Christmas in Spain is deeply religious. The country’s patron saint is the Virgin Mary and the Christmas season begins on 8 December, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, with a special ritual known as los Seises (the dance of six) in front of Seville’s Gothic cathedral in which not six but ten elaborately-dressed boys perform a dance with intricate movements and gestures which is very moving to watch.

Most homes have a manger with carved nativity figures around which families gather to sing carols, dance and play tambourines.  The cow is honoured at this time as it’s believed that when Mary gave birth, the cow in the stable breathed on the Baby Jesus to keep him warm.

On Christmas Eve, or Nochebuena, families rejoice around their nativity scenes and eat the traditional Christmas treat of turron, a kind of almond candy. Tiny oil lamps are lit in homes, and after the traditional Midnight Mass and Christmas Dinner, streets fill with revellers dancing the special Christmas dance, the Jota, to the sound of guitars and castanets. The words and music to the Jota are said to be hundreds of years old.

Tradition has it that gifts are brought by the Three Wise Men on 6 January. It is believed that the Magi re-enact their journey to Bethlehem every year at this time and children leave out shoes filled with straw, carrots, and barley for their horses. Though all of the Magi are revered in Spain, the children’s favourite is Balthazar who rides a donkey and is the one believed to leave gifts.

If you want to get more closely acquainted with the language and customs of Spain, a good place to start is with our Private Spanish lessons, provided at your workplace or home throughout London.

Spanish, as we already know, evolved from the Latin which came into the region some 2,000 years ago. Latin is not, however, the only language to have contributed to the development of modern-day Spanish. It’s also significantly influenced by Arabic, thanks to the long-term Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula between the years 711 and 1492 AD. Loan words from Arabic began to appear in Spanish in the 8th and 9th centuries as the number of speakers of the language increased, but the influence of Arabic peaked during the Reconquista, when large territories where large numbers of people spoke Arabic or Arabic-influenced local dialects were recaptured from their Moorish rulers. This was a period in which many Arabic words and their derivatives were absorbed into the Castilian language. One result of this is that Spanish often has both Arabic and Latin derived words with the same meaning, such as escorpión and alacrán, meaning scorpion. The Arabic versions are often favoured in areas which fell under Moorish rule for longer periods.

In more recent times, Spanish has borrowed words from various European languages, but the biggest influence is from English, with many words and expressions, particularly those relating to technology, coming into common usage in Spanish. In Latin America, thanks largely to US influences, there’s an even bigger trend for borrowing English words, often with the original spelling, other times using words of English derivation, such as la computadora (the computer) which is quite different from the Spanish el ordenador.

If you’d like to gain an insight into the wonderfully colourful and expressive Spanish language, our Private Spanish Lessons are the ideal place to begin.

Spanish literature down the centuries has provided a wealth of classics that any book lover should have on their must-read list. From Cervantes’ immortal Don Quixote de la Mancha, published in 1605 and considered to be the world’s first modern novel; the poetry and prose of Federico García Lorca, who was catapulted to fame posthumously after his murder at the start of the Spanish Civil war; through to modern classics like Love in the Time of Cholera by Nobel Prize-winning Columbian author Gabriel García Márquez, and the highly popular works of Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Spanish literature is truly magical.

Reading in any language broadens both the mind and the vocabulary. Though widely translated, there’s nothing quite like the sense of achievement gained from being able to read these famous texts in their original language. If you’re a traditional book reader, keep a Spanish dictionary on hand to help you out with any unfamiliar words. If you’re a fan of the e-book, it’s even easier. Here’s a great tip: as many classics are free, you can download both the Spanish and English versions and refer to them side by side. As your Spanish improves you may even spot some errors and omissions in the translation. Install a Spanish dictionary too and you can check anything you’re unsure of instantly. You can note any queries or points of interest for discussion with your Spanish tutor. Happy reading!

There are all sorts of ways in which you can set about learning a new language, but which is the most effective? Many audio languagecourses purport to have you speaking any language fluently in no time at all. Can it really be so easy? Well, in most cases the answer is no, though they can be a useful means of practising what you already know of a language and helping to improve your vocabulary.

Others believe that total immersion in the language is the only way to really learn. That too has its place, but it’s a method which isn’t available to every learner unless they are going to live in a Spanish-speaking country. No matter which additional learning and practice methods you adopt, you need a good, strong foundation in the form of real tuition.

The traditional learning environment is, of course, the classroom, but working with a private tutor is much more effective. Why? Well, there are numerous advantages to this way of learning. First, you can go at your own pace. In the classroom the pace is often set by the slower learners in the group; if you’re an eager and quick learner with a good ear for languages, you could find this limiting and frustrating.

Secondly, instead of having to cater for a group with mixed abilities and learning objectives, your private tutor can tailor lessons to suit just one person: you. Last but not least, a private tutor is able to give one-to-one coaching and can answer your questions immediately. This means you get maximum benefit from the time you spend with them. Contact us to find out more or start your own private Spanish lessons.

A common question from students is whether there is any difference between Spanish and Castellano, or Castilian as it is more commonly called in English, so in this blog we aim to answer that question. To do so, we need to explain a little bit about the origins of Spanish as it is spoken today.

As we already know, Spanish is largely derived from Latin. Latin came into usage in the region around 2,000 years ago, during Roman times. As typically happens when languages cross borders, it absorbed some of the vocabulary of the indigenous languages in use at the time and in that process became Vulgar Latin.

Several dialects of Vulgar Latin existed throughout the Iberian Peninsula, but it was the one spoken in the north-central part of Spain – an area which includes Castile – which spread throughout the whole region. Castilian’s position was cemented in the 13^th century during the reign of King Alfonso when its use for translation of historical documents saw it become the standard dialect used in education. He also made it the official language for government administration.

The spread of Castilian did not, however, lead to the extinction of other dialects. Other ‘languages’ of Latin derivation, like Galician and Catalan, are still widely spoken today. The non-Latin Basque dialect is also spoken by a minority. As all of these languages are themselves Spanish in origin, the term Castilian, or Castellano, is often used to differentiate standard Spanish from these other dialects. You are therefore likely to hear the word Castellano used to refer to the ‘pure’ Spanish which is endorsed by the Royal Spanish Academy.

You can discover Castellano for yourself by enrolling for our Private Spanish Lessons at home or at work throughout the London area.

 

If you’ve ever had lessons in any other European language –French during your school days, for example – then you probably already know that there are different forms of the English word “you” which change according to how well you know a person, amongst other factors.

Spanish is one of the many languages that has these different formal and informal, singular and plural forms of address, all of which translate to one simple English word, “you”. In several languages the formal and the plural form are the same, but in Spanish, there are four different ways to say “you”:

• Singular informal: tú
• Singular formal: usted
• Plural informal: vosotros
• Plural formal: ustedes

 

 

 

You will need to learn when to use the correct form, as using the informal tú when addressing, for example, a stranger, a person in authority or someone older than you is liable to make you appear rude or presumptuous.  Tú is generally reserved for close friends, family, children or pets. It is not an appropriate way to address someone you’re not on first name terms with – you would use usted for those people.

It’s important to understand the different forms of “you” so that you can use the corresponding words for “your” and “yours”, and so that you can conjugate verbs correctly. Our native Spanish tutors can help you to learn when each form should be used so that you can communicate confidently – and politely! Our lessons are tailored to your needs and are available throughout the London area.

On the surface you might not think there is much connection between Spanish and English, but you may be surprised to learn that they’re actually not-too-distant relations. They share the Latin alphabet for a start, which is a great foundation for any English speaker who wishes to learn a second language. What’s more, did you know that 30% to 40% of English words have a related word in Spanish? This is great news for students as words which appear and sound similar as well as having a similar meaning – known as cognates – make the job of learning and remembering the new language so much easier than learning a language like Chinese, for example, which has very few cognates in common.

Furthermore, as both languages are derived from Latin, sentences are formed in much the same way. There are a couple of differences in word order, for example adjectives go before nouns in English whereas the opposite is true in Spanish. So the translation of the English “the blue dress” in Spanish becomes “el vestido azul”, i.e. “the dress blue”. This, however, is a simple rule to learn and will quickly become second nature.

And so you see there is no reason to feel daunted about your decision to learn Spanish. It is, in fact, one of the easiest languages for English speakers to pick up. At Lingua Clinic we have a variety of learning delivery methods to suit your needs. Choose from private Spanish lessons, group training or intensive Spanish lessons if you want to learn the language quickly.

Spain has a great deal to offer visitors: it’s a country rich in culture which has given the world many influential artists over the centuries including Velázquez, Goya and Picasso. It is, of course, strongly identified with music and dance. It is also famed for its diverse architecture, which ranges from Arabic to Gothic to Modernist, with Gaudi being perhaps the most famous in the latter category.

Spain, through its colonial past, has exported many parts of its culture to other parts of the world, particularly the Americas. Mexico, of course, boasts its own rich cultural heritage prior to Spanish influence, in the form of the ancient Olmec, Aztec and Mayan civilisations.

Today both countries enjoy huge popularity as tourist destinations, but they share something much more important, and that is, of course, the Spanish language. Indeed, the language is often said to be one of the main attractions of Spain and Mexico; it is as animated and expressive as the inhabitants of those countries. Any student of Spanish has much to gain by immersing themselves in Spanish or Mexican life, whether they are visiting for business or pleasure.

An intensive Spanish course can be the ideal preparation for anybody planning a trip to Spain, Mexico or any other Spanish-speaking country. It can enable you to quickly acquire the skills and confidence to converse with those you meet, either socially or for business purposes, when you arrive at your destination.

Of all the many countries in the world where Spanish is spoken as the main language, Colombia is considered to be the place where you will hear the clearest spoken version of the language. What people are really referring to is the standard dialect which is spoken in the capital, Bogotá, and on the country’s TV. It’s renowned for being so clear because the accent is quite neutral, making it easy for anyone with a reasonable grasp of Spanish to understand.

To put this into a context that English speakers can easily relate to, you might compare it to the English of the BBC. Although regional accents have become more of a feature in recent years on UK screens, the speakers are still clearly intelligible to anyone who speaks the language, unlike some of the very broad accents which are to be found up and down the country and which natives from other areas, let alone foreigners, can struggle to understand at times.

However, Colombia also has a variety of different dialects – something that you will quickly appreciate if you travel beyond the capital. Regional accents can differ just as much as those in the UK do, and the use of idiomatic language which is contrary to the Spanish meaning can be confusing. For example, in the Medellín area “¿Qué más?” is prevalent as a way of saying “How are you?” that is quite different to the literal translation of “What else?”

If you’re interested in finding out more, you could search online for Colombian video clips and see if you can appreciate the famed clarity of their speech. If you want to learn Spanish or improve your existing skills, check out our services.

The key to learning and retaining any language is, of course, constant practice. But if you’re learning Spanish in London or indeed anywhere in the UK, opportunities for Spanish conversation probably don’t present themselves every day. You don’t want to spend all your free time with your head in a text book or listening to an audio language course, so how can you practise your Spanish listening and comprehension when your classmates or tutor are not available?

Watching movies in Spanish is one way to do just that. Worried that your Spanish isn’t sufficiently advanced? Don’t be. Think about the different English movies you watched as you grew up; you probably weren’t viewing Citizen Kane aged 8, but Bambi was perfect. Similarly, there is a wide range of Spanish films available to suit all abilities. Start out with movies for younger viewers and progress to more “difficult” ones as your skills and vocabulary improve.

There are lots of different ways to introduce the Spanish language to your entertainment on a regular basis: Next time you’re watching a DVD, check whether it has an alternative audio track in Spanish. You can always keep the English subtitles on to give you a helping hand. If you’ve only got English audio, brush up your reading skills with Spanish subs. If you’ve nothing in your DVD library, there are many sites where you can watch Spanish movies online – it’s one of the great benefits of today’s digital world. As an accompaniment to lessons with your native tutor, watching movies is a great way to enrich your knowledge of Spanish – and, best of all, it’s a really enjoyable way to learn.

Our Spanish tutors always give to the students a big range of movies to practice what they have cover during the lessons.