Error??Lesson 2.6 @ 12 minute mark

Question

Hi, In Lesson 2.6 at the 12 minute mark, the quote is "Viste las estatuas grandes..."

Paralee says "He saw..."; Isn't 'viste' YOU saw? HE saw would be 'Vio," wouldn't it?

Also, at several points in various lessons, I've heard Paralee reference the stress accent (as one might find over an á, é, or ó) as a tilde. It is an acute accent, not a tilde. The tilde is the accent used over the ñ.

Answer 1

¡Bueno! ¡Estupendo! ¡Entiendo! ¡Muchas gracias!

Thanks for the explanation, however, I'm not sure about the logic - "I thought I would keep it simple." As it turns out, it isn't simple, especially to an English audience, to whom you are speaking English. Respectfully, I suggest that in English, it should be called what it is - an acute (or more fully, an acute accent). Perhaps one of the lessons could be expanded to address these subtleties.

No criticism intended. I just returned from a week on the Costa del Sol. 7 weeks ago, when the trip was decided upon, I knew 3 Spanish words. Since then, 6 night school 3 hour classes at the local college, your program, a few other podcasts, other internet resources, and a couple of phrase-book/dictionaries contributed to a level of Spanish that enhanced the trip significantly. Local merchants and others worked with me in dialogue and seemed to enjoy my effort. I declined most offers to switch to English, and found the interaction to be very rewarding. I was well received.

Thanks for your program. I intend to keep at it.

Answer 2

I use the world "tilde" to describe, as Heidi pointed out, a written mark above a letter and "accent" to describe the verbal force you use when speaking. Using "accento" in Spanish conveys an idea of how to pronounce the word, and not exactly that it is necessary to put a written accent or tilde above the letter. "Tilde" serves for both in Spanish when referring to the written mark, so I thought I would keep it simple.

As for the error in LS 2.6, I'm on it! Thanks for letting me know. You should see the correct version of the video up by the end of the week.

Answer 3

Hi, Thanks for the response. however, I do not understand "we mostly say tilde in Spain to distinguish it from the accent in pronunciation." It is the "to distinguish it from the accent in pronunciation" that I can't conceptualize. Please explain. Thanks

Answer 4

However, tilde is just as correct as acento

Sorry to harp on this but it's only correct in Spanish. If you are speaking English, a tilde is this: ~

You can't expect people to know what you are thinking in Spanish when you are speaking English.

Answer 5

HI Brian, you are quite right with your first observation, I will call Paralee to tell her. It must be vio, not viste.

However, tilde is just as correct as acento:

tilde.

(De tildar).

1. amb. Virgulilla o rasgo que se pone sobre algunas abreviaturas, el que lleva la ñ, **y cualquier otro signo que sirva para distinguir una letra de otra **o denotar su acentuación. U. m. en f.

Acento:

acento.

(Del lat. accentus, calco del gr. '''''''').

1. m. Relieve que en la pronunciación se da a una sílaba de la palabra, distinguiéndola de las demás por una mayor intensidad o por un tono más alto.

2. m. Tilde, rayita oblicua que en la ortografía española vigente baja de derecha a izquierda de quien escribe o lee.

Actually, we mostly say tilde in Spain to distinguish it from the accent in pronounciation.