Author's Bio and Articles

Heather Broster

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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.


Spanish Word of the Day: Animal (animal)

The Spanish word for animal should be incredibly easy for English speakers to remember as it is spelled in exactly the same way (albeit with a slightly different pronunciation)! Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation As in English, the Spanish animal can act as both a noun, describing the living things themselves, or an adjective, denoting …

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Spanish Word of the Day: Queso (cheese)

If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would probably be cheese, known as queso in Spanish. Queso derives from the Old Spanish queso, which in turn comes from the Latin cāseus. Latin American pronunciation  European pronunciation Queso is a masculine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: ¡Podría comer queso …

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Spanish Word of the Day: Sal (salt)

What is one cooking ingredient that make even the blandest of dishes taste delicious? Why, salt, of course! Salt translates to sal in Spanish and both words can be traced back to the Latin sal (genitive salis) of the same meaning. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Because it is a feminine noun, it takes the …

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Spanish Word of the Day: Locura (madness / crazy)

Locura is a very common Spanish noun that covers all facets of madness, from mental illness to crazy acts of passion. Let’s take a look at how it is used in context! Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Before we begin, it is worth stating that locura is a feminine noun, and takes the following definite …

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Spanish Word of the Day: Jabón (soap)

The word for the substance we use to wash ourselves is jabón in Spanish, or soap in English. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Jabón, being a masculine noun, takes the following definite and indefinite articles: According to the Diccionario Etimológico Castellano En Línea, the word jabón comes from Late Latin sapo-onis, and sapo comes from …

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Spanish Word of the Day: Embarazada (pregnant)

If a Spanish woman tells you she is embarazada, she isn’t expressing embarrassment but rather announcing that she is expecting a child. That’s right, embarazada is the Spanish word for pregnant! Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Embarazada is an adjective and the feminine past participle of the verb embarazar, meaning to impregnate. Está embarazada de tres meses. She is …

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