module 3 conversemos

Question

Spanish speaking assignment:

These questions are asking about Spanish word usage, and Spanish sentences. Some questions can be answered in English, while some need to be answered in Spanish.

1. Explain what a borrowed word is and give some examples.
2. Explain what a subject pronoun is and say which you would use to talk about yourself, your best friend, your dad, and what you'd use to talk to your best friend and your best friend's dad.
3. What is the difference between gustar and encantar? Use both in a sentence (in Spanish).
4. Ask a question using a stem changing verb (preferer, querer, tener) relating to food.
5. Tell me something you learned about restaurants or meal time culture in the Spanish speaking world.

Answer 1

1. A borrowed word or "loanword" is a word taken from one language and used in another. In English, we use words and phrases like patio (from Spanish), zeitgeist (from German), orangutan (from Indonesian), and igloo (from Inuit). Interestingly, a language sometimes takes a word directly from another while slightly altering the meaning in the process. Did you know that in many other languages (including Spanish and Polish, to name just two), a tuxedo is called a "smoking"? Taken from the English term "smoking jacket," which is absolutely not the same thing as a tuxedo, this kind of loanword is known as a "false friend."
2. A subject pronoun is used to replace a noun that is the subject of a sentence. For example, you could say, "Kanye West just put out a new album," but if you already know from the rest of the conversation that we're talking about Kanye, you could simply say, "He just put out a new album." To talk about myself, I would use I (yo in Spanish); she (ella) to talk about my best friend; he (él) to talk about my dad; and they (ellos) to talk about my best friend and her dad.
3. Gustar is closest to "like" in English, while encantar is closer to "love," although there are some subtle differences (for example, encantar is not used when we're talking about romantic love). I might say Me gusta el invierno, pero me encanta la primavera ("I like winter but I love spring").
4. ¿Quieres una empanada de pollo o prefieres algo sin carne? (Do you want a chicken empanada or do you prefer something without meat?)
5. In Peru, many small restaurants serve a menú (another false friend!) for lunch. This means diners get to choose one item from a limited number of options, usually including a drink and a dessert, with all possible combinations having the same set price. In English, we call this a "set menu," although we also use the equivalent French (!) term prix fixe.

Answer 2

¿Qué te apasiona de estudiar español?

¿Te gustaría aprender español de forma divertida y dinámica?



Dime dos razones de por qué estudiar español u otra lengua es de gran importancia para ti.