Check out this cool article about studies, misconceptions, & advantages when it comes to being bilingual.
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135043787/being-bilingual-may-boost-your-brain-power?sc=tw&cc=share
Tag Archives: Learning
Mexican Manners
“If you have ever watched a movie made in the 1940s and early 1950s, you’ll have an idea of the manners that Mexicans use. It is all based on “respect.” We consider Mexican manners to be “formal.” Compared to our American casual manners, the Mexicans are very formal.” -From Manners in Mexico by Mark McGrew April 2005 Guadalajara-Lakeside Volume 21, Number 8
For Mexicans manners are held in very high regard & are treated with utmost importance within in our culture. Regardless of social position or the amount of education received a good upbringing(manners) is considered the most valued inheritance that every parent passes down, an inheritance that every family holds dear. In Spanish to say someone is rude , the following phrase is often used: “mal educado” literally= wrongly( inadequately/ poorly) educated. Parents always teach their kids that manners will reflect not only upon them, but that it will also reflect upon the family and their upbringing. Often times moms will scold their kids when they exhibit poor manners by saying “People will think you had a mother who didn’t care or perhaps even that you didn’t have a mom”
For those who : have friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, family members, coworkers, etc.. who are Mexican & want to interact with them and share in their culture or for those studying Spanish or just interested in learning about other cultures. I wanna start a new section called “Mexican Manners” & try to add facts, information on customs and manners found in Mexican culture.
Cool Aztec Dance
Wondering “what the heck is an Aztec dance?” Never seen one? Wanna know? Check it out! In the brand new section of the blog :”Mexican Dance” you will be able to find cool vids of amazingly beautiful & spectacular traditional / indigenous dances from MEXICO!!
Burning Passion: This is what legends are made of
Today’s post is a taste of the awesome legends that can be found in
Mexico’s culture. Ornate with passion, heroism, & romanticism.
In Mexico there are many prominent & LEGENDARY geographic landmarks. There are two famous volcanoes that magnificently exemplify this, & here is the beautiful story of their origin & claim to fame.
“Our volcanoes have distinct names, sex, passions, and a historical past, from: birth to legendary fights for love, as do everyday people, although they have been worshiped as gods.It was the Mexica who gave names to the legendary couple of huge volcanoes that frame the valley of Mexico, which are located between the states of Mexico, Puebla and Morelos. POPOCATÉPETL & IZTACCIHUATLPopocatepetl derives its name from popoa a Nahuatl verb meaning “smoke” and the noun “tepetl”, “hill”, ie, the “The smoking hill or mountain”, because a ring of smoke has hovered over it, from that time and with that slight plume that until a couple of years we saw with some quiet, because there has been increasing activity of the volcano. Iztaccihuatl derived from the indigenous words iztac, “white” and cihuatl “woman” which together mean “white woman” but , because of the legend she is now know as the “Sleeping Woman”.
–http://www.alfaradio.com.mx/grc/homepage.nsf/main?readform&url=/grc/redam.nsf/vwALL/MLOZ-5W8VRV
“This Aztec Leyend tells of a heroic warrior & a beautiful princess who died for love. He was a warrior, brave & intelligent, and so upon their wedding celebration when the kingdom was attacked the emperor chose him to lead his army. Popocatépetl went to war, and after various months of combat he managed to defeat the enemy. However, before the emperor could find out about the victory ,some soldiers who were filled with jealousy went to him & told the emperor that Popocatépelt had died during battle. Iztaccíhuatl heard the lie & cried bitterly. She fell into a deep depression, stoped eating & eventually fell into a deep sleep. No one or nothing could wake her. When Popocatépelt returned victotrious, he found out about what had happened & went searching for Iztaccíhuatl. When he found her he :grabbed a torch, carried her in his arms, and left both the palace & city. Nobody ever saw them again. He took her up a mountain to it’s highest peak & when he was close to heaven he laid her down,made her an alter & kneeld beside her. He did not move from her side, he merely mourned his deep loss & cried out in devastating pain & anger. The sound of his sorrowful cries echoed throught the peaks and valleys, and the gods heard him. Taking pity upon the lovers, they covered them in beautiful flowers and snow & made them into mountains themselves, so that they could rest forever more next to eachother, loving eachother. After some days, all the people of the valley were amazed to see two tall mountans that had surged from the land & spouted flames up towards the sky. When the emperor saw this he told his people :”Iztaccíhuatl & Popocatépetl died for love, they could not live without one another. Their love has transformed them, and their loyal hearts shall burn ardently like a flame always.”-http://www.ciudadmexico.com.mx/cercanias/popocatepetl.htm
A YOUTUBE MEMBER POSTED THE VIDEO FOOTAGE HE CAPTURED OF POPOCATEPETL WHILE ON BOARD A PLANE. PRESS THE HQ BUTTON & WATCH IT IN HIGH RESOLUTION. IT’S AMAZING!!
IN THE YEAR 2000 POPOCATEPETL ERUPTED, HERE IS FOOTAGE FROM A NEWS CAST.
I own none of the pics all credits/rights go to their owners.
Let’s learn Spanish
THE ALPAHBET: Names of the letters & new letters.
VOWELS : Sounds A, E, I,O,U Make in Spanish
CONSONANTS: Sounds of Consonants in Spanish.
It’s very important to correctly learn the alphabet in order to succed in a language. Unfortunately this is the best video I found presentation wise. I have a few issues with it, in that it’s not complete. The video is a bit simplistic and trying to short cut important things. Here’s a few corrections:
About RR , R also sounds like an RR when
it’s at the beginning of a word or after an L, N or S = alrededor . Also R can be soft or strong, depending if is between to vowels or not. Strong =Rusia) or soft caRgueRo(cargo ship).
It is very important to learn the alphabet in order to succed in a language. This is not complete. He didn’t mention how: Y is pronouned like an i (ee)when used to say “and” as in: Zapatos y Calcetas(shoes & socks). Also it doesn’t talk at all about X which can sound like a J or X or S. EXAMPLES: éxito(success), experiencia(experience), J sound = México, Guaxaca(State in Mexico), S sound = xilófono(Xylophone)
About RR , R also sounds like a RR when
it’s at the beginning of a word or after an L, N or S = alrededor(alrrededor) . Also R can be soft or strong, depending if is between to vowels or not. Strong =Rusia) or soft caRgueRo(cargo ship).
He didn’t mention that: Y is pronounced like an i (ee)when used to say “and” as in: Zapatos y Calcetas(shoes & socks). Also it doesn’t talk at all about X which can sound like a J or X or S. EXAMPLES: éxito(success), experiencia(experience), J sound = México, Guaxaca(State in Mexico), S sound = xilófono(Xylophone) There’s not that many X words and you can easily memorize the pronunciation don’t worry.
LET’S SHARE: Mariachi Music
Today’s Chido music section features traditional Mariachi music. ARTIST: Mariachi Band “Sol de Mexico”(Sun of Mexico)
SONG: King of the Huasteca
If you’ve never listened to Mariachi music before, I’m sure you’ll fall in love with it. Mariachi music is amazing! It’s got so many incorporated elements that are reminiscent & that rival those of Opera, classical music, and choral music.
Brief overview: The song is about a traveling musician who adores his violin and is very happy playing for others, because he is passionate about music. He has met his love, she wants him to give up such a life. He accepts and this is his song of sorrow.
LYRICS TRANSLATION(Here’s a little of the beginning) On a sorrowful night under the Huastecan moon, I swore to leave behind my violin and beatutiful land. Today I will tell you the reason so you can all know it well. I leave all that i hold dear to follow a lady. Violin, violin I want to cradle you in my arms so that you can feel how my soul that is torn apart. Please forgive me,but I will leave you behind and erase you forevermore from my mind. They say that I am King(music wise) of the Huasteca Region, it’s what is told on the streets. They hear this violin amongst mouintans & valleys. I hope you can forgive me, and that you will comprehend. You see this time when I play, it will be the last.
WHAT IS THE HUASTECA??
The Huasteca is a region in Mexico that spans over the north of Veracruz, the south of Tamaulipas and parts of the states of Hidalgo, Puebla, Queretaro and San Luis Potosí. The Huasteca Potosina is the area within the state of San Luis Potosi, ranging over various municipalities, including Ciudad Valles, Xilitla, Tamazunchale and Taquin. The name Huasteca makes reference to the place where the Huastecos culture developed.
The great cultural diversity of the Huasteca Potosina is preserved until today, formed by important groups of more than 250,000 dwellers speaking náhuatl, tenek and pame. These groups have their origins in the Maya culture of their past and the Mexica of the High Plateau that attempted to conquer them. One of the extraordinary cultural manifestations originated in the Huasteca Potosina is the huasteco or huapango, music that combines violins, guitars and jaranas.
The Huasteca Potosina is part of the Sierra Madre Oriental and is located in the state of San Luis Potosi. It has a rich jungle ecosystem and an exceptional natural beauty with rivers, chasms and waterfalls; perfect scenarios for adventure tourism. The main sites of interest in the Huasteca Potosina are the Tamul Waterfall, the Bridge of God, the Castle of Sir Edward James, Xilitla and the Cave of Swallows. –
These incredibly gorgeous pictures come to from
Uploaded by: novedosa
In Webshots channel: outdoors
Chido Spanish:(An intresting closer look)
Do you know the phrase for “excuse me” in Spanish??
It’s “Con (su) permiso” this literally means = With (your)Permission.
It’s a simple little phrase & if you learn it you will sound very : educated, polite, and impress others with your Spanish.
“Con permiso” is a very common, and versatile expression. Let’s explore it’s usage.
#1 It can be used to excuse yourself to get by someone, especially when people are talking, and you must interrupt them to get by. Sometimes people will add the word “SU” the formal or extra polite form of the word YOU= Con su permiso. When you say this often times you will hear as a response : “Propio” =Proper (Meaning you are proper, it is proper… you’re polite, how polite of you, of course go ahead…etc) Or “Pase usted” = Please,go ahead, Do go on by
#2 Another use for “con permiso” is when entering a home. = “Excuse me, I’m coming in”.
#3 : If you are doing something with people whom you should be respectful towards such as talking to your girlfriend/ boyfriend’s parents, a boss, teacher etc… When leaving it is poper to excuse yourself by saying “Con Permiso”= “I will be going now”.
#4 Can be used to mean “May I” or “excuse me” when partaking or making use of something i.e. taking food, making use of a telephone…etc
Compermiso is basically an “excuse me.” It can be casual or formal depending on they way you use it. For example: If you are watching T.V , and someone happens to stand in front of it (sound familiar? LOL It does for me. I have a friend who always gets so intrigued with stuff on T.V that he ends up standing right next to it =P ) you can say “con permiso” to ask them to clear the way. In colloquial Spanish , the phrase has been shortened to “CON PER” it is oftten said runned together “comper” this version is very fun, friendly, & casual. It is often used by youngsters. If the T.V situation should occur and there is no response lol ( the person’s being a goof, or hypnotized by the boob tube) you can switch compermiso to “Com-per!” = ex-cuse me!!” lol
Another form of “Con permiso” is = Con permisito .This is the diminutive version. The diminutive in Spanish is not always used to make things small. It is very very commonly used to soften words or indicate affection. Simply put, when you want to sound cute or make a request come out in a extra nice tone, rather than a commanding one you can use it. Saying conpermisito would connote a meaning of “with your dear, caring, benevolent, wonderful permission”
Examples: A guy could say this to a girl when he wants to get by & sound cute or extra polite. Another example would be, say you are late and are trying to get to your seat at a theater , or class…etc The diminutive “compermisito” can soften the embarrassing / rude factor of the situation.
★MeGaSuPer Chido y + 