Coffee Break Spanish - Coffee Break Spanish Magazine Episode 108

Episode Date: October 31, 2012

Welcome to episode 8 of the Coffee Break Spanish Magazine. Join the team and improve your Spanish! In this edition:Alba asks her interviewees, si te tocara la lotería, ¿qué harías con el dinero? Like last week you’ll hear a range of accents featured in the answers, with a sprinkling of imperfect subjunctives and conditionals for good measure!;Laura teaches us the phrases tirar la casa por la ventana, meaning “to splash out” or to spend a lot of money;and JP and Nahyeli look at the Mexican word chale and how it is used.This season of Coffee Break Spanish Magazine features a total of 10 lessons, all of which are included in the podcast feed. If you’d like to benefit from video versions, lesson notes and bonus audio materials, you can access the premium version of the Coffee Break Spanish Magazine in the Coffee Break Academy.Don’t forget to follow Coffee Break Spanish on Facebook where we post language activities, cultural points and review materials to help you practise your Spanish. Remember - a few minutes a day can help you build your confidence in the language. Access the Coffee Break Spanish Facebook page here.If you’d like to find out what goes on behind the scenes here at Coffee Break Languages, follow @coffeebreaklanguages on Instagram.You can also check out our Coffee Break Spanish Twitter page and the Coffee Break Languages YouTube channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the extended edition of the Coffee Break Spanish magazine. It's the 12th of December 2012. You're listening to the Coffee Break Spanish. You're listening to the Coffee Break Spanish magazine. My name's Mark, and I'm your host for this show. In this week's episode, we'll be joining Alba in Barcelona, who's asking her interviewees what they would do if they won the lottery. Laura's phrase idiomatic is also about spending lots of money.

She'll be teaching us how to say to splash out in Spanish. And in our Q&A section, J.P. and Naili will explain the Mexican word Tale, which could well be used if you've just won the lottery. All this and more in this week's edition of... And for the first part of the program of today, we're going to talk to Alba. Vena, Alba, what do you know what you're doing? Hello, people. The question of today is, if you to talk to the lottery, what would you do with the money? This week's question is an interesting one. If te to car a lottery. If the lottery were to touch you, literally, if you won the lottery,

what would you do with the money? Now, we'll talk later about this combination of imperfect subjunctive and conditional. In the meantime, let's listen to the responses. Le compilier the dreams to my years and the most and I'd like to all the way. Well, what would you with the money of the lottery? I would like me to take the Ipoteca and I'd be a vacations all the day.

Well, I'd probably a house in Barcelona because we'd like much to my my marid and me and we'd and we'd

all the the times that we'd with our kids and nothing, no see, the rest

I imagine that like all the world, some caprico a, um, Vyages.

It's clear that would that would I would have to say, no, I'll do it to an NG, no, that's no. First, the cost of me. Comprarieer a house at the play, a barco, a coach, and I don't know, many things would probably, but the ONG would have to be at final. The more not yet, but well, in the truth.

Now, this is perhaps the most complicated, the most difficult to understand selection of responses that we've had so far on the magazine, particularly because of the accents of the speakers. One of the other things that makes this episode a little more complicated is the ongoing use of a particular construction. We ask the question, what would you do if you won the lottery? And this combination of tenses in English triggers a combination of tenses in Spanish,

which is a little more complicated for learners. And that is the use of the imperfect subjunctive plus the conditional. Now the conditional you're probably quite familiar with already Me Gustaria or iria, it's the ending that has Ia, yas, yamos, yais, y'an added normally to the infinitive of the verb or the future stem, the irregular future stem

in the case of, for example, valer, balderia, poneria, ponria and so on. But the imperfect subjunctive is a different case altogether because the imperfect subjunctive has a set of endings added to the normal stem of the verb. And these endings are, aara, aras, ara, aramos, arais, aran. So let's take the verb to talk, literally to touch, or in this case, if you were to win the lottery.

Tocara, I talker, you to takeras, el tocair, nosotros tocaramos, mostotros tocairais they tocaren so si te tocara la lotteria if you were to win the lottery

which is in itself a subjunctive form in English what would you do with the money? So you're going to be hearing lots of imperfect subjunctives followed by conditionals in the responses as usual we're going to go through the answers

again one by one and talk about the language and the phrases that the speakers have used. And in the first example, you'll hear the same Chilean accent that we heard last time. So, again, putting this into an accent that's maybe slightly more easy to understand, Les Compraerea los Sueynos to My Bejos and Los Mios and Voyajariehers and Voyajara toda la vida. Now you'll notice that when the speaker starts, she says,

Le Compraria Lo Fueno to my Bejjjos or something like that in, again, my bad Chilean accent. And that's interesting because Le Compraria sounds as if she's saying Le, L-E. But in fact, the correct

grammatical way of saying this would be Les Les Comparia. And again, due to the Chilean accent, she's aspirating her S, and therefore it's sounds like le. Le, le Compraria Los Fuenos

a misbejos. Now what she means here is that she would buy for her parents, sus bejos, her elders, the things that would fulfill their dreams. Literally, to them, Les, Compraria, I would buy

Los Suenos, the dreams a mis bejos to my old's, to my parents. Les Compraria the sunsues to my and my own ones and my own ones and I would

travel all my life or in other words I would travel for the rest of my life let's listen to our second interviewee well what would do with the money of the lottery me would take

the hypotheca and I'd be of vacations all the day the keyword that you may not understand in here is the The hypotheca, the mortgage. So she's saying, Me Kittaria la

hypoetka. Literally to me, I would quit the mortgage. I would get rid of my mortgage. And I would be on vacation all the day long. And I would be on holiday all day long. Estaria, the conditional tense of Estaria.

Estaria de vacations, all the day. It's time now to move on to our third interviewee. Well, I'd probably I'd like a house in Barcelona because we'd like my my marid and me

and we'drown all the times that we'd with our kids and, nothing, I know, the rest, I imagine that like all the world,

some capricio, or... So this answer is quite long. Let's split it up and listen to the first part. Well, surely I'd

would probably a house in Barcelona because we She'd like my my marid and me and we'd and we'd every

every time we'd with our children. So she begins by saying well

surely would buy a house in Barcelona I would buy a house

in Barcelona because we we love a my

marido and because we like it a lot my husband and I

notice in there we must much a my marido

and me we like it a lot my husband and I but because gustar a a alien is used to be pleasing to someone we have to use we have to use

we musta much a my marido and a me she goes on to say she wouldriamos all the bestes that pudieramos this is very interesting we would come

vendriamos all the times all the times that Pudieramos. Now, pudieramos is another example of the imperfect subjunctive here. It's from the verb Poder to be able to, but in the imperfect subjunctive it becomes pudiera, pudieras, pudieres, pudieran. And the reason it's used here is dependent on the bendria, because it's another imperfect subjunctive and conditional pairing. If we were to, we were to be able to.

win the lottery and if we were to buy this house, we would come to Barcelona as much as we could. And this could is thrown back into the imperfect subjunctive. She says then, vendriamos all the times we could. We would come all the times we could. So we would visit as much as possible. Let's listen to the next part of her answer. So she says here, I know, no-seh, I don't know. And the word nada may seem a little strange in there. It means nothing, literally.

But using it on its own here is like a shortened form of Pes nada, which is one of those phrases that you use as a filler. Well, anyway, well, anyway, well, no see. Well, I don't know. And she goes on to say, El rest, me imagino that's all the rest,

like I guess everyone else, some chimpricin, some fancy, some desire, and journeys, travels. Let's just go back to that me imagino que. It's a useful phrase because it's used very much like

in English where we would say, I guess, or I suppose. So, me imagino that like everyone else, I guess that like everyone else, and it's a phrase that you can use in your own speech that helps

expand what you're saying. The rest, I imagine like everyone else. The rest, me imagine, like all the world, and so on. Okay, do you feel ready for this final speaker? It is undoubtedly the most difficult accent that you've probably come across so far, certainly

in coffee break Spanish episodes. Let's have a listen to the whole response. It's clear that it would say, no, I'll do it to do you, no, that's not, first no, I'd go to me. Compraria, a car at the playa, a barco,

a coach, and I don't know, I'd say, much things would probably, but the only thing the end of the final. So this speaker is certainly being honest, perhaps indeed more than some of the other speakers,

But it's probably quite difficult to understand his accent. He is from Andalolia in the south of Spain and is using an accent that in some ways is similar to the Chilean Spanish that we've heard recently. One of the features of this accent is that Esses are quite often swallowed a little. So rather than saying, Lo Gastaria or Estacharoa,

he says something like, Listen again to what he says at the beginning. And he mentions an ONG. A ONG, an organization no governmental organization. An NGO, a non-governmental organization. That's to say, no, I do it to an Ong, no, that's no. First, the cost of me. So I'll say that more slowly.

of saying no, I do a un-g no. That no. Primero, lo gastro it was to me. So this idea of donating it to charity? No. First things

first, I spend it on me. Primero, lo gasto in me. Gastar, the verb to spend. And then he goes on to mention some of the things that he would spend it on. Comparia a house at the playa,

a barco, So that's straightforward enough. A house in the beach. A barco, a boat, a coach, a car. And then just to make sure that we fully understand his intentions, he repeats what he said earlier. I don't know, much things of the ONG, it would buy.

Many things I would buy. But what of the ONG it would be at final. So as far as donating it to charity, that would come last after he spent a lot of it on himself. This was one of a number of humorous answers that this interviewee gave us, and you'll hear some of his other answers in other episodes. But he did add one other thing to the end of his response. So that was really fast. He said,

A lo mejor, no queda bien. But, well, it's the real. A lo mehore no it's quite an interesting phrase It means perhaps, maybe And it's used Similarly to Kizaz and Talvez It's a little more colloquial

So you're more likely to hear it spoken Rather than read it But it also is useful Because you don't need to use a subjunctive After it normally with Kizaz or Tal-Vez You would tend to use a subjunctive Depending on the situation

But A Lo Mejor normally has the indicative Okay, let's listen to all our responses one more time. I'll come up to my own and the years and the most and I'd like all the way. Well, what would with the money of the lottery? Me would take the hipotheca and would be backations all the day.

Well, I'd probably buy a house in Barcelona because we'd like my man and me and we'd beendium all the times that we'd, our own our children and, and, I know, the rest I imagine that like all the world, some capriced, a...

...viages. It's clear that it would have to say, no, I do it to an Enoch, no, that's not, first the cost of me. Compreria a house at the play, a barco, a coach, and I don't know,

many things that would be but the on the other the end the end of the

end of the first not the well, no, it's good, we're

we're we're interesting and let's go back to thank you

well thank all and all the people and

all has about now we we're going to

we we're going to the last to be Laura for

the phrase them of The Semana. Hello, Laura. Hello, Mark. Hello,

How are you? How are you? Penomenal. Today, very well. Well, me agree. So, as

always, we try is a phrase interesting. And what is the phrase idiomatic of the time?

TIRL the house for the window. Wow. So, then, you're not

a house for the window. It's difficult, right? A little, a little,

so. So, the house is the house, the house, the window? The window, of

course. So, to throw the house to throw the house out of the window. But not we're literally to turn a house for a window? That would be a little difficult. Very, very difficult, impossible.

Quintan us then what what does this phrase? It's going to say that you're saying that you're going to, a gasto tremendous, a gasto very great, gastas much money in something. Okay, for example,

in a coach or something? For example, in a boda, You want to do a boad for the grand celebration? You're going to you're a

house for the window and you're going to you get to very well so if you're going to celebrate a

wedding the of your daughter of your daughter and you gastas much money in all the

preparation of the wedding and in the celebration this is to turn the house for the

ventana exactly And who would say, for example, if I have gasted much money in the boda of my daughter, would I have tired the house for the window, for the boda of my or would be more than the other

people that would say, Mark, has taken the house for the window? Ambos, both are correctas. You can say, you personally, and you over a third. So, then in English, I think this would to splash out. In English, you have two phrases

to say it. To splash out or to push the boat out. To push the boat out. I think that this phrase is a British, let's see if it's in the States. To push the boat out. But to splash out, I think,

that this is universal. I've heard I've heard of the two Okay, well Well, then much thanks And after the Semana that coming

A second Your coffee break Spanish magazine is something of an international production this week Alba is as usual in Barcelona

Laura is in Scotland although she's from Spain as you know I am in Berlin where I am recording some material for our forthcoming Coffee Break German show

and now we're handing over as usual to Naili and J.P. who are in Seattle. And they have another interesting question from a listener for us this week. Thanks, Mark. This is J.P.B. Inueva for Coffee Break Spanish

Magazine, and I'm here with Nayeli. Hola, Nayali. Hello, J.P. Naili, we have a great question this week. It's from Rodney. Oh, our friend Rodney, always has great questions. He does.

He wants to know about this Mexican expression, this word chale. And he says he's heard it a lot, but it seems to mean a lot of different things. I'm glad he points out that it's a Mexican expression because you won't hear it in Spain and you won't hear it in South America. For the most part, Chale means G's.

Jeez. And you use it usually. When somebody says something surprising, right? Surprising or something disappointing. Oh, really? Yeah. So it's kind of like, oh, geez. It's more in disappointment.

Neely, I think I failed my class. Chale, J.P., you're going to spend some time in summer school. Oh, no. Geez, now you're really stuck in summer school. You know, like you could be doing something bad. So it expresses, you know, that disappointment and empathy for the bad news you just received kind of thing. Oh, no way. Chale.

It could also mean you're kidding. Okay. Naili, I just won the lottery. Chale, J.P. Are you going to share it with me? Ah, Chale. No way. I would like to just let the audience know.

It's very informal. And it tends to be associated with an uneducated spectrum of society. All right. So when you're presenting a paper at an academic conference, you're probably not going to use Talley in the microphone. Probably not. You'll hear it if you're out in the market or on the bus in Mexico. It's very colloquial. Okay. I wouldn't say it's something, you know. So let's say we have some of our audience who shows up in Mexico. People would probably look at you kind of weird because you say Chale and you're blonde and blue-eyed and they wonder where you learn that from. All right. Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely something you can use you with their friends, though. Yes. Okay. It's more banter type of language.

All right. That's a great word to know. Thanks, Rodney, for your question. And, ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to hear more from us, don't forget that Nieli and I have our own show. It's called Q&A Spanish. And you can find the links to it at Q&A Spanish.com. And there you'll find all sorts of ways to ask us your questions about Spanish. That's all for this week. It's time now to return to Mark. for the rest of this week's CBS magazine. So that's almost it for another edition of the Coffee Break Spanish magazine.

This one has been a little more complicated to put together because I've been away, but thanks to everyone for their contributions and for taking part in our recording. As I mentioned, I am in Berlin, Germany at the moment, recording some content for our Coffee Break German show, which is launching in January, and we're really excited about having a brand new Coffee Break Languble. So, so if you want to learn a little of Aliman, then you can start

doing with us from January 2013. And this time round, I am the learner because my German isn't very good and I'm hoping to improve with Thomas and indeed our other contributors to Coffee Break German. All will be revealed in January. Well, yeah, we're back again. We'll be back again next week with another Coffee Break Spanish.

magazine in the meantime. Much thanks. And after Pronto.