viernes, 29 de junio de 2018

Euphemisms and the N word

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The N word is taboo among polite society, and that is why instead of "nigger" people use the silly euphemism "the N word." Nigga, nigger, niggar refer to a black person. I suppose this is so because black people react violently when they are addressed as "niggar". If they did not react, whites would probably stop calling them "niggars" and would have to find another word.
Blacks call whites "kraka", and whites feel insulted by the term. I sort of like it myself.  Most of my friends are krakas and they are all right, most of them.
YOLO is a new acronym used on the internet, mainly by those who are still wet behind the ears, and it means You Only Live Once.  It is used to justify whatever one does because, after all, we only live once, so what the hell!   

jueves, 28 de junio de 2018

15 minutes of your time


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People tell me they have no time. Folks do not have enough with 24 hours a day... and they are right. 24 hours is nothing... But how about switching to a new angle? How about talking about minutes instead of hours? One day has 1440 minutes... that is time, isn't it?
And how about if I ask you to invest 15 minutes out of the 1440 every day? You still have 1425 left to do all you want. Not a bad deal at all.
There is a catch to this deal, of course. I ask you to invest 15 minutes a day of your attention to learn a language... but every day, without missing one day, Sundays, festivities, holidays, vacation included...
How about it? Deal?
I can promise you that you will learn and improve a lot if you invest 15 a day, every day, every day... EVERY day!

martes, 26 de junio de 2018

José María Carrascal y Un sueño irlandés


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Como no podemos aprender a leer todos los idiomas posibles, tenemos que utilizar traducciones para disfrutar de las grandes obras de la literatura mundial. A pocos les es dado leer a Goethe, Pirandello, Tolstoi, Homero,  Zola, Camoens, Milton... en sus escritos originales.
Nos guste o no, la traducción es necesaria.
En nuestro caso ahora, Un sueño irlandés, tenemos algo mejor: dos versiones de la mismas obra que son iguales pero diferentes, hechas por el autor mismo. Tenemos la oportunidad de elegir un idioma u otro, entre los dos más hablados del mundo. Un sueño irlandés tiene su versión en An Irish Dream, una novela fascinante que se desarrolla en la ciudad de Nueva York, que el autor conoce y donde vivió años y sigue visitando. Tiene casa propia en esa ciudad.

"Dos miembros rebeldes del IRA llegan a Nueva York dispuestos a atentar contra intereses británicos que harían descarrilar los acuerdos de Viernes Santo y así continuar con su lucha. Un periodista norteamericano de descendencia irlandesa se ve sorprendido en una red de cadáveres, mentiras, política, herencia y mujeres, tan espectaculares como peligrosas."

Para más información pinchen aquí:

https://www.amazon.com/sue%C3%B1o-irlandes-Spanish-Mar%C3%ADa-Carrascal-ebook/dp/B07C1GY5B3/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530001839&sr=1-8&keywords=jose+maria+carrascal


lunes, 25 de junio de 2018

AN IRISH DREAM - José María Carrascal


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José María Carrascal, the famous Spanish journalist and writer has just published a new novel in English that I recommend: AN IRISH DREAM.

Two renegade IRA members arrive in New York ready to make an attempt on British interest that would allow them to derail the Good Friday Agreements and go on with their fight. An American journalist of Irish descent is caught inadvertently in a web of corpses, lies, politics, heritage and women, as ravishing as dangerous.

It is a page-turner that I have read several times with interest. The language is very personal and easy to understand, fit for all levels.

You may get further info and order at:

https://www.amazon.de/Irish-Dream-English-Maria-Carrascal-ebook/dp/B07C1DQJ1P/ref=sr_1_11?s=books-intl-de&ie=UTF8&qid=1529938370&sr=1-11&keywords=jose+maria+carrascal

Prefijo "SELF-"

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SELF es un prefijo que puede traducirse por auto:
Self-taught, autodidacta.
Self-appointed, autoproclamado.
Self-adhesive, autoadesivo.
Self-criticism, autocrítica.
Self-destroy, autodestruirse.
Self-control, autodominio.
Self-deception, autoengaño.
Self-analysis, autoanálisis.
No siempre podemos traducir por auto, como en self-contradictory, contradictorio. Self-denial, abnegación. Debemos seguir nuestra intuición lingüística siempre.

De esto hablo en dos de mis libros: GRAMÁTICA INGLESA (Anaya/Oberón, 2013)  y ESCRIBIR Y COMUNICAR EN INGLÉS (Oberón, 2017)

jueves, 21 de junio de 2018

What color..? ¿De qué color..?



Colors (the Brits spell it colours) are funny. I even doubt they are accurate. I often say green, only to be corrected: "It's not green, it's blue." I may be color-blind, daltonic.
In Spanish we say: ¿De qué color es el pelo de Margarita? And in English we'll ask: "What color is Margaret's hair?"
What color tie should I wear? ¿Qué color de corbata debo (debería) llevar?

Local color, color local.
That is a horse of a different color, eso es harina de otro costal.
To color, colorear.