How to Say "résumé" in Spanish

To talk about your professional "résumé" in Spanish, use on of these:

currículum


historial personal


hoja de vida

Be careful of the "amigo falso" resumen which is a summary in Spanish.

An academic curriculum in Spanish would be plan de estudios, programa de estudios, or currículo.

Summer Plans: Santiago Beltran and FAC Internacional

This summer UNC junior Santiago Beltran will return to Guatemala to expand the microfinance initiative started there last year: El fondo de apoyo comunitario.   This summer FAC will expand its training programs, increase the capital savings of its participants, and continue the successful microlending projects.

To prepare for the growth and expansion of FAC, Santi has received a Burch Fellowship to be trained as a savings office by two microfinance organizations: CrediFamilia in Colombia and Fondesol in Guatemala.  This training will help Santi to better understand how to help the world’s poorest populations build capital despite the limitations imposed by their circumstances:  How do you teach financial literacy to the illiterate? How do you handle the potentially complicated dynamics of a group-shared loan? What are the implications of empowering women through these programs?

We'll know more when Santi gets back to campus in August...

Last Names in the Spanish-speaking World

In the Spanish-speaking world it is common to write names in the following way:

First name(s) + father's last name + mother's last name

The last name used for family name, identification, etc. is the father's last name--its function is the "last name."  


It is not a "middle name" even though it appears between the first name(s) and the mother's last name (what you might call the "mother's maiden name").


Here are some examples:


José Manuel Cureño Naranjo (last name = Cureño)


Edna Vila Aguilera (last name = Vila) 


María Victoria Villasana Rivadeneyra (last name = Villasana)


A seemingly minor bookkeeping or bureaucratic error in which the mother's maiden name is erroneously presumed to be the last name can essentially change someone's identity.


Because of this, many Latinos in the U.S. either hyphenate the two names or drop the mother's last name. 

Se busca... Job Opportunity in Carrboro

Assistant Director of Human Rights Center in Abbey Court, Carrboro, NC:

We are looking for a bilingual person who will live rent-free at the
Human Rights Center, Abbey Court, as the Assistant Director. The person
would be paid a stipend, and the amount depends on what they wish to be
involved with and their preferences. Since the beginning of the HRC,
that person has been involved in the after-school program. We will miss
Alfonso Hernandez, but understand his decision to pursue a BA degree in
Oregon.

Judith Blau
919-929-7885

"Nice to Meet You..." Navigating Introductions in Spanish

Proper introductions are an important part of professional life--you have to be able to introduce two colleagues who don't know each other in a professional manner.

Here are a few pointers for pulling that off in Spanish:

• Start with the name of the "highest ranking" person (use your judgement: in each situation, is it the boss, the visiting guest, the oldest person present, the person with the most seniority at the company?)
• Use titles where appropriate, which is more common in Spanish than in English: Doctor, Doctora, Licenciado, Licenciada, Ingeniero, Ingeniera, Señor, Señora.
• Say: the title and name of the person you will introduce + "le quiero presentar a" + the name of the person you are introducing:

 -"Doctora María Sánchez, le quiero presentar a mi colega, Kevin Jones."

When you are the one who has been introduced to someone you've never met before, you can say:

-"Mucho gusto."

-"Encantado." (if you are male)

-"Encantada." (if you are female)

If the other person beats you to it, simply reply:

-"Igualmente."

And the most important thing to remember is that the Spanish verb for "to introduce" is presentar.

(NOTE: The verb introducir exists, but is used in a context such has inserting a coin into a Coke machine or inserting your card into an ATM.  Watch out for that false cognate!)

Spanish Dictionaries

As much as possible try to use a true Spanish dictionary (such as http://www.elmundo.es/diccionarios/ ).

 

If your goal is to be a fluent Spanish-speaker then you have use a Spanish-Spanish dictionary! That's what native speakers do.

 

A good online Spanish/English-English/Spanish dictionary is: http://wordreference.com/ That's a great reference for spelling, gender of nouns, different possible uses and meanings; in other words, it is a good reference for language learners.  But fluent speakers would use the Spanish-Spanish dictionary a lot more.

 

Try to find a way to use both!

Spanish-speaking Volunteer Opportunity in Carrboro This Summer

This summer, LINC (Linking Immigrants to New Communities) will continue and we need help! We're looking for volunteers for our once-a-week classes: Thursdays from 7-8:30 pm. Class will beginJune 2! 


We'd love to have people would could make a weekly commitment, but if you can't, please still contact me and we'll keep you involved. Volunteers will be working one-on-one or in small groups with community members looking to begin learning English, improve their language skills, or just practice with a friend. 


We may be experimenting with some new class formats depending on how many tutors we have with us, but everyone will have all the materials they need. 


Please email me Anna McCreight (anna.mccreight@gmail.com) if you'll be around for all or part of the summer, and you're interested in participating.

Summer Opportunity for Very Fluent Spanish Speaker

Sabrina Simon is looking for someone to administer a client satisfaction survey for her program, Bilingual Children's Resource Coordination, at the Carrboro Community Health Center. It involves approximately 12-16 hours of work to be completed ideally in the next couple of weeks on a very flexible schedule, preferably including some evening and/or weekend hours. Most of the work will be done via phone and can be completed at the Carrboro Health Center or from home. Very fluent Spanish required. Stipend is $160 for the project.

Contact: Sabrina Simon: SimonS@piedmonthealth.org

Summer Opportunity to Use Spanish in Chapel Hill / Carrboro

If you are interested in working  one on one with the latino/a community of Chapel Hill and Carrboro  and are staying in town this summer, Volunteer for CEF Latino!  


Help people sustainably transition out of poverty through, the creation of their own small businesses, regular meetings, financial education workshops, savings opportunities, etc. 


Please contact Daniela Velando (daniela.velando@gmail.com) or Linda Chamiec-Case (lchamiec@gmail.com)

Spanish for the Professions (SPAN 265): Register Now for Fall 2011

Spanish for the Professions (SPAN 265) pre-registration form is NOW AVAILABLE: romlcourses.unc.edu/Spanish/professions

Why Translations Are So Tough...

Too often, we assume that a few semesters of Spanish qualify one to translate, especially if it's something simple like signs or labels. It's only after a few more semesters that it sinks in how impossibly hard that can be--and a new respect for the highly specialized discipline of translation is born.


Here's one example of a sign in a park that was translated to Spanish: 


jardín de las familias de plantas con flores


Is this a garden full of things from the family of plants that flower in the spring?


Is it a garden with flowering plants in it for families to enjoy together?


Is it like a Rose Bowl parade float in which a mom, dad and some children have been constructed out of flowers?


Some snooping around on the Internet, yields these options for flowering plants: "plantas que dan flores," "plantas que florecen," "plantas que presentan flores."


If it's a garden for families to enjoy, it should probably be a "jardín de familia" or "jardín familiar" (but that might imply that the garden belongs to the family that cultivated it and "jardín para familias" might be better).


At a recent presentation on translation, Mike Doyle (who is certified by the American Translator's Association to both English to Spanish and Spanish to English translations) talked about the importance of being "biliterate" and not just "bilingual"--and these examples show why. We need the lens of literacy to understand and convey meaning. And in the world of translation, being faithful to the spirit of the words is as important and changing the words directly from one language into the other.


So in the end, the English-language sign in the park says "family flower garden," but what is the best way to say that in Spanish? It's certainly not as simple as looking up those three words in a dictionary!

Fall 2011 Registration Opens Soon!

Registration for rising juniors at UNC-CH starts on April 15th.  We hope to have the link for Spanish for the Professions (SPAN 265) on April 12th.

For courses in the minor in Spanish for the Professions, we will start registering students for the second and third sequential courses in the minor on April 13th.  The new registration system will be able to screen for pre-requisites so that students can enroll themselves in the final course in the minor: La comunidad hispana (SPAN 335).

In all courses, students in the minor will sign up on paper forms in class in order to be enrolled in the minor courses for fall.  Once we have the student's signature, that student's seat in the course is secured and we will manually enroll all students from the department office.

We cannot access the registration system before the students' own registration windows open so the course will NOT appear on student schedules when they first go in to register for other classes, but it will appear soon.

Become a Spanish teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Become a Spanish teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

No education experience or coursework required.

TEACH Charlotte is a unique initiative of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to recruit, select and train outstanding midcareer professionals and recent college graduates to teach critical shortage subject areas (math, science, Special Education, and Spanish) in the schools in our community that need them the most. Practitioner Teachers will teach while attending classes to earn their teaching license. We are currently accepting applications for our April 4^th application deadline, and interviews are limited.

For more information about the program and to apply online, please visit http://www.teachcharlotte.org/

The Key to a Perfect Phone Message: Take Control

Conversation class prepares you to talk face-to-face with other native English-speaking students of Spanish.  In the real world, you may need Spanish to work with clients, colleagues, employees or supervisors in other countries. Some of those interactions will inevitably be over the phone.

Phone calls are scary because all the visual clues are removed from the conversation. If you’re receiving the call, the context is usually out of your control.

Never make a general request for repetition (¿Qué? / ¿Cómo?). It’s hard to resist the instinct to do this, but you must in order to keep control of the conversation.

Whenever possible, make statements instead of asking questions:

• Tell the caller you are taking a message (instead of asking if you can take a message): No está en este momento. Le voy a dar un mensaje. ¿Cómo se llama Ud.?

• Tell the caller to repeat something one number or one letter at a time instead of asking them to repeat the same thing you don’t understand over and over: Repita su apellido una letra a la vez, por favor. / Repítalo un número a la vez, por favor. 

• Asking for specific information allows you to stay in control of the conversation: ¿Cúal es su apellido?

• Repeat key information back to the caller to confirm that you are correct & accurate: Su número de teléfono es _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. ¿Correcto?

The key to success is to take control of the conversation. Master this flow chart then expand on your own to get a more detailed message from the caller.

Master Small Talk in Spanish

University Spanish courses often cover ‘academic’ topics, not real world small talk. 

Even if you take conversation courses you might not ever learn how to strike up a conversation in a conference room, break room or at a party. 

Here are 10 key phrases in Spanish to smooth over those awkward social moments.

Do this…	Here’s how:
Introduce yourself and identify yourself and what you do.	-Buenas tardes. Soy Heather Smith estudio economía en la Universidad. -Hola. Me llamo Sam Barber y soy el asistente de María Gomez.
Say ‘nice to meet you’ when introduced to someone.	Mucho gusto.              Encantado/a.                           Es un placer.
Interrupt politely. If you are interrupting someone or are about to enter their office or other personal space. Or when you need to say ‘excuse me’ to take leave of a conversation.	Con permiso.
Recognize different ways to say ‘how are you?’ In your class you learn ¿Cómo estás? but don’t be surprised by ¿Qué tal?, ¿Qué onda? ¿Qué hay? ¿Qué hubo?	Appropriate answers are the same as if you had been asked ¿Cómo está?: Muy bien, ¿y Ud.?                               Bien, gracias. ¿y Ud.?
Accept a compliment.  If someone compliments you (or your beautiful Spanish), it’s best to be humble.	Gracias. Ud. es muy amable.
Network based on people you know in common.	¿Cómo conoce Ud. a _(person in common)__?
Get people talking about themselves and their lives, starting with what they do for a living.	¿A qué se dedica Ud.?
Comment on things around you, such as weather or other circumstances.	¡Qué ____! ¿no?: ¡Qué frío! ¿no?, ¡Qué interestante! ¿no?, ¡Qué lío! ¿no?
Eating requires special respect.	Before beginning to eat anything when you are with other people: ¡Buen provecho! Praise the food: Está rico/a., Está bueno/a.
Take leave with more than just ‘Adiós.’	Que le vaya bien.        Que lo pase bien.        Que pase un buen fin de semana.

Summer School Registration at UNC Starts Tomorrow

Registration for summer sessions one and two begins tomorrow on UNC-CH's campus.

The 8 students who have pre-registered for the Minor in Spanish for the Professions - Medical Track will be enrolled in four courses: Spanish for the Professions (SPAN 265), Medical Spanish (SPAN 321), and La comunidad hispana (SPAN 335) plus a one-credit service-learning add on (SPAN 293).

There are up to 12 seats left for interested students.  Email Darcy Lear lear@email.unc.edu for a pre-registration form. More information is online at romlcourses.unc.edu/Spanish/professions

Abroad Opportunity in Costa Rica

UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School's Center for International Business and Education Research Announces:

COSTA RICA PROGRAM 

May 13 - June 4, 2011 

Elective course  

Immersion in Costa Rica is an intensive three-week summer program designed for students and for business people who are interested in learning Span-ish. This program is open to participants with no lan-guage experience, as well as those with varied profi-ciency levels. The program provides participants the opportunity to maximize their language, business and cultural learning experience in a real life setting. Par-ticipants will have four 2-hour classes with the program leader prior to departure. 

Program Highlights: 

Five Hours Of Daily Language Instruction - in small groups with experienced teachers from our partner schools. 

Homestays - Students will be assigned to a host family; one student per family. Students will further enrich their homestay experience through daily breakfast and dinner with their family during the first and third week of the program. 

Four Business Visits - Participants will meet with company managers to tour the facilities and learn firsthand about the firms’ initiatives and business practices. 

Four Lectures - Students will learn about the Costa Rican economy, society, business cul-ture, history and political climate. 

Project-Based Learning - Students will deepen their Spanish skills through a company or service learning project. 

Community Outreach - Participants will apply their language skills through community service. 

Cultural Excursions - The group will visit important cultural sites (i.e., Arenal Volcano, and the National Park “Rincón de la Vieja” 

2011 Program Fee 

$3,900 (airfare not included) 

Program fee covers: 

Language classes 

Business visits 

Lectures 

Project-based learning experience 

Community outreach activity 

Homestays and hotel accommodations 

Three 2-day weekend cultural excursions (i.e. Arenal Volcano, Rincón de la Vieja National Park, Hot Springs, Jaco) 

Cultural activities: horseback riding and canopy tours 

For additional information, please contact: 

Maria Elena Rodriguez 

Director, Working Languages 

Tel: 919-962-6822 

rodrigum@kenan-flagler.unc.edu 

Costa Rica Program Itinerary 

Week One: Heredia 

Friday, May 13th - Arrival and homestays 

Saturday, May 14 - Overnight cultural excursion to 

Arenal Volcano, stop at historic Zarcero 

and Sarchi, visit the hot springs “Tabacón” 

and enjoy the horseback riding or canopy tours 

Monday, May 16 - Language classes and lecture 

Walking tour of historic downtown 

Tuesday, May 17 - Language classes and lectures 

Visit to INCAE and company visit 

Wednesday, May 18 - Language classes 

Community outreach at orphanage 

“Hogar del Niño con Cariño” 

Thursday, May 19 - Language classes 

Company visit 

Cultural excursion 

Friday, May 20 - Language classes 

Depart in the afternoon for a two-day 

cultural excursion to Jaco and transfer to 

Sámara, the hidden fish and farming commu-nity on the Pacific Ocean. 

Week Two-Sámara 

Monday, May 23 - Hotel Belvederes 

Walking tour of historic downtown 

Language class and lecture 

Tuesday, May 24 - Language class and lecture 

Local cultural excursions 

Wednesday, May 25 - Language class 

Community outreach 

Thursday, May 26 - Language class 

Company visit 

Group dinner with guests 

Friday, May 27 - Language class and lecture 

Saturday, May 28 - Two-day cultural outing: Parque 

Nacional Rincón de la Vieja and other cul-tural activities. Walking tour through Focus Natural Pool and transfer back to Heredia. 

Week Three– Heredia 

Monday, May 30 - Language class 

Company visit 

Tuesday, May 31 - Language class 

Project-based learning assignment 

Wednesday, June 1 - Language class 

Project-based learning assignment 

Thursday, June 2 - Language class 

Project-based learning assignment 

Friday, June 3 - Language class 

Presentation on the project-based learning experience 

Reception and farewell dinner 

Saturday, June 4 - Return to the U.S. 

Medical Track, Spanish for the Professions in Summer School

The Summer School at UNC-CH is offering the entire minor in Spanish for the Professions, medical track for the first time in summer 2011:

SIX students have alredy signed up.

That leaves a maximum of 14 seats still available.

Contact Darcy Lear: lear@email.unc.edu to pre-register.

How Do You Say....in Spanish?

Here's a question about translation that comes up in the context of Spanish for the Professions:

What's the best way to know what to call an organization (or a person) in Spanish?

The answer: ask that organization (or person)!

For example, how do you say "Census Bureau" in Spanish?

The answer is always: what does that organization call itself in Spanish?  Don't waste your time translating when someone else has probably already done it for you.

Digging around on the U.S. Census Bureau website will eventually turn up some option in Spanish. But an even faster way to get results is to type the Google search in Spanish: "el censo de los estados unidos."

The U.S. Census Bureau calls itself: La Oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos


The Latino Community Credit Union headquartered in Durham, N.C. calls itself La Cooperativa Comunitaria


What we used to call the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) is now ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).  The INS calls itself El servicio de inmigración y control de aduanas in Spanish.  But if you snoop around on the Internet, you'll also find out that that organization has always been la migra in Spanish!

"To Have Fun" Does Not Have a Literal Translation to Spanish

To say "to have fun" in Spanish, you have two choices:

divertirse: Me divertí en la fiesta.

pasarlo bien: Lo pasé muy bien el fin de semana pasado.

Do not try to make up literal translations from the English "to have fun"-they don't work!