LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

      Every day we hear about “new technologies,” nuevas tecnologías —e-mail, mobile phones, AI, instant communication. I use them gratefully.      From Madrid, I can consult the Library of Congress, read an 1890 newspaper, send a manuscript in seconds, or access media from across the ocean. Everything is at my fingertips.      Yet technology is nothing new. Fire, the wheel, writing, the printing press—humanity has always advanced through it. Only the speed has changed.      One tool, however, remains supreme: Language.      It lets us communicate, preserve knowledge, persuade, sell, and connect. It is the technology behind all technologies.      You cannot buy it or download it. You must build it. Success depends on it: vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, comprehension.      What is the best English or Spanish? The one that is understood. Nothing more.      Those...

        For some months now, almost daily, my daughter Lorraine has been sending me three or four snapshots of her newly acquired pet, a handsome four-year-old Akita. She is head-over-heels in love with this new addition to her family. Both have been trained and certified as a pet therapy team for those in need of emotional support.      What explains this sudden attachment to the newcomer?      Momo is obedient, well-bred, does not argue, and does not try to impose his will. He listens attentively, offers emotional support (he is certified for that), and makes few demands on his mistress. Above all, he communicates his feelings and needs simply: a look, a stare, a stance, a soft bark. The perfect companion.      He never questions decisions or contradicts them. This suggests that to form a connection with a sentient being, language may not be an absolute necessity. Momo does not keep score. He does not pass judgment ...

  Not a day goes by without hearing about the nuevas tecnologías and how they are reshaping our lives. E-mail, mobile phones, laptops, tablets, instant communication, e-readers - the whole arsenal. I am grateful for them and use them constantly. From my home in Madrid, I can consult the Library of Congress catalog. I no longer need to hurry to the Biblioteca Nacional to look up an issue of El Imparcial from 1890, nor must I print a manuscript and mail it to my publisher in Barcelona. I can read a New York newspaper or listen to a Pittsburgh radio station right here in Europe. Bibliography is now literally at my fingertips. Yet I sometimes think we forget that humanity has always lived with technology. Fire, paper, the wheel, boats, writing, currency, the plow, the printing press—every age has had its innovations. The difference today is merely the speed: change now arrives overnight, not over generations. But after all the gadgets and marvels, our most powerful tool remains th...

In his writings, interviews, and talks, Dr. George Sheehan (1918-1993), the cardiologist and guru runner, often mentioned Ortega, one of his intellectual mentors. José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) is not a household word in the Saxon world, nor is he in the Hispanic world. Ortega, as he is known by his readers and followers, is one of the 20th century's most important and serious European philosophers. I am rereading his La rebelión de las masas (1929), perhaps the most important literary works of the century, and where he coined the term "hombre masa",  or mass man. Let me offer a few quotations about language from this book: "... la obra de caridad más propia de nuestro tiempo: no publicar libros superfluous." "... cuando el hombre se pone a hablar, lo hace porque cree que va a poder decir cuanto piensa. Pues bien: esto es lo ilusiorio. El lenguaje no da para tanto." "Se ha abusado de la palabra, y por eso ha caído en desprestigio." ...

  Language -any language- has a dearth of possibilities that man refuses to admit. We prefer to think that language is a limitless tool at our service. We may believe we can express our thoughts adequately using words but, unfortunately, language does not stretch that much. Feelings and emotions are hard to pin down with words, words whose meanings change in time, and with customs and conventions. There will always be a gap between what we are trying to convey and the words we actually use. Language is not a static entity so please do not be deceived, and remember that language is not a precision tool. 

  Language is not about a prescriptive or descriptive approach to it. It goes far beyond that. If descriptive grammar simply tells you about it, the prescriptive approach judges it. I am not taking sides when I point out grammar, syntax, vocabulary, or phonetics errors. Deep down, I could not care less. But language is all about communication, not about being right or wrong. It deals with how to convey ideas briefly, clearly, and easily.  Transgressions against the established rules usually create confusion and misunderstandings.  As an example, of late I have been listening to Spanish politicians mishandling their language and creating havoc in the minds of the average citizen. Listening to them, it is clear they are educationally half-baked, tending to use bizarre syntax, making up strange neologisms, misquoting proverbs, and changing ready-made idiomatic expressions in a helter-skelter way. No wonder Spain is in a state of educational, intellectual, and emotional turmo...

  El idioma no miente pero la gente junta las palabras, las posiciona, las escoge, de manera tal que sirvan a sus propósitos de engaños, estafas, supercherías, decepciones, embustes... y más. Me refiero esta vez a los bancos, que se aprovechan del idioma para presentar una imagen bondadosa, eficaz, honrada, proba e íntegra de su actividad, con un descaro inaudito. Pagan a otras entidades sin escrúpulos para que presenten su negocio como altruista. Eslogan es para María Moliner:  "Expresión breve muy significativa y fácil de recordar." "Trabajamos para ti." (Trabajamos para ganar dinero sea como sea.) "Somos tu banco amigo." (Con amigos así no necesitamos enemigos.)   "Tráenos tu hipoteca y nosotros haremos el resto." (Te desplumaremos y te amargaremos la vida.) " "Te estamos esperando." (Para engañarte y exprimirte.) "Somos alguien en quién confiar." (Desfachatez inaudita.)  "Justo, personal y sencillo." (Ningun...

Most woes can be soothed, remedied, placated with language. Suffering can be softened with the right words. Mourning is relieved with the understanding empathy of the spoken or written message of care, friendship and love. Grief and loneliness are made less when the sounds of language are heard. The right words can make us strong in times of trouble. Words can give meaning to our lives. Verily, there is a language solution to our woes. Language is to be sure a two-edged sword as we know. But today, just today, let us be of good cheer and dwell and fix our attention on the positiveness of the miracle of the sound-with-meaning phenomenon. Verily, language is the universal cure-all that lightens our souls and makes our journey pleasant, in troubled waters.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/delfan-carbonell/sexism-machismo-in-langua_b_9238938.html

What is the meaning of mastering a foreign language? Does the average native speaker truly master his own language? Can we cut up a language into pieces like "beginner's level", "intermediate level" or "proficiency level"? To master a foreign language is an endless task, a dauntless chimera, an idle fancy.The same with our own mother tongue. In our case we aim at mastering English and Spanish. Swahili is an easy, simple language to learn and communicate with, but we are never going to use it. We can say we master a language when we can talk about any subject with ease, without gettiung tired, without making an intellectual effort. Of course, we will be restricted by our cultural and educational horizon. I, for one, cannot discuss biology or physics in either language because my ignorance of both subjects is abysmal. The proof of the language is in the speaking. The proof of the language is in the writing. The proof of the language is in the ...