When we speak in English, we use pronouns all the time. For example, we say things like “she is mad”, “the cake is mine“, and “who is that?”. But, would you be able to say what a pronoun is, how many types of pronouns there are, and give a few examples? This is precisely what(…)

If I asked you to think about your Spanish teacher at school, how would you describe them? In my case, my Spanish teacher was a kind-faced woman who always carried a tape recorder from classroom to classroom. She would play popular songs from Mexican singers that she knew we loved (Luis Miguel was all the(…)

Learning Spanish can be tough, and one of the hardest things is mastering its beautiful but unfamiliar sounds. This is not only because there are many Spanish phonemes that do not exist in English (we are looking at you, Spanish R!), but also because there are a few familiar letters that are pronounced differently than(…)

If you’ve just arrived in Mexico and you cannot understand half of what the locals are saying, don’t start hyperventilating. You didn’t get on the wrong plane. The explanation is probably very simple: despite your efforts as a Spanish learner, you may be a bit lacking in the Mexican slang department. Knowing Mexican slang words(…)

Phrases like “A bad workman always blames his tools” and “All that glitters is not gold” have two things in common. First, they have been consistently used across several English-speaking generations. And second, not many of us know where they come from. Now that you’ve finally decided to study Spanish, what about doing things differently(…)

Argentinian speech is not just full of unique intonation and pronunciation, but lots of slang and colloquial phrases, as well. If you ever hang out with Argentinians and do not understand half of what they are saying, even if you speak Spanish, do not feel bad; you are not alone! Instead, let us help. We(…)

The story of Catalonia is a complicated one, but it is one heck of a fascinating linguistic phenomenon. Catalan plays a fundamental role in the region’s debate for independence, serving not only as fuel for the opposition but as the highest expression of identity. Before we dive into cultural debates, I want to make it(…)

So you’re headed to Peru. Your friends are jealous, your family may be a little worried for no reason, and you could not possibly be more excited. Now I’m sure you’ve created packing lists, itineraries of things to see, and there must be a bevy of stuff you want to eat and drink while you’re(…)

So far in our look at some of our most famous language maestros, we have unfairly concentrated on those whose native language was English. This week we intend to redress that balance by looking at the master of Spanish literature, Miguel de Cervantes. Cervantes has long been considered the greatest writer in the Spanish language,(…)

  Rounding out to some 400 million people worldwide, Spanish is the second-largest language in the world in terms of native speakers (after Mandarin Chinese). Native Spanish speakers, who simply acquire the language effortlessly at a young age, have it easy. For the rest of us, however, learning Spanish involves a great deal of studying(…)