Spanish Word of the Day

Quote: Pacomartin

When I look up the noun vaso I get the following five definitions. What it doesn't tell me is which definition comes to mind immediately to a native speaker. I assume it is the first one.

I feel bad when you go through so much trouble about a msitaken assumption.

I was reading "Rama2 in English (I haven't read a fiction book in Spanish in over thirty years). Now, my method in my most early reading was to try to deduce meaning from context. This works very well the alrge majoprity fo the time. Then i woudl check the dictionary, but mostly as confirmation and for alternative meanings.

"vessel" is used a lot in that book to mean "ship." This is understandable, as it deals with a ship making a rendesvouz with Rama (I'm not saying what Rama is). i just couldn't see it from the context, at first. I'd re-read it to find out, but Clarke or not it's not worth re-reading any more. The sequels kind of spoiled it.

Where does "vaso" even come from in this discussion??

Quote: Nareed

"vessel" is used a lot in that book to mean "ship." ... Where does "vaso" even come from in this discussion??

The word "vessel" is a French word, one of thousands adopted into English after the conquest. Almost always French words have a related word in Spanish (a cognate). The dictionary says that the word "vaso" in Spanish could mean "vessel".

I was just curious if you see the word, do you think of a ship or a glass?

Quote: Nareed

Wrong. "¿De quién ES este? See, in your version you're saying "Whose this?"

Both of these sentences are correct English

Whose side are you on?
Which side are you on?

Google Translate suggests:

¿De qué lado estás en?
¿De qué lado está usted?


Qué and cuál can be confusing to English speakers. Can you translate the first sentence using "quién"?

Quote: Pacomartin

I was just curious if you see the word, do you think of a ship or a glass?

I thought "what does vessel mean?" By then I'd learned to distrust words that sound alike.

Quote: Pacomartin

Google Translate suggests:

¿De qué lado estás en?
¿De qué lado está usted?

Google translate needs a Spanish tutor :)

The second one is ok, if formal.

The first one is all wrong. It should be "De que lado estás." If you insist in jamming in "en" into the question, then it should be "En que lado estás," but then the question won't be as clear.

Quote:

Qué and cuál can be confusing to English speakers. Can you translate the first sentence using "quién"?

the first sentence in your post? It would be ahrd to make it sound normal. I'd ahve to change it compeltely. Say, "A quien apoyas?" which means "whom do you support?" If you were to say "Del lado de quien estás?" you'd sound verbose and unclear.

Quote: Pacomartin

It sounds like you use "vaso" to refer to the ship's hull, rather than the ship itself.

A necessity under Admiralty law since you had to seize the ship, its engines, block and tackle, etc.

But does your book deal with the assassination of Ghandi?

Quote: Fleastiff

But does your book deal with the assassination of Ghandi?

I am not following your thinking here.

Quote: Nareed

I thought "what does vessel mean?" By then I'd learned to distrust words that sound alike.

The word "vessel" is used when the ship or boat has some larger purpose. Sometimes it is long voyages, and it is frequently used for space vessels. Sometimes it is fairly industrial, like this pipe laying vessel, but it usually implies some larger purposes than the word "ship".

As always, words that came from Old French are considered loftier than words that came from Old English like "ship" or "boat".

Quote: Pacomartin

To ferment is fermentar and los alimentos fermentados are fermented vegetables. Encurtidos are pickled products

Thank you. Perhaps somewhere the "en" was dropped. I've also been informed that El Salvador has a word best translated as sauerkrat that is similar.

Quote: Fleastiff

Thank you. Perhaps somewhere the "en" was dropped. I've also been informed that El Salvador has a word best translated as sauerkrat that is similar.

If I say DRAE I mean diccionario de la lengua española put out by the Real Academia Española. As you are probably aware, most European languages have a governing body that directs the proper use of the language.

English is not directed, but is allowed to evolve on it's own. The Oxford Academy which puts out the Oxford English Dictionary is the foremost authority on the language, but they claim to only describe changes in the language. They do not try and direct it in anyway.

A DRAE definition is:
chucrut (Del fr. choucroute, y este del al. Sauerkraut) = Col blanca fermentada en salmuera.

The abbreviation "fr." means French, and "al." means Aleman or German. Salmuera means "salt water" or what we might call "brine".
salmuera

But here is an an article about El Salvadorian "curtido" which is referred to as saurkraut.

Fecha: 8-3-13
Palabra: Amonestar

Today's SWD means to warn. A related word is amonestación, which means a warning.

The assignment for the advanced readers is to compare and contrast amonestar y advertir.

Ejemplo time.

Le amonesté al Capitan que vendría una tormenta. = I warned the Skipper a storm was coming.