Not Just News
News
This section contains a collection of news articles related to the field of second language learning acquisition.
Can Learning a New Language Stave Off Dementia?
Jan 16, 2024, New York Times
How learning languages can help in very different ways. Read article
Learning a new language makes it harder to remember previously learned foreign languages
April 1, 2024, Psypost
Study on how important is keeping languages alive. Read article
Lost in Translation? AI Adds Hope and Concern to Language Learning
June 6, 2024, Insidehighered.com
According to the author, foreign language learning have seen declines for years. AI may, or may not, help with that. Read article
Can AI learn like us?
June 20, 2024, ScienceDaily
On the impact of AI in how and what we learn. Read article
Miscellaneous
Explore these resources to entertain and inform yourself, keeping your Spanish skills alive and thriving.
pasta
In Spanish, the word ‘pasta’ has multiple meanings. It can refer to the traditional Italian food made from cereal, found in various forms and sizes in supermarkets. Additionally, it is a colloquial term for money. Centuries ago, different metals were smelted to make coins. The hot mix resembled pasta (a paste), which is the origin of the name.
¿How do you say …?
¿Are the letters b and v pronounced the same in Spanish?
Both letters are represented by the bilabial phoneme /b/, so they do have the same pronunciation. English speakers will pronounce them as the letter b in English. The first sounds in words like bueno and vida are pronounced similarly.
Fun Fact
Which is the oldest city in Spain?
Established approximately 3,100 years ago by Phoenician settlers, Cadiz holds the distinction of being Spain’s longest continuously inhabited city and ranks among Europe’s most ancient urban centers. Some historical accounts even suggest it may be the oldest continuously populated city on the continent.Remarkably, Cadiz predates the founding of Rome by several centuries. While the Italian capital traces its origins to 753 BC, Cadiz had already been a thriving settlement for nearly 350 years by that time.
Coloquial Expressions
“Matar el gusanillo”
Nowadays, when we talk about “killing the munchies”, we refer to eating something light between meals to calm hunger. However, this expression has a curious and somewhat disturbing origin.
In times past, there was a popular belief that a small parasitic worm lived inside us. It was thought that this creature not only fed on our blood, but also devoured all the food that reached our stomach.
To combat this supposed intruder, a peculiar solution was recommended: drink a glass of brandy on an empty stomach. It was believed that the alcohol would numb the little worm that lurked in our guts, allowing us to take advantage of the nutrients in our food.
See if You Guess it
2 Sand Clocks
There is a table in front of you with two hourglasses. One contains sand for seven minutes and the other contains sand for eleven minutes. Using these clocks alone, how can you accurately mark fifteen minutes precisely?
Get back for the solution in two weeks.
Cultural Traditions
Why do Spaniards have two last names?
This practice emerged in the 16th century among the Castilian elite and, by the mid-19th century, had become a widespread cultural custom throughout the country. What began as a tradition eventually became a legal requirement. In 1871, it was established that every Spanish citizen had to be registered in the Civil Registry with two surnames.
Today, this requirement is still in force when registering a newborn. Over time, this custom spread from Spain to other Spanish-speaking countries. In addition, Portugal and Brazil share this tradition.
Traditionally, Spanish children received first the father’s surname and then the mother’s, resulting in the loss of the mother’s surname in the next generation. Fortunately, society has evolved and it is now possible to choose which surname you want to go first, with the condition that all siblings must keep the same order.
What’s for dinner today?
Tortilla de patatas
An emblematic dish of Spanish gastronomic culture is the tortilla de patatas, also known as tortilla española. As its name suggests, it is an egg-based preparation whose main ingredient is the potato, which must be fried before incorporating it. Optionally, onion and even finely chopped bell pepper can be added.
The potato was one of the many foods brought from America. Although it is not known exactly when this combination was created, the first documented reference appears in Villanueva de la Serena (Extremadura) in the 18th century.
Given the simplicity of this dish, it is likely that it has been cooked since prehistoric times, although the term “French omelette” is modern, regardless of whether it was coined by the English or the Spanish.
An interesting fact: according to a study conducted by Coca-Cola, tortilla de patatas is the favorite dish of Spaniards.
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