Vocabulary

Using Words in a Language Vocabulary and pronunciation create the distinguishing characteristics between dialects. Word meanings have been adapted throughout history. The result of this language blending has led to differences in words and word meanings among the various Hispanic cultures. For example, to a child from Puerto Rico, the word for bus is ‘guagua’. A Colombian child however, would call the same vehicle a ‘buseta,’ and in Chile a bus would be called ‘la micro’.

In addition, the same word in Spanish can have differences in meaning depending upon the culture in which it is being used. For instance, the word ‘china’ means orange to people from Puerto Rico. In Colombia, ‘china’ is an endearing term that refers to a young girl. In other parts of South America, ‘china’ refers to people who are from China. Although there are many differences in word use among Spanish-speakers in various regions of the Hispanic world, it should be noted that Latinos or Hispanics do quite well in communicating with each other.

False friends are words that exist in two languages which, despite looking or sounding similar to one another, differ in meaning (English-Spanish false friends, 2005). False friends cause confusion and difficulty for learners of English as a second language. Below are a few examples of false friends for Spanish and English.

False friends in English - Spanish:

Adapted from: English-Spanish false friends. (2005). In UniLang Wiki.