Masters Propio (ENEB, etc)

That web site is a weird combination of English and Spanish.

 

Good call. I think that can also be said of the entire city of Miami, nowadays... I noticed "business" "coaching" and "mindfulness" seem to be words that have all caught on in Spanish, although neurolinguistic programming has its own Spanish equivalent. And why "business" instead of "empresas" I have no idea.

I think you are way more careful (and I try to be) about correct Spanish usage than some of these schools and resellers. For prospective students, especially those whose first language is Spanish, improper usage is a real turnoff. Some of these firms can't write correctly in ANY language. ..and some are perfect. It's a mixed bag. Like the degrees they market.

 

In Europe (and elsewhere) English is often used almost at random, even when there is a perfectly good native word. It makes the company seem more "cool" or "competent" for whatever reason.

 

It is even worse. Sometimes, pseudo-English words are even made up for the reason of sounding cool. A cell phone is called "Handy" in Germany, because "Funktelefon" just doesn't sound cool enough...

 

There are a lot of those in German, yes. "I saw a lot of Oldtimers at the Public Viewing last night."

Not sure how common it is in Spanish, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was similar.

 

Here in the border region it's pretty common to code switch between the languages but usually the grammer and vocabulary switch too. Quasi loan words are common though.

My old favorite was "despunchador". He patches your tires! "Depunctures" them, in fact. And we have "yonke" for junk and "troke" or even "peekup" for truck though I've never seen the latter in print.

My new favorite appeared during Covid in Google Meets hearings. For the pound sign on the telephone, one interpreter used "gatita". What? Apparently the local word for the child's game tic-tac-toe is "gata" or "gatita"!

 

Not a loan word but I love it anyway.

 

They think English-speakers are all cool? Competent? ... if they only knew!

 

In some cases, it's extreme diversity. In Nigeria, we have more than 250 - 200 tribes, a shipload of languages. You could have locations 15 minutes apart with totally different languages. So since its a British colony, English is the official language, then we have Pidgin/ Broken English which is like our own Creole.

 

And such a lively, beautiful language it is! ...E be part of "Wazobia." Abi?

You mean it WAS, I think. Independent since 1960, as I'm sure we both know.

 

I gather something similar happened in post independence India. The Indian courts use English as a "temporary" exception to the official Hindi because everyone in the legal system speaks English and the law still follows English precedent. Not likely to change either.

 

Hm. Ireland too. Every Irish lawyer must pass exams in Irish language but everything is done in English because it's just easier that way.

I understand even as raucous and mutinous a country as Canada has mostly clung to the language of their former colonial masters!

 

French, I mean, of course.

 

Yes - and the dual languages and cultures have kept us ALL "raucous and mutinous" as you put it, among ourselves and with each other ever since. And of course, the languages sometimes mix in a lively pidgin. I have a friend who is from Chicoutimi QC. He tells me that in the rest of French Canada, a flat tire is "un pneu crevé." In Chicoutimi, it's "maudit G*ddamn flat tayeur."

 

I LOVE IT!

 

Yes it was, my bad. October 1, 1960. Ever been to Nigeria?

 

Oh really? For us in Nigeria, all levels of education are in English, officially. So it's funny when they ask us to write IELTS. A lot of us can't even speak our indigenous languages.

 

That is unfortunate. Our indigenous peoples have varying success with preserving language, culture and community. Larger tribes and those who are sedentary have an easier time of it I think. In others' cases, their efforts are heroic.

 

No - but there's time yet. I'm only 80. Lately, I have an excellent teacher on things Nigerian - a friend who came to Canada from there. I learned about Wazobia from her - and yes, there are a lot more peoples in Nigerian culture than the three represented in Wazobia - Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa / Fulani - and all the Native cultures are important. And, as I'm sure you know, a lot more than language is involved - clothes, cooking, music, culture in general. The music keeps me busy on my guitar. There's a young lady of Igbo descent on YouTube, Helen Ibe. Great teacher - I like her style. She's taught me a bit of Highlife music - which is not hard to catch on to - mostly major chords - and the solos are based on them.

I also have another African friend who is an excellent teacher - she is from Somalia. I have no end of things to learn. And she just bought herself a ukulele - so I may be able to teach her something...

 

Oh awesome. So the nomenclature Hausa/Fulani is a myth because there are Hausa people and there are Fulani people but were lumped to have numbers for political reasons.
Nigerians are awesome people and would be great to have you here (if I'm still here when you come). A lot of us are migrating to Canada in droves.