THURSDAY AFTERNOON SPANISH PHRASES

By Debbie Bulloch



To continue with our occasional series SPANISH PHRASES OF THE WEEK here are ten phrases that may come in handy some day. Before we go to the phrases, however, here is a brief history of the Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian (Castellano) is a Romance language that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade. It was taken most notably to the Americas, and also to Africa and Asia Pacific with the expansion of the Spanish Empire between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Spaniards tend to call this language Español (Spanish) when contrasting it with languages such as French and English, but call it Castellano (Castilian), that is, the language of the Castile region, when contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician, Basque, and Catalan. This reasoning also holds true for the language's preferred name in some Latin American countries. In this manner, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of the whole Spanish State, as opposed to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. the other Spanish languages). However, to some in other linguistic regions, this is considered as demeaning to them and they will therefore use the term castellano exclusively.

The name Castellano (Castilian), which refers directly to the origins of the language and the sociopolitical context in which it was introduced in the Americas, is preferred in Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Chile, instead of Español, which is more commonly used to refer to the language as a whole in the rest of Latin America.

Spanish evolved from Vulgar Latin, with influences from Arabic, from Basque and Celtiberian, as well as Germanic languages via the Visigoths. Spanish developed along the remote cross road strips among the Alava, Cantabria, Burgos, Soria and La Rioja provinces of Northern Spain as a strongly innovative and differing variant from its nearest cousin, Leonese, with a higher degree of Basque influence in these regions (see Iberian Romance languages). Typical features of Spanish diachronical phonology include lenition (Latin vita, Spanish vida), palatalization (Latin annum, Spanish año, and Latin anellum, Spanish anillo) and diphthongation (stem-changing) of short e and o from Vulgar Latin (Latin terra, Spanish tierra; Latin novus, Spanish nuevo). Similar phenomena can be found in other Romance languages as well.

The first Latin-to-Spanish grammar (Gramática de la Lengua Castellana) was written in Salamanca, Spain, in 1492 (same year that Columbus landed in America), by Elio Antonio de Nebrija. When it was presented to Isabel de Castilla, she asked, "What do I want a work like this for, if I already know the language?", to which elio replied, "Your highness, the language is the instrument of the Empire."

From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Americas and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization. In the 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara, and in areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as in Spanish Harlem, in New York City.

Today, about 400 million people speak Spanish as a native language, making it the world's second most spoken language. Mexico contains the largest population of Spanish speakers.

Spanish is growing increasingly popular as a second or third language in a number of countries due to logistical, economic, and touristic interest towards the many nations which chiefly use Spanish as the primary language. This phenomenon is most notable in Brazil, the United States, Italy, France, Portugal, and much of the Anglosphere in general.

I am fortunate to be able to speak, write and read Spanish fluently. I owe my fluency in Spanish to my mother’s side of the family and to the fact that you can’t take two steps in California without bumping into a Spanish speaker, coming across a business where Spanish is spoken or listening to the rhythms of Latin music.

Now, without further ado, is this week’s selection of Spanish Phrases. These phrases may come in handy if you find yourself traveling in a Spanish-speaking country and, all of the sudden, you find yourself a little under the weather:

No me siento bien.
I feel unwell or I don't feel well.

Me siento mal.
I feel ill.

Me duele la cabeza.
I have a headache

Me duele el estomago.
I have stomach ache.

¿Puede usted me da algo para el dolor?
Can you give me something for the pain?

Tengo fiebre.
I have a temperature

Me mareo.
I feel dizzy.

Una abeja me picó.
I've been stung by a bee.

Tiene alergia a los camarones.
She's (he’s) allergic to shrimp.

Tiene el pulgar hinchado.
His thumb is swollen.

Last night I was invited to dinner at SanPaul’s home. As usual, the food was great; white rice and black beans, fried plantain, yucca with mojo (mojo is a delicious marinate made with garlic – Italian penicillin) and carne asada. As it is also customary, there was lively and spirited dinner conversation which then spilled into the living room where we all had "cafe Cubano" (Cuban coffee is a strong coffee similar to espresso). Even for me it was sometimes hard to keep up with the Cubans in the room (try keeping up with a lawyer, especially when he lapses into the fastpaced “Cuban Spanish”). We discussed a wide range of subjects from the economy, to the Iraq war, to Obama’s recent overtures to the Castro regime and Fidel Castro’s response to Obama’s offer of friendship. On the subject of the current Cuban situation I have asked SanPaul to share his thoughts and comments; I hope that he will take me up on my offer.

There was also Cuban music, lots of it. Last night the focus was on Gloria Estefan, the well-known Miami-based Cuban singer. Gloria came to the United States when she was a little girl; she was part of the large influx of Cubans who, in the ‘60s and ‘70s, were forced to flee their country to escape Castro's oppression.

Here are two of Gloria's best known songs. The first, MI TIERRA (MY LAND) speaks of a people’s remembrance of their lost homeland and their desire to, someday, be able to return there.




The second song CONGA, well the title speaks for itself. This particular version was filmed live at a Conga Fesitval in Rotterdam (yucca, did you catch her?)



I don't know anyone who can resist the call of the drums to jump on the dance floor and dance to the beat of that wonderful music - I know I can't.

¡Disfruten mucho con esta rica musica!