Talk:Spanish/Lessons/¿Cómo te llamas?

The anki deck download is not available. - anonymous

Dialogue needs to be revised. "Regular" is hardly ever used in Spanish in this context. Other suggested words could be "bien," "fenómeno" (Arg.), "tranquilo/a." After "Qué tal?" the answer should be "Mal", not "Malo/a." 70.81.5.195 09:10, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

I would like the audio in a mp3 format so students with less computer knowledge can benifit from hearing the spoken word as I have never heard of ogg and I know alot of other people who also have not. Thanks MineAlways 12/31/06

wrong link
the link to the sound file for "¿Cómo se deletrea?" points to the sound file for "Que tál"
 * Yes, I was about to tell the same. I am removing the incorrect link from this featured book. Gracias V ani s che nuMail me/Talk 11:12, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

about double r
"el pupitre" is not considered a separate letter (and has never been).

More correct imposible --AleG2 20:12, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

about v and b
Though in some regions (e.g. Valladolid) v and b are pronounced differently, the norm is that they sound exactly the same (as can be seen in http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltGUIBusUsual?LEMA=v&TIPO_BUS=3&TIPO_HTML=2)

more about v and b
The author's explanation that there is "no difference" in the pronunciation of b and v is just dead wrong. It only applies in some circumstances. There are many examples where this would not apply. For example ventana (window) and vento (wind) are both pronounced with a V sound (as in Victor) not a B sound. You would never hear a native speaker pronounce it otherwise. This is such a basic elemental mistake that it calls into question the authority of the author to write this e-book. The author does not appear to be a native Spanish speaker. If you are just beginning to learn Spanish, I think you would be better served to find a textbook written by a native Spanish speaker with the proper credentials to back it up. The last thing you want to do is invest a lot of time learning a new language only to find out you learned a bunch of bad habits.
 * There are numerous authors of this page and the person who inserted this sentence on 4th April 2007 was editing anonymously, so we can't know how much of the rest of the book they are responsible for. If you see an error, you are free to correct it. Recent Runes (talk) 02:21, 1 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Not being a native speaker but having studied Spanish linguistics as well as having travelled most of the Spanish-speaking countries, I have to contradict this comment. Don't assume, because of your own experience, that something is exclusively or is absolutely not the case. Spanish exists in such a variety of pronunciation, that a universal truth can't be claimed. To just highlight one of the "truths" being claimed by the commenting person: "ventana" is pronounced with a more "b"-like sound by most of my acquaintances while the "v" in "viento" (note the spelling error!) tends to sound more like the "v" in "Victor".

In my very own experience (intensive immersion and dedicated studies for over 20 years) I have found there to be a tendency of having the same pronounciation for v and b. And certainly this is the most suitable approach for a beginner. I do not concur at all with the comment. More so I believe it to be preposterous to question the authority of the writer. Please be aware of the everlasting rivalries of different versions of Spanish. Although most of them claim to be "the ultimate" Spanish, all of them exist equally. It's not in the interest of the beginner to complicate the situation unnecessarily. Just go with the version of your teacher or your material in question. You will understand any kind of Spanish as well as being understood by any Spanish speaker eventually. Tropensachse (discuss • contribs) 14:25, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

Alphabet
This lesson page makes a few apparently inaccurate claims about the Spanish alphabet:
 * 1) that "ch" is no longer considered a separate letter but merely a digraph
 * 2) that "ll" is no longer considered a separate letter but merely a digraph
 * 3) that "rr" is considered a distinct Spanish letter

From my understanding, "rr" has never been considered a separate letter. "ch" and "ll" are still considered separate letters, except for collation purposes. Is there some reference to back up those claims? Rodasmith 03:52, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

Well, I was bold and changed the lesson page per my understanding. Feel free to revert and explain if you think I'm mistaken. Rodasmith 04:09, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

Double 'r'
I'm afraid this is not correct: "r at the beginning of a word or when doubled (rr), it is pronounced as a full trill (IPA: /r/), [b]elsewhere[/b] it is a single-tap trill (IPA: /ɾ/)" 'R' is also pronounced like rr in the middle of some words like 'enredo', 'alrededor', 'enrabietar' It is used in words in wich the 'r' takes place as the begining of a syllable. So I am going to put 'syllable' instead of 'word'. I hope not to use my deficient English. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.125.39.236 (discuss • contribs)


 * Well, as you point out, it is trilled after an n or l. It's also trilled after an s (e.g. in Israel), but otherwise, it's just tapped at the beginning of a syllable.   I've adjusted your edit accordingly.  Rodasmith (talk) 15:35, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

Fatal in English
Personally, I've never heard "fatal" as a response to "how are you" in English... if this part is to be included, it might be useful to mention where this usage is common... would it be reasonable to say that the Spanish "fatal" corresponds well to English "terrible"?

After re-reading the section, the table itself seems okay, translating Spanish 'fatal' as English 'very bad'... the confusing part (to me) is the sentence that reads:


 * Similarly, "Fatal" in the U.S. might mean a ruined manicure or a fight with one´s girlfriend, but would be reserved more for things like losing one's home in a Spanish-speaking country.

Since "fatal" is also a word in English, perhaps the writer means:

"very bad" in the U.S. ... but "fatal" in Spanish ...

Or, perhaps there are dialects that use "fatal" in English in these situations, but I'm not familiar with them.

mal or malo
the exercise "How are you" lists five words to be put in order - in the exercise the word 'mal' is used but in the answers it becomes 'malo' - can this be corrected by someone who knows the answer?

Error in word stress?
I wonder if there is an error near the end of this section, visible in the following quote:

''Monosyllables do not need accent marks – there is no need to mark the stressed syllable. However, the accent mark is used to distinguish between homographs, which are different words written with the same letters: sí (yes), si (if); tú (you, subject pronoun), tu (your, possessive adjective), él (he/him) & el (the). It is used on interrogative words, distinguishing them from in relative pronoun pairs: cómo (how?) & como (as), dónde (where?) & donde (where).''

Now in the last sentence, in the bolded text, is this still about pronouns? Perhaps it could be clarified further. 65.39.105.15 (discuss) 14:22, 16 September 2023 (UTC)

fatal
I suggest you omit all mention of U.S. in this section. To say people in the U.S. overexaggerate their slight misfortunes may be very true but is not relevant to learning a language, when United Statesians by and large only speak English and can not possibly have their own Spanish-speaking conventions like the more liberal use of the word 'fatal' suggested here.


 * Notes

For some of the words above, there are two options. The one ending in "o" is for males, and the one ending in "a" is for females. It's all to do with agreement, which is covered in future chapters.

Also, there are cultural differences in how people respond to "How are you?". In the U.S., we might answer "mal" if we have a headache, or we're having a bad hair day. In Spanish-speaking cultures, "mal" would be used if a family member were very ill, or somebody lost their job. Similarly, "fatal" in the U.S. might mean a ruined manicure or a fight with one´s girlfriend, but would be reserved more for things like losing one's home in a Spanish-speaking country. 65.39.105.15 (discuss) 22:58, 19 September 2023 (UTC)