Spanish is not a difficult language to learn.  If you recognize the similarities between Spanish and English, you will realize Spanish is not as foreign as you might think.  In fact, Spanish and English are more similar than different.  Being aware of these similarities will help you learn faster.

Let’s look at the following sentence from the first chapter of a beginning Spanish  textbook: El libro es rojo. In English: The book is red. The word order is the same in both English and Spanish. In most cases you will find that the word order in Spanish and English  coincide about 80% of the time. Once you understand this pattern of basic sentence structure and  see the similarities between Spanish and English , you will find it surprisingly easy to speak in simple sentences. This process may take some time to get use to, but once you acquire a feel for it your Spanish will begin to improve by leaps and bounds.

Besides the similarity in sentence structure, there are also thousands of words that are alike in Spanish and English. These words are called cognates. They are similar to english so you won’t have to learn them. By understanding this concept you can increase your vocabulary and improve both your comprehension and ability to hold a conversation in Spanish.

For instance, most English words which end in OR are like Spanish words and have the same meanings. All you have to do is practice their Spanish pronunciation. be sure to stress the last syllable of these words, like this: doc-TOR, hon-OR, ac-TOR, pro-fe-SOR, etc. In addition, many English words which end in AL are like Spanish words and mean the same thing.  Again, just practice their Spanish pronunciation. Don’t forget to stress the last syllable, like this: fin-AL, cr-er-AL, ca-NAL, prin-ci-PAL, to-TAL, etc.

Tiquismo (Costa Rican expression) of the week: In Costa Rica gallina  means a coward or “chicken.”