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Pouf, jumper, panty, slip, and cueca all have in common? No…whatever it is you’re thinking… just stop right there! It’s cross-culture language confusion time again folks!
A guy friend from England said, “You left your jumper in my car,” and I stared at him in disbelief. I haven’t worn a jumper since I was about 14, and I most certainly never left one in ANY guy’s car! Continue reading
Posted in Language
Tagged an editor's work is never done, Chile, cross-cultural confusion, linguistics, Pouf, word confusion, word play
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I’m coming up on 20 years in Chile, and I speak Spanish all day, every day. Sure, I still have an accent, but it rarely gets in the way—except when a diphthong is involved!
The dastardly diphthong is the sound produced when two vowels buddy up in the same syllable and get so tight they morph into a whole new vowel sound (sounds almost biological, doesn’t it?). Continue reading
Posted in Expat living, Language
Tagged accents, Chile, English language, Language, language learning, linguistics, PostaWeek2011, pronunciation, Spanish language, Speaking Spanish, Vowel
Rats, it happened again… all these years and I still stumble into that funky little rabbit hole known as the calendar. Chilean calendars not only start on a different day, they are used differently too. You’d think I’d have that down by now!
Here’s the set-up. I receive an e-mail on Monday the 22 requesting something for next Wednesday. No problem, I zip back, silently applauding the sender for allotting me so much time. But oops… watch that slippery step there sister, a cultural-linguistic trap lies in wait… Continue reading
Posted in Language * Idioma
Tagged Chile, Chilean Spanish, customs, idioma, intercultural differences, Language, linguistics
Cachando Chile: Reflections on Chilean Culture 