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Wu Ting
What’s the meaning of the Spanish word ‘eñe’?
“Don’t panic, I’m not going to fire you. But we have to start being careful about security. We can’t have a spy in our midst.”
Clearly it is important not to ask why. Does he want more reassurance, something personal? “About the English, sir. It’s a habit from school. They taught us to use typewriters, which are very handy, I have to say. But they didn’t have the Spanish characters. So a story begun in English keeps going in English.”
“You know how to use a typewriter?”
“Yes, señor. When the question of Spanish characters came up, the officer at school said no typewriter anywhere has characters beyond those needed for English.”
“Those gringos. What jingoists.”
“That was the problem at school. You can’t get far on a story without the accents and eñe. You begin with Señor Villaseñor in the bath, reflecting on the experience of his years, but instead he is ‘en el bano, reflexionando en las experiencias de sus anos.’”What’s the meaning of the Spanish word ‘eñe’ in the sentence: You can’t get far on a story without the accents and eñe?
Thanks!
Apr 20, 2014 1:10 PM
Answers · 2
2
Hi Gordon,
"Eñe" is the name of the Spanish letter "Ñ / ñ" that doesn't exist in English.
Hope this helps!
April 20, 2014
1
"Ñ" is one of the letters of the Spanish alphabet.
"You can’t get far on a story without the accents and eñe "
In Spanish,we have accents,and the letter Ñ. This two diffeneces makes it difficult,and can lead you to make big mistakes,if you translate literally from English to Spanish (as it says : Mr. Villaseñor is in the bath, reflecting on the experience of his years, but instead he is ‘en el bano, reflexionando en las experiencias de sus anos.’” The joke is years: años if you don´t have the letter ñ,you will write anos (asses).
April 20, 2014
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Wu Ting
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, French
Learning Language
English
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