Getting directions is very important wherever you are, but especially if you are an English speaker in a mainly Spanish-speaking area. This month’s Spanish tip is all about directions.
North– Norte
Northern -Norteño, Del Norte
South– Sur
Southern- Sureño, Del Sur
East- Este
Eastern- Oriental, Del Este
West– Oeste
Western- Occidental, Del Oeste
Just as in English you can combine these cardinal directions into Southeast, Southwest, Northeast, Northwest, etc, as Sureste, Suroeste, Noreste, Noroeste.
Other directions you might need may include:
Left– Izquierda
Right– Derecha
Straight– Derecho, Recto
*As a note, this can be confusing since the only difference is the “o” or the “a”. Pay attention to this small difference or you WILL get lost! Even more confusing is lado derecho means “right side” not straight. To be a little more clear you might choose “recto” instead.*
To Turn -Doblar
Dobla aquí. Turn here.
To follow -Seguir
To continue– Continuar
Here –Aquí
There –Allí
Over Here- Acá
Over There –Allá
Near- Cerca
Far- Lejos
City Block-Cuadra, Bloque
Corner– Esquina, Rincón (yes! That is what our little town on the western corner of Puerto Rico is called too!)
Mile-Milla (Me-ya)
Kilometer– Kilometro
Address– Dirección
Directions– Indicaciones
*Note that address sounds closer to direction (dirección), but it is linguistically a false friend/cognate*
Where is…Dónde está…?
So let’s try these out.
Lost person looking for the museum: ¿Por favor, me puede decir dónde está el museo más cerca de aquí?
Helpful person giving directions: Claro que sí. Solamente necesita doblar a la derecha en esta esquina y continuar derecho hasta la tercera casa. Luego, doble a la izquierda al fin de la cuadra para llegar a la parte norte del edificio. No es muy lejos y se puede ir de pie. Es menos de una media milla para llegar allá
Did you get all that or would you get lost going to the museum?
How much did you catch? Here is the translation:
Lost person looking for the museum: Excuse me, can you please tell me where the closest museum is from here?
Helpful person giving directions: Sure. All you need to do is turn right at this corner and keep going straight until you see the third house. Then, turn left at the end of the block to arrive at the north part of the building. It’s not very far and you could walk there. It’s less than a half mile there.
Also remember with directions that some people like cardinal directions like North, South, East and West and others like the right, left, straight better. Also a lot of times you may use street names, or landmarks, streetlights and buildings to designate a turn or in preparation of arriving at your destination. Other times directions could be as simple as pointing in which case you can sigh a breath of relief! 🙂
Whatever you are looking for will be near the big mango, the bridge or the church (which is Church’s Chicken).
That is USA future in espanol.Change of demoraphics was the reason for the first time in US history the President is of different color than white even the Republicans have changing.I have seen people looosing great oportunities in Orlando and Miami for not been bilingual.Younger generations start learning spanich now or i see you guys cleaning the floor.
Once again you are right on in your translations. However, Puerto Rican Spanish is fraught with inconsistencies. In PR, address is as you pointed out, la direccion. But…. directions is las direcciones. I know it’s wrong, but that’s only one example of the incorrect usage here. One of the weirdest directions I was given was “virar (same as doblar) a la izquierda en el solo”. I couldn’t figure out what they meant. And I have been given that type of direction several times now. By “solo” they mean the left turn only lane that’s marked on the pavement with an arrow and the word “solo” (left turn only). And then there’s the ubiquitous Spanglish. I’ve had to learn all the latest Spanglish! For example, cover (as in a cover or conduit for a pipe) should be tapa, no? Well, here it’s “cober”, which must be pronounced with a Spanish accent in order to be understood. A flathead screw is “tornillo flajé”. Also almost anything technology related is referred to by its English name (with a Puerto Rican twist), even though other Spanish speaking countries have correct translations. Fast food places are something else: “Berguer Kin”, “Sobwei”, “Macdonal”. Which of course, you need to know because they are landmarks when getting directions. Seriously, if you pronounce them with an American accent, sometimes you won’t be understood. You’ll get the hang of it, and have a few chuckles along the way! — Fran
Thanks Fran!
That is so interesting. I know that occassionally I am very mixed up when someone in Puerto Rico speaks Spanish to me. Or when I use my version of Spanish -especially for some reason when I say “Mande?” which is considered a polite way to ask “excuse me?” around here, but not, apparently in Puerto Rico. There is Spanglish around here too, like Troque, Lonche, Te Watcho, etc, but not as obvious as in PR. Language is fun, and always evolving.
Mande is used here as a reply when a person superior to you in rank or status calls you. E. G.,
Cassie: “¡Britton!”
Britton: “¿Mande?”
Haha, just kidding with the example! Oh, and some other examples of Spanglish are: KFC is “Kentoki”, chain link fence is “saiclofen” (cyclone fence), primer is of course “praimel”, when you want to pay for a full tank at pump #8, you would ask for “ful (like fool) en la ocho”, router is “rautel”, wi-fi is of course “waifai”. To hang out is “janguear”. You can figure out “gufear”, “jambelguel”, “sangwich”. There are hundreds of examples. Soooo different from my parents’ Spanish, and the proper Spanish you know. I’m still occasionally baffled at what they mean, until I stop to think about the English word. — Fran
Cassie,
“Mande” might be a polite way to say excuse me in… northern Mexico. In Puerto Rico the polite way to say it would be “perdón”, “disculpa”. I’ve never heard “mande” as a substitute for excuse me here in PR.
-Joe
It is very interesting how some Gringos in Pr and USA embracing the language called Spanich.i am surprised how movie actors like Ben Afleck and Vin Diesel speaking fluently in idioma espanol.I wont be surprise to see US Constitution in Spanich and English in near future. Even some cities and streets like in Colorado are in spanich example Pueblo,Sangre del Cristo Mountains,Cortez etc