... Short Cuts For Learning Spanish, "Do You Speak "Spanglish" ...
by Christopher Howard M.A.
Author of The New Golden Door Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica

There are many words in the English language that come from Spanish - tomato (from tomate), cockroach (from cucaracha), cafeteria (from café) and ranch (from rancho).

Did you know that it also works the other way around? Many English words have found their way into the Spanish language as well. Sometimes the spelling and pronunciation change, but the words are easily recognizable by English speakers. If you pick up a Spanish newspaper and look at the sports page, you will see the words béisbol (baseball), fútbol (football), basquetbol (basketball), jonrón (home run) or boxeador (boxer).

Restaurant menus may contain words like sandwhich, hamburguesa, soda, rosbif and cóctel. In the beauty parlor or barbershop you may recognize the words champú, masaje, manicura.

Can you recognize this word? - Carro

All of the words above have been accepted in to the Spanish language. There are, however, many words that although used, are considered "Spanglish" - an unacceptable mixture of the two languages. For example, the word for lunch is almuerzo. In the U.S. you can often here the word lonche used instead by some Spanish speakers.

Christopher Howard M.A. is the author of "The New Golden Door Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica," He is also a paid consultant for National Geographic in Costa Rica. For more information call 800-365-2342, access: www.costaricabooks.com or www.publishingonline.com to directly download his books from the Internet. Mr. Howard also conducts monthly one-of-a-kind exploratory trips for those wanting to live in Costa Rica Please call toll-free 800-493-8426, e-mail: crbooks@racsa.co.cr or tico@gate.net. Contact them to see how your can win a FREE round-trip ticket to Costa Rica on one of their tours. Mr. Howard also works as a paid consultant for newcomers and those thinking of investing or going into business. For a listing of his services see: www. liveincostarica.com. Anyone needing assistance may contact him directly at: crbooks@racsa.co.cr.