentences and actually communicate effectively in Spanish.

Are you ready for a heavy duty term in the world of language learning? It is the word “cognate.” A cognate is a word that looks similar in English and Spanish and has the same meaning in both of the languages. For example, the word “irregular” in Spanish and English is spelled the same, has the same meaning, and has a similar pronunciation. It is a cognate. There are many words in Spanish and English that are cognates and many words that are what we call “false cognates”. A false cognate is a word that looks the same in both languages, sounds similar, but has very different meanings. You have to watch out for “false cognates” in Spanish because they can really get you into some big trouble. Let me give you a fun though embarrassing example.

The English word “embarrassed” sounds and looks similar the Spanish word “embarazada.” Many people learning Spanish think that it has the same meaning. However, the Spanish word “embarazada” actually translates to “pregnant”! Let me tell you — there is a big difference between being “pregnant” and being “embarrassed.” The following story will illustrate this fact and hopefully make you aware of “false cognates” and save you from some potential embarrassment.

A large crowd had gathered together in an auditorium to listen to a lecture. There were some native Spanish speakers, who were dignitaries, sitting up on the stage. An American woman had been invited to speak to the audience as one of the guest speakers. As she began speaking, she introduced herself, and then to break the ice, she pointed to the person on the stage that had invited her to speak and said in Spanish, “I’m ‘embarazada’ and it’s his fault.” She meant to say “I’m embarrassed and it’s his fault,” but what she actually said was “I’m ‘pregnant’ and it’s his fault.” The crowd gasped and everyone was in total shock. You can imagine how she must have felt afterward when she found out what she had really said.  (FYI, the Spanish word for embarrassed is “vergüenza.”)

This is a pretty extreme example, but it is important to know that “false cognates” exist so you do not make the same type of mistakes. If you choose to learn Spanish with a Spanish course, it will generally teach you many of these false cognates as well as the correct way to say things in Spanish. As I mentioned before, a formal course like our Visual Link Spanish™ program will help keep you on-track and avoid cultural faux-pas, and potentially embarrassing situations.

To all of our international subscribers – are there any false cognates that we should be aware of in any of your languages? If so, we would love to hear about them. Please write me, at dave@spanishprograms.com.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

Parties (Fiestas – [fee-es-taws]) in Latin America are very different from parties in most English speaking countries. To give you a brief example, a friend from Latin America came to stay with my wife and me.  I told him that we were going to a family party. When we got there, we ate, chatted, and played games. My friend looked very confused and said, “Where is the dancing?” I said, “What you mean ‘Where’s the dancing?'” He said, “This is a party isn’t it? — So, where is the dancing?” To Latin Americans, the word “fiesta” (party) means that, among other activities, there will always be some dancing. He just couldn’t comprehend how there could be a “party” without “dancing.”

The Spanish culture is rich with vibrant music and dancing. They have salsa music, merengue [meh-rang-geh], tango and many other different types of music and dancing. It is a wonderful cultural experience to watch these types of dancing and hear their beautiful music.

If you ever have the chance to walk down the streets of a Latin American pueblo (village) in the evening, especially on a weekend, the air will probably be filled with Latin music. A typical setting is to see a house with the windows and doors wide open so you can hear the music from the street and see a true “fiesta” in progress — with dancing of course.

Any party in Latin America, whether it is with friends, relatives, or school groups will have music and dancing. If not, it is simply not a “fiesta.”

Remember, if you invite a native Spanish speaker to a “Fiesta” (party), you should either make sure there is dancing or be prepared to explain why our culture does not have dancing at “parties.”

Just a little side note, if any of you ever have any questions about our Level I Visual Link Spanish™ course, please let us know and we will answer them as responses in the newsletters each week. I do not personally know of any other Spanish courses available that provide this type of service. We are here to provide you complete support and help you to be successful in learning Spanish! To get a special discount on our course, click here.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit out website www.spanishprograms.com