Joanna Houseman
Thanks to family connections and work opportunities, Joanna has a lifelong affiliation with Spain and has been learning the Spanish language since the age of 12. Following university, Joanna spent a year living and working in Barcelona where her level of spoken Spanish was elevated to new levels (and she also dabbled in a little Catalan). Upon returning to the UK, she spent another year working for a Madrid based company whilst living in London, liaising every day with the factory in Spain. Joanna and her family then decided to up roots and move to Andalucía where they lived and worked for 12 years, fully integrated into Spanish village life and supporting the ex-pat community with their language challenges. Now living in Wales, Joanna has kept her connections to her village in Spain and returns as often as possible.
The Spanish word for boss, jefe, comes from the French word chef with the same meaning, chef originally derives from the Latin caput which literally means head. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Being a common noun, jefe has both masculine and feminine forms nowadays depending on whether you are talking about a male or a …
Amarillo (yellow) comes from the Latin amarellus (amārus) which traces back to the meaning amargo or sour. It is thought this possibly came from the colour of the skin of an unwell person or possibly from the colour of bile which is sour. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Amarillo, the third colour in the rainbow, is primarily used …
The Spanish word for question, pregunta, comes from the Latin verb percontor, meaning to inquire or investigate. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Pregunta is a feminine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Siempre hace preguntas interesantes en clase. He always asks interesting questions in class. There are many different types of …
When temperatures are cold and the conditions are right, some of us are lucky enough to see snowfall in the winter time. The Spanish word for snow is nieve and it comes from the Latin nix, nivis with the same meaning. Latin American Pronunciation European Pronunciation Nieve is a feminine noun that takes the following …
When we are talking about man’s best friend the dog we most commonly use the noun perro. The origins of this word are under much debate as it cannot be compared to the word for dog in any of the languages close to Spanish or Castellano. In old Spanish the word for dog was cán …
When we look at the structure of the family in Spanish and Latin American culture, there isn’t a figure more important than grandma. Abuela probably derives from the Latin vulgar term aviolus with the same meaning, or avus. Latin American pronunciation European Spanish pronunciation Abuela is a feminine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: No hay nadie …