The latest bit of English to creep/storm into Spanish is le crossfit. If,
like me, you've no idea what this is, one succinct web definition
is:- Constantly varied, high-intensity, functional
movement. So, there you go. Or not, in my case.
El País tells us - in English - that Spain's young are turning their backs on the country's Fiesta National - La corrida, or bullfighting. The number of events is said to have fallen this year to 398 from 953 in 2104. Click here for more on this.
The banks, as we know, have got away with worse than murder. And, at least here in Spain, they're now taking advantage of this perpetual immunity to inflict death by a thousand cuts on their effectively-captive customers. First there was the cancellation of (minuscule) interest on current accounts; then the re-introduction of monthly and transaction fees; and then a charge for using ATMs. Yesterday, I received a letter from the bank - Pastor/Popular - which took over Citibank to tell me I won't be able to use the gold card I got from the latter to access airport lounges. I don't know what'll be next but you can be sure there'll be several more items in this list.
Over in the UK, it's reported that the police have been instructed to take notice of, and even use, psychics, witches, stargazers and water diviners. I choose not to believe this, even though the police have been shown to be daft on many occasions. But at least in the UK they don't often shoot people and then invent the circumstances. Well, not the former.
Another word I regularly mis-type is Spain, which comes out as Sapin. This is doubly ironic, in that, firstly, it's where I live, and, secondly, it's one theory - possibly the weakest - about the origin of the name ''Spain. From the French for fir tree - sapin. With which Iberia was said to be overrun. Well, maybe.
Back to English: Here are some of the words I've noticed pronounced differently on the TV from what I'm used to:-
El País tells us - in English - that Spain's young are turning their backs on the country's Fiesta National - La corrida, or bullfighting. The number of events is said to have fallen this year to 398 from 953 in 2104. Click here for more on this.
The banks, as we know, have got away with worse than murder. And, at least here in Spain, they're now taking advantage of this perpetual immunity to inflict death by a thousand cuts on their effectively-captive customers. First there was the cancellation of (minuscule) interest on current accounts; then the re-introduction of monthly and transaction fees; and then a charge for using ATMs. Yesterday, I received a letter from the bank - Pastor/Popular - which took over Citibank to tell me I won't be able to use the gold card I got from the latter to access airport lounges. I don't know what'll be next but you can be sure there'll be several more items in this list.
Over in the UK, it's reported that the police have been instructed to take notice of, and even use, psychics, witches, stargazers and water diviners. I choose not to believe this, even though the police have been shown to be daft on many occasions. But at least in the UK they don't often shoot people and then invent the circumstances. Well, not the former.
Another word I regularly mis-type is Spain, which comes out as Sapin. This is doubly ironic, in that, firstly, it's where I live, and, secondly, it's one theory - possibly the weakest - about the origin of the name ''Spain. From the French for fir tree - sapin. With which Iberia was said to be overrun. Well, maybe.
Back to English: Here are some of the words I've noticed pronounced differently on the TV from what I'm used to:-
hárassment
- instead of harássment
Lévante -
Levánte
másquerade
- masqueráde
incompárable
- incómparable
táboo -
tabóo
ápostate
- apóstate
We really need a Royal Academy to guide us on this. Not.
And this is a word I'd like to see re-introduced - sennite. Which is to 'week' as fortnight is to 'two weeks'. My understanding is that our American cousins don't even use the latter much. If at all. Maybe on the east coast.
Moscow, says someone, is the unfriendliest city in the world. Perhaps this is why everyone who lives there seems to be moving to London, which doesn't make this list of the 15 Worst Cities to Live In. Which might surprise some.
Finally . . . Reader Q10 tells me he couldn't see the original grave stones in this link to the report on the Galician granite bench cock-up yesterday. I've checked and it seems you have to wait 15-20 seconds to see the before-and-after fotos in the text. Or just click here. Good luck, you bad news zealots.
And this is a word I'd like to see re-introduced - sennite. Which is to 'week' as fortnight is to 'two weeks'. My understanding is that our American cousins don't even use the latter much. If at all. Maybe on the east coast.
Moscow, says someone, is the unfriendliest city in the world. Perhaps this is why everyone who lives there seems to be moving to London, which doesn't make this list of the 15 Worst Cities to Live In. Which might surprise some.
Finally . . . Reader Q10 tells me he couldn't see the original grave stones in this link to the report on the Galician granite bench cock-up yesterday. I've checked and it seems you have to wait 15-20 seconds to see the before-and-after fotos in the text. Or just click here. Good luck, you bad news zealots.
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