sábado, 19 de septiembre de 2009

Spanish names




Hola, me llamo Juanjo y soy español. Acabo de llegar a la Universidad de Westminster y este es mi blog para apoyar la enseñanza del español en el Polylang.

Hi, my name is Juanjo and I'm Spanish. I have just arrived at Westminster University and this is my blog to help you with the learning of Spanish at the Polylang.
Vengo de Sevilla, en el sur de España / I come from Seville, in Southern Spain




Something you might not know about Spanish names:

It is very common for Spanish people to have two names (or more) and using them both!!! As they get too long to say, we sometimes shorten them like this:

Juanjo: Juan José = Juan+Jo(sé)

This is a very common formula to create Spanish nicknames. Other examples:


Juanma: Juan Manuel = Juan+Ma(nuel)

Josema: José María (yes, it is a male name!!): Jose+Ma(ría), also Chema (much shorter and more familiar)

It also works with female names, but in that case it happens with María and the second name can also be fairly altered:

María del Carmen: Mari(a del)+Carmen = Mari Carmen


María Teresa: Mari(a)+Tere(sa) = Mari Tere, also Maite



But you also have some more complicated changes, like these:


José = Pepe
Dolores= Lola
Manuel = Manolo = Lolo
Rosario = Charo


Any questions about other Spanish names? Send a comment.



Meanwhile here is a song called "No me llames Dolores, llámame Lola", by Pastora

(Don't call me Dolores, call me Lola)