Learning Spanish: Video included
Mar 27, 2020 11:51:34 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Mar 27, 2020 11:51:34 GMT -5
First, a little historical background is helpful:
Spanish, is a Romance language that originated in the Iberian Peninsula and today has over 483 million native speakers, mainly in Spain and the Americas. It is a global language, the world's second-most spoken native language, after Mandarin Chinese, and the world's fourth-most spoken language, after English, Mandarin Chinese and Hindi.
Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo, a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile, in the 13th century.
Beginning in 1492, the Spanish language was taken to the viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania and the Philippines.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language
Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo, a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile, in the 13th century.
Beginning in 1492, the Spanish language was taken to the viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania and the Philippines.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language
Learning Spanish
One very important thing to keep in mind when learning Spanish is that there are variations in pronunciation and the meaning of words among the people of the nations that speak it. But that is also he case in Spain itself where there is the Andalusian manner of speaking and the Castile way of speaking. Then we have the Spaniard Canary Islanders with their way of speaking. All such difference were taken to the Americas by the explorers and settlers and have profoundly influenced the way that the people in those nations speak today. For example, Argentineans have what can be called an Italian accent due to the vast numbers of Italians that immigrated there. Puerto Ricans, and other people of the Caribbean, such as Cubans and Dominicans, have a Canary Island accent.
Word-meanings also vary. What means insect in one country, might mean the penis in another, such as in Puerto Rico. What might mean to take, or to grab something in one, might mean sexual intercourse in another-such as in Mexico. So the Standard Spanish that we learn in school will not cove all those varieties but will provide a foundation upon which we can expand a vocabulary.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there are Spanish speakers who speak very quickly and words seem to blend one into the other in a seemingly chaotic fashion. So don't be surprised if after graduating from a Spanish course with an A you are listening confused by what is being said on the radio or by someone in your presence who seems to be rattling off unintelligible sounds that he will tell you are Spanish. It happens with all Languages because an intimate familiarity is essential for the brain to cope with that type of deciphering.
Learning Spanish