Para todos aquellos que creen en los traductores de Internet y la IA, les doy otra muestra de su capacidad. La expresión castellana "no ganar para disgustos", traducida al inglés por ChatGPT, resulta: "To not win for disappointments." DeepL nos da otra versión: "Do not earn for unpleasantness." Google Translate nos dice: "Do not win for disappointments." Podemos pasar un rato agradable suministrando fraseología a estos traductores y nos reiremos mucho.
I minored in Philosophy at Duquesne University because it would help me in my studies in linguistics. Language and philosophy are intimately intertwined. I continue reading philosophy and keep a keen interest in its developments. A few years ago I discovered Dr. Daniel Dennet (1942-2024) Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University and a clear thinker and easy-to-understand speaker. His book on Darwin, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, impressed me and cemented my belief in the evolution of language. The other day I was listening to some of his provocative ideas on YouTube when I discovered he had just passed away, on the 19th of April, 2024. Read his books and listen to elegantly pronounced English on the Internet. You will thank me for it, I am sure.
Not long ago, structural pattern drills became the core of foreign-language teaching, only to fade into oblivion when the don't-memorize trend took over. The conceit behind pattern drills is simple: Given a language structure known to be grammatically correct, a variety of sentences, based on the original one, can be made made. For example: the simple Spanish structure voy a dormir, I am going to sleep, can result in voy a comer, vamos a bailar, van a estudiar, I am going to eat, we are going to dance, they are going to study. The pattern ir a, going to, is correct, ergo the resulting new sentences must also be correct. Possibly, this is what children observe when acquiring their own language. They detect patterns and build upon them. If me gustaría acompañarte is correct, me gustaría hablarte, me gustaría explicarte, me gustaría decirte, must also be correct. The structure is the same, only the verb differs. ¿Qué vas a hacer, escribir, cantar, explicar, cocinar, must be correct also. A simple concept that has been displaced by the "speaking method" and "aprender jugando."
AYE (pronunciado ai) es voto afirmativo, especialmente en el Parlamento Británico.
YEA (pronunciado yei) es afirmación, especialmente en el voto afirmativo en el Congreso de los EE.UU. The yeas have it!
YEAH es el yes informal.
AYE AYE, SIR! empleado en las marinas británica y estadounidense equivale al "a la órden" en español. Oiremos la expresión en películas.
YEP y YEAP son formas de "yes" que nosotros evitaremos.
Para causar una buena impresión, podemos decir "Yes, sir" o "Yes, madam."
El mayor enemigo de cualquier idioma es la creencia de que lo que sabemos del nuestro es todo lo que hay que saber de él. Lo que ignoramos, no existe. Y así nos va, porque dejamos en manos de los que todavía están aprendiéndolo el oficio, escribir en público y traducir de otros idiomas. Así oigo en el mercado que "al perro viejo no se le puede enseñar trucos" que es una traducción del inglés ajena al castellano, "you cannot teach an old dog new tricks." La creencia de que los viejos no pueden aprender se refleja en la expresión "loro viejo no aprende a hablar." No me cansaré de repetir que antes de traducir expresiones a la ligera, convendría rebuscar y hacer algo de investigación por si en nuestro propio idioma ya tenemos frase similar, que normalmente "habelas, hailas."
--"Loro viejo no aprende a hablar." Tomás Carrasquilla, La marquesa de Yolombó, 1928. Colombia.
--"Como decía mi madre: loro viejo no aprende lengua." Luis Landero, Juegos de la edad tardía, 1989. España.
Today is one of those days, you know. I am usually cheerful, but I also have days of doom, gloom, and darkness. Still, the show must go on and so I have worked on the Phraseological Dictionary and have found this bit of wisdom in both languages:
Today I needed reason, objectiveness, clear thinking, rationality... ideas I could hold on to to make it through the week. I rushed to dust off my two-volume edition of David Hume´s A Treatise of Human Nature, (Everyman's, 1974) which I bought in 1976, 48 years ago! Although the edition is in pretty good shape, I must be getting on in years. You have no idea the amount of underlining, highlighting, and marginalia I have found. I don´t have to reread the whole work again. The notes I took 48 years ago will keep me in good stead now. I am glad I was a prolific glosser of the books I read. I will now extract and offer some of his philosophical pearls in time. The study of philosophy and the study of language go hand in hand.
Llevo ya tiempo explicando que soy de la opinión de que cualquier modismo en un idioma, tiene su doble en otro. La estructura y las palabras difieren a veces, pero la idea permanece. He dado muchos ejemplos, pero hoy quiero hablar de uno que los diccionarios, y los hablantes, parecen ignorar. Estar alguien hecho de otra pasta en castellano se refiere a que la persona en cuestión es extraordinaria y fuera de lo común, que está fabricado de otra pasta, de otro material, que nosotros.
— “Yo no. Yo estoy hecho de otra pasta…” Fernando Aramburu, Los vencejos, 2021. Esp. || “… Goizueta, simplemente, estaba hecho de otra pasta.” Diario de Yucatán, 11/11/1997. Méx.
In English we find:
Since the dawn of time, since mankind invented the sound with meaning, languages have been evolving through the actions of speakers. Through social media, languages are changing by the actions of a few. Those who have the possibility of influencing others without having enough schooling have become language influencers with the capacity to change the normal course of a given language. This is apropos of TV and their talk shows in Spain. I hear expressions like: "Hasta donde yo tengo entendido..." or "Hasta donde yo sé..." which are solecisms for "Que yo sepa." Are they translating the English "as far as I know"? Certainly, these expressions which are the product of poor mastery of a language, will not be included in my Phraseological dictionary, English-Spanish. Beware, and for "as far as I know" use the Spanish "que yo sepa." Thank you.
A MISTAKE, grave or trivial, is caused by bad judgment or a disregard of rule or principle: It was a mistake to argue.
A BLUNDER is a careless, stupid, or gross mistake in action or speech, suggesting awkwardness, heedlessness, or ignorance: Through his blunde,r the message was lost.
An ERROR (often interchanged with MISTAKE) is an unintentional wandering or deviation from accuracy, or right conduct: an error in addition.
A SLIP is usually a minor mistake made through haste or carelessness: a slip of the tongue.
La lengua inglesa no tiene Academias o Asociaciones de la lengua que dicte cómo escribir, hablar, o lo que es o no es apropiado, como el idioma castellano. Entonces, ¿es el inglés un sálvese quien pueda donde cada hablante hace lo que le viene en gana? Pues, no. los nativos se apoyan en los Manual of Style, o manuales de estilo, de los cuales hay varios. El más prestigioso es el Chicago Manual of Style, y el que yo prefiero y uso en momentos de duda. Por ejemplo, en teachers union o farmers market, ¿podemos emplear el apóstrofo? Pues estas cuestiones las resuelve el Chicago Manual of Style. No dejen de consultarlo porque es una poderosa herramienta para escribir bien en lengua inglesa.
Let me bid March a hearty farewell with a "latinajo" to egg you on, language-learning fans: "Repetitio est mater (magister) studiorum." So, never mind the whys and wherefores of language and repeat and repeat.
The hiccup in language in general and language learning, in particular, is that the whole world and his mother feel free to pontificate about it. I say this apropos of an article in El País I chanced upon a few days ago by Dr. Mauro Guillén, professor and Dean at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has written several books on economics and is perfectly bilingual in English and Spanish. He says: "... las carencias de la educación primaria y secundaria se han traducido (en España) en un aumento inusitado de las familias en profesores particulares o academias - por término medio de 700 euros al mes..." (His syntax leaves a bit to be desired.) An average of €700 per month per family seems a bit exaggerated. Being an economist Dr. Guillén should be more accurate. But he has more to say about language learning: "Aprender un idioma y hablarlo con un buen acento require entrenar el oído y desarrollar una buena dicción." Bravo! He has just discovered the squaring of the circle. He advances the theory that Spain falls far behind other European countries in second-language acquisition due to "los efectos nocivos del doblaje de películas y series de televisión." Suck on that! Of course, he has a solution: "como solución intermedia, prohibamos el doblaje de los contenidos audiovisuales..." I find it peculiar that an economist uses the verb "prohibit". It just doesn´t sound right. The title of the article is "El doblaje y el costoso drama del aprendizaje del inglés en España." (El País, 24 sept., 2023.) In his technological absent-mindedness, this professor of economics forgets that on any TV set, one may listen to the original language.
We all know the feeling of dismay, despondency, and disinterest that Steven Pressfield calls Resistance (with a capital r) when the thought that we are not getting anywhere grips us and makes us falter. I am referring to any task or endeavor we are undertaking. In our case, it is language learning. In older times we knew this as a plateau, a stage where we hesitate and believe firmly that all our efforts are worthless, that we are wasting our time, and even worse, that we are not up to the project, are not cut out for it. We think that no matter our efforts, we will never accomplish or master anything. Be assured that this happens often (I refer you to The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield) and we must redouble our efforts, say vade retro, satanas, and keep on going. We will learn the language and not let up, knowing that this is a life project and that we are in no hurry. At my age, I still doubt myself, but I keep on tilting at windmills and will struggle till the end.
El artículo THE se emplea en inglés así:
1) Cuando empleamos un sustantivo de manera general no se usa: "Teachers are underpaid" implica que todos los maestros tienen pagas deficientes. "Mexicans are short, women are right, men are wrong..."
2) Cuando nos referimos a un grupo en particular emplearemos el artículo THE: "The teachers (de los que hemos hablado) are underpaid." Y por eso nos referiremos a un grupo minoritario especial, al decir "The Mexicans (que conocimos ayer) are short, the women are right, the men are wrong." Es cierto que los llamados nativos cometen este error en ocasiones. Por ejemplo: "The teachers are not the problem. Parents are the problem." que confunde al más pintado.
Languages solve the communication problems in different ways. The English language does not have a superlative suffix to express exceedingly, extremely, super: This cake is extremely good. This game is super fun. Spanish solved this way of expressing a superlative with the suffix -ísimo (-ísima, -ísimos, -ísimas). If someone is exceedingly tall, we will say "es altísimo" instead of saying "muy alto." When we find something exceedingly expensive, we say "es carísimo." This suffix is very handy and easy to use and certainly trumps "muy, súper" that even natives are prone to use. "Blanquísimo, buenísimo, facilísimo, malísimo, guapísima, riquísimo, durísimo, divertidísimo." Do not hesitate to use this convenient suffix.
I know that perfection in language is an idle fancy, but I also have my foibles and quirks, and since early childhood, I have been collecting words and phrases and different pronunciations. I am still at it 24/7, as they say now. As far as language is concerned (or otherwise) I am no minimalist! I never have enough and I always want more. Aside from reading aloud, and moving my lips and tongue, I also close the day listening to English or Spanish in bed until grogginess overcomes me. And I have paper and pen in hand to write down whatever expression tickles me, lest I cannot recall it in the morning. Language learning is no walk in the park, at least for me, and we must toil at it constantly.
In the Preface to his The Defence, Vladimir Nabokov, lashes out against book reviewers and others, saying: "... I would like to spare the time and effort of hack reviewers - and, generally persons who move their lips when reading...". As I understand it, those who read moving their lips are equated in intellectual stature to hack reviewers. I promote reading a foreign language with the lips and in a whisper. Reading in the brain does not exercise the mechanical part of the language: throat, lips, teeth, alveolar ridges, nose, air, vocal cords, and even the saliva that make language what it is. We may scoff at those who read with their lips as ignorant intellectual dwarfs but in language learning it is essential to drill out loud moving the lips, the tongue, and everything else. Perhaps Nabokov, a polyglot himself, was blinded in this instance by his dislike of book reviewers, probably rightly so. So, you should practice the language you are studying by reading aloud, in a hush, but out loud. You will thank me for it.
La política y los políticos tienen gran influencia en el lenguaje, al estar siempre expuestos a los medios de comunicación. A veces sueltan frases sin pensar, que se hacen famosas y en cualquier Diccionario de citas (el mío incluido) hallamos "pensamientos" de toda índole. Quiero recordar el "Pintan bastos" de Manuel Fraga Iribarne, ministro que fue de Información y Turismo, para describir el autoritarismo del gobierno de Franco. Y no olvidemos la pifia de Federico Trillo que cuando creía que el micrófono estaba apagado soltó su famosa "Manda güevos" que fue muy celebrada en su momento. Y la última de hoy, y la mejor, es "tinta de calamar" de Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Presidenta de la Comunidad de Madrid, España, que no encontramos en diccionarios pero sí en bases de datos y en mi Diccionario fraseológico bilingüe. Hay frases que se rescatan del olvido porque un político, de más o menos relevancia, la emplee en público.
Hoy he oído a la Presidenta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, y hablando de los ataques de la oposición y del gobierno contra su persona, utilizar la expresión "tinta de calamar" que yo oía por primera vez. Como hago siempre, rebusco en el María Moliner, el Seco, el DRAE, el DUEAE... y nada, ninguno reseña la frase. Sin embargo existe y ha quedado reseñada en mi Gran diccionario fraseológico bilingüe, español-inglés al que estoy dando los últimos retoques. He aquí la entrada:
In a sorry state En un estado lamentable (deplorable)
The house is in a sorry state La casa está en un estado lamentable
— “It’s a sorry state of affairs
but there’s no quick fix.” Irish Mirror, 7 March, 2024. Ir.
Lie in state Estar de cuerpo
presente
Dwight
is lying in state in his own home Dwight está de cuerpo presente en su propia casa
— “… where Mother Teresa lay in
state for a week before her funeral.” Irish Independent, 26 June, 2023. Ir.
I recommend Tomás Navarro Tomás, Manual de pronunciación española, from where I lift this quotation: "... la lengua española presenta importantes diferencias de pronunciación, no sólo entre los diversos países en que se habla, sino entre las regiones de un mismo país, y frecuentemente entre las comarcas y lugares de una misma región. Estas diferencias son entre las regiones de España más hondas y abundantes que entre las naciones hispanoamericanas... la pronunciación hispanoamericana se parece más a la andaluza que a las demás regiones españolas."
Tomás Navarro also writes: "... tratándose de personas cultas, la diferencia fonética entre castellanos y andaluces o hispanoamericanos son mucho menores que entre las clases populares."
This treatise on Spànish phonetics is a must-have. It is available online.
SPANISH GRAMMAR CHEAT SHEET, (Editatum, 2021) is not a run-of-the-mill Spanish grammar. It is the marrow, the quidity of Spanish grammar. There are plenty of books out there that want to teach you Spanish the runaround way. There´s no vocabulary here. You will find the foundation bricks to set your Spanish on firm ground. As the title says, it's a cheat sheet to keep handy while studying, speaking or writing the language of Cervantes.
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, is a little book I recommend, not only to would-be writers but also to would-be learners of English. In 100 pages, the authors condense all there is to know about writing and speaking. We are exposed to simple facts that most students are not aware of. For example: "The colloquial have got for have should not be used in writing." He has not got any sense should be He has no sense. You have got a problem should be you have a problem. We are told about the usage of people and person: "If of six people, five went away, how many people would be left? Answer: one people." (one person, of course.) Many Spàniards begin by saying: "La verdad es que..." and Strunk and White tell us: "The truth is..., a bad beginning for a sentence. If you feel you are possessed of the truth, simply state it. Do not give it advance billing." And ditto for the fact is el caso es.
Muddy prose is the result of muddy thinking. Clear, easy-to-understand writing is a joy forever. I mention this because, of late, I have been reading and rereading prose that made no sense, even after going over sentences several times. Why this? I take it personally and think that poorly written prose is an insult to the reader. The writer does not give a hoot whether his muddy writing makes sense or not and puts the effort to decipher the hastily written piece squarely upon our shoulders. Most people who put their fingertips to the keyboard do not know their craft and scoff at grammar. "Grammar is not just a pain in the ass; -says Stephen King- it is the pole you grab to get your thoughts up on their feet and walking." Further: "Simple sentences provide the path you can follow when you fear getting lost in the tangles of rhetoric." And how about vocabulary? "One of the really bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking for long words because you are maybe a little bit ashamed of your short ones." Most of what Mr. King writes about can be applied to any language. Stephen King, On Writing, 2000.
I have found the secret to language learning. Self-appointed language experts, eager to cater to humanity´s leanings toward sloth, holler from rooftops (Facebook, Instagram, Tic-Toc) that the best method is to speak and scoff at grammar and memory. Heed them not. Language-acquisition methodologies come and go but the rock-bottom foundation stays which is memory. Memorize, memorize, and memorize vocabulary, patterns, and phraseology. The human brain's memory capacity is still unknown and probably the same in everyone. Fear it not, and I urge you to join me in this crusade to bring memorization back and restore its importance, especially in language learning. It is also a keen way to keep the brain active and alive till old age.
Ya saben ustedes que soy forofo, aficionado incondicional, de la tecnología y todo lo que ella conlleva. Sin embargo, y esto no es culpa de la tecnología, he notado que es más complicado contactar con personas o entidades desde que utilizamos correos electrónicos y páginas Web. Todo tipo de identidades, empresas, ministerios, comunidades autónomas, tienen páginas web para ofrecer información sobre sus servicios, sean de la índole que sean. Pues bien, sorprendentemente, la mayoría no ofrece dirección alguna de contacto, y si lo tiene, es infructuoso (mejor: pérdida de tiempo) enviar correo alguno. Simplemente no contestan. Mucha editoriales dan direcciones de correo postal, que en la actualidad hace la comunicación más complicada: tener recado de escribir (papel, sobre) y tener que ir a Correos. Fundaciones, Comunidades Autónomas en España, bancos, y demás, simplemente no contestan o envían un acuse de recibo para decir que escribirán. Pero no lo hacen. Creo que tiran piedras sobre su propio tejado. Hace un mes contacté con la Fundación BBVA y sigo esperando respuesta. Es un ejemplo de los muchos que pudiera aportar. Ganamos en tecnología, en rapidez, y perdemos en Urbanidad, que el diccionario de Seco (publicado en Internet por la FBBVA) define como: buena educación o buenos modales. En fin, tendré que echar mano de la ya muy manida frase latina: O tempora, o mores.
Elena Lappin´s memoir What Language Do I Dream In, and John Gallagher´s review of it in The Guardian, are both disappointing. I have read the book because of my interest in languages and bilingualism only to find an autobiography of a person and her family who have had a thirst for travel. From Russia to Czechoslovakia, then to Germany and Israel, to continue to Canada, the US, and finally, to the UK. We are told about grandparents, parents, and relatives, with side escapades to odd people of many nationalities. In passing, Ms Lappin mentions the languages she has been exposed to in her wondering, in her world-trotting. All of us can write an autobiography. Lappin´s experiences might be of interest to her family and offspring but to nobody else. Her insights into languages show that although she speaks several languages, she´s no linguist. She says: "To this day, my brother owes his perfect Russian accent to his extended stay in Moscow at the age of almost two." Really? At age two? I could write a similar account of my family and our different languages. I won´t. The worlds full of people who have gone from language to language and from country to country. Nothing to write home about.
For those interested in Hispanic Language, Culture, and Literature, I recommend the RTVE2 educational program Un país para leerlo, which is piloted by the poet Raquel Lanseras. Every week, Raquel visits a different Spanish city, shows its sights, and interviews local authors and bookstores. Locals recommend books they are reading, and authors read excerpts from their publications while booksellers explain about their patrons and the titles they have. You can hear about the Spanish cultural scene straight from the horse´s mouth while admiring the beauty of Zamora, Málaga, Cuenca, or whatever city Raquel Lanseras is visiting this particular week. The slow, well-thought-out, and fluent Spanish will give you new insights into Spain´s contemporary literature. I watch Un país para leerlo every week and find it a joy. Again, to practice listening to good Spanish and watch eye-opening views of the cities of Spain, give the program a try. I am certain you will thank me for it.
