4 expresiones del español que necesitamos al hablar inglés

La lengua es el método de comunicación ideal para los integrantes de una comunidad. Cada hablante la adapta a sus necesidades y capacidades para transmitir un mensaje, creando jergas y hábitos lingüisticos que se transmiten en ese grupo social de una generación a otra, sin siquiera darse cuenta. 

Sin embargo, cuando aprendemos otra lengua, por ejemplo inglés, de cierto modo nos sentimos limitados porque  honestamente, aunque logremos transmitir un mensaje correctamente, no encontramos esas palabritas o muletillas que le agregan más emoción o "sazón" a lo que queremos decir. A continuación te muestro algunas palabras o expresiones que he ido anotando en estos dias, las cuales entiendo que usamos mucho a la hora de hablar español, específicamente español dominicano ;) y junto a ellas te voy a poner algún término equivalente que utilicen los angloparlantes para referirse a lo mismo.

Aquí vamos!!!

1. Un viaje/ un montón/pila

¿Cuántos de nosotros no hemos querido referirnos a una gran cantidad de cosas pero sentimos que "a lot of" no lo describe tan bien? Pues en inglés también utilizan otras palabras no tan formales para referirse a mucho o muchos. Esta palabra es "a bunch".

Ejemplo:

I have a bunch of bad cookies.  Tengo un montón de galletas dañadas.

     2. Un tal/ una tal/ un supuesto/un dizque

Me refiero a cuando usamos este término para dejar dicho que dudamos que una persona o cosa sea eso que dice llamarse, como un supuesto artista, un dizque profesor. Para esto en inglés usamos "a so called". 

Ejemplo:

These so-called artists have no talent at all. Estos supuestos artistas no tienen nada de talento.

    3. Fulano/Fulanita/Perencejo/Juan de los Palotes

Muchas veces no queremos referirnos a una persona específica, o lo que queremos decir menciona a una persona desconocida o común y corriente. Hay una palabra anglosajona para esto: "John Doe". También viene en femenino "Jane Doe".

Ejemplo: 

That book was not written by any John Doe. Ese libro no fue escrito por cualquier fulano.

  4. Si Dios quiere/Ni Dios lo quiera

Esta es una expresión popular bastante común en este lado del mundo, pero también en inglés se dice frecuentemente, esto cuando queremos o esperamos que algo suceda, o al contrario. Sus equivalentes son "God willing" y "God forbids" respectivamente.

Ejemplo:

I am going to buy a house, God willing!

Voy a comprar una casa si Dios quiere!

If you get an accident, God forbids, you will be taken to the nearest hospital.

Si tienes un accidente, ni Dios lo quiera, serás llevado al hospital más cercano.

Espero que hayas aprendido al menos una de estas cuatro expresiones y las puedas poner en práctica la próxima vez que hables inglés.

Sígueme en mi Instagram @interpre.tales

How English changed my life

A degree in English was not what I first started to persue when I started college. I had different plans and a blurred vision of what I wanted to do with my life.

I started college when I was almost 18. I was thinking about majoring in Spanish, which is my native language, however I found it to be easy, and in my poor opinion, I thought anybody could graduate on that (yeah, I know, shame on me!), so, instead, I decided to enroll in what I thought would be "a more demanding major": Statistics.

I started to take as many subjects as I could. I took about three different Economics classes, Theory of Probabilities, Algebra, and many others, and even though I got good grades on all of them, I still thought I wasn't really feeling it or picturing myself working on that field.

I started to think about changing to another major, but still wasn't sure where I really belonged. So I had the feeling of being kind of trapped. On one hand, I had been on college for 2 years or so already, and I didn't want to throw all that time and money down the drain. On the other hand, I had to start from scratch, while explaing all relatives the reasons of my "drastic change" over and over on every get-together, aside of the self shame and regret for not taking the right desicion. I was trapped in a limbo of "what if".

But miraculously, something really great happened to me. I was informed I was given a scholarship to go to a SUNY college in the United States to master my English skills, since I studied in the public English program the year before and I happened to be one of the top of the class, along with 53 or so other students around the country.

I stayed in the U.S.A. for about one month and a half and honestly it has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I learned a lot and traveled to many places there. But above all else, I met this smart, funny and beautiful professor who showed me that being an English teacher is not so simple and not anyone can nail it. I fell in love with the idea of becoming a certified teacher of the English language.

When I came back to the country, Dominican Republic, I changed my major. Ever since, I have been studying Modern Languages, minor in English. I am heading to my sixth semester and I couldn't be happier. I have taken some training on teaching and I will begin tutoring in a few days. I'm excited and nervous at the same time.

Honestly I am happy with my decision but I wish I had done it sooner. But I know everything happens for a reason and I think if you're constantly studying and having experiences that get you more knowledge, it is not a waste of time, even if you change the major you're studying.

I advice you to conquer the fear and do what really makes you happy, even if you think it will take you long.

Remember: It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.