B2 · 51 words
Talking about language in Spanish
Register, varieties, meaning, misunderstanding — words for the tool.
English borrowed la tilde and shrank it. In English a tilde is the wave over the ñ and nothing else; in Spanish la tilde is the accent stroke on any vowel — árbol, café, según — and it is what the whole system of stress rules is about. The wave has a name of its own, la virgulilla, and hardly anybody uses it. So lleva tilde means « it takes an accent », a remark about spelling and not about ñ, and la tilde diacrítica is the stroke that keeps two identical words apart, as in tú and tu.
The words
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Pronoun (1)
cuyowhosePronounB2
Es un pueblo cuyas casas son todas blancas.It is a village whose houses are all white.
Phrase (18)
la lengua francathe shared working tonguePhraseB2
El inglés es la lengua franca del sector.English is the shared working tongue of the trade.
la lengua romancethe Romance languagePhraseB2
El catalán es una lengua romance.Catalan is a Romance language.
la lengua cooficialthe second official onePhraseB2
El vasco es lengua cooficial en dos comunidades.Basque is the second official language in two regions.
el acento regionalthe regional accentPhraseB2
El acento regional no es un error.A regional accent is not a mistake.
el registro formalthe formal registerPhraseB2
El registro formal pide usted.The formal register calls for usted.
el registro coloquialthe way people talkPhraseB2
En registro coloquial se acortan las palabras.The way people talk shortens the words.
el préstamo lingüísticothe loanwordPhraseB2
Es un préstamo lingüístico del árabe.It is a loanword from Arabic.
el falso amigothe false friendPhraseB2
Es un falso amigo clásico.It is a classic false friend.
el matiz de significadothe shade of meaningPhraseB2
El matiz de significado se pierde al traducir.The shade of meaning is lost in translation.
la sílaba tónicathe stressed syllablePhraseB2
La sílaba tónica es la penúltima.The stressed syllable is the last but one.
la gramática descriptivagrammar that describesPhraseB2
La gramática descriptiva anota lo que se dice.Grammar that describes writes down what people say.
la norma cultathe educated standardPhraseB2
La norma culta no es la única correcta.The educated standard is not the only correct form.
la redacción clarathe clear wordingPhraseB2
La redacción clara evita pleitos.Clear wording saves quarrels.
la revisión de estilothe copy-editingPhraseB2
La revisión de estilo mejoró el texto.The copy-editing improved the text.
el nivel de competenciathe level reachedPhraseB2
El nivel de competencia se describe por destrezas.The level reached is described skill by skill.
la comprensión auditivalisteningPhraseB2
La comprensión auditiva mejora con series.Listening gets better with series.
la expresión escritawritingPhraseB2
La expresión escrita es la que menos se practica.Writing is the least practised of them.
la mediación lingüísticapassing on what was saidPhraseB2
La mediación lingüística es explicar a otro lo que se dijo.Passing on what was said means explaining it to somebody else.
Noun (m) (13)
el castellanoCastilianNoun (m)B2
En casa hablan castellano y gallego.At home they speak Castilian and Galician.
el dialectothe dialectNoun (m)B2
El dialecto se oye en las vocales.The dialect can be heard in the vowels.
el seseothe merging of z and sNoun (m)B2
El seseo es general en América.The merging of z and s is general in America.
el tuteothe use of the familiar youNoun (m)B2
El tuteo es normal entre compañeros.Using the familiar you is normal among colleagues.
el eufemismothe euphemismNoun (m)B2
Usó un eufemismo para no decirlo.He used a euphemism so as not to say it.
el tecnicismothe technical termNoun (m)B2
El tecnicismo se explica una vez y ya está.The technical term is explained once and that is that.
el anglicismothe borrowing from EnglishNoun (m)B2
El anglicismo tiene alternativa aquí.The borrowing from English has an alternative here.
el calcothe phrase translated piece by pieceNoun (m)B2
Es un calco del inglés y suena raro.It is a phrase translated piece by piece and it sounds odd.
el sinónimothe synonymNoun (m)B2
No hay sinónimo exacto.There is no exact synonym.
el contextothe contextNoun (m)B2
El contexto decide el sentido.The context settles the sense.
el refránthe proverbNoun (m)B2
El refrán rima y por eso se recuerda.The proverb rhymes and that is why it sticks.
el borradorthe draftNoun (m)B2
El borrador cambió tres veces.The draft changed three times.
el conectorthe linking wordNoun (m)B2
Un conector mal puesto confunde.A linking word in the wrong place confuses.
Noun (f) (19)
la variedadthe varietyNoun (f)B2
Cada variedad tiene su norma.Every variety has a standard of its own.
la entonaciónthe intonationNoun (f)B2
La entonación cambia la pregunta en afirmación.Intonation turns the question into a statement.
la cortesíathe politenessNoun (f)B2
La cortesía se hace con el condicional.Politeness is done with the conditional.
la jergathe jargonNoun (f)B2
La jerga del oficio excluye al de fuera.The jargon of a trade shuts out the outsider.
la connotaciónthe overtoneNoun (f)B2
La connotación es negativa aunque el sentido no.The overtone is negative even though the sense is not.
la ambigüedadthe ambiguityNoun (f)B2
La ambigüedad está en el pronombre.The ambiguity is in the pronoun.
la locuciónthe set phraseNoun (f)B2
Es una locución y no se cambia una palabra.It is a set phrase and not a word of it changes.
la ortografíathe spellingNoun (f)B2
La ortografía cambió en 2010.The spelling changed in 2010.
la tildethe accent strokeNoun (f)B2
La tilde distingue dos palabras.The accent stroke tells two words apart.
la puntuaciónthe punctuationNoun (f)B2
La puntuación cambia el sentido entero.Punctuation changes the whole sense.
la correcciónthe correctnessNoun (f)B2
La corrección importa menos que la claridad.Correctness matters less than clarity.
la claridadthe clarityNoun (f)B2
La claridad se consigue quitando.Clarity is got by taking things out.
la coherenciathe coherenceNoun (f)B2
Falta coherencia entre los dos apartados.There is no coherence between the two sections.
la cohesiónthe holding together of a textNoun (f)B2
La cohesión la dan los conectores.The holding together of a text comes from the linking words.
la paráfrasisthe saying it another wayNoun (f)B2
La paráfrasis salva cualquier laguna.Saying it another way rescues any gap.
la lagunathe gap in what you knowNoun (f)B2
Tiene una laguna con los tiempos.She has a gap in what she knows about the tenses.
la interferenciathe pull of the first languageNoun (f)B2
La interferencia se oye en el orden de palabras.The pull of the first language is heard in the word order.
la fosilizaciónthe mistake that has hardenedNoun (f)B2
La fosilización se corrige despacio.The mistake that has hardened is corrected slowly.
la destrezathe skillNoun (f)B2
La destreza más difícil es hablar.The hardest skill is speaking.
This list belongs to Language and expression — 22 lists and 1102 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 51 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.