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Since we´re all out enjoying as much as possible the very last official days of summer, we decided to give the Experts a break today…yeah, and us as well!
Considering we just launched a new sister site, SpanglishBabyFinds, with a banging two-weeks of giveaways and that Roxana gave birth to her baby boy last week, well, we feel the need to relax and regroup to keep bringing you fresh and exciting material, stories and finds.
We hope you´re having a relaxing and love-filled day.
¡Hasta mañana!
P.S.: How about you send us some more of your insightful questions for the experts? All you have to do is click here and leave a question on the form that appears at the bottom of the page. Anything related to bilingualism in general, education, speech development, biculturalism, advocacy, etc. is more than welcomed and appreciated.
Enjoy your Labor Day amigas! Much deserved!
.-= Beth Butler´s last blog ..Laugh on Labor Day with this Music Monday Post from Boca Beth’s Bilingual Song Movin’ & Groovin’!!! =-.
I’m not sure how I am suppose to ask the experts but here it is.
Spanish is so much more diverse than English. Spanish is my second language. I have lived in Colombia, Ecuador and Honduras. I live in Texas and have spent some time in Mexico but have had a great influence from Mexicans here in Texas. One of my favorite things to do is start a discussion with several people from different areas and talk about what they call certain words, especially words for food. There is so much varietly. Everytime I read a book to children I come upon words that aren’t the words I have heard for those things. I don’t even know for sure where the word I use is from. How do I know what words to teach the children I teach? Sometimes I tell them several words for something. I tell them which word sounds most common to me and then say it would be good enough to just be familiar with the other words so they will know what someone means if they say those words. For example, I was saying “la tiza” for chalk and my husband, who learned to speak in Mexico, corrected me with “la giz.” Is there anywhere we can go to find out where and why some of these words are used? So many books are written in Spain but I shy away from teaching that vocabulary because I want them to sound more like they are from Latin America since that is closest to us.
I would love to have a forum where I could ask people from different countries how they say certain things.
Ginger–this is such a common challenge and, in fact, always a great ice breaker even amongst native Spanish speakers.
One of our most popular articles, written by Roxana, deals precisely with this issue: You Say Aguacate, I Say Palta ( http://www.spanglishbaby.com/2009/05/you-say-aguacate-i-say-palta-which-is-it/)
I don´t know of a special forum, but I would strongly suggest you get one started in our Forums. Feel free to start a new topic and I´m sure it will be a very popular one.
I´ll submit this question to one of our experts and it will get answered in a few weeks.
Thanks!
P.S.: I´m from El Salvador and we say “el yeso” for giz or tiza