Language and expression

What holds these lists together

Here are the words for talking about language itself, for holding a text together, and for saying the same thing grandly, plainly or casually. Spanish makes a distinction audible that modern English has given up: English has one «you», while Spanish chooses between tú and usted, and the line falls differently in Madrid and in Bogotá. In Buenos Aires the familiar form is vos, with verb forms of its own — vos tenés instead of tú tienes. Knowing the variants lets you understand more and hear where somebody comes from. The proverbs and the irony are here too, where the literal meaning gives least away.

For example: la lengua franca (the shared working tongue), el presente escrito (this present document), el registro lingüístico (the level of language used), afirmar con rotundidad (to state flatly), meter la pata (to put one's foot in it), el texto de partida (the source text)

Spread across the levels

The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.