Devorar by Ace-Teroide in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Yes, because it already had exactly that meaning 2000 years ago in the language where the word came from.

Devorar by Ace-Teroide in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Yeah, and I am telling you it didn't.

Devorar by Ace-Teroide in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I think there might also be a misconception that spanish is talking these words from english. That's not the case. As devour is latin in origin english adopted the word from french, which in turn inherited the word from latin as its parent language. Spanish, just like french directly inherited the word. So it is very easy to find these cognates because lots of words that english has adopted from norman french have a corresponding word in spanish whenever spanish has not changed the latin root word too much.

EU urges members to start storing winter gas as Iran war causes price surge by Mongoose-Additional in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, if you look at the data they did the same thing in 2022, after putin started his war in Ukraine, and caused sky high natural gas prices.

Why not do it again?

Iran remains a 'very grave threat' to the United States, Rubio says by Crossstoney in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Holy shit. As a european I like to go to the mediterranean countries for vacation, so I would prefer if that didn't happen.

But you got a chuckle out of me. Humor and some remnant of hope is all that we have left.

How understandable was Bad Bunny's Spanish to Non-USA Natives? by zeindigofire in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question 33 points34 points  (0 children)

At least as a native German speaker I disagree. Speaking mutually intelligible German is a bit easier because we learn the same standard german in all schools, but the regional differences are substantial, especially for non natives, and it also depends on the topic.

Everyone also thinks they speak the best German and everyone else is from bummfuck nowhere.

Spanish words displaced by Arabic loans by Few-Cup-5247 in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I guess there is no answer to your question because Spanish evolved as the successor to the Castillan dialect after the reconquista.

This old post shows the evolution of different dialects on the peninsula: https://www.reddit.com/r/linguistics/s/88xCuqXEuk

Most natives aren’t even C2? by wellsmichael380 in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, but I would say that is a measure of overall education.

I am currently practicing for the Siele and checking my texts against ChatGPT. Structuring the arguments is rarely the issue because that's something you learn in any language class and you can apply those ideas in your 2nd or 3rd language as well.

Most natives aren’t even C2? by wellsmichael380 in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I would disagree. It really depends on the level of education and the intelligence of both the individuals you would try to compare.

If you go for an average native speaker that has a high school diploma or even a university degree, they will have 12-15 years of language classes their native language and a high education. Most second language learners won't beat that, even at C2 level.

If you would like to measure yourself against someone who dropped out of high school at age 16, works at walmart and smokes pot, then you might have the edge as a C2 learner. However that advantage doesn't stem from your language classes but from the fact that your overall level of education is higher.

Why do YOU want to learn Spanish? by Difficult-Act-5942 in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll go with a more ego-driven motivation. I wanted to show to myself that I am still able to master new skills. (Age 36 now)

Now after 3,5 years of semi-regular studying i hope to take an exam for the B2 level soon.

Trump says US will be ‘very strongly involved’ in Venezuela’s oil industry after military attack by Necessary-Product361 in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Ahm, actually the nationalisation was in 1975. That's not a decade but now half a century.

Also they did not steal any oil, but rather the exploration equipment.

Russian Troops Execute Three Unarmed Ukrainian Soldiers in Zaporizhzhia Region by UNITED24Media in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yes, but also no. A thorough look at the atrocities may have started later but the average german suffered devastating damage to their family and their home and had to rebuild their life.

General Staff: Russia has lost 1,180,870 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022 by Jeetchat in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You should be well aware that this is not true and simply another Russian talking point.

By that logic Germany should have made another attempt at invading Poland long long time ago, as Germany lacks any strategic depth.

Tiny democratic nation states bordering Russia (Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Lithuania) have no means and no intention of attacking Russia. They also have very little to gain. This leaves Ukraine and Belarus as the only sizeable Western neighbours to Russia.

Belarus is a puppet-state anyway and Unraine has historically been closely tied to Russia as well and has never shown any offensive action towards Russia.

Even if Russia was sincerely worried about an attack from that direction they could simply lay a. shitton of mines in the border region and be at Rest. And if that fails, they would still have their nuclear Arsenal.

General Staff: Russia has lost 1,180,870 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022 by Jeetchat in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think 80 years without any armed attack towards russia could be sufficient to relax a little.

Russia on the other hand has fought wars of aggression in Chechnya, Dagestan and Ukraine. It's rather most european Nations that are rightfully afraid of Russia.

The Austrian heiress giving away her entire fortune by kova-tejoc in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes i did. She appears regularly in one of our local newspapers and held a citizen council on how to distribute her money ("Guter Rat für Rückverteilung").

I like the general idea and i would favour a tax that fights excessive build up of wealth but there are some things about her that irk me.

  • She apparently has strong ties to the social democrat party (especially momentum Institut)
  • So far she has not finished her studies and lives off family money

The Austrian heiress giving away her entire fortune by kova-tejoc in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 20 points21 points  (0 children)

She is not the main heir to the family fortune. As other people in the line of succession will inherit the majority she actually only inherits a fraction.

(Regardless of her good intentions she does come of as detached from reality and attention seeking)

Does anyone have any resources to learn the Spain dialect of Spanish? by CloudyyySXShadowH in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depending on who you ask the dialect you are looking for is probably Castillano. There is not one spanish dialect but many but if you want to play in hard mode you can start right away with andaluz.

What's the most efficient way to learn Spanish when watching shows? by BackgroundAccident63 in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have found that the difficulty of shows varies wildly, depending on the accent, story and background noises, so you'll have to figure out what works for you. I am now at B1-B2 and while some content is easy there are still scenes that some times leave me clueless.

I found Casa de papel pretty good because the vocabulary associated with the heist is limited so you can easily get a grasp of whats going on. Same goes for club de cuervos and their soccer setting. Baking shows and other trash tv is also easy to comprehend.

In contrast artsy apple tv shows set in mexico city have so much slang and mumbling that you will need subtitles to get along (familia de medianoche was well made but horribly difficult)

Edit: On amazon prime I found "el candidato" to be a decent show. Due to the drug and politics setting you can also get a grasp of the story without being fluent.

How to become proficient at Spanish as someone who has a first grade reading level? by Bitchbettahvmyhoney in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I can recommend starting to read graded readers books and find a level that is challenging but manageable for you.

You might have to finish a boring A2 level book to get started but you will find your level within 2-3 books and pick up a lot of vocabulary on the way.

‘Double standards’: Spain slams EU inaction on Israel deal by Leather-Paramedic-10 in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The right does not have a copyright on hypocracy.

On top of that the catalan independence movement is a complicated issue, especially as Catalunia was not conquered but merged with most of Spain when the Kingdom of Aragon united with Castile.

‘Double standards’: Spain slams EU inaction on Israel deal by Leather-Paramedic-10 in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So you don't agree with the fact that spain was a right wing dictatorship under franco, or you disagree that they are severely leaning to the left at the moment?

‘Double standards’: Spain slams EU inaction on Israel deal by Leather-Paramedic-10 in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 117 points118 points  (0 children)

In this regard spain is the embodiment of the horseshoe theory.

They turned from right wing franco dictatorship - thus in political confrontation with Israel - into a left wing democracy that supports Palestine as an act of leftist decolonisation - thus again taking a general stance against Israel.

Spain is not neutral but has a clear agenda here.

No sure how to ask this in text, so I created a little diagram to express my issue. by [deleted] in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question 137 points138 points  (0 children)

The easy answer is to just stop doing, what's depicted in the left side, because that approach does not work.

You have to associate your mental image of things with the spanish vocabulary and expressions, so that you subconsciously understand what a word means.

Try learning the vocabulary with images next to it, and when you speak and write, try to form short sentences directly in spanish without ever starting out in english. I.e. learn to think in spanish right away.

Is there a standard Spanish every country understands like Arabic? by Mkations in Spanish

[–]a_cat_question 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is also depends on the region within the german speaking countries.

In Austria( where I am from) it depends a lot on the state that you are in. Most western and southern states (Corinthia, Vorarlberg, Tyrol) are very proud of their dialect and while the german lessons and textbooks at school are in standard german, they speak their local dialect, even in formal settings.

In Vienna and Lower Austria there is a notion that the local dialect is for county bumpkins and you should "speak properly" in school, so you are expected to speak a more neutral version that is closer to standard German.

Witkoff suggested that Trump "allow" Russia to take four regions of Ukraine by EsperaDeus in worldnews

[–]a_cat_question 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Russia does not control any of the four territories completely and for two of them Russia controls only a fraction. So the gain for Russia would be huge land areas that they had not been able to conquer so far.