If you live in the United States, there’s a good chance that you’re familiar with Cinco de Mayo. You may even know that it means the “fifth of May,” and that it’s a holiday celebrating an important event in Mexican history. There’s also a good chance that you’re familiar with how Mexico is often tokenized on this day with, well, lots of beer and sombrero …
Did Disney’s movie Encanto leave you humming—and wondering? Are you curious about what the Spanish word encanto means? Encanto has several meanings, all of which relate to the movie, including a surprising history. First, the noun encanto in Spanish means “charm.” A small town with beautiful historical buildings might be full of charm and could be described as an encanto. This means the unique town and …
Where in the world do people speak Spanish? If you sat down to make a list, you’d notice right away that the number of countries you can add to it is pretty substantial. Spanish is one of the most prevalent languages in the world, as it’s spoken not only in Spain and Mexico but also throughout North, Central, and South America and the African continent. …
Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the United States, after English. With so many Spanish-speakers, it is no surprise that there is a lot of crossover between the two. There are Spanish words adopted into English and English words that have been adapted into Spanish, and often people will use these two languages in combination or interchangeably (sometimes this is known as Spanglish). Let’s …
Have you ever wondered about the influence other languages have had on English? Let’s take a look at the many ways Spanish has impacted the English language. It’s not surprising that English has a lot of Spanish in it: Hispanic people are the largest ethnic minority in the US. And, in 1848, Mexico was compelled to cede approximately 50% of its original territory to the …
by Mariel Jungkunz Whatever you know about the Caribbean, there’s one key fact that may surprise you: there are more than 7,000 islands in the region. The region encompasses the entire Caribbean Sea, which is bound to the west by Mexico and Central America, to the north by Cuba, and to the south by South America. But it goes beyond the borders of this sea. …
By Mariel Jungkunz, Research Editor at Dictionary.com The long-awaited movie version of In the Heights—based on the hit Broadway musical—is in theaters and streaming. Everyone’s talking about it, and you’ve got questions. You might be wondering if you need to speak Spanish to understand its lyrics and many cultural references—and if so, you’ve come to the right place. Dictionary.com is collaborating with Lexico.com, an online Spanish dictionary and translator, to …
