Heather Broster
Heather is a graduate in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario and an aspiring polyglot. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction. When she isn’t studying languages, she enjoys the great outdoors, exercising and spending time with her young son.
Whether you are learning a new language, or simply trying to improve your knowledge of your native tongue, it is always handy to own a dictionary so that you can look up new words and expand your vocabulary. In Spanish, the word for this incredibly useful tool is the similar-sounding diccionario. Latin American Pronunciation European …
Between my hectic work schedule, taking care of my feisty four year old son, and going to our local gym five times a week, I often come home feeling extremely tired and ready for bed. The word for tired in Spanish is cansado. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Cansado is a masculine adjective whose form …
The pencil, or lápiz in Spanish, was once a tool I used daily at school for writing, but it has become almost obsolete in my life now that I rely on a computer for my work. In fact, the only time I use a lápiz these days is when I’m drawing! Latin American Pronunciation European …
The English word space has several meanings, and learners of Spanish will be happy to know that the Spanish equivalent, espacio, encompasses almost all of these meanings as well. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Before we begin, let’s briefly examine its etymology. Espacio comes from the Latin spatium, a word of uncertain origin that carries …
An important adjective used to describe a person or animal with a scruffy, unkempt, dishevelled or slovenly appearance is desaliñado. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation It is made up of the negative prefix des- and the word aliñado, which means neat or well-groomed. Aliñado itself is derived from aliño, which comes from the Latin word …
In Spanish, any tool with bristles used for brushing hair or cleaning is referred to as a cepillo (brush). It is the combination of the noun cepo (meaning “branch”) and the diminutive suffix -illo. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Cepillo is a masculine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Cepillos come in …