Most Spanish words will be understood in roughly the same way everywhere you go. But as I was reminded in an e-mail from a reader, that's not true of at least two words in our list of Thanksgiving vocabulary words: In many areas, an arándano might be understood to refer to a type of blueberry rather than a cranberry, and calabaza can refer to vegetables other than pumpkins. Context always matters, and that's a good thing to keep in mind when learning any Spanish vocabulary.
Other lessons for this U.S. holiday weekend:Related Articles
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Comments
Yes, context always matter and it matters more than some of us may realize.
Take for example the present tense. Without knowing the context in which the sentence is expressed, how does one know the intended meaning?
E.G. Ella dice ‘si’.
Is the person narrating what has happened before by using the present tense. This method is used frequently.
Is it a simple present tense as ‘she just said yes’?
Is it about a statement of a simple future?
Or just a statement of an habitual act?
Which one?
Just a penny’s worth.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!