jueves, 4 de enero de 2024

CONFUSION: "OÍR" AND "ESCUCHAR"


 

At the risk of repeating myself, I must harp again about the Spanish "oír" and "escuchar." Language is changing every day, every minute, and everywhere. We hope this evolution takes place for the better, but not always. Just as English speakers are discarding "may" for "can," Spanish speakers are getting confused between "oír" and "escuchar", interchanging them helter-skelter.

"He escuchado que see marcha usted a Panamá" suggests that I was eavesdropping. "He oído que see marcha usted a Panamás" means that the fact has come to my attention.

"No le oígo, hable más alto" means that the sound I get is not clear. "No le escucho, hable más alto," infers that I don´t care what you are saying, so the rest of the sentence makes no sense. 

But why this? Perhaps someone out there can tell me. Please do, I´m on tenterhooks.   

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