...Hola. Me nombre es Keia Blair. Soy de Seymour, Indiana. Mi numero de telefono es cinco- veintiocho-sesenta-cero y siete. Mi direccion es veintiocho y cuarenta y tres High Forest Lane. Mi clase de Espanol es a las once de la mañana. Hay dieciocho estudiantes en la clase. This first chapter of Spanish was easy for me to learn and understand. It became a basic review for me, although I did learn how to tell time a little better. I took two years of Spanish in high school and have some experience from visiting the Dominican Republic each summer. I also took two years of latin in high school. In past foreign language classes, I have used a variety of strategies to learn. For me, repetition works easily for me. I learn to associate Spanish words with words I am familiar with in English. Sometimes, flashcards and pictures have made it easy to learn vocabulary words. At the beginning of the semester, I was hoping to work extra hard to learn the basics of Spanish, and to be able to have simple conversations with people. Throughout chapter one, I learned how to correctly tell time. The rest of the chapter was review for my Spanish speaking abilities. I learned some interesting facts about culture in this chapter. Each week, I spent 3-4 hours studying and working on homework assignments. For quizzes, I spent an hour studying. With the exam being worth much more, I spent an hour and a half studying for the exam. I particularly liked doing the pre homework because I was introduced to...
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...socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought” (Culture, 2010, pg. 5) Culture of Spain Spain’s culture includes the personal beliefs of religion, the practices of the society, and the attitudes of the people. The Spanish culture has made adjustments to meet the demands of the international and the way of doing business in Europe, but retains much of its older, more comfortable traditions as well. Spain is relatively consistent in its population ethnicity, unlike Germany in which one must bear a German family name to be a citizen. Spain’s ethnicity varies in itself because the different regions within the country. The influence of the Moors from centuries ago still plays a part in the architecture and beliefs of some people. Spain embraces its art and architecture that consists of aqueducts, castles, historic churches, and housing. The largest cities, such as Barcelona, still maintain buildings that are both traditional in style and features. The cities also maintain their small and narrow streets. Various Elements of the Spanish Culture Spain has a rich linguistic heritage. Spain has four official languages; “Castilian Spanish (the most commonly spoken), Catalan (used in Cataluña and the Balearics), Basque (spoken in the Basque regions of both France and Spain) and, finally, Galician. There are also a number of local dialects such as Valéncian and Andulucian” (Spain culture- guide, 2008). These languages...
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...Conversation in Spanish In many continents in the world, such as Europe, Northern Africa, Central and South America, Spanish is primarily spoken. In these various regions of the world, Spanish has a unique style, and is expressed in a plethora of dialects. In many ways the culture is incorporated into the language and it exhaust a lot of emotion in its morphological and phonological structure. Furthermore to clearly outline the Spanish language I will be comparing it with the English language. I will also like to focus in the region of Central America, in the country of Mexico. To generalize how diverse and complex Spanish can be, in this essay I will discuss, the six commonly used Speech Acts and give some examples, Language and gender, and cross cultural significance. In various aspects Spanish is very similar to Spanish. When we refer to speech acts we primarily focus on the ones we use daily. “Among the various kinds of speech acts, six have received particular attention:” Representatives, Commissives, Directives, Declarations, Expressives, and Verdictives. (Finegan 2008) Representatives in Spanish a.k.a. Representativos are quite often used in the language. For example: “Pienzo que esa camisa esta muy grande para ti.” (I think that shirt is too big for you) Another Speech act that is used is the Commissives. Por exemplo: “Si no te sales de mi tiera te prometo que te saco a balasos!” (If you don’t get out of my land I will shoot you) I may seem like an aggressive approach...
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... Spanish 101-04: 5-units course CRN: 11555 Department: Modern Languages, Literatures & Phil. Term: Fall 2010 DISCLAIMER: The syllabus and calendar are a work in progress. Keep in close contact, by attending class regularly and checking Blackboard on a daily basis. Required texts: -- Donley, Benavides, Márquez. Aventuras Primer curso de lengua española, 3rd edition, Vista Higher Learning -- Aventuras Lab Manual/ Workbook/Video Manual. Vista Higher Learning, 3rd edition -- Supersite, Aventuras 3a edition, Vista Higher Learning (pass code comes with new textbook) Also recommended: www.wordreference.com (on line bilingual dictionary & thesaurus); www.studyspanish.com (extra practice) Course Description: This course offers a beginning level of Spanish and forms a part of the SPAN 101, 102, and 103. SPAN 101 introduces Spanish language grammar, vocabulary, cultural information, oral practice, and writing. The weekly requirements include class meetings (Monday—Friday, or Monday/Wednesday/Friday), a visit to the language lab, daily homework and workbook and lab book assignments. You are allowed to bring food and beverages to class. Attendance is mandatory. Course objectives: During this quarter, the goal is for you to… -- Begin to talk in Spanish about yourself, your preferences, and interests; -- Read, write and understand enough Spanish to handle basic social...
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...On the first week of Junior year I found myself sitting in a small Spanish class of nine classmates. Out of 53 students from Spanish Level 2, only five of us decided to continue their spanish education; the other four were native speakers who were part of the english language acquisition program. We heard the alumni’s warnings constantly- “If you want to keep your sanity, do not take Spanish 3,” “Senor Pysher will definitely not have pity on you as a Junior,” and my favorite warning- “It’s worse than any class I’ve taken, even my APs!” However, I did not listen. I enjoyed Spanish class dearly and I was determined to continue my studies. Everyday in Spanish Level 3, I walked into a storm of irregular verb conjugations, latin american geography...
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...MMLS NOTE- LEARNING: El Alfabeto Español/ the Spanish Alphabet If you know the alphabet in English, you can easily learn it in Spanish. That is because the Spanish alphabet is very similar to the alphabets of most other western European languages, including English. According to the Real Academia Española, which is considered the arbiter of what's official Spanish, the following letters make up the Spanish alphabet: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z The following chart shows the capital letters along with name of each letter. |Letter |Name |Letter |Name | |A |a |N |ene | |B |be |Ñ |eñe | |C |ce |O |o | |D |de |P |pe | |E |e |Q |cu | |F |efe |R |ere ...
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...in a one-month summer program in Spain. At first, I took part in this program because of my curiousness about this country and my eagerness to improve my Spanish. To my astonishment, however, this journey brought me a surprising gift——a dream that I will pursue for my whole life: I want to learn as many languages as I can when travelling around the world. My dream sprouted in the special natural landscape of Spain. In the first two weeks, I was shocked by its wonderful landscapes—rolling mountains, deep blue and powerful Atlantic Ocean, dazzling and warm sunshine… Those fantastic views stimulate my interest in exploring more wonderful scenes around Spain, or even more, around the world. I was sure plentiful wonders were waiting for me to experience. In addition, Spain is all the more fascinating for its unique artistic achievement in the fields of literature, dancing, architectures, and more many. In the following two weeks I paid a visit to Sagrada Familia, the museum of Picasso and Casa Batlló. These masterpieces make this country mysterious with the sense of humanism. After that, I decided that I would be back one day exploring them more deeply. Furthermore, I was looking forward to more human landscapes worldwide. At this moment, my dream took shape roughly. To understand these landscapes thoroughly, learning Spanish is very important, for it is the basic tool to read and to listen. In Spain, few people can speak English well let alone Chinese. Once I lost myself in...
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...Spanish 102 Brownbag Lunch Discussion Reflection While I have only just begun my first semester studying at University of Maryland Baltimore County, I have already been exposed to numerous multi-cultural events on campus. One of the most informative was the “Brown Bag Lunch Discussion” with Speaker Luz Rivera Martinez. Going into this informal discussion I had little idea of what to expect, but once Martinez began to talk it was clear that she had come to tell the participants in the discussion about her culture and the main symbol of her people-corn. Truthfully, this topic seemed quite miniscule in severity compared to the many issues that surround Latin American cultures. But as the discussion went on, I understood corn wasn’t just a crop to be harvested to Martinez; it was the root of her existence. Martinez exemplified corn’s importance in Latin American society by describing its distinct role in every major, and minor, event. Whether the family was gathered to eat or there was a burial ceremony taking place, corn was present. This respect for corn was developed because it was a crop that built their culture and had been alive and growing, both literally and figuratively, for many decades. As a result of corn being at the society’s root of existence, it was extremely alarming to the people when the government began enforcing laws limiting their crop productions. The farmers were told they could only use a certain kind of seed that which, to be purchased, meant the people...
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...progressive writing which is used in many different Spanish-speaking countries to tell exact activities at exact times. Almost all verbs have the present progressive except for two verbs. Those verbs are venir, which means to come and ir, which means to go. To put those present progressive, you must put it into simple present tense verbs. For every verb that ends in a vowel, you must change it into “-yendo” instead of “-iendo” because of the present participle. An example of the present progressive is with cantar. Since this verb ends in with “-ar”, you must change the verb from cantar to cantando, but with the correct form of estar before it. The participles of stem-changing verbs like pedir, dormir, and servir change the “o” to “u” and the “e” to “i” then add the “-iendo” to the end. An example of this is that dormir changes to durmiendo and servir changes to sirviendo. Direct object and reflexive pronouns can go before the form of estar or can be attached to the end of the present participle. When it is attached, you must put an accent mark over the stressed vowel. For example, la estoy haciendo changes to estoy haciendola. Lastly, the present progressive cannot be used for what is going to happen; instead, the simple present tense is used. As you can see, the present progressive is only used to say what is happening, not to tell what is going to happen because there are other words in Spanish used to describe that. Spanish is a very complex language to learn, but with...
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...Spanish Period (1565-1872) HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Long time before the Spaniards and other foreigners landed on Philippine shores, our forefathers already had their own literature stamped in the history of our race. Our ancient literature shows our customs and traditions in everyday life as traced in our folk stories, old plays and short stories. Our ancient ancestors also had their own alphabet which was different from that brought by the Spaniards. The first alphabet used by our ancestors was similar to that of the Malayo-Polynesian alphabet. Whatever records our ancestors left were either burned by the Spaniards friars in the belief that they were works of the devil or were written on materials that easily perished, like the barks of trees, dried leave sand bamboo cylinders which could not have remained undestroyed even if efforts were made to preserve them. Other records that remained showed folk songs that proved the existence of a native culture truly our own. Some of these were passed on byword of mouth till they reached the hands of some publishers or printers who took interest in printing the manuscripts of the ancient Filipinos. The Spaniards who came to the Philippines tried to prove that our ancestors were really fond of poetry, songs, stories, riddles and proverbs which we still enjoy today and which serve to show to generations the true culture of our people. Pre-Spanish Period The Pre-Spanish Period Historical Background Long before the Spaniards...
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...The Spanish Inquisition In 1469, the marriage of Ferdinand V of Aragon to his cousin Isabella of Castile united the two most powerful provinces of Spain (Hauben, 23). During this time, Spain was becoming one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Much of Spain’s wealth was contributed by the Jewish population, which was very successful during this time period because of Christian church laws against usury, which is an illegal practice of charging unfair rates on loans. Prejudice against the Jews and strong feelings of anti-Semitism had also grown during this time, especially after a riot on Ash Wednesday (March 15,1391), started by a Spanish archdeacon named Martinez. Martinez called out to all Spanish citizens to “purge themselves of the filthy Jews”. Martinez incited his congregation to riot. The crowd moved enmasse towards the Juderia (Jewish quarter). Some of the participants were captured by the police and flogged or beaten, but that was not enough to stop the mob. Although they did not succeed that day to destroy the Jews, the feelings that Martinez had evoked lay simmering until June 6th when the mob sacked the Juderia of Seville. It is believed that the victims numbered in the hundreds, if not thousands (C. Roth, 1964). The estimated number of victims for the riot is said to be a little over one thousand. After this ordeal, a number of Jews, called conversos, professed themselves as Christians to escape persecution. Many Christians were questioning the validity of...
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...Cultural Project 2 – Spanish Cinema For the Cultural Project 2 assignment I decided to continue my exploration of Spanish cinema. I searched for a movie that would include historical events that could broaden my knowledge of the Spanish culture. I chose the Spanish-American film entitled “Goya’s Ghosts” because of the historical relevance the time period had on Spanish culture. The film included references to the Spanish Monarchy, the influence of the Catholic Church, the Spanish Inquisition, French Revolution, and a renowned Spanish painter named Francisco Goya. “Although the historical setting of the movie was based on actual historical events, the movie itself is a work of fiction”(Goya’s). The setting for Goya’s Ghosts begins in Spain in the year 1792. The Catholic Church is “disturbed by prints, created by an artist named Francisco Goya, that are being circulated around the country depicting the clergy using unflattering imagery”(Francisco). There is a long discussion on how the Church should handle the situation, when Brother Lorenzo intervenes. He suggests that “the artist’s depiction is insight into a bigger problem and should be handled by increasing the pressure the church applies to finding people who do not believe in their faith”(Spanish). “The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition (Spanish: Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition (Inquisición española), was a tribunal established...
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...This paper will attempt to accurately examine the development of the Spanish Inquisition, from the spread of the Inquisition into the Spanish territories through the ultimate upheaval, and the initial dissolvement, of the authority it held over the public who feared it. It will endeavor to show the implications of the Spanish Inquisition and how it was ultimately used as a device in its own undoing. Such an examination helps to explain the use of Church authority in secular governing, and later the separating of the Church from the crown. The paper will also take a closer look at this racial injustice in an attempt helping to see just how this may happen again if not understood and foreseen. The Church since its origins has suffered from the attack of heretics and their heresies, which have, caused many controversies and schisms within it. The Spanish Inquisition was independent of the medieval Inquisition, which evolved in the Middle Ages as an effective means of coping with the problem of heresy, which became a serious menace to the Catholic Church in the twelfth century. The fame of the Spanish Inquisition, as Ferdinand and Isabella established it at the close of the fifteenth century, was directed at Jewish merchant and Muslim traders, even under reluctant approval of Sixtus IV. The literal meaning of the word heretics is choosing, selecting beliefs outside or of different religions instead of accepting obediently the whole faith of the Catholic Church. Although, no authorities...
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...Senecan elements in The Spanish Tragedy The Spanish Tragedy belongs to a class of drama known as the revenge play, which comes from the pen of Thomas Kyd (1558-1594). Almost all the English playwrights of that time followed the Classical playwrights, Classical tragedies. Kyd also did the same. Especially he followed Roman playwright Lucius Annaneus Seneca (4BC-65AD) blindly. So he is called The English Seneca. Seneca was also a Roman Stoic philosopher. Primly he wrote tragic dramas. His dramas were full of melodramatic elements, such as, blood-shed, killing, assassination, horror scenes, etc. For these reasons his dramas are suitable for only to read in chamber or in closed room. Let us now have a brief discussion about the elements of Seneca used by Kyd in his play The Spanish Tragedy. In all the plays of Seneca we find the revenge theme. Revenge was the main plot, main motive in his plays. Like him, Kyd also used the revenge theme. As we find The Ghost of Andrea, Bel-Imperia, Horatio, Isabella and Hieronimo all the characters want to take revenge. Though we see that the climates are different, but their motive is same. We find Hieronimo saying after the death of his son, Horatio: “See’st thou this handkerchief besmeared with blood? / It shall not from me till I take revenge.” (2. 5. 51-52). In Senecan plays, all the characters think that if they take revenge upon the killers who have murdered their dearest persons, it can never be a sin...
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...Spanish IV AP 2011-2012 Summer Assignment The activities in this assignment are meant to help me become familiar with your Spanish skills at this point. They will help you become familiar with the textbook, its Supersite and the WebSAM. You need to know how to use them by the beginning of the Fall semester. You’ll also do activities in the Barron’s AP Spanish book. If you encounter problems or know of situations that will keep you from submitting your work by the stated deadlines, you need to contact me at your earliest convenience. I will contact parents for verification. By July 16th. Write a reflection piece in English on your Spanish language skills and learning style. You may list your answers to the questions below or write a composition. Submit as a Word document to HYPERLINK "mailto:torres@ndhs.org" torres@ndhs.org. 1) In what areas do you do well in Spanish without putting out a great deal of effort? (You may address- listening comprehension, reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, spelling, accentuation, speaking, pronunciation, composing your thoughts clearly before writing or speaking, etc.) 2) In what area(s) do you do well in Spanish, after putting out a considerable amount of effort? 3) What types of activities help you learn more effectively? * Hearing others’ explanations and examples, * Reading numerous explanations of grammar or vocabulary items, * Writing diagrams, formulas or summaries of explanations...
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