LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

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...

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. 

  Arrimar el ascua a la sardina de uno Look after number one, draw water to one’s mill, feather one’s nest, one must look out for himself Debemos siempre arrimar el ascua a nuestra sardina We must always look after number one — “El taurino es un hombre que vive alrededor de los toreros, prestándoles servicios accesorios, que apaña sus comisiones, que actúa de corifeo y que pontifica en las discusiones, arrimando el ascua a su sardina.” Antonio Díaz-Cañabate, Historia de una tertulia , 1952. Esp. Estar en ascuas On tenterhooks, uneasy, on the edge of one’s seat, bated breath, on pins and needles Cuéntamelo todo rápido porque estoy en ascuas Tell me everything fast because I’m on tenterhooks — “No viviría más con aquella pesadilla encima, siempre sobre ascuas, temiendo un disparo de todo el que en cualquier lugar se le acercara.” Daniel Chavarría, El rojo en la pluma del loro , 2002. Urug. Pasar (como) sobre ascuas Tiptoe over something No explicó mucho y pasó como so...

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...

  Bear fruit Dar fruto The work has borne fruit and we have more clients now El trabajo ha dado fruto y tenemos más clients ahora By their fruits you shall know them Por sus frutos les conoceréis Matthew tells us, 7:19-20, by their fruits you shall know them San Mateo, 7:19-20, nos dice que por sus frutos les conoceréis He that would have (eat) the fruit, must climb the tree No dan a quien no acude, quien algo quiere, algo le cuesta Ask for the job; he that would have the fruit, must climb the tree Pide el puesto; no dan a quien no acude Stolen fruit (water) is sweetest El fruto prohibido es el más apetecido It is said that stolen fruit is sweetest Ya se dice que el fruto prohibido es el más apetecido

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: Tinta de calamar Smoke screen (cloud) Sus ataques contra mí son tinta de calamar para ocultar sus robos Their attacks against me are smoke screens to hide their thefts — “Los pretextos de luna de miel en La Alhambra y otras zarandajas son tinta de calamar.” ABC, 19/04/1986. Esp. || “… ir al fondo del asunto, y no ocultarlo todo con tinta de calamar y cobardía.” Eduardo Sotillos, 1982. El año clave , 2002. Esp.   

  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. State of mind Estado de ánimo I’m not in a state of mind to talk to you right now No estoy en un estado de ánimo como para hablar contigo en este momento — “… concentrating on a healthy state of mind through positive thought…” The Courier, August 19, 2020. Aus.

  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. 

We tend to think that what we hear a native speaker say is Bible truth. Not always, and we must be on the alert lest we repeat their nonstandard or ungrammatical daily usage. Be wary of what you hear from a native´s lips: they are not always correct. For example: "Yo de ti" is incorrect for "yo de tú". Yo de tú no me casaría con Petra. "Después que" is incorrect for "después de que". Después de que me besase, se echó a llorar. "Delante mío" is incorrect for "delante de mí". Estaba delante de mí, mirándome con asco. "Andé" is incorrect for "anduve". Anduve dos kilómetros hasta el pueblo. "Antes que" is incorrect for "antes de que". Antes de que te vayas, limpia el baño.   You will find more tips in my Hablar y escribir con corrección , Editatum, 2018.     

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 lo...

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.