Spanish Group

An area with study groups for various languages. Group members help each other, share resources and experience. Study groups are permanent but the members rotate and change.
Abalnoob
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Re: Spanish Group

Postby Abalnoob » Fri May 12, 2017 7:24 pm

Estoy en Chile ahorita, desde dos semanas, y voy a quedarme aquí por tres meses (práctica), y hay algo en español que me está causando problemas ahah, es el subjuntivo. La mayor cosa que no cacho es que usáis el subjuntivo por el pasado (fuera, fuese), pero no por el futuro (fuere). Y también, no entiendo la diferencia entre las dos formas del subjuntivo por el pasado (fuera/fuese - entendiera/entendiese - probara/probase), si alguien pudiera arrojar luz sobre esto para mí, sería muy simpático. 8-)
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James29
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Re: Spanish Group

Postby James29 » Fri May 12, 2017 8:51 pm

Abalnoob wrote:Estoy en Chile ahorita, desde dos semanas, y voy a quedarme aquí por tres meses (práctica), y hay algo en español que me está causando problemas ahah, es el subjuntivo. La mayor cosa que no cacho es que usáis el subjuntivo por el pasado (fuera, fuese), pero no por el futuro (fuere). Y también, no entiendo la diferencia entre las dos formas del subjuntivo por el pasado (fuera/fuese - entendiera/entendiese - probara/probase), si alguien pudiera arrojar luz sobre esto para mí, sería muy simpático. 8-)


For the "future" of the subjunctive you would always use the "present". I am using quotes because there really isn't a "present" when using the subjunctive but I don't always remember the correct grammar terms.

In terms of fuera/fuese - there seems to be no functional difference. I asked a high level translator/interpreter once and he said it is just a preference thing. He said some people think one sounds better than the other and simply have a preference. I've often wondered if there is a difference too.
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James29
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Re: Spanish Group

Postby James29 » Fri May 12, 2017 8:59 pm

James29 wrote:
Abalnoob wrote:Estoy en Chile ahorita, desde dos semanas, y voy a quedarme aquí por tres meses (práctica), y hay algo en español que me está causando problemas ahah, es el subjuntivo. La mayor cosa que no cacho es que usáis el subjuntivo por el pasado (fuera, fuese), pero no por el futuro (fuere). Y también, no entiendo la diferencia entre las dos formas del subjuntivo por el pasado (fuera/fuese - entendiera/entendiese - probara/probase), si alguien pudiera arrojar luz sobre esto para mí, sería muy simpático. 8-)


For the "future" of the subjunctive you would always use the "present". I am using quotes because there really isn't a "present" when using the subjunctive but I don't always remember the correct grammar terms.

In terms of fuera/fuese - there seems to be no functional difference. I asked a high level translator/interpreter once and he said it is just a preference thing. He said some people think one sounds better than the other and simply have a preference. I've often wondered if there is a difference too.


It occurred to me after posting this that there actually IS a future subjunctive. It is just not used very often. It is only still used in things like legal documents.
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Abalnoob
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Re: Spanish Group

Postby Abalnoob » Fri May 12, 2017 9:09 pm

Thank you very much for your answer, it's quite clear for me now :)
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blaurebell
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Re: Spanish Group

Postby blaurebell » Fri May 12, 2017 9:21 pm

MorkTheFiddle wrote:When I googled, or rather DuckDuckGo'ed this, the film came up first and was playable. I watched a couple of minutes. Argentine, I guess, judging by the Italian intonation of one of the characters?


I would assume so, since Soriano is Argentinian too. It's set somewhere in the province of Buenos Aires.
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Spoonary
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Re: Spanish Group

Postby Spoonary » Fri May 12, 2017 9:40 pm

Thanks for all the recommendations everyone. You're right, iguanamon. After 1984 I need something a bit more cheerful :)

Edit: After MorkTheFiddle mentioned García Márquez, I remembered that I had a copy of Crónica de una muerte anunciada packed away somewhere, so I dug it out and I'm going to read that. It may not be light or amusing, but it is short and it's also one of the many books I was supposed to read for uni and somehow avoided, so finally reading it will be an achievement. :P
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James29
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Re: Spanish Group

Postby James29 » Sun May 14, 2017 11:08 am

I've been looking for telenovelas on Netflix from the Caribbean and am coming up dry (other than Celia which I have already seen). There is also one four episode show from Cuba (Four Seasons in Havana). That's all I can find. Can anyone suggest some telenovelas with lead actors who have Caribbean accents?
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iguanamon
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Re: Spanish Group

Postby iguanamon » Sun May 14, 2017 3:40 pm

James29 wrote:I've been looking for telenovelas on Netflix from the Caribbean and am coming up dry (other than Celia which I have already seen). There is also one four episode show from Cuba (Four Seasons in Havana). That's all I can find. Can anyone suggest some telenovelas with lead actors who have Caribbean accents?

You can buy a condensed version of the DR novela Trópico, three discs and a little over 10 hours, on Amazon for as low as $6 used. I recently signed up for Netflix again but I am disappointed with their selection. Around 10 years ago I watched a few episodes of Dueña y Señora which was produced by telemundo Puerto Rico. The lack of Caribbean Spanish novelas is down to a few factors, population relative to the rest of Latin America and the US being much lower, the lower economic level of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean being another. There simply isn't much of a production industry in Cuba, the DR and Puerto Rico.

The biggest production centers are in Mexico and Colombia. Venezuela used to be big in novelas (Venevisión produced Trópico) but not today with the current sociopolitical and economic situation in Venezuela spinning out of control. Even Telemundo and Univisión rely heavily on Colombia and Mexico for co-productions and of course, the largest percentage of Hispanics in the US is from Mexico.
PewHispanic.org wrote:Mexicans are by far the largest origin group at 34.6 million (making up 64.1% of all U.S. Latinos), the nation’s Latinos trace their roots to every part of Latin America. For example, Puerto Ricans are the second-largest Latino origin group and represent about 9.5% of all U.S. Latinos. Beyond these two groups, no other makes up more than 5% of the U.S. Latino population. Cubans and Salvadorans, the two next largest groups, each make up just under 4% of the Latino population, with populations of about 2 million each (Total US Hispanic population app. 52 million).

As a result of the Caribbean market being significantly smaller in both the home countries and in the diaspora, there just isn't the demand. Caribbean actors typically change their accent to suit their role in novelas set outside their home regions. I would love to see a US based telenovela set in Miami. It's such a dynamic and "happening" place right now. The Cuban diaspora and their relation to those left behind on the island would be interesting to explore. I don't know if it would appeal to the rest of the US Hispanic community, but I don't see why not.

You can watch live TV from the Caribbean while you run on your treadmill. WAPA TV América from Puerto Rico can be seen in a livestream via TVboricuaUSA and Teluniverso 29 form the DR's livestream. Plus, I listen to WPAB from Ponce Puerto Rico on the radio, they also have a livestream online You can checkout the programming schedules for WAPA and WPAB and of course, you can also listen to a couple of hundred episodes of La tremenda corte. The bilingual series ¿Qué Pasa USA? was set in Miami and available online. Sometimes, James, we have to take what we can get. Older novelas can often be found on vimeo but of course, it isn't as easy as Netflix. Perhaps someone else may have better recommendations.

Edit: Made in Cartagena is available on Netflix- with Colombian Caribbean accents. I have it on DVD but haven't gotten around to it yet. I forgot about it!
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James29
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Re: Spanish Group

Postby James29 » Sun May 14, 2017 10:22 pm

iguanamon wrote:
James29 wrote:I've been looking for telenovelas on Netflix from the Caribbean and am coming up dry (other than Celia which I have already seen). There is also one four episode show from Cuba (Four Seasons in Havana). That's all I can find. Can anyone suggest some telenovelas with lead actors who have Caribbean accents?

You can buy a condensed version of the DR novela Trópico, three discs and a little over 10 hours, on Amazon for as low as $6 used. I recently signed up for Netflix again but I am disappointed with their selection. Around 10 years ago I watched a few episodes of Dueña y Señora which was produced by telemundo Puerto Rico. The lack of Caribbean Spanish novelas is down to a few factors, population relative to the rest of Latin America and the US being much lower, the lower economic level of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean being another. There simply isn't much of a production industry in Cuba, the DR and Puerto Rico.

The biggest production centers are in Mexico and Colombia. Venezuela used to be big in novelas (Venevisión produced Trópico) but not today with the current sociopolitical and economic situation in Venezuela spinning out of control. Even Telemundo and Univisión rely heavily on Colombia and Mexico for co-productions and of course, the largest percentage of Hispanics in the US is from Mexico.
PewHispanic.org wrote:Mexicans are by far the largest origin group at 34.6 million (making up 64.1% of all U.S. Latinos), the nation’s Latinos trace their roots to every part of Latin America. For example, Puerto Ricans are the second-largest Latino origin group and represent about 9.5% of all U.S. Latinos. Beyond these two groups, no other makes up more than 5% of the U.S. Latino population. Cubans and Salvadorans, the two next largest groups, each make up just under 4% of the Latino population, with populations of about 2 million each (Total US Hispanic population app. 52 million).

As a result of the Caribbean market being significantly smaller in both the home countries and in the diaspora, there just isn't the demand. Caribbean actors typically change their accent to suit their role in novelas set outside their home regions. I would love to see a US based telenovela set in Miami. It's such a dynamic and "happening" place right now. The Cuban diaspora and their relation to those left behind on the island would be interesting to explore. I don't know if it would appeal to the rest of the US Hispanic community, but I don't see why not.

You can watch live TV from the Caribbean while you run on your treadmill. WAPA TV América from Puerto Rico can be seen in a livestream via TVboricuaUSA and Teluniverso 29 form the DR's livestream. Plus, I listen to WPAB from Ponce Puerto Rico on the radio, they also have a livestream online You can checkout the programming schedules for WAPA and WPAB and of course, you can also listen to a couple of hundred episodes of La tremenda corte. The bilingual series ¿Qué Pasa USA? was set in Miami and available online. Sometimes, James, we have to take what we can get. Older novelas can often be found on vimeo but of course, it isn't as easy as Netflix. Perhaps someone else may have better recommendations.

Edit: Made in Cartagena is available on Netflix- with Colombian Caribbean accents. I have it on DVD but haven't gotten around to it yet. I forgot about it!


Thanks, Iguanamon. I've seen the heavily edited version of Tropico and decided against it due to the negative reviews with how they edited it down to 10% of the original.

I have a hard time believing Dominicans do not make up a larger percentage of the US population. Between Dominicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans I'd say the Caribbean is pretty solidly represented in the US. In NYC, for example, close to 1/3 of the population must be Caribbean Spanish speakers.

I have Made in Cartagena on my Netflix list. I'll watch it sooner or later. Cartagena is on my list of beach destinations in Latin America, but, for some reason, I don't really consider it the same as the island destinations. There is just something so much more relaxing about an island getaway!

Finally, thanks a million for the link to WAPA! I tried listening to PAB550 for a while, but went back fairly quickly to VOA. But, I never knew I could actually watch Puerto Rican TV here in the states! Awesome.
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iguanamon
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Re: Spanish Group

Postby iguanamon » Sun May 14, 2017 11:40 pm

James29 wrote:...I have a hard time believing Dominicans do not make up a larger percentage of the US population. Between Dominicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans I'd say the Caribbean is pretty solidly represented in the US. In NYC, for example, close to 1/3 of the population must be Caribbean Spanish speakers. ...

Yeah, me too, but Pew Hispanic is very reliable and they use US Census data. I do believe that's why much of the programming of the US Spanish-speaking TV networks is heavily skewed toward Mexican content. Puerto Ricans are not immigrants to the US per se, because they are American citizens. They may well be under-counted as a result. Since the island's persistent economic troubles and recent bankruptcy, the island is hemorrhaging people at an ever increasing rate. Of course this can only generate an increasing downward and self-reinforcing spiral. Flights to Miami, Orlando and Nueva York are packed. We here in the VI are not far behind our Puerto Rican neighbors. We're next in line for the bankruptcy train, but they'll have to drag me screaming and kicking out of here!
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