From VOA
Learning English, this is
Words and Their Stories. Many people say
not enough Americans
speak a foreign
language. A
contrario! (On the
contrary!) Americans
use many Latin
phrases, sometimes
without even knowing it.
The fields of law and
medicine are filled
with Latin words.
But people also
use Latin words and
phrases in everyday,
spoken English.
not
enough: no suficientes; a contrario: por el contrario; without
even knowing it: sin siquiera saberlo; fields: campos (de actividad);
filled with: repletos de;
One common Latin
word is
per se.
Per se is used
to show that something is
considered by itself,
alone and not along
with other things.
For example, let’s say
your boyfriend
watches soccer every
night at his friend’s
house. You could
tell him that it’s not
his watching
soccer that bothers you,
per se. It’s the
fact that you never
see him!
per se:
de por sí, en sí mismo; by itself: aislado, por sí mismo; let's say:
supongamos que; that bothers you: que te molesta; it's the
fact that: es el hecho de que;
Speaking of soccer,
anyone who talks
about one sports
team
versus another is using
Latin too. Like
good superhero
films? They often
use Latin when
they talk about
Good versus Evil.
You often see
versus written
simply as “vs.”
versus:
contra, frente a; vs. = versus (abreviatura); Good versus Evil: el
Bien contra el Mal;
Et cetera
is another Latin
phrase that is more commonly
written as “etc”.
Et cetera means
there are others in a
grouping, especially of the
same kind. We
often use the phrase to
replace “and so on and
so on”. But people
often mispronounce “et
cetera”. They say
“eck-cetera”. Now
you know not to.
et
cetera: etcétera (y lo demás); etc. = et cetera (abreviatura);
grouping: grupo, agrupamiento; of the same kind: del mismo tipo o
clase; mispronounce: pronuncian mal, incorrectamente; now you know not
to: ahora sabes como no pronunciarlo;
Caveat emptor
is a phrase used in
commerce, the
buying and selling of stuff.
It’s also used in
legal situations. Caveat
emptor means “let
the buyer beware”. The
person buying
something is responsible for
making sure it works
properly. So, if
you buy a broken
car without
testing to see if it
actually runs, you
have no one to
blame but yourself.
caveat emptor:
cuidado por parte de un comprador; the buying and selling of stuff: la
compraventa de productos o servicios; means: significa; let the buyer
beware: advertencia a un comprador (ante la ausencia de una garantía, el
comprador adquiere un producto o servicio bajo su propio riesgo); for making
sure: de asegurarse; it works properly: que (el producto) funciona
correctamente; broken car: carro, coche o automóvil destartalado;
without testing: sin revisar; if it actually runs: si realmente
funciona; no one to blame but yourself: nadie a quien culpar salvo a ti;
Let’s say a friend
sells you a car
that does not run. She
may become
persona non
grata to
you. Persona non
grata is a person
who is unwelcome. This phrase
is used in legal
situations as well as casual
ones.
persona non
grata: persona indeseable; unwelcome: mal visto, poco grato; as
well as casual ones: así como también en situaciones informales;
However, if
someone makes you a
bona
fide deal
on a car, you are
probably getting a better
deal. “Bona fide”
is Latin for “good
faith”. A bone fide
deal is made in an
honest way.
bona
fide: de buena fe; bona fide deal: negocio honesto;
You should still
be careful though.
If a friend does
something for you –
like selling you
a good car at a
good price – she may
expect a
quid pro quo.
In other words, she
may expect
something in return. You
might hear people
say, “You scratch
my back, I'll
scratch yours,”
which basically means the
same thing. But the
Latin phrase “quid
pro quo” sounds
a lot more
professional.
though:
sin embargo; may expect: es probable que espere; quid pro quo:
compensación (una cosa a cambio de la otra); in return: en recompensa;
you scratch
my back, I'll
scratch yours:
yo te ayudo en esto y tú me ayudas en esto otro (literalmente = tú me rascas la
espalda y yo rasco la tuya);
In the
movie “Silence of the
Lambs,” Jodie Foster’s
police officer
character, named Clarice,
agrees to a quid
pro quo with the
human-eating murderer,
Dr. Hannibal
Lecter. She wants something
from him. He wants
something from her.
Silence of the Lambs: película de 1991 = El Silencio de los Corderos
(España); El Silencio de los Inocentes (Latinoamérica); agrees to:
acepta, se compromete a; the human-eating murderer: el asesino que come
seres humanos;
Dr. Lecter: “Quid
pro quo. I tell
you things. You
tell me things.
Not about this case,
though. About
yourself. Quid pro
quo. Yes or no? Yes or no, Clarice?
Poor little
Katherine is waiting”.
Clarice: “Go, Doctor”.
about yourself: acerca de ti; go, Doctor: adelante (de acuerdo),
doctor;
Personally, I would not
agree to a quid
pro quo with a
man who eats
people. But that’s just
me.
but
that's just me: pero esa es una cuestión mía personal;
If you have
a friend who feels
a quid pro quo
is the status
quo,
simply the way
things are, you may
want to find
another friend. But if
you are happy with
the status quo,
then you do not
want the current
situation to change.
status
quo: el estado existente; the way things are: la situación actual
(las cosas como están en estos momentos); the current situation: la
situación actual;
So, now you
can sound even
smarter by using
some of these common
Latin terms in
your everyday English. And
that’s the bona fide
truth.
now
you can sound: ahora puedes sonar; even smarter: más inteligente, de
mente más ágil; by using: incorporando; terms: términos,
expresiones; the bona fide truth: la pura verdad;
I’m
Anna Matteo and that’s it for this
week’s Words and
Their Stories.
that's it for this week: eso es todo por esta semana;
Here is the late,
great Luciano Pavarotti
singing “Adeste
Fideles” (O Come All
Ye Faithful).
late: difunto; Adeste Fideles: villancico navideño (Que vengan todos
los fieles).
Adeste Fideles (O
come all ye
faithful)
Laeti
triumphantes (joyful and triumphant)
Venite, venite in Bethlehem (O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem)
Anna Matteo wrote
this story for VOA Learning
English. Kelly
Jean Kelly was the editor. |