Spanish language is the 2nd language in the world, after Chinese

Very informative piece of news here, about the current situation of Spanish language worldwide!

Image: 7.6% of the world population is today Spanish-speaking.

Spanish is the second most spoken mother tongue in the world, behind Mandarin Chinese, and the third most used on the Internet, according to the yearbook "Spanish in the world" 2018, presented today by the Cervantes Institute in Madrid.
The number of Spanish speakers increased to 577 million (from 572.6 million last year), of which 480 million have Spanish as their mother tongue. The figure implies that 7.6 percent of the world population speaks the language of Cervantes

In addition, it is the most studied foreign language in the United States. Nearly 22 million people learn Spanish in 107 countries, said the director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, and other authorities during the presentation of the study.

Spanish is thus disputed with French and Chinese second place among the languages ​​most studied as a second language, behind English, and is perceived as "the most important language for the future" in the United Kingdom, according to the yearbook.

The 386-page study collects key data on Spanish in various scientific and economic sectors. They stand out for example those of the publishing house, where Spain appears like third exporting country of books of the world behind the United Kingdom and the United States.

With regard to the Internet, it is the third most used language - behind English and Chinese - and the second one in portals such as Wikipedia, Facebook and Twitter. Mexico is among the ten countries with the largest number of users on the Internet.

Instituto Cervantes was created in 1991 to promote the teaching, study and use of Spanish throughout the world. It has 87 centers distributed in 44 countries across the five continents, as detailed on its website.

"Spanish in the world" is its main specialized publication and this year celebrates its twentieth anniversary since it began to be published in 1998. Since then it has become a reference on Spanish-speaking demolinguistics for experts from all over the world.


Translation from the source in Spanish right here.

Canciones hispanas 3: Tus besos (de Juan Luís Guerra)

¡Hola! I have recently found this new song from Juan Luís Guerra, who is a very famous singer from Hispanic America. He plays mostly bachata and other related music styles. This song talks about love and about how much a person loves the kisses from his beloved one. Note: There is a nice intro scene and the song itself begins at 0:50. 

Hope you enjoy it! You can read the lyrics below while listening to it. ¡Hasta pronto! :)

Letra de la canción:

Para mi corazón

A ti te canto, solo a ti (Gua, guarara)
Bachata con inspiración (Gua, guarara)
A ti princesa linda de mi corazón
Oooh de mi corazón

Amada tu eres para mi (Gua, guarara)
Como ramito de azahar (Gua, guarara)
Manzana y palomita de mi palomar
Ooh de mi palomar
Amor intenso, más ancho que el mar

Tus besos se han quedado en mi cara mujer
Son como sellitos de amor en mi piel
Tus besos procurándome en esta canción
Viven en la esquina de mi corazón

Tus besos me enamoran, me colman de bien
Besos de ternura, besitos de miel
Tus besos que me arrullan, me dan la ilusión
Bálsamo y perfume para mi corazón
Oooh, oooh, para mi corazón

Hermosa luces para mi (Gua, guarara)
Tus ojos mi revelación (Gua, guarara)
No hay nada como el dulce que tiene tu voz
No como el dulce que tiene tu voz

Perfecta tu eres para mi (Gua, guarara)
Tu cuello y tus cabellos son (Gua, guarara)
Columna de palacio y orquídeas de sol
Ooh orquídeas de sol
Incienso y mirra pa mi corazón

Porque tus besos
Se han quedado en mi cara mujer
Son como sellitos de amor en mi piel
Tus besos procurándome en esta canción
Viven en la esquina de mi corazón

Tus besos me enamoran, me cubren de bien
Besos de ternura, besitos de miel
Y tus besos que me arrullan, me dan la ilusión
Bálsamo y perfume pa mi corazón

Vístete de amanecer, cubreme con tu esplendor
Muéstrame cuan alto y profundo es tu amor
Ooh cuan alto y profundo es tu amor

Tus besos se han quedado en mi cara mujer
Son como sellitos de amor en mi piel
Tus besos procurándome en esta canción
Viven en la esquina de mi corazón

Tus besos me arrullan, me colman de bien
Besos de ternura, besitos de miel
Tus besos me enamoran, me dan la ilusión
Bálsamo y perfume para mi corazón
Oooh, oooh, pa mi corazón
Oooh, oooh, pa mi corazón

Canciones hispanas 2: "Torero" (de Chayanne)

¡Hola! Today I want to share with you a song in Spanish that I personally like. Actually I would say that it is a very well-known song from the 00s. :) The singer's name is Chayanne, he is from Puerto Rico, as many other great Spanish-speaker singers out there. Listen to this song and read its lyrics here, just below!

Letra de la canción "Torero", de Chayanne (lyrics):

De lunes a domingo voy desesperado El corazón prendido en el calendario Buscándote y buscando como un mercenario Tu dime donde estás que yo no te he encontrado Tus manecillas giran yo voy al contrario Comiendome la vida a sorbos y a tragos Me viste así de frente que tremendo impacto Para unirme a tu mirada dime si hay que ser.... Torero, poner el alma en el ruedo No importa lo que se venga Pa'que sepas que te quiero Como un buen torero Me juego la vida por tí.... Si hay que ser, torero Poner el alma enel ruedo No importa lo que se venga Pa'que sepas que te quiero Como un buen torero Me juego la vida por tí....

Hope you enjoy, let me know in comments section down below! Have a nice day, buenos días! :)

Additional note: More details about this song here. Thanks!

Canciones hispanas 1: Juan Luís Guerra - Mi Bendición

Today I want to share with you this romantic song, which I find very beautiful. Its lyric is poetical and passionate, really nice to hear. Video and lyric below. Hope you enjoy it too! :)

Dicen que las flores no dejaban de cantar

Tu nombre, tu nombre cariño
Que las olas de los mares te hicieron un chal
De espuma, de nubes y lirios

Y la luna no se convenció

Y bajo a mirarte el corazón
Y al mirarte dijo que no había visto un sol
Radiante, mas bello que mi bendición

Tenerte, besarte, andar de la mano contigo

Mi cielo, mirarte, decirte un te quiero al oído
Yo te lo digo, que bendición

Dicen que las palmas aplaudían al oír

Tus pasos, tus pasos cariño
Que los ríos salen de su cauce al contemplar
Tus ojos, tus ojos divinos

Y un lucero no se convenció

Y bajo a mirarte el corazón
Y al mirarte dijo que no había visto luna
Llena, mas bella que mi bendición

Tenerte, besarte, andar de la mano contigo

Mi cielo, mirarte, decirte un te quiero al oído
Yo te lo digo, que bendición

Cuando me hablas oigo un coro de amor
Para dos

El falsete de un te quiero pegado a
Tu voz, que bendición

Tenerte, besarte, andar de la mano contigo

Mi cielo, mirarte, decirte un te quiero al oído
Yo te lo digo, que bendición

Tenerte, besarte, andar de la mano contigo

Mi cielo, mirarte, decirte un te quiero al oído
Yo te lo digo, que bendición

"Bien" and "mal" against "bueno" and "malo"

Hi there!

Many students struggle to understand the difference between these two couples of words:

Which are the main differences?

- Bien and Mal are adverbs. They follow a verb. For example:

"Yo estoy bien", "Ellos están mal".

And note that they do not need gender neither number concordance with subject or object. They only have one way to be written in any case, "bien" and "mal".

- Bueno and Malo are adjectives. They follow a noun. For example:

"Él es alto", "Ella está contenta", "Ellos son altos", "Ellas están contentas".

In this case, they need to have gender and number concordance with the subject / object, as they are adjectives. So you have these four forms: "bueno", "buenos" and "buena", "buenas".

Here is an additional short explanation that may help you. 

And here another one! It also talks about the adjective form "buen" and the adjective "grande", which works similarly.

Hope this helps. Thank you for reading ! :)

Malqui-Machay, the last resting place of the Inca

¡Hola!

Today I read an interesting article on Miami Herald, talking about the 'lost' treasure of the Inca Empire before the Spanish Conquest. It is said that the Inca had stashed a huge treasure of gold in the mountains. It was a ransom to get back their Emperor, Mr Atahualpa, from the Spaniards. But the ransom was not delivered, because the Emperor died before being able to do the exchange.

This is what has been said so far. However, Ms Estupiñán (a historian who has been studying about the Incas for 30 years) recently suggested another version, after doing some discoveries by reading a 4,000-pages book.

Amazingly, that book is written in Spanish. :O You should check it out and try to understand at least one letter. Honestly, I have not been able to get a word of it. =) And it took Ms Estupiñán almost a year to transcribe the 7-pages Testament of Atahualpa's son, also written in Spanish like this.

Hope you enjoy the article, thanks for checking it and have a nice day! :)

Talking over the phone

¡Hola!

Today I want to tell you about the different ways we have to answer and talking over the phone, let's see some situations!

Answering the phone:

¿Sí? (everywhere) / ¿Bueno? (America) = Yes? (Who is there?)
¿Quién es? = Who is there?
¿Hola? (Spain) / ¿Aló? (América) = Hello.

The person who calls may reply saying "Hola" or, if that person knows with who is talking after hearing his/her voice, maybe the name of the person. Ex: ¿Antonio?

Asking for someone:

¿Está (name)? = Is (name) there?
¿Podría hablar con ... (name)? = May I talk with ... (name)?
¿Se puede poner... (name)? = Can (name) take the phone and talk with me?

Leaving a message:

¿Le quiere dejar un recado? / ¿Quiere que le diga algo de su parte?
= Do you want to leave him a message?

Saying bye: There is no special way of saying bye over the phone, just:
"Gracias, adiós" or "Hasta pronto" sounds good enough.

I hope it is useful for you. ¡Hasta pronto!

Some video examples below:

Phone conversation (American Spanish). The pronunciation is a bit exaggerated, a short 2-min video, but the good side is that it could be a typical conversation, and it is easy to understand.

Phone conversation (Spanish from Spain). This conversation is done at a normal pace. It is a 5-min short film. Actually, it might be hard to understand the whole conversation. But still, you can learn about the situations that we checked out in this post.

The Sephardic Spanish, a part of Spain

Sephardic Spanish were Jewish people who lived in Spain for centuries before 1492. They held important position in the Government and other important institutions in the country. Moreover, it is said that most of the counselors of Alfonso X El Sabio (The Wise) were Sephardi.

For them, Spain is Sepharad, a promised land in the Bible (Obad. 1:20). When they arrived to Spain, the country was really in a golden period of its time, being a source of culture and a bridge to new knowledges coming from the Arab world, thanks to the Spanish translator monks.

              

In 1492, Spain was in a period of time when it was still building itself as a country unified under only one kingdom. Before that, more than 2 had been ruling different parts of the territory. At around that time, the Catholic Kings became the Kingdom of Spain, and therefore they needed to reorganize some aspects of the Kingdom. Moreover, they were concerned about Sephardic people, because of their economic and social power, while not being Catholic... Therefore, they let them choose to convert to Catholicism, or leave the country. Although many people (really or just admittedly) converted and remained in Spain, some of them decided to leave the country... However, they left it full of sadness, because of their deep roots with Spanish culture and people.

                      

It needs to be said that these event is not exclusive of Spain. It is the only one that happened in Spain and, actually, it is one of the last ones that happened in Europe. Before this one, England and France, among other countries, had done it in a forceful way to Jewish people for the same or similar reasons.

After hundreds of years, these amazing people kept their Spanish roots and carried Spanish language with them. However, it was separated from Spain before it made huge changes and became the current Spanish.
For that reason, "Judeoespañol", or Sephardic Spanish, is more similar to the Middle Age Spanish than the current one. In the next post, I will talk about this language. I am amazed to listen to it, it is a language treasure and, in my opinion, its people is very creditable.

Some references to learn more (please be aware these are long articles):

- Sephardic Jews
- Sephardic laws and customs
- History of the Jews in Spain


¡Gracias y hasta pronto!

What's the weather like ?

Hi there! Today I would like to show you how we talk about the weather in Spanish.

The question would be: ¿Qué tiempo hace?

Note that we use the noun "tiempo" both for "time" and for "weather" in Spanish.

Then, we may reply one of the following expressions, depending on how the weather is like:

Hace sol - It is sunny (literally "it does Sun")
Está nublado - It is cloudy (literally "it is cloudy")
Llueve - It rains (literally the same)
Nieva - It snows (literally the same)
Hay tormenta - It is stormy (literally "there is storm")

Besides that, you may want to talk about the feeling of warmth:

Hace calor - It is hot (literally "it does hot")
Hace frío - It is cold (literally "it does cold")
Se está bien - It is fresh and nice (literally something like "it is felt as good")
Ni frío ni calor - Nor cold neither hot (= good weather)

Note the difference with the following expressions:

Tengo frío (I am cold)
Tengo calor (I am hot)

The first one is about the weather, the second one is how do you feel.

Hope you like it, have a nice day! :)

What's the time in Spanish

Hi there! In this post we will see how to say what time it is in Spanish.

First of all, we need to remember the numbers from 1 to 60. Do not worry, let's review them now!

Alright! Having that in your mind, we can see the words that we need to say what time it is... Note that the hour (la hora) is a femenine noun, therefore we need to write the number in female.

one o'clock = la una.
a quarter past one = la una y cuarto.
half past one = la una y media.
a quarter to one = la una menos cuarto.
two o'clock straight = las dos en punto.

Note: Do not forget that number higher than 1 are plural (obvious, right? =), then you need to use the plural article with them (las dos, las tres... las diez, las once, las doce...)

And finally, what about the 'digital' way of telling time? just say the hour and replace the bold part above with "y" followed by the specific number of minutes... like --> 1:25 pm = la una y veinticinco.

Now let's see if you can tell me what time it is in the clocks below. ¿Qué hora es? Feel free to let me know in the comments section below :)

   


        


Thank you for reading and hoepe it is useful for you! See you around! :)

Differences in vocabulary between Spanish from Spain and Spanish from Latin America

Hi there! Today I want to show you some differences in vocabulary between the Spanish language that is spoken in Spain and the Spanish language spoken in the Spanish-speaking countries in America.

By the way, please note that when we say 'American Spanish', we are referring to the Spanish dialects of America, which means that there are differences in vocabulary between those dialects as well.

American Spanish	Spanish from Spain	English
gancho	percha	hanger
platicar	charlar	chat
conmutador	centralita	switchboard
encendedor	mechero	lighter
papa	patata	potato
computadora	ordenador	computer
tomar (una cosa)	coger (una cosa) *	take (something)
florería	floristería	florist
fotocopiado	copistería	copy shop
estacionarse	aparcarse	park
mesero	camarero	waiter

* Be careful not to use it in America trying to say 'take a thing', because over there that verb has a completely different meaning (to have sexual relations). Although people would understand what you mean, that is the first meaning of that verb in America. Therefore, please say 'tomar' or 'agarrar' in America for 'take something'.

And if you want to see how confussing could it get (making an admirable effort =), please listen to the following song: Qué difícil es hablar en español! from Inténtelo Carito (thank you, it is a very nice song!)

¡Gracias y hasta pronto! :)

Pu Jie, the succesful Chinese singer who sings in Spanish

Talking about Bésame mucho, it worths reading this... :)

Pu Jie is a Chinese singer. When she went to Cuba, she started to enjoy Latin American music. Since then, she has been passionate about it. She has even recorded an album in China entitled "Gracias a la vida" (Thanks to the life), in which she sings Hispanic music known worldwide, like "Bésame mucho".

Check this video, she sings very well! :)

Pu Jie says that she admires Violeta Parra and Mercedes Sosa, and she dances and sings salsa. She started to learn salsa thanks to the Chinese internship program in Cuba. Apart from "Bésame mucho", she has also performed other hits like "Alma llanera", "Guantanamera" or the tango "El día que me quieras". And you know, although she pronounces quite well, she admitted that she is still not a fluent Spanish-speaker. =))

However, her willing is not to sing only Latin American songs in China. Actually, she wants to be a "cultural connection", a bridge so that both countries get to know each other better. In addition, she wants to introduce Chinese culture to Cuba, as well as Cuban culture in China. That is why she sings popular Chinese songs with her traditional dress, during her performances.

Therefore, this is a curious and interesting piece of news, and if you want you can check the complete explanation in Spanish for more details.

¡Muchas gracias por leer el post! :)
(Thank you very much for reading the post! :)

Bésame mucho, a great sucess of Consuelo Velázquez

Who in the Spanish-speaking world does not know this song? I have heard it even in China, from a big speaker in the street! This song was composed by the singer Consuelo Velázquez in 1940, and since then it has never became out of fashion. In fact, it has became a standard in Romantic music, one of the first songs in which you will think when someone asks you for a love, romantic song in Spanish.

Consuelo was a Mexican composer who became very well-known after this song. And Emilio Tuero was the first singer who recorded it, achieving immediate worldwide success. As a curious fact, it worths saying that it is one of the most recorded Spanish songs in the whole History, if not directly the most recorded one.

Here you have two links to videos of the original songs. Hope you enjoy them! :)

Link: Bésame mucho, cantado por Consuelo Velázquez

Link: Bésame mucho, cantado por Emilio Tuero

¡Que tengáis una muy buena semana! ¡Hasta pronto!

(Have a nice week ahead! See you soon!)

¡Celebra la vida! ;)

Axel - Celebra la vida

¡Hola amigos! Today I have a beatiful song that claims you to celebrate the life :D
Let's ¡Celebra la vida!

¡Sed felices! :)
('You all be happy!')

P.D.: We also celebrate to see a click on some ad, so don't hesitate doing it :)))

Spanish Sayings 2

SPANISH SAYINGS 2

¡Hola! :) Here I am, to share with you two Spanish sayings that you can use in a daily conversation.

-> ¡Se lo merecía! (because of being a nice person)
It couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke/person!

Ejemplo:
-> Ganó 150000€ en la lotería. ¡Se lo merecía! :)
He won 150000€ on the lottery. Couldn't have happened to a nicer person! 

As in English, it can be used to express just the opposite, i.e., that someone really deserves a bad thing that has happened to him/her.

Ejemplo:
-> Siempre se reía de nosotros y hoy un chico se ha reído de él y lo ha hecho llorar. ¡Se lo merecía! 
He always laugh at us and today a boy laugh at him and he started to cry. Couldn't have happened to a nicer person!

We can translate that sentence into English as 'He/she deserved it!"

-> Ser de buen corazón
-> Ser buena persona
(one's) heart's in the right place

Ejemplo:
-> Pedro siempre ayuda a sus vecinos y escucha a sus amigos cuando tienen problemas. ¡Es buena persona! / ¡Es de buen corazón!
Pedro always help his neighbours and listen to his friends when they have some problems. His heart is in the right place!

I hope you like it ;) If it is, let us know it  by clicking on an advertisement :)))

¡Buenas noches!
(Have a good night!)

Eres tú como el agua de mi fuente... la la la :)

¡Hola a todos! :) (Hello everybody!) I came back from a trip to another city during this weekend and I see that my last post was on Thursday :O ¡Oh, Dios mío! (Oh my God!) I thought inmediately. And I write this post for you all :).

I want to let you know you are very important for the blog and its development, so here you have a very well-known Spanish song ("un clásico" :D ) called "Eres tú", because you are 'el agua de la fuente', the water of the fountain, with this I meant the main strenght of this blog jeje :D Qué bueno, ¿verdad? :) (So nice, isn't it?)

¡Disfrutadlo! :)

¡Hasta pronto, lo prometo! :)
(See you soon, I promise it!)

Alegría! - Spanish Expressions 2

¡Alegría! 

¡Hola! :) Sorry for the delay to post again, I have been busy this week. But I
guess that I come here with an interesting post for you :)
¡Alegría! What's that? You can translate it as happiness, however it's different from the Spanish word for happiness, that is 'felicidad'.
Alegría could probably translated as a mix of joy and fun hehe.
And here you have some useful expresssions about it :)

(estar) loco de alegría - (to be) blown away

       Ejemplo: Hoy Pedro está loco de alegría porque ha aprobado el exámen.

                      Today Pedro is blown away because he passed the exam.

(estar) encantado de la vida - thrilled to bits

       Ejemplo: ¿Cómo estás, Juan? Tengo un buen trabajo y tiempo libre,
                      ¡estoy encantado de la vida!

                      ¿How are you, Juan? I have a good job and free time,
                      ¡I'm thrilled to bits!

más contento que unas pascuas - happy as a cloud

       Ejemplo: Terminó su carrera y está más contento que unas pascuas.

                      He finished his degree and he's happy as a cloud.

más feliz que una perdiz - happy as a cloud (2)

       Ejemplo: Terminó su carrera y está más feliz que una perdiz.

                      He finished his degree and he's happy as a cloud.


I hope this has been useful for you all, and hope to see you around here soon enough! :)

Expresiones sobre el pajar - Expressions about the haystack

¡Hola! :) Today I will show you two Spanish expressions more, both of them related to the haystacks hehe. Here you have them!

¡Es como buscar una aguja en un pajar!

Example:
A: ¿Has encontrado el papel amarillo?
B: Todavía no, ¡es como buscar una aguja en un pajar!

Translation:
A: Have you found the yellow paper?
B: Not yet, ¡it's (as difficult) as looking for a needle in a haystack!

Explanation: When you're looking for something, and it is mixed with a lot of other similar things, and it's very very difficult to be found because of that, you could use this expression.

 

Separar el grano de la paja

Example:

Ese libro explica muchas cosas inútiles, así que tenemos que separar el grano de la paja y quedarnos con lo útil.

Translation:

That book explains lots of unuseful things, so we have to separate the grain from the hay and keep the useful things.

Explanation: 

When you obtain a new information about something, but a lot of the contents in that information doesn't really talk about the main thing that you are looking for, then you need to "separar el grano de la paja" to have just what you wanted from that information.

 

And that's all for today! Visit the blog frequently to read new posts :)

¡Buenas noches! :)

Have a good night!

A caballo regalado, no le mires el dentado!

¡Hola! :) Today I have a Spanish common expression for you.

"A caballo regalado, no le mires el dentado"

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

So when someone gives you a present, it's better to accept it without checking its quality or complaining about it. Just take it and say thanks to that friend, because it's free! :)

¡Hasta pronto! :)

The languages of Spain: there's not only Spanish! :)

¡Hola! :) Today I want to let you know something about Spain that a lot of people from other countries don't know, as I have seen.

Most of the people think that in Spain there is one language: the Spanish language. It looks evident and of course it is. But that is not the only language we have. Actually there are 4 languages in Spain! :)

You need to know that Spanish is the main language, the language which all Spanish people know and speak as a native language. But appart from it, there are big zones in Spain, groups of cities, that also have another official language, spoken by a lot of people of that places.

For instance, myself hehe. I'm Spanish but I come from Menorca, a little island where people also speak Menorcan, a dialect of the Catalan language which is spoken in the Balearic Islands, in Cataluña, and even in some little cities in France and Italy.

Here you have an example of each other first language that Spanish people could have depending on their birth places :)

English: 

Hello! How are you? I'm fine thanks, and you?

Spanish: 

¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? Estoy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?

Catalan: 

Hola! Com estàs? Estic bé, gràcies. I tu?

Galician: 

Ola! Como está? Estou ben, grazas. Vostede?

Basque: 

 Kaixo! Nola zaude? Fina naiz, mila esker. Egin duzu?

I guess you are now newly surprised about Spanish culture if you didn't know this, and I hope that you like it! :D

¡Hasta pronto!
Fins aviat!
Vexo vostedes en breve!
Laster arte!
See you soon!