Section on Hispanic culture in the United States?

[watermen]

I believe most of the users here will be from the US. US is also the 5th largest Spanish speaking country. Therefore, I believe it will be reasonable to have a section for the US.

Under this section we can explore the Hispanic culture in the US. Talking about Spanish spoken in the US particularly...etc..

[Joseph]

Interesting idea Watermen,

I remember one time when I was in Manhattan and I went into a little Hispanic market to buy some vegetables. I couldn't find what I was looking for "ají amarillo" and so I asked a man who was working there "¿sabe usted dónde están los ajíes" (Sir, do you know where the chili peppers are?). His response was very interesting. He said "¡¿de dónde es el español que hablas?! That's that real sh*t!" Hehehe.... He was taken aback by the fact that I addressed him formally, with "usted". So, if we want to make generalizations about the Spanish spoken in the US, I would say that the tendency is to speak informally. Also, the term "ají" is proper to Perú, which also influenced his reaction. In the States, the Mexican term "chili" is given preference, which leads us to an interesting point. Much of the "American" Spanish that is spoken in the States originates in Nahautl, the native language of the Aztecs (i.e. avacado, chili, chocolate, etc.). It's rare to hear Spanish derived from Quechua, the native language of the Incas, in the US. Alright. I hope this gives you something to think about.

Hasta pronto,
Joseph

[watermen]

Interesting idea Watermen,

I remember one time when I was in Manhattan and I went into a little Hispanic market to buy some vegetables. I couldn't find what I was looking for "ají amarillo" and so I asked a man who was working there "¿sabe usted dónde están los ajíes" (Sir, do you know where the chili peppers are?). His response was very interesting. He said "¡¿de dónde es el español que hablas?! That's that real sh*t!" Hehehe.... He was taken aback by the fact that I addressed him formally, with "usted". So, if we want to make generalizations about the Spanish spoken in the US, I would say that the tendency is to speak informally. Also, the term "ají" is proper to Perú, which also influenced his reaction. In the States, the Mexican term "chili" is given preference, which leads us to an interesting point. Much of the "American" Spanish that is spoken in the States originates in Nahautl, the native language of the Aztecs (i.e. avacado, chili, chocolate, etc.). It's rare to hear Spanish derived from Quechua, the native language of the Incas, in the US. Alright. I hope this gives you something to think about.

Hasta pronto,



Joseph

Interesting, I didn't know that the word Chili came from Mexico.

It is really interesting to see the variation of Spanish.

Guess what, after listening to the Regional Spanish lesson, I used the phrase "como estas pues, causita?" to a receptionist working where I live. She is from Puerto Rico, ha..and she was caught, she told me she never heard this phrase and couldn't understand it immediately. It took her sometime before she realized the meaning.

[Joseph]

Watermen,

Hey! That's really funny! Yeah, as we mentioned in the lesson, "causita" is a very Peruvian expression. Haha... I think it's great that you're applying what you learn. That's the way to practice! Also, the word "pues" is used endemically in Peru; much more than in other parts of the world. Next time you see your Puerto Rican coworker, you can say ¡¿qué dices, boricua?! ("¿qué dices?" = "what do you say?"; "boricua" = "Puerto Rican", it's a term that Puerto Ricans used amongst themselves)! Also, ask her about "Mofongo", a delicious Puerto Rican dish! A good friend of mine is Puerto Rican, and every time that I see him, I always end up leaving with a belly full of plantains. Hehehe....

Saludos,

Joseph

[hemntjrseth]

I agree with Waterman. A Spanish in the United States section would be rather nice. I, myself, am from California where there is quite a large Spanish-speaking population. There is even a class at my high school called Español para Hispanohablantes (in addition to Español 1-4 and Advanced Placement Spanish) and I often hear Spanish being spoken in the halls on my way to class.

[Joseph]

I agree. The Spanish spoken in the US is a really interesting topic. We are currently considering the possibilities of presenting some forms of Spanish spoken in the US. Here are a few things to consider as a preface to the study:

1) The Spanish spoken in the US is very much related to a given speaker's country of origin. In California, for example, the Spanish spoken has a strong Mexican influence. So, the regional forms of speech proper to Mexican Spanish play an important role in the way that it's spoken in California. However, the same is not the case for Spanish spoken in Miami, for example, where there is a large population of Caribbeans and South Americans. There, the spoken Spanish is a complete melange of regional forms, plus the influence of American English.

2) Another noteworthy characteristic of Spanish spoken in the US is the incorporation of English words into the language. To most Spanish speakers in Spanish-speaking countries, these would be unintelligible. For example, certain words are "españolizadas" like "to chill out", as in "to relax", which some forms of American Spanish may render "chilear", but again, this would probably not be recognized in too many places of the Spanish speaking world.

As for the presence of classes like "Español para hispanohablantes", I was always under the impression that they were offered in places where there is a large Spanish speaking population, whose Spanish has received such a strong influence from English (or another language) that these speakers no longer can tell what is correct and what is not. As an English speaker, I think these are great classes to take part in: there will be few opportunities in which you'll be able to observe the particularities of Spanish with greater scrutiny (save, perhaps, for our Regional Series at SpanishPod101.com ). I

In any case, this is a lively topic, and it's my hope that we continue to develop on it.

Thanks for the interesting and provocative comments.

Saludos,

Joseph

[hemntjrseth]

Mm. Spanish has had such a large impact on the United States. Had it not been for the Spanish and Mexico, states like California would not exist. Spanish is everywhere in California. Where I live, there are 5 high schools with Spanish names within just a 10 miles radius! They are El Camino, Mira Loma, Rio Americano, Bella Vista and Encina.

When I took Spanish, my teachers never taught us the Vosotros form of verbs. This is because Vosotros is not used in the US or Mexico for that matter. Similarly, I think that people from Spain would only use the Vosotros form and never use Nosotros. It would take me a while to learn Vosotros if I ever went to Spain.

My Spanish teachers would call "chilear" Spanglish and unsuitable for class. XD Many times we were scolded for using American Spanish.

[Joseph]

While the "vosotros" form is not used with much frequency in spoken Spanish throughout the Americas, all of the personal forms are used in Spain. Remember that "vosotros" means "you all" informally and that "nosotros" means "we". Also, it's important to remember that in most academic works, the "vosotros" form is used, even in the Americas. A Mexican author, in whose work you can find this, is Octavio Paz.

Sounds like you have a lot of people to practice your Spanish with... That's great!

Joseph

[alan]

Watermen,

Hey! That's really funny! Yeah, as we mentioned in the lesson, "causita" is a very Peruvian expression. Haha... I think it's great that you're applying what you learn. That's the way to practice! Also, the word "pues" is used endemically in Peru; much more than in other parts of the world. Next time you see your Puerto Rican coworker, you can say ¡¿qué dices, boricua?! ("¿qué dices?" = "what do you say?"; "boricua" = "Puerto Rican", it's a term that Puerto Ricans used amongst themselves)! Also, ask her about "Mofongo", a delicious Puerto Rican dish! A good friend of mine is Puerto Rican, and every time that I see him, I always end up leaving with a belly full of plantains. Hehehe....

Saludos,

Joseph

So many Peruvian slangs have a basis in food. Some of my favorites:

"Me siento fresco como lechuga".. literally: I feel fresh like a lettuce.
"que buenas yucas tienes"... Nice legs ya got! (Yuca is a long root vegetable)
"no es tu cau cau"... It`s none of your business.(cau cau is a potato and tripe based dish)

It tells you something about the importance of food in this culture that the vocabulary is peppered (forgive the pun!) with food expressions.

Peruvian cuisine is one of the best in the world. And it`s not just me who thinks so:
http://www.visitperu.com/perugourmet.htm

Saludos,
Alan

[Joseph]

Good ones, Alan.

What about "¿cual es tu cau cau?", meaning "what's your deal?". I've still yet to understand why "cau cau" means "problema" in this sense... Any thoughts?

[alan]

Ha ha... that's a great expression.. especially for us English speakers, since it sounds just like "cow cow"! Careful not to use this expression outside of Peru though. People will have no idea what you mean.

Joe, I`ve asked, and nobody seems to know the origin of the expression (which isn`t that common to begin with), but folks might be interested to know that Cau Cau is a tripe stew. See a picture and get a recipe here:

http://www.kleph.com/blog.php?v_blog_id ... try_id=702

Beware, though, if you want to try this at home, the tripe really smells up the kitchen during the soaking process. Funny to think how something that can smell that bad can end up tasting so good.

Chaufa!
Alan

[serena07]

I wanna study aboad and do job there . I have to qualify English proficiency test before i take admission there, so i have to join séjour linguistique sydney to prepare for the test.i think i'll do it easily. Wish me good luck students!