Hebrew Vocabulary and Meanings of Words

There are very few English words that come from the Modern Hebrew vocabulary. However, there are quite a few words that have been derived from the Hebrew that you will find in the Bible. Among these are such words as amen, hosanna, and hallelujah. There are many names today that can be traced back to Biblical origin including such names as Adam, David, Dinah, Miriam, Daniel, Deborah, Joseph and Rebecca. Some words that we think are typically Yiddish are actually derived from the Hebrew vocabulary. These include such words as chutzpah, maven and schlemiel.

Most English speakers who are trying to learn the Hebrew alphabet will be prevented from imagining false relationships between the written Hebrew words and their English look-alikes. Confusion may still arise as you are trying to learn how to speak the Hebrew language. The Hebrew word for mi means who; the Hebrew word hu means he and the Hebrew word hi means she.

As Words

The Hebrew language does not have any formal mode of address. When you are using the Hebrew language in an informal way, the masculine pronouns replace feminine pronouns.

Hebrew Vocabulary and Meanings of Words

As you go about learning the Hebrew language, you will find that Hebrew verbs tend to conjugate differently when they are in the present tense. This is mainly due to the fact that conjugations are by number and gender.

The Hebrew language can pose difficulties for those of us who speak English not only because it is written from right to left, but it is also written without having any vowel sound representation. The Hebrew vowels are generally written by various dot and lines that go beneath the consonants.

Hebrew Vocabulary and Meanings of Words

Indian Words in the Latin American Spanish Vocabulary

One of the differences to be aware of between the Spanish spoken in Spain and that of Latin America is that the latter has taken in quite a few words from the American Indian languages.

Some of those words -- tomate, for example (English tomato) -- have become part of the universal Spanish lexicon, but many remain localized to particular Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas.

As Words

In particular, a large number of words in Mexican Spanish come from the Nahuatl language that still persists, to some degree, in the northern part of that country. You may therefore hear some of these words being used in Mexico and nowhere else.

A few of the ones you are more likely to encounter include chapulin (grasshopper), cenzontle (mockingbird), amate (a type of fig), camote (sweet potato), ejotes (green beans), zacate (grass), atole (a drink made from corn

meal), chicle (chewing gum), cajeta (caramelized milk), mecate (rope), comal (a flat pan), jacal (shack), naco (a crude or uncultured person), and papalote (kite).

Of course there are some words that have entered our own language from Spanish, that were also originally Indian words. These include (giving their English spelling here) iguana, cocoa, hurricane, barbecue, hammock, tobacco, papaya, canoe and potato.

If you are learning Spanish, the presence of American Indian words will add a new and interesting wrinkle to your efforts. Be on the lookout for these American "adoptees" as you learn to discern the differences between European Spanish and the tongue as spoken in the Western Hemisphere.

Indian Words in the Latin American Spanish Vocabulary