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Re: Cinco de Mayo and the Spanish Language
Posted By: Howard, on host 209.86.12.250
Date: Monday, May 6, 2002, at 09:33:11
In Reply To: Re: Cinco de Mayo and the Spanish Language posted by ria on Sunday, May 5, 2002, at 21:27:47:

> > To be nit-picky, I've always been taught that that should read "Me llamo ____." The literal translation of that would be "I call myself ____."
> >
> > But I've seen it incorrectly twice here, and now I'm starting to question myself.
> >
> > -Cynth"Spanish minor who can't resist grammatical pedantry -- in any language"ia
>
> Well, it ("Me llama _____") seems to be the common use, yes. But it's confusing for a lot of people, since it's like "gustar," "encantar," "molestar" (to hate, people, not the English-sounding alternative!), etc. -- at least in what I've learned (I'm only a second year Spanish student).
>
> "Me" is Spanish for "to me" or "for me," correct? "Llamar" is to call. One could say "Me llama," meaning "he/she calls me," or "it calls me," which could me construed as "I am called."
>
> "Me llaman _____" would be cool for a mysterious thing. ;) "They call me _____."
>
> But yeah, "Me llamo" is more accurate. Depends on what you're trying to say, I guess.
>
> ri "Estoy cansada. No puedo hablar bien" a

Like English, the Spanish language is a little different from one country to another. The Peruvian side of our family can listen to a voice on the radio and tell a Cuban from a Mexican. There seems to be a big difference beteen Spanish spoken in Spain and Spanish spoken in the Americas. I've picked up very little over the years. I still confuse Spanish with Portugese and Italian sometimes.

I still say "Como su llama?" when I meet Mexican children here in Tennessee, but I usually find out that they speak English better than their parents.
Howard

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