Learning Spanish Language Can Increase Business Opportunities

Language Overview:

Spanish is spoken in 44 countries; majority of Latin America and parts of Europe. It is spoken by over 500 million people worldwide and is the 2nd most spoken language in the world. 100 million have Spanish as a second language. The United States alone has over 40 million native speakers. Spanish is an important skill to have because there employers will look for bilingualism as a trait in the workplace.

I want to study this language for a multitude of reasons. For one, I already speak it to an extent and I think that developing my knowledge in Spanish even further will aid my goal in becoming bilingual. Studying this language is beneficial to becoming culturally sensitive with the different people groups that I will interact with in the future. By knowing Spanish, I am more liking to be successful in the work industry.

Possible Language Partners: Josefina Baez, James Teague, Carolina Sierra, Judd Aguiar.

Greetings, Farewells, Common Expressions:

1. Hola [olɔ] - used to greet someone. Formal or informal.
2. Que Pasa? [ke pɔsə] - used to greet. informal.
3. Buenos Dias [bwɛnos diɔs] used to greet in the morning. more so formal and than informal.
4. Buenos noches [bwɛnos nɤd͡ʒɛs] - used to greet at night. more so formal than informal.
5. Buenos tardes [bwɛnos tɔrdɛz] - used to greet in the afternoon. more so formal than informal.

Writing System:

Symbol Name IPA Sound name Explanation

F Efe (f) -Labiodental fricative voiceless Generally followed by a vowel.

Be B (β)

(b)

(B) -Bilabial fricative voiced

-Bilabial plosive stop voiced

-Bilabial trill voiced [v] is often pronounced as a [b]

H Hache (H (h)

(ʢ) (ɦ)

(ʡ) (ʔ) Glottal fricative voiceless

Glottal fricative voiced

Glottal plosive voiceless Is often silent. Ex: hoy; hacer

J Jota (d͡ʒ)

(ʒ) (ɧ) Alveolar affricate voiced

Alveolar fricative voiced Pronounced more like an English H.

Ex: Jesus [hɛsus]

2 Corinthians 4:17

Pues esta aflicción leve y pasajera nos produce un eterno peso de gloria que sobrepasa toda comparación.

(This is read left to right and Spanish is very much like English)

You can not change the syntax of the phrase without changing the meaning.

Ex: Casa Karena fue. (House Karena went)

Ex: Jueges su perro con Karena. (Plays dog with Karena)

Morphology:

• Juan esta comiendo arroz. (Equivalent to ing in English – present tense)
• Mary esta comiendo arroz. (Equivalent to ing in English – present tense)
• Juan comio arroz ayer. (Past tense – Preterit)
• Juan va a comer arroz manana. (Future tense)
• Juan va a comer un huevo manana. (Future tense)
• Juan va a comer dos huevos manana. (Future tense)
• Voy a comer dos huevos manana. (Future tense)
• Voy a comer un huevo cada dia. (Future tense)

This type of syntax is fusional.

Related Languages:

Spanish belong to the Proto-Indo-European, falling under Italic, and then Latin. French and Romanian also belong to this category. They are related because each of those languages have some of the same wording but can be pronounced differently, have a different meaning, or have a difference in whether it is used formally or not. For example, when I was in Ecuador, I came back speaking Spanish like “the mountain people” because there Spanish is closed tied with Quecha.

For breakfast, the regular word in Spanish is desyuno. However, in Ecuador, although still speaking Spanish, it is known as cafecito. It has the same meaning but is a different word.

Translation History & Use:

The New Testament was translated into Spanish and was published in 1543. The whole Bible, Old and New Testaments, were published in 1553 by Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano De Valera in Toledo, Spain. At this time there was a strong desire by the Castilians in the 14th century. There was a long disagreement between Catholics and Protestants during this time which delayed the Spanish translation.

Semantics: Multiple Related Senses; Idioms:

Spanish Idioms

Phrase Literal Figurative

“Echar agua al mar” Throw water into the sea pointless

“Del sol a sol” From sun to sun All day long

“Se me hace agua al boca” It makes my mouth water A food that is delicious

“Tener humor de perros” To have the mood of a dog To have a bad mood

“Cada dos por tres” Every two for three Usually/generally