Languages and the definite article
2
votes
Today I read a statement which said that in Spanish, languages are exactly the same as nationalities except that they are given with the definite article.
Such as:
Te gusta el francés?
If this is the case why do we say - 'hablo español' and not 'hablo el español'?
I'm guessing that the definite article is an optional extra?
936 views
updated Nov 11, 2010
edited by JoelMatthew
posted by Kiwi-Girl
Just added a comma to make it more legible. - JoelMatthew, Nov 11, 2010
kewl, thanx :) - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 11, 2010
1 Answer
2
votes
The reason is syntactic. Spanish subjects require definite articles much more often than English.
Te gusta el francés? ("el francés" is the subject)
Hablo español ("español" is the direct object)
updated Nov 11, 2010
posted by lazarus1907
ah, "I see" said the blind man :) Thanx Lazarus, by the way I have been going through an old grammar book I found at the library and because of a previous post of yours I was interested to find near the beginning of the book a whole section on linking - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 11, 2010
and intonation. Where linking is decribed as one of the most important factors determining the rhythm of Spanish speech. Without it, accurate intonation is entirely impossible. (end of quote) Just thought you might be interested. :) - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 11, 2010
