LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

Útimamente, y para mi desconsuelo, tengo problemas de movilidad y trato, aunque con dolor, de no cojear. Esto me da qué pensar, sobre mi carácter y sobre los cojos. Antaño los cojos llevaban patas de palo y eran conocidos como patapalos (peglegs), como el famoso Long John Silver, de la Isla del Tesoro. También pedían limosna por las esquinas, agarrados a sus muletas mugrientas, de madera. Se hacían chascarrillos como "un, dos, tres... cojo es." Tenemos varias expresiones alusivas a los cojos en la fraseología española, que he añadido al repertorio de mi Diccionario en ciernes, con sus correspondientes equivalencias en inglés:  A los cojos se le conoce por su manera de andar Actions speak louder than words, if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck Sé qué tipo de persona es por lo que hace, que a los cojos se le conoce por su manera de andar I know what kind of a person he is by his actions, and actions speak louder than words — “Si a...

Poco explican los diccionarios españoles sobre pila, y menos sobre "ponerse uno las pilas" que significa afrontar las cosas en serio, sin vacilaciones, con eficacia. Ni el Seco, ni el DRAE, la mencionan. Sólo el María Moliner explica que ponerse las pilas es "disponerse a hacer algo con mucha energía y decisión" y yo añado lo de arriba: con seriedad y sin vacilaciones. "Ya has hecho el tonto bastante y es hora de que te pongas las pilas y busques un empleo." La lengua inglesa tiene muchas expresiones para expresar lo mismo: Fire up one’s computer  Put one’s act together  Get one’s ducks in a row  Shape up  To shape up or ship out  Put one’s skates on  Pull one’s socks up Y posiblemente haya más que yo ignoro. 

Posición del adverbio inglés en le frase:  Los adverbios siguen al verbo : He plays the piano beautifully. The teacher explains perfectly.   Never, always, often, seldom, sometimes se colocan antes del verbo : He always visits his mother in the morning. We never eat before 12. They often study at night. I seldom talk to strangers. I sometimes talk about the weather.   En los tiempos compuestos, se colocan entre el auxiliar y el verbo : I have never seen anything like it. She will seldom pay a compliment. When I was in London, I would often drink tea. Will she always love you?   Con el verbo to be , los adverbios se colocan después : She is always good. They are never on time. It is sometimes possible. I am also happy.

Oxford University Press, the publisher of the renowned dictionary OED, Oxford English Dictionary, recently announced its "word of the year" for 2024. The word is "brain rot," even though it consists of two words. This expression of the year is defined as:   (n.) Supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration."  This fixed expression or lexical unit is treated as one word. The problem arises with hyphenation: should it be "brain rot" or "brain-rot"?  Hyphenation is falling out of favor in  modern English, especially in informal or online discourse . Many compounds that once took a hyphen ( e-mail , on-line ) have lost it over time ( email , online ). Since brain rot emerged from internet slang, its unhyphenated form l...

  No matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides (it’s still boloney) Por muchas vueltas que le des, sigue siendo lo mismo — “Al Smith’s famous observation that no matter how thin you slice it, it’s still baloney.” Gwyn Morgan, 69 A.D. , 2007. US. || “I know those hills are full of baloney dollars. I know that no matter how thin you slice them, they are still baloney.” Saturday Evening Post, 1/11/1936. US. || “No matter how thin you slice it, there are two sides.” Sri Lanka Guardian, January 31, 2021. Sri Lanka.   Slice thin (split hairs) Hilar delgado (fino) That is a good distinction but you are slicing it much too thin Es una buena distinción pero hila usted demasiado fino — “If it’s working, let’s not split hairs.” The Magicians, (COCA), 2018. US.

  "ESA" is simply that or that one, but phraseologically it has many possibilities in Spanish. Look: Conque ésas tenemos That’s the way you figure it out, how do you figure, is that how you figure it ¿No te casas conmigo? ¿Conque esas tenemos ahora, el día antes? You are not marrying me? Is that the way you figure it out, the day before? — “Ah, ¿conque esas tenemos? Pues mire…” Jenny Hayen, Por la calle de los anhelos , 1993. Méx. Esa es otra That’s something else again La luz, el gas, y la hipoteca, que esa es otra  Light, gas, and the mortgage which is something else again — “Para eso paga uno la entrada. O se cuela, que esa es otra.” ABC, 21/11/1987. Esp. Ni por esas No way, no such luck, not even then Traté de convencerle, pero ni por esas I tried to convince him but no such luck — “Me tomé dos pastillas para dormir, y ni por esas.” El País, 30/09/1997. Esp. No venir (salir) a uno con ésas (historias, mamadas, monsergas, milongas) Come off it, not giv...

Before flying back to SF, my daughter Laura Lynn left behind, for me to read, a book by Susan Cain, Bitter Sweet , about the power (?) of sorrow, longing, and how to cope. You may know by now how adverse I am to self-help books. However, I did peruse this one and looked it over. In the Prelude Cain says that Sarajevo is the city of Love. Sarajevo the city of Love? Then after finding 55 pages of Notes and 9 pages of Acknowledgments where she mentions and thanks everybody and his mother, an orgy of thanks and recognition, I came to the gist of this post of mine. After mentioning Gonzo, a.k.a. Ken, Ms. Cain writes in Spanish: "juntos somos mas". Aside from being a truism -together we are always more than singly- she manages to make one mistake out of three words, or 33 %. This sentence in Spanish comes from somewhere and must be a quotation. Quotations add much to our writing and if in foreign languages, they add glamour and exoticism and also, of course, scholarship. However, w...

When someone tries to sell me a bill of goods, sugars the pill, or gives me the runaround with a lot of fast-talk, I always shoot back with the expression "no matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney". Al Smith, governor of New York in the 30s popularized the expression as a campaign slogan. No matter how you dress it up or envelop it with sweet talk, the meaning is clear: you are trying to pull a fast one on me. I learned the phrase in College when I was about 17 and it has stuck. I am reminded of this when someone tries to get me to read a self-help book."Cut to the chase, buddy because I am wise to you and no matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney." Hope you enjoy it and add it to your phraseology. "Por muchas vueltas que le des, no deja de ser un timo (bobada, engaño, mentira...)" is my Spanish version. What do you think?

  I prompted ChatGPT to find synonyms for the idiom "to put the cart before the horse" and, no sooner said than done, I got back several, of which I chose three: Building the second floor before the foundation Starting at the top of the ladder Putting the roof before the walls are built I preferred the first because it parallels the Spanish "empezar la casa por el tejado". Then I searched for citations supporting the meaning and usage but to no avail. I went back to Chat GPT only to be told bluntly that this AI had made up the expression and advised me to feel free to use it as my own. As an anecdote, and to prove a point, I have added the three "idioms" to my Phraseological Dictionary to show that now AI and social media on the internet are changing language, and speakers no longer hold the reins of language evolution as in the past. AI and Social Media have a crucial say in how humans use and treat language today. 

Este año se cumplen 15 desde que empecé a escribir este Blog. Comenzó tratando sólo de cuestiones lingüísticas del idioma inglés y se titulaba La lengua inglesa de Delfín Carbonell pero pronto me di cuenta de que los dos idioms eran mi pasión y de que me era imposible tratar sobre uno sin compararlo con el otro. Y así cambié a Las lenguas inglesa y española de Delfín Carbonell que  ya lleva 2.190 entradas y más de 421.000 visitas. Este enero del 2025, 15.000 personas se han acercado al blog y yo, francamente, me hago cruces y no me lo creo. Trato de componer entradas cortas sobre diversos temas de las lenguas y culturas hispánica y anglosajona sin ningún tipo de dogmatismo y siempre desde mi atalaya de estudioso del lenguaje y con asiduidad. Lleva tiempo, eso sí, y no resulta fácil escribir corto y al grano. Por eso esta entrada es también corta para celebrar la efemérides (o efeméride) y agradecer a los que me visitan y, espero, leen. Muchas gracias.

  En lengua inglesa, algunos modismos, expresiones y clichés han adquirido mayor protagonismo o se han puesto de moda en los últimos años. Aunque los modismos tienden a ser atemporales, las nuevas frases suelen surgir de la cultura de Internet, los medios de comunicación y la evolución de las normas sociales. Éstas son algunas de las frases contemporáneas que han ganado adeptos últimamente: Fake it till you make it Fíngelo hasta conseguirlo (lograrlo) Try to do a good job, fake it till you make it Inténta hacerlo bien, fíngelo hasta conseguiro ● “Why be a victim? Fake it till you make it: the story of America.” The Telegraph, January 11, 2025. UK. It is what it is Así es a vida, es la vida We have to accept it, it is what it is Lo tenemos que aceptar, así es la vida ● “Yeah, I’m ok. It is what it is.” Film Funny Story, 2018. US. Throwing shade Lanzar (tirar) indirectas (pullas, pullazos) She threw at her friend by talking about her divorce Le lanzó pullas a su amig...

  Some English idioms, expressions, and clichés have recently become more prominent or trendy. While idioms are timeless, newer phrases often arise from internet culture, media, and evolving societal norms. Here are a few contemporary ones that have gained traction of late: Touch grass : A playful or sarcastic way to tell someone to get offline and reconnect with reality. You've been arguing online for hours—go touch grass! ● “… that someone would find that offensive. People need to touch grass.” Daily Mail, January 3, 2025. UK. I was today years od when : A humorous way to express learning something new or surprising for the first time. I was today years old when I found out penguins have knees. ● “I was today years old when I found out that someone could be called The Most Reverend.” The Spinoff, September, 19, 2022. N. Zeal. Caught in 4K : Refers to being caught doing something wrong, especially on video or with undeniable proof. You said you didn’t eat the cake, b...

  Educación, modales, urbanidad, parecen palabras y conceptos trasnochados, pasados de moda, cosas de mayores. Sin embargo, en la cultura anglosajona la palabra y el concepto manners , en plural, siguen vigentes. Good manners , urbanidad . Good table manners , buenos modales a la mesa. It´s not good manners to spit in public , no es de buena educación escupir en público. Good manners mean you will always say: Please Thank you You are welcome Excuse me Yes, sir No, madam   Good manners mean that We will listen to people We will not interrupt We will be on time We will not use offensive language We will never yawn We will not stare We will be humble We will not be loud We will return phone calls We will answer e-mails We will not harass or bully people We will respect our elders 

  Some words, expressions, and idioms, seem to shadow us and be everywhere. Of late, "my word is my bond" dangles in front of me constantly. I hear it in films, TV programs, and conversations, and even I read it in print.  Of course, it's just sheer chance I encounter the expression so often. Random linguistic encounters happen all the time but it is a coincidence that the present Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has sent politics and ethics topsy-turvy, down the drain, by declaring that he does not lie or go back on his word... he simply changes his mind. "Mi palabra es sagrada" would be a good Spanish equivalent, although not for Mr. Sánchez, because "my word is my bond" is a meaningless phrase no longer in use and which, as far as he is concerned, has no credibility. He has upended the basic foundations of society. La palabra ya no es sagrada and my word is no longer my bond. Time to reread George Orwell and  1984. 

Si el idioma es sonido con significado, huelga decir que el sonido debe emitirse bien, para que se entienda bien. Esto parece una perogrullada, pero hay profesores de idiomas a quienes todo sonido, por mal pronunciado que esté, les parece aceptable. El fonema /i/ de "fit" es completamente diferente al /i:/ de "feet", aunque al oído del hispanohablante parezca igual. Tratemos de practicarlos: Fit          feet Hit          heat Slip         sleep Tin          teen Sin          seen Fill          feel Mill         mill

I have heard of late that the WOKE movement is on the wane so I have decided to venture to post this humorous entry in its wake, hoping we are getting back hold of our senses and the freedom we had before. In former times, when proverbs were invented, long ago, speakers were not afraid to express and air their humor to all and sundry to hear and enjoy. The joke was that wives were the mistresses of the home and had husbands on short leashes, and shouted and domineered them at will. To express the helplessness and mortification of husbands, this funny Latin expression was coined: Sunt tria damna domus: imber, mala femina, fumus, which seeped into Spanish and English as: Tres cosas echan a un hombre de la casa fuera: el humo, la gotera y la mujer vocinglera, Three things drive a man out of his house: smoke, rain, and a scolding wife. 

  The Spanish suffix -ito, like the Engish -let, denotes smallness, pig, piglet; drop, droplet; vaso, vasito; ojo, ojito; mano, manita; libro, librito; and also adds an affectionate touch. In Spanish it is a euphemism, softening -or at least trying to lessen- the original meaning. If a person is fat, gordo, we would try to soften the gordura by using the affectionate suffix -ito: "Carla es gordita", and, presto, possible offensive connotations disappear. In Spain, Blacks are negritos and seldom plain negros, because people believe, erroneously, that negro is offensive. A man is never calvo or baldheaded but calvito; a woman would never be tonta but tontita, which is almost an endearing way of being a fool. Delgadito, bajito, cojito are nice ways to describe thin, short, and lame people.  An example: "El cieguito de mi called, que es calvito, casado con una gordita cojita de Perú, tiene un hijo que parece tontito pero que no lo es." This -ito business certainy suggar...

  El apellido más extendido en el mundo anglosajón es Smith, que deriva de aquellos que artesanalmente trabajaban el hierro principalmente, pero también la plata, el cobre, el oro y otros metales. Aunque los diccionarios no lo consideran un sufijo, yo estimo que lo es, con el significado de artesano, profesional, que trata y se dedica a lo que el sustantivo del cual es sufijo implica, como ilustro en la siguiente lista: Blacksmith Silversmith Locksmith Coppersmith Gunsmith Bladesmith Metalsmith Tinsmith Whitesmith Añado las modernas definiciones siguientes: Jokesmith Wordsmith Songsmith Tunesmith Un "jokesmith" es el profesional que se dedica a escribir chistes y un "wordsmith" es una nueva palabra para lexicógrafo.

  Yes, it is cold these days, but this is normal for Europe in January. People tell one another about the freezing temperatures and how very cold it is outdoors. Of course, as the wit said, they are talking about the weather but they are doing nothing about it. However, the way we express how low the temperature is is funny, in English and Spanish. Here is the entry in my Dictionary: As cold as charity (a witch’s tit, ice, marbles, hell, the dickens) Frío que pela (que te cagas, que te mueres, que corta los cojones) It’s as cold as charity outside Hace un frío que pela ahí fuera — “My Dad says it’s as cold as a witch’s tit today.” Patrick Taylor, An Irish Country Girl , 2010. US. || “Cold as hell out there, right?” Lucky, 2011. US. || “Cold as the dickens.”  Daniel Black, Twelve Gates to the City , 2015. US. || “Eyes as hard and cold as marbles.” Savanna Welles, The Moon Tells Secrets , 2016. US.

  Language is at the beck and call of speakers and their social mindset: obey orders if you break owners. Words and expressions are current as long as they serve a purpose, otherwise, they are discarded, forgotten, and ostracized. Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the President of the Community of Madrid, in Spain, has alerted me several times about Spanish vocabulary and expressions of the Castillian language. I recall offhand “tinta de calamar”, an expression I ignored before she used it in a public speech. Recently, she accused the nation’s socialist administration of trying to lead Spaniards “del ronzal” to its political convenience and advantage. I more than double her age and the word “ronzal” brought memories, as a boy, of my summers in my grandfather’s country house when I pulled “burros del ronzal”, when donkeys, mules, and horses abounded - they almost extinct now. That era is long gone; an era of “serones”, “ramales”, “albardas”, “azadas”… and yet, a woman in her early forties, ad-libb...

Clues I find on the Internet lead me to think, much to my regret, that learning is being watered down, trivialized, and banalized. The other day, an "expert" TV personality told the audience about the wonders of free Internet education available to all. She named one site where courses on multiple subjects could be taken: MOOC, or  Massive Open Online Courses. I rushed to check the site only to find that the courses are not free, although a few can be joined gratis. The offerings come from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Complutense... on multiple subjects that range from the art of giving, to how to be happy. I peeked into one, about the European Union, offered by the University of Hong Kong, just to see. The lecturer has a thick accent that sometimes prevents the student from grasping what the man is trying to say. He added that he was not ashamed to admit he loves Europe, triggering the question: why should he be? Also, accessing from Spain, I find...

Today I was chagrined to learn that the Oficina del Español , Comunidad de Madrid, has disappeared for good. After a few years of erratic direction by unqualified and wayward directors, the office's instigator and designer, Isabel Díaz Ayuso , President of the Community, has done away with it. Why? The original idea was, and is, very commendable and makes sense in a Community that leads Spain in many facets: employment, foreign investment, tourism—both foreign and domestic—health services, law and order, liberty, and more. It would have been the leading champion of the Spanish Language if the original idea had been helmed by a qualified person. Isabel Díaz Ayuso failed to appoint the right person for the right job. The Oficina del Español , as originally framed, would have attracted scholarship, students, events, and, yes, money. The UK knows how to monetize the English Language, while Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries do not seem to be able to equal or emulate its efforts...

  Esta palabra, que puede tener varias traducciones, se asocia con: A bunch of grapes      un racimo de uvas A bunch of flowers    un ramo de flores A bunch of keys          un manojo de llaves A bunch of people      un grupo de gente A bunch of idiots        un hatajo de idiotas a bunch of coins            un puñado de monedas

  I have stated on different occasions that, I am not a believer, yet I am sold on traditions, rituals, and festivities of all kinds. Unfortunately, I am not a believer, but I can appreciate all the benchmarks and milestones that our Christian culture has laid out for us during a given year. Take the Epiphany, "the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi", the Three Wise Men , who searched for the newborn and on the 6th of January brought him gold, incense, and myrrh. Yesterday children in Spain woke up to open the gifts  Los Tres Reyes Magos had brought to celebrate that Epiphany. A harmless celebration that brings joy and mirth to the whole family, especially those with children. So, Felices Reyes Magos and Feliz Año Nuevo, de nuevo.    

You may recall my partiality to Tomás Navarro Tomás 's (1884-1979) Manual de pronunciación española , (1918), a copy of which (1972) is in my modest library. Common sense and clarity dominate this work, which, I believe, is the best in Spanish phonetics and pronunciation. Let me pick out a few quotations which, I hope, will prompt you to dive into this book: "... tratándose de personas cultas, las diferencias fonéticas entre castellanos y andaluces o hispanoamericanos son mucho menores que entre las clases populares." "... una fórmula pueril, que consiste en creer que la lengua española se pronuncia como se escribe." "... la pronunciación correcta rechaza todo vulgarismo provinciano y toda forma local..." "Sabido es que 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....

/s/ sonora quiere decir que las cuerdas vocales suenan, como en  castellano   e s belto , i s la , mi s mo , lo s huesos , la s manos , la s botas . No es un sonido importante en lengua castellana y cuando aparecer, como en los ejemplos, es casi de refilón e imperceptible. Pero en inglés es de vital importancia y marca la diferencia entre palabras: la / s / sonora aparece en el verbo to close , pero no en el adjetivo y adverbio close . Close the door . The store is close to the church . Ejemplos: Suena             No suena Phase               Face Eyes                  ice Pays              pace advise              advice También en music , was , is , doesn't ... Es importante apuntar de nuevo que la ortografiasy la fonética inglesas son parientes que se odi...

  I have been scoffing New Year's resolutions for years, but I have returned to the fold in 2025. I want to try old systems anew to see the results, if any. Little to lose trying to improve ourselves and become more efficient, right? So, I have prepared a few resolutions that, if implemented, will gratify my day-to-day living. Here they are, for you to see and me to perform: 1. Finish compiling A Phraseological Dictionary, English-Spanish . I have been working on it for 4 years, and 2025 should put an end to it. Actively seek a publisher. 2. Write Literatura en Lengua Inglesa, II and III .  3. Improve my phonetic abilities by reading aloud in English and Spanish daily.  4. Daily penmanship or calligraphy as a meditation practice. 5.  Daily bicycle and strength training. 6. Take up again German and French. Nothing to write home about, really, and not a list difficult to accomplish. I am giving myself the benefit of the doubt. Happy New Year. Happy 2025!   3....