Spanish, of all the Romance languages, is in some ways closest to Latin. As the Romans took provinces in Spain, spoken Latin supplanted the native Iberian language. The Spanish condensed Latin forms and adjusted them to their own speech patterns. Although the Moorish period added to the Spanish language, *it has never undergone the great shifts experienced by French, for example. The following guidelines will help the student of Latin read simple Spanish.
P.D. Scroll down to the bottom for the "Rich Mans Tale" in spanish.
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Nouns have one form, usually made from the Latin ablative singular. (libro from liber; monte from mons). Genders are masculine and feminine.(malo, mala). The plural is generally formed by adding sor es. Nouns are commonly preceded by an article made from parts of ille, illa, illud. (el libro malo, laluna mala).
Verbs have three regular conjugations. Present tense verbs drop all t’s. Two verbs for “go”, ire and vadere, combine. (one of two “be”verbs)amar ir ser-to be amo amamos voy-I go vamos-we go soy-I am somos-we are amas amais vas-you go vais- you go eres-you are sois-you are ama aman va-he, she, it goes van-they go es-he, she it is on-they are
Endings, being unstressed, are often lost. Thus the accent in Spanish may move to the last syllable, which was the penult in Latin. (facil, amar)
Double letters become single.(dificil, comun, aceptar)
Internal e often becomes ie; o may become ue. (tierra, bien,tienes; bueno, muerte)
c and q often become g; t may become d. (amigo, agua; madre, libertad, todo)
li becomes j; ct becomes ch. (mujer, ajeno; noche, dicho, ocho)
d is often lost between vowels; initial g or f may become silent h (caer; juicio; hijo, hermano)
e is added before sc, sp or st; cl and fl become ll. (escuela, estar, especie, llamar, lluvia)
Internal x becomes j; final x becomes z. (ejemplo, ejercito; paz, luz)
au becomes o (oro, toro, oir —also uses rules 3 and 8)Remember that two or more of the above rules may be at work in the same word. hijo, for example, involves rules 1, 7, and 8 in its evolution from filius.
Here is a simple story in Spanish. See if you can read it. (Stories such as this show the Spanish habit of mocking the rich or the powerful)
En Espana vive un hombre rico, Sancho Garcia. No es inteligente. Su hijo, Pablo, tambien (1) es muy (2) ignorante.
No va a la escuela. Un dia Sancho dice a Pablo:
“Manana tu tienes que(3) ir a la escuela porque(4) la gente rica debe tener una buena educacion. Aqui(5) tiene dos libros grandes, y(6) una pluma(7) de oro.” Pablo va a la escuela cada(8) dia. Al fin de tres meses(9) el hombre rico va a la escuela para decir con el profesor. El profesor dice que Pablo no aprende nada.
“Pero, senor profesor, mi hijo tiene dos libro grandes y una pluma de oro. Que mas(10) necisita para
aprender(11)?”
“Ah, senor, su hijo no tiene la capacidad.” “Bueno; soy un hombre rico,” dice Sancho. “Manana compro(12) una buena capacidad para mi hijo.”
P.D. Grandfather's name was TEODULO, latin name meaning: "God worshipper". Coincidentally, he was not a religious man. Teo= God + Dulos=workship.
My name is Philippe or Felipe in Spanish, meaning: "horse-loving" or "fond of horses", from a compound of φίλος (phílos, "dear", "loved", "loving") and ἵππος (hippos, "horse)
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- I did not write any of this, am just putting it out there. Credit must be given where credit is due, whatch and learn: go to Rose William's full document
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