LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

  Del derecho Right side out Ponte el calcetín del derecho Put the sock on right side out Derechos de autor Royalties, copyright Vive bien con los derechos de autor de su libro He lives well with the royalties from his book Hecho y derecho Full grown, grown-up Juan es un hombre hecho y derecho John is a full grown man — “Tiene 17 años y es un hombre hecho y derecho que piensa en el futuro.” El Tiempo, 13/09/1996. Colom. No haber derecho Not be fair, there ought to be a law El guardia me ha multado. No hay derecho The cop has given me a fine. Not fair — “… creo que no hay derecho a que se prohíba el aborto...” La Vanguardia, 16/12/1995. Esp. || “No hay derecho a seguir siendo un pueblo miserable...” La Prensa, 12/1/1997. Nicaragua. Ponerse derecho Straighten up, stand up straight ¡Ponte derecho! Stand up straight! — “¡Deja de llorar y ponte derecho como tu padre!” Héctor Sánchez, El héroe de la familia , 1988. Colom. Tener (todo el) derecho a Be intitled...

  Mi nuevo librito Literatura en lengua inglesa I , publicado por Editatum , Madrid, 2023, no es una historia de la literatura inglesa convencional, aburrida y coñazo. Explico mis experiencias  en las lecturas formales en la universidad de Duquesne , de Pittsburgh, Pa., y mis posteriores estudios de libros en lengua inglesa, de todo tipo de países, no sólo de Ingaterra, y de ahí el título. En este primer volumen -de lo que será una trilogía- abarco desde Beowulf hasta Thakeray. Creo que es una guía sucinta y clara que abrirá, para algunos, las puertas de muchos escritores en lengua inglesa, intrigándoles a leer más. Eso es lo que yo espero, claro. Está en castellano con muchos ejemplos en inglés.   

My new book is out: Literatura en lengua Inglesa I , published by  Editatum, Madrid, Spain, 2023. The title refers to literature written in the English language, regardless of geography. This first volume deals with British and American writers, but the coming ones will include Australians, South Africans, Irish, and even Jamaicans. This effort of mine is not truly a history of literature of the English peoples, but rather my vision and experiences with my readings in the English language. It is a very personal account and reflection on writers from Beowulf to Thakeray, in this first volume. I told the publisher that I would have to write another book after this one, but now I know that I will have to make it a trilogy that will include all English-speaking writers I have come across in my long life. Take a look and reach out if you have any comments. 

Un amable amigo (Phillipe Diederich) me envía un escrito en Instagram de diccionariovip, intitulado "Palabras castellanas antiguas que te gustaría conocer." Yo creo que esta gente confunde "antiguo" con "ignorante." Veamos: Francachela . Encuentro en el banco de datos CREA, 28 ejemplos literarios recientes de España, México, Guatemala, Chile, C. Rica y Cuba. Gabriel García Márquez era un antiguo que empleaba la palabra.  Correveidile . CREA nos da 20 ejemplos recientes de España, Venezuela, Perú, México, Rep. Dominicana. Vargas Llosa, Premio Nobel, emplea la palabra. Tampoco es palabra antigua. Jacarandoso . 20 ejemplos recientes de uso de España, México, Cuba, P. Rico, Venezuela. Parece vivita y coleando. Zangolotino . CREA nos da 20 ejemplos de uso de España sólo. CORDE nos da sólo tres ejemplos, de Galdós y Baroja. Cuando el nativo no sabe un término de su idioma suele decir o que no existe o que es "antiguo" y está en desuso, como los señores...

My grandfather Vicente was prone to use verbal crutches or fillers in his speech. He was keenly aware of this and was always on the alert to spot new ones and destroy them. But, alas, as he got rid of one, another fresh crutch word would take over. This phenomenon exists in all languages, and in speakers whose knowledge of language is defective and who must use fillers to cover the gaps in their discourse. This communication effect clouds our meaning and makes it difficult for others to understand what we are saying or trying to say, rather. Get rid of "crutches", "fillers" and always keep an eye peeled to detect them. Spanish speakers use them profusely, especially "la verdad es" or " es verdad que" used like this: "¿Te gusta la casa? La verdad es que sí. "La verdad es que me encanta mi trabajo." "La verdad es que mi marido es muy guapo." "Es verdad que el inglés me resulta dificultoso."  Try to avoid this if y...

I have always loved technology and have been lucky enough to witness the birth of what imbeciles call "the new technology", capable of doing things a that few years ago were absolutely unimaginable. It has afforded countless opportunities for all. Wonderful. And yet, I am not completely satisfied, because of the biblical dictum that many are called but few are chosen. Take Wikipedia , which I have renamed "Wackipedia" because it is truly wacky and irresponsible, and cannot be trusted. It must be used with a grain of salt because, as it is a universal encyclopedia written by all and sunder under no real scholarly control, its accuracy is always in doubt. We are forced to double-check its information from reliable sources. Some articles are exceedingly long, while others are much too short. Very laudatory with some living authors, and miserly with others. And the translations into Spanish are a barrel of laughs! Of course, we can always consult The Encyclopedia Britan...

People have equal ideas, feelings, emotions, and desires, that we express through language. Each language conveys those meanings in different ways that are proper for them, but, often enough native speakers seem to forget the resources their language has and reach out to import strange modes of expression. Such is the case with "en cuanto yo sé", which I have just heard on TV, a direct translation of "as far as I know." I have also heard "por lo que yo sé" as another choice for the English cliché mentioned above, instead of the genuine "que yo sepa", using the subjunctive: "David, que yo sepa, ya no está en Madrid." English uses the subjunctive sparingly and thus it is forced to employ other ways to convey ideas of doubt and uncertainty. Will "en cuanto yo sé" debunk "que yo sepa"? Eventually, I am sure, mainly because the average native speaker´s knowledge of their language is scant and they have a dearth of interes...