Tag Archive for 'Spanish Language'

English Words with a Spanish Pedigree

Published on October 22, 2009 in English Language, Languages and Spanish Language. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Over the centuries, Spanish has made a significant contribution to the English language.  When American settlers began exploring the west in the early 19th century, they crossed paths with an established Mexican culture that supplied the English language with a number of everyday words.  Merchants conducting trade in the Spanish-influenced Caribbean brought back not only goods but new words as well.  Novel foods introduced to us through exposure to Hispanic cultures have expanded both our menu options and our vocabulary.

Let’s explore some of the Spanish loan words that you probably use all the time but never gave a second thought as to their origins.

Chocolate – When the Spanish conquistadors took their first sip of xocolatl, a beverage made from the pods of the cacao tree, they knew the Aztecs were on to something.  The Spanish returned to Europe with their newfound chocolate, a word they derived from the Aztec language Nahuatl and later passed on to English.

Hurricane – With the constant threat of these severe storms looming over the tropics, it’s no surprise that the English word “hurricane” comes from huracán, a word picked up by the Spanish explorers from Taino, an indigenous language from the Caribbean.

Aficionado – Aficionado came into the English language from Spanish in the mid-1800s.  While the word was initially only used within the context of bullfighting, it later came to mean a “practitioner or enthusiast of any sport or activity.”

Rodeo – The word “rodeo” is derived from the Spanish verb rodear, which means “to surround.”  In the past, rodeo was used to refer to the pen where cattle were corralled and eventually to the informal events involving horses and livestock that took place there.  Related words like lasso, rancho, hacienda, bronco and even buckaroo passed to English from Spanish back in the days of the Wild West.

Tomato – This vegetable’s (or is it a fruit?) moniker comes from the Spanish word tomate, a corruption of the Nahuatl word “tomatl”.  A number of other fruits and vegetables that may grace your plate such as banana, papaya, jicama and potato have their roots, so to speak, in Spanish.

LACMA learns to tweet en Español

Published on July 23, 2009 in News, Spanish Language and Spanish Translation. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

Today, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art officially went bilingual on Twitter.

The museum launched a Twitter account, @enLACMA, that will provide Spanish-language tweets to online users. “We were looking for new ways for Spanish speakers to engage in the museum, and this is the next natural step,” said museum spokeswoman Allison Agsten.

LACMA’s tweets will be written in English for its original Twitter account, @LACMA, then will be translated into Spanish. The translation will be overseen by Marietta Torriente de León, a special-event planner at the museum, who also will monitor the account throughout the day. “Twitter is a conversation, so it’s critical that a staff member is there to respond,” Agsten said.

The museum said it tweets an average of three or four times a day and has been on Twitter since January.

So far, Culture Monster hasn’t found any other U.S. museums tweeting in Spanish. We talked to the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, which tweets only in English. MOLAA said most of its online followers are bilingual and prefer to receive communication in English.

Let us know if you come across any U.S. museums that have gone bilingual on Twitter. And while you’re at it, follow us on Twitter: @culturemonster.

– David Ng

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/07/lacma-learns-to-tweet-en-espa%C3%B1ol.html

3 more schools add bilingual immersion programs

Published on July 15, 2009 in Latinos, News and Spanish Language. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

The popularity of dual-language classes in Ventura County schools continues to grow, with three schools starting programs this fall.

Ventura Unified School District started a two-way immersion kindergarten class at Montalvo School about a decade ago. Five more dual-language programs have since come online at elementary and middle schools in Camarillo, Rio, Hueneme and Ventura.

In the fall, three more campuses are expected to be added to the list. Classes are set to start at Tierra Vista in the Ocean View School District; Juan Soria, a new campus in the Oxnard School District, and at Will Rogers in Ventura, which will start the district’s first schoolwide program.

“I think parents throughout the state recognize the value of having their kids be bilingual and biliterate. It’s a huge advantage,” said Associate Superintendent Roger Rice of the Ventura County Office of Education.

The county office plans to start regular meetings in the fall, bringing educators in the dual-language programs together to share best practices, Rice said.

All the local programs are offered in Spanish and English, and in most cases, classes are split evenly between native English and native Spanish speakers. The schools differ, however, in some aspects, including the amount of time students in the programs spend learning in each language.

“We’re really excited,” said Ocean View Assistant Superintendent Marcia Turner. Tierra Vista will have two dual-immersion kindergarten classes this fall, Turner said. Classes will have about one-third Spanish-speakers, one-third English-speakers and one-third bilingual students.
May attract students, funding

District and school officials had planned to reach out to the community with an information campaign to fill the available spots. But after announcing the move at the spring open house, families signed up, filling every seat.

In Ventura, the first class of two-way immersion students at Montalvo will move to high school this fall, having finished immersion classes at Anacapa Middle School. Many already have met college entrance requirements for foreign language studies.

“We knew there was plenty of interest to have a second program,” said Jennifer Robles, a bilingual education director for Ventura schools. This year, about 20 families were on a waiting list at Montalvo School.

Those students were offered a spot at Will Rogers, which will have dual-immersion in all four of its kindergarten classes this August.

Each year, as students move up a class, a grade level will be added to the program.

With the state’s fiscal crisis prompting layoffs and other cuts at local districts, officials said some might question why schools would start new programs. Dual-immersion doesn’t cost the district more money to run than current programs, Robles said, and it benefits students.

Turner said Ocean View officials think it might eventually bring more funding to the district by attracting more students.

Teaching students in Spanish began to disappear in California public schools after voters approved Proposition 227 in 1998, which banned bilingual education unless parents of English learners sign a yearly waiver consenting to the class.
Families see benefit

In two-way or dual-immersion programs, English learners and speakers learn two languages, unlike some bilingual programs in which native Spanish speakers learn in Spanish only until they master English.

Families want their kids to learn a second language while keeping their first language, Robles said, and the dual-immersion programs allow that to happen.

Carlos Avila’s daughter Penelope, 5, will start kindergarten at Will Rogers in August.

“I want her to know that it’s OK to speak a different language,” Avila said. His parents were fluent in English and Spanish, but he learned Spanish only by taking classes in school.

He took part in a student exchange program in Spain. There, he said, children are encouraged to learn multiple languages, unlike the culture he has experienced in the United States.

Because of his family’s Spanish-speaking history, Avila loves that his daughter will learn Spanish and English. But, he added, “I would love to see (programs) not just in Spanish but other languages, too.”

Source: http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/jul/15/3-more-schools-add-bilingual-immersion-programs/

Credit union staff learning to speak Spanish

Published on June 4, 2009 in Latinos, News and Spanish Language. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , .

In the basement below United Educational Credit Union’s lobby on Riverside Drive, nine employees commit to memory the phrases, “This is a deposit slip,” and, “How can I help you?” in Spanish.

Some of its credit union tellers, asset managers and maintenance staff were learning a few banking-related phrases to help bridge language and cultural barriers for potential clients who do not speak English fluently.

“It won’t be perfect, but we are definitely making an effort,” said Joan Miller, an executive assistant who presented the 2009 marketing plan to her employers. “We think it will be a mutual benefit to both.”

Most Spanish-speaking residents in Battle Creek are from Mexico, where personal banking is not as common or accessible as it is in the United States, said Yolanda Campos, who is leading the eight-week language course.

Instead of opening a savings account where their money can earn interest, many people chose to carry their money with them or keep it at home. They tend to turn to predatory lenders offering high-interest-rate loans and check service centers that charge exorbitant fees, said Kate Kennedy, Latino/Hispanic Community Project director.

“They are very unbanked for the most part and use a cash economy,” Kennedy said. “They’ll pay $30,000 down for a house — in cash.”

About five or six years ago, local banks started to realize the potential for new business in the Mexican-American community and began hiring bilingual staff who could help people apply for tax identification numbers. The nine-digit number acts like a social security number for non-citizens who want to open a savings account, Kennedy explained.

“Still a lot of people are tending to use cash,” she said.

Kennedy said United Educational has done more than any other credit union in Battle Creek to reach out to the Spanish-speaking community. It is promoting a bilingual staff member, Elizabeth Hurtado, from part-time to full-time and it is planning to hire another part-time, bilingual staff member as well, Miller said.

“Quite honestly that’s what’s going to attract people,” said Kennedy, who has worked with Hurtado on the Latino/Hispanic Community Project. “They’ll seek Elizabeth out.”

But often the first contact potential clients have is with a teller, so it is prudent that the member services representative at least know how to say in Spanish, “Wait, I’ll get a translator.”

The students joke that after six classes the only phrases they know by heart are “nada” and “no comprendo,” but they say learning about Mexican culture has proven to be an enlightening experience. They won’t make the mistake of forming an “OK” symbol with their thumb and forefinger touching with fingers extended, they said, because they learned that the gesture can be offensive.

They also have learned that the husband typically handles finances for the family. They have become familiar with geographic names of states in Mexico and their proper pronunciation.

“You’re eventually going to see people from all of these states,” Campos told the class.

They certainly hope so.

Source: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20090604/NEWS01/906040320/1002/NEWS01/Credit+union+staff+learning+to+speak+Spanish

MasterCard Preps Hispanic Push

Published on May 20, 2009 in Latinos, News and Spanish Language. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

PURCHASE, N.Y. MasterCard is launching a Hispanic marketing and education initiative promoting the use of its debit and pre-paid products. While the Hispanic population and its buying power has been rapidly on the rise, the segment is still a relatively untapped market for the card issuer, as Hispanics tend to prefer using cash and checks to plastic.

“Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S., representing about 15 percent of the total population, according to the U.S. Census,” said Chris Jogis, svp, U.S. consumer marketing at MasterCard. “But they’re much more used to cash, and in this campaign we are showing and educating them about the benefits of electronic payments.”

The MasterCard pitch includes a new 30-second Spanish-language “Priceless” commercial, “Quebradita,” which focuses on how consumers can better manage money through the use of debit and prepaid cards. (This is also the first time MasterCard has advertised prepaid cards on TV.) Two dancers are performing the Quebradita — translated as “little break” — an acrobatic Latin-American dance style known by its Western clothing, hat tricks and flips. As they dance, their cash flies everywhere, causing audience members to duck. The spot illustrates the message that prepaid is an easy and secure way to pay, rather than fumbling with cash. Spending support behind the campaign was not disclosed.

McCann Erickson, New York, handled creative development.

The commercial will be shown in 11 key U.S. Hispanic markets in California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, New York and Illinois. In addition to TV, MasterCard is using Spanish-language radio ads, as well as out-of-home and online advertising.

“As we look to continue to bring value to Hispanic consumers, it is important for MasterCard to be speaking in their language in channels that are relevant to them,” said Jogis, who added that MasterCard has used targeted-Hispanic advertising since 2000.

MasterCard is augmenting its mass-media push with a community approach that promotes financial literacy at a grass-roots level, taking the effort into cash-driven businesses like check-cashing centers and laundromats.

MasterCard is also working in partnership with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, sponsor of the Hispanic Heritage Awards and Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards, and Spanish-language media company Univision, which will draw upon its on-air talent to create a financial education series.

During this difficult economic environment, Jogis said MasterCard’s broader underlying marketing emphasis in the “Priceless” campaign is “outsmarting the times.”

He added: “Value doesn’t just mean saving money; it means the convenience you get through electronic payments.”

Source:  http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/client/e3i7ee3d207fbb1fda3969c5c7c3cbfe874

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