PinPoint Spanish: Insights into Mexican Spanish

Learn about the context and nuances of Mexican Spanish language usage with this PinPoint Spanish series

Learn about the context and nuances of Mexican Spanish language usage with this PinPoint Spanish series

When It’s Not Working: Out of Order, Useless—or Both?

In Mexico there are two ways of letting people know that something isn't working properly; they are interchangeable, with some exceptions

That’s what False (Cognate) Friends are for

There are many pairs of words in English-Spanish that look and sound similar but have very different meanings, known as 'false cognates'

Animal Names in Spanish: Crowing About Nomenclature

One of the most rewarding, and frequently neglected, parts of learning another language is finding out the names of the different animals

The Spherical Object is in the Back of the Net

Among the many versatilities of the Spanish language is the use of a descriptive noun referring to a person, place or thing

Fundamental, My Dear Watson

People who attend conferences in Mexico will have discovered that they aren't much different here than anywhere else...

¿A Donde Hablo? —versus— ¿Quien Habla?

The phone rings when you weren't expecting a call. ¿A dónde hablo? (where am I calling?) comes a sharp, testy voice

The Mother of All Expressions in Mexican Spanish

Mexico's widespread use of a word whose English equivalents have nothing to do with matriarchal figures

The Modern Use of Güey: a Nasty Little Syllable

Modern conversations in Mexico are frequently interspersed with the word "güey"—which means several things and, just as often, nothing

Knowing When to be Soft and Hard on Spanish Consonants

A quick lesson in getting to grips with soft and hard consonants in Spanish

The Spanish Alphabet Gets a Facelift

Good news for anglophones from the Spanish Royal Academy and its associates across the Spanish-speaking world. According to the latest changes to the Academy’s Ortografía – spelling dictionary – the letters "ch" and "ll," pronounced "che" and "ehyay" (more or less) will not...