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To one adult: ¿Cómo se llama usted?
To two or more persons of any age: ¿Cómo se llaman ustedes?
No "tu" is required in the first example because the "te" makes clear to whom your question refers. In the other examples, "usted" and "ustedes" make clear that the question refers to the person or persons to whom you are speaking. In other words, you are not asking the name of someone on the other side of the room, across the street, etc.
Latin American Spanish is so much simpler and nicer on the ears!
bjd. I have also just started Spanish lessons again after a gap of 10 years. Some of it comes back easily, the rest is foggy. My teacher is from Argentina, and sometimes she uses the "j" form for "ll" which I find confusing. Also
I am used to the lisping, so I miss it.
It's not lisping. It's just how the letters c and z are pronounced in parts of Spain.
In Spain to 2 kids you would say "Como os llamaís?"
You wouldn't use ustedes with children in Spain.
In Spain to 2 kids you would say "Como os llamaís?"
That should be ¿Cómo os llamáis?
Sorry! Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that, but I've only been to South America - specifically to Argentina and Chile - and I used South American Spanish at #1 without thinking. The only time I heard the familiar plural in Argentina was at Mass, when that form is used to describe Jesus speaking to his disciples or in the Epistles of St. Paul, when he is addressing what was translated into English as brethren.
As a Spanish teacher I have heard many English speakers make fun of the sound (I use the 'lisp') doing their Yosemite Sam type accent and completely unaware of the fact that we have the sound. They seem at loss to extrapolate and recognize that the same sound is represented by different letters in both languages. As far as Latin Americans, they like to say things like theis and thiete (6 & 7) when making fun of the accent. BTW, the letter s is never pronounced that way, so tholtero doesn't exist.
+As far as I know, there is no simple way to describe the Spanish pronunciation of the sounds +
I easily say you pronounce it like the th in think.
+I think that English speakers know that Spaniards don't lisp. +
Supposedly the sound comes from the fact a king did in deed lisp and those who liked keeping their heads imitated him. So, many do believe it is a lisp.
The letter z in any combination and a c followed by an i or e produces the th sound. No other letter produces it, including the s.
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1
To one child: ¿Cómo te llamas?To one adult: ¿Cómo se llama usted?
To two or more persons of any age: ¿Cómo se llaman ustedes?
No "tu" is required in the first example because the "te" makes clear to whom your question refers. In the other examples, "usted" and "ustedes" make clear that the question refers to the person or persons to whom you are speaking. In other words, you are not asking the name of someone on the other side of the room, across the street, etc.
2
I just started some Spanish classes again. The teacher is from Barcelona, but speaks castellano in class. Unfortunately, I don't know any verb forms for vosotros, which he uses all the time, as well as the Spanish forms of the imperatives. I can understand him, but I have to concentrate that much harder. Not to mention the lisping!Latin American Spanish is so much simpler and nicer on the ears!
3
Mucho gracias, NA. I was not sure that you would use Ustedes for children.bjd. I have also just started Spanish lessons again after a gap of 10 years. Some of it comes back easily, the rest is foggy. My teacher is from Argentina, and sometimes she uses the "j" form for "ll" which I find confusing. Also
I am used to the lisping, so I miss it.
5
Shona, what you'll find in Argentina is that there are several accents. In Buenos Aires, yo and llama are likely to be pronounced SHOW (rhymes with go) and SHAH-mah, but in the northwest of the country you will hear ZH at the start of those words, like the j in French jamais or the g in French Georges.6
Not to mention the lisping!
It's not lisping. It's just how the letters c and z are pronounced in parts of Spain.
In Spain to 2 kids you would say "Como os llamaís?"
7
I was not sure that you would use Ustedes for children.You wouldn't use ustedes with children in Spain.
In Spain to 2 kids you would say "Como os llamaís?"
That should be ¿Cómo os llamáis?
8
You wouldn't use ustedes with children in Spain.
Sorry! Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that, but I've only been to South America - specifically to Argentina and Chile - and I used South American Spanish at #1 without thinking. The only time I heard the familiar plural in Argentina was at Mass, when that form is used to describe Jesus speaking to his disciples or in the Epistles of St. Paul, when he is addressing what was translated into English as brethren.
10
I always find it interesting when English speakers think Spaniards are 'lisping'. We have the same sound in English: cinco in Spain is pronounced like " thinko". I wonder if the same English speakers think we are lisping when we pronounce the th that way?11
I think that English speakers know that Spaniards don't lisp. The word lisp, though, describes a speech impediment that makes it impossible for a person to produce a sibilant sound; a th will be substituted instead. As far as I know, there is no simple way to describe the Spanish pronunciation of the sounds that we expect to hear when we see words like cinco, soltero, or Zaragoza, so it's easier, although inaccurate, to describe the sound as a lisp.12
Northamerican,As a Spanish teacher I have heard many English speakers make fun of the sound (I use the 'lisp') doing their Yosemite Sam type accent and completely unaware of the fact that we have the sound. They seem at loss to extrapolate and recognize that the same sound is represented by different letters in both languages. As far as Latin Americans, they like to say things like theis and thiete (6 & 7) when making fun of the accent. BTW, the letter s is never pronounced that way, so tholtero doesn't exist.
+As far as I know, there is no simple way to describe the Spanish pronunciation of the sounds +
I easily say you pronounce it like the th in think.
+I think that English speakers know that Spaniards don't lisp. +
Supposedly the sound comes from the fact a king did in deed lisp and those who liked keeping their heads imitated him. So, many do believe it is a lisp.
14
NA,The letter z in any combination and a c followed by an i or e produces the th sound. No other letter produces it, including the s.
