The name Argentina sounds Spanish but actually comes from the Italian for silver or silver coloured. The Italian masculine is argentino. But Spanish is the language of Argentina. Let's go!
Even if you have never been to Argentina, you may recall the emotive song, Don't cry for me, Argentina, about the Argentinian heroine, Eva Peron. Spanish isn't only useful in Argentina. Spanish a handy language if you are ever going to Spain in Europe, and to popular Spanish islands such as Mallorca or Tenerife.
You also find Spanish handy in Mexico and all over South America and central America. The exception is Brazil where they speak Portuguese, but understand Spanish, and when I was on holiday in the Portuguese speaking island of Madeira I could recognize and understand a huge number of street signs, shop names, and leaflets.
Spanish is a very handy language to know. It is one of the easiest languages to pick up if English is your first or second language. Large numbers of English words are derived from Latin, or romance languages. The same roots lead to the Spanish words. Add an a or an o and you have many Spanish equivalents. For example. Bank is the English.
For example, add an o to the English word bank, and you get the Spanish word Banco. That is easy to recognize in a street, on a website, or when speaking. But what if you say banca? That means banking.
What about plato and plata? Plato is a plate.
But Plata is silver.
Un plato. Imagine asking for a plate in a shop.
The assistant replies, 'Oh, a plate'. 'Un plato.'
However, imagine that you are looking for something more expensive, silver.
'Ah!' she replies. Silver! 'Plata!'
Accents
The accents are not a hindrance but a help. They tell you which syllable should be pronounced more heavily.
The squiggly line above the n tell you to pronounce it like ny. You probably already know the word 'mananya' meaning tomorrow. it sounds like 'man - yarn - a'.
English - Spanish
bank - Banco
banking - banca
beautiful - hermosa
capital - capital
capital city - ciudad capital (note that the adjective is after the noun in Spanish)
city - ciudad
a plate - un plato
plates - platos
silver - plata
silver jewellery - joyeria de plata
silver mine - mina de plata
silver plated - platado
a silver plate - un plato de plata
tennis - tenis
white - blanco (feminine blanca) (like blank)
Spanish - English
Banco - bank
banca - banking
blanca - white
capital - capital
ciudad - city
ciudad capital - capital city
hermosa - beautiful
joyeria de plata - silver jewellery
mina de plata - silver mine
plata - silver
platado - silver-plated
platos - plates
un plato - a plate
un plato de plato - a silver plate
tenis - tennis
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