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City Guide > Europe > Spain > Madrid | |
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Language As soon as a Spaniard opens his/her mouth, everyone knows where they come from. The Madrileños speak Castellano (Castilian Spanish), established as the national language since the Nova Planta decrees of 1716. Although they pronounce all vowels and consonants (as opposed to the elliptic Andalusian Spanish), Madrileños frequently waive standard grammar rules, in a phenomenon known as Laismo (where personal pronoun la replaces le) or Leismo (where le replaces la). The second decisive factor in determining accent is social class. In Madrid, the upper classes open their mouths extra wide to speak, as though they have a potato in their mouth – patata en la boca. The lower social classes have their own accent. One of its characteristics is the ‘rh’ sound replacing the ‘s’ sound – hence es que (because) becomes erh que. Madrileños are very fond (in a patronising kind of way) of the accent from Andalusia but are less well-disposed towards the accent and language – Català (Catalan) – of their arch- rivals in Barcelona. Phrases Yes - Sí No - No Hello - Hola Goodbye - Adios Please - Por favor Thank you - Gracias My name is ... - Me llamo ... How are you? - Qué tal estás? I’m very well - Estoy muy bien I feel ill - Me siento mal How much does it cost? - Cuantó es? Do you speak English? - Habla inglés? I don’t understand - No entiendo Where is ...? - Dónde está ...? Entrance - Entrada Exit - Salida Danger - Peligro Open - Abierto Closed - Cerrado Toilets - Servicios Doctor - Médico Hotel - Hotel Restaurant - Restaurante Beer - Cerveza Wine - Vino Menu - Carta Today - Hoy Tomorrow - Mañana Monday - Lunes Tuesday - Martes Wednesday - Miércoles Thursday - Jueves Friday - Viernes Saturday - Sábado Sunday - Domingo One - Un / uno / una Two - Dos / dues Three - Tres Four - Cuatro Five - Cinco Six - Seis Seven - Siete Eight - Ocho Nine - Nieve Ten - Diez Twenty - Veinte Thirty - Treinta Forty - Cuarenta Fifty - Cincuenta Sixty - Sesenta Seventy - Setenta Eighty - Ochenta Ninety - Noventa One Hundred - Cien One Thousand - Mil |