Learn some common youth speech phrases
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What are some common youth speech phrases? |
| Cesar: And how are they used? |
| Michael: At SpanishPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Ben Lee hears a phrase he is unfamiliar with. He asks his college friend, Ricardo Román Garza, |
| "What does '¡Qué padre!' mean?" |
| Ben Lee: ¿Qué significa '¡Qué padre!'? |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: ¿Qué significa '¡Qué padre!'? |
| Ricardo Román Garza: Significa 'estupendo'. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: ¿Qué significa '¡Qué padre!'? |
| Michael: "What does '¡Qué padre!' mean?" |
| Ricardo Román Garza: Significa 'estupendo.' |
| Michael: "It means 'wonderful.'" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Youth speech phrases are set phrases or expressions that are commonly used among young people. They are a natural way of expressing oneself, adding "a special flavor" to the speaker's speech. In this lesson, we will learn more about youth speech and its use in Mexican Spanish! |
| Let's start with an example: |
| Cesar: Está cañón. |
| Michael: This phrase literally means "It's (a) cannon," but the actual meaning is either "It's very difficult" or "It's really good." |
| As demonstrated with this example, youth speech cannot be translated word for word, as that would not convey their intended meaning. Instead, it is necessary to know their figurative meaning in order to understand it in any particular language. Let's see two sentences using this phrase we have just learned: |
| Cesar: El trabajo estuvo cañón. |
| Michael: "The job was very difficult." |
| In this case, the term was used to inform how difficult the task was from the speaker's point of view. Now note how the meaning changes when used in this next example sentence: |
| Cesar: Nos la pasamos cañón. |
| Michael: "We had a really good time" or "We had a great time." In this case, the phrase was used in a positive way to emphasize how good a time the speaker had. |
| In this way, by learning about Mexican Spanish youth speech, you will be able to express yourself more easily in the language, and sound like a native speaker! |
| Michael: Let's now take a moment to review the phrase used in the dialogue. |
| In the conversation, we heard Ben Lee say, "What does '¡Qué padre!' mean?" |
| Cesar: ¿Qué significa '¡Qué padre!'? |
| Michael: Here, |
| Cesar: ¡Qué padre! |
| Michael: literally means "What father!" but it's actual meaning is similar to "How cool!" or "How wonderful!" It is used to show the speaker's enthusiasm towards something. |
| Here is the phrase being used in a sample situation: |
| Cesar: ¡Qué padre! ¡Vamos a la fiesta hoy! |
| Michael: "How cool! We're going to the party today!" |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, we've learned about youth speech, which is a collection of special set phrases or expressions that convey a figurative meaning and can make one's language even more interesting and colorful. Let's look at some more examples in Mexican Spanish. Our first example is |
| Cesar: ¿Te late? |
| Michael: This literally means "Beats you?" but conveys the meaning of "Do you like it?" or "Do you agree with it?" You can use it when you want to ask for confirmation about something or when you want to find out if someone likes something. |
| Here it is in a sample situation: |
| Cesar: Vamos al cine. ¿Te late? |
| Michael: "We're going to the movies. Do you like the idea?" |
| The phrase includes the conjugated verb |
| Cesar: latir, |
| Michael: which means "to beat" or "to pulse." This refers to one's heartbeat or pulse accelerating when they like something. |
| Next we have the phrase |
| Cesar: ¿Tienes lana? |
| Michael: literally meaning "Do you have any wool?" The word |
| Cesar: lana |
| Michael: means wool, as provided by sheep or llamas. In Mexican youth speech this word means money. So if you hear someone saying |
| Cesar: Necesito lana. |
| Michael: They don't necessarily mean that they are in need of wool, but what the person meant is "I need money." |
| Another common word for money is |
| Cesar: feria |
| Michael: literally meaning a "fair," as a gathering for amusement purposes. |
| If someone tells you |
| Cesar: No tengo feria. |
| Michael: the person wants to tell you "I have no money." |
| Here is one final phrase: |
| Cesar: ¿Qué onda? |
| Michael: "What wave?" You can use this Mexican Spanish phrase as a greeting between friends and family members. |
| Expansion/Contrast |
| Michael: Youth Speech isn't always used in a positive context; it can also convey a negative feeling. As an example, consider the phrase |
| Cesar: ¡Qué chafa! |
| Michael: or "What chafa!" The true meaning of this phrase is "How bad!" You can use it to say that something is of very low quality, or that you dislike it: |
| Cesar: No puedo salir temprano hoy. ¡Qué chafa! |
| Michael: "I can't leave early today. How awful!" |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sample conversation: Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud, and then listen carefully as Cesar models the correct answer. Repeat after him, with the focus on your pronunciation. Are you ready? |
| How do you say, "What does "¡Qué padre!" mean?" |
| Cesar: ¿Qué significa '¡Qué padre!'? |
| Michael: Did you get it right? Listen again and repeat. Remember to focus on your pronunciation. |
| Cesar: ¿Qué significa '¡Qué padre!'? |
| Cesar: ¿Qué significa '¡Qué padre!'? |
| Michael: Let's move on to the second sentence. How do you say, "It means 'wonderful.'" |
| Cesar: Significa 'estupendo'. |
| Michael: Did you get it right this time? Listen again and repeat. |
| Cesar: Significa 'estupendo'. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Cesar: Significa 'estupendo'. |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: There are also some interesting Spanish phrases related to food. Here's an example: |
| Cesar: de chile, mole y pozole. |
| Michael: Literally translated, this idiom means "of chilli pepper, mole, and pozole." For those who are unfamiliar, the last two items, "mole and pozole," are traditional Mexican dishes. This phrase means "a mix of everything" and you can use it to criticize or complain about the lack of uniformity in something. Here it is in a sentence: |
| Cesar: Ese proyecto tiene de chile, mole y pozole. |
| Michael: "This project has chilli pepper, mole, and pozole." The meaning here is that the project "is a mix of everything," or rather, the concept of the project is not clear. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Cesar: ¡Hasta la próxima! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
Comments
Hide