False cognates, also known as “False Friends” in everyday language teaching, are those words that look the same in both languages but don’t share the same meaning. A classic one in Spanish is embarazado, which means pregnant, not embarrassed. I’m sure no Spanish teacher is ...Read More

My English academy director entered a shop in Bilbao the other day and came across an aisle dedicated to cushions, or “cojines” in Spanish. What she was not expecting was the above sign, mistakenly written with “cojones,” therefore asking customers: “Please don’t pull on ...Read More

I went to an interview with the famous American cartoonist R. Crumb in Bilbao in October, because one of my American friends here idolizes him, and also because at times in Spain it’s worthwhile to have a taste of arts and culture instead of wine ...Read More

Because Granada sees so many tourists, many of the bars and restaurants attempt to translate their signs and menus into English. Here’s the latest catastrophe I saw during my visit back in December: How does one get it so wrong? Is there not a single native ...Read More

I thought Spanish and Euskera would present my biggest linguistic hurdles here in Bilbao. Turns out, I’m having more trouble with U.S. vs. British English. Students in Spain learn British English, for obvious reasons of geographic proximity, just as students in California tend to ...Read More

The tiny region of Basque Country in northern Spain is bilingual, meaning that almost everything here–street signs, advertisements, metro exits, menus–is written in both Spanish and Euskera (Basque). Euskera is completely unrelated to any living language, so you’d be amiss to think you could ...Read More

With just four weeks left until Spain, I’ve shifted my focus from bolstering my English lexicon to refreshing my grasp on Spanish. My fluency has definitely suffered now that I’ve been away from Granada for over a year. What’s more, I no longer work ...Read More