May 12, 2003
Si...! Spanish
is...the building-block of our culture!
By Ricardo Castañón
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra not only
accomplished one of the greatest literary
works of all times with his "Don
Quixote de la Mancha," he secured
the world's recognition for our first
language. Through the centuries, Spanish,
the vernacular lexicon that originated in
Castile, Spain, has been enriched with
the local flavor, accent, and typical
expressions of the many different parts
of the world in which it is spoken.
Spanish is sensuous, almost musical. Its
pronunciation of vowels and consonants in
one tone for each syllable, denotes in
its simplicity the beauty and the purity
only found in an authentic Romance
language. Like French, its vocabulary is
rich and extensive,
they are both rooted in the old Latin.
"Romance," stemming from the
language of the Roman empire and kept
alive by the monks, was reserved for the
scholars and the religious elite.
Spanish, when correctly spoken, does
justice to the sensibility in us humans.
It allows individuals to express their
feelings, intuitions and inspiration in
the full spectrum man's mind is capable
of. Our individual personalities are a
reflection of how well we manage our
language.
Like colors and shades there of,
Hispanic's first language is designed to
literally match one's mood, temper, and
even character. Consequently, its nouns,
adjectives, proverbs, and verbs
themselves have the quality to arouse in
us the initiative, the courage, the
kindness, and all the other powerful
motivations contained in the phonetic
representations that words are.
The grammar to structure a sentence in
Spanish...is an art in itself! It is as a
painter's palette where one can combine
the best suited terms to convey a
thought, a feeling, an intention. It is
so multifaceted, it permits you to adorn
your perceptions in the way that is best
for the tone and the occasion. It is not
the usual repetition of commonly used
expressions you hear everywhere. In
writing, the punctuation exalts and
modulates the content. Within the
composition, one can tell how serious,
imaginative, or meaningful the pen is.
Our congenital language is so
far-reaching, it stimulates our
imagination and turns fantasies into
almost tangible realities. Such was the
case of Don Quixote.
Modern society has narrowed our
perception of reality to what marketing
professionals want us to see. We are
being constantly bombarded with slogans,
overused adjectives, and subliminal
messages in an effort to hypnotize our
subconscious. We are driven to buy,
consume, and even act the way it is most
profitable for them.
To be bilingual in this day and age, it
is to be FREE to think, feel and walk in
more than the oneway street they point
out to us. To be a polyglot, is to be
able to best serve the needs of others.
Our Hispanic community today, represents
an army of bilingual individuals whom not
only master two languages, but who have
dual abilities to think, act, and express
themselves. Is that NOT, another reason
to be proud of our heritage?
Verdad que...Si?
___________________________________________________
Ricardo Castanon is a contributing
columnist to Hispanic Vista www.HispanicVista.com.
He is the author of the trilogy
"SIMPLE SIMON'S ODYSSEY...facing the
Big Questions." Book information is
available at
www.SimonBook.com.
Contact Ricardo at Rico@SimonBook.com
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