Language and Cultural Identity

Perhaps the deepest layer of identity is the language we speak and the culture we belong to. This lesson builds vocabulary about nationality, language, and culture, and consolidates the present tense of regular verbs, the backbone of everyday expression. Key vocabulary includes el idioma/la lengua (language), la nacionalidad (nationality), el país (country), la cultura (culture), las costumbres (customs), las tradiciones (traditions), bilingüe (bilingual), la lengua materna (mother tongue), and el extranjero (abroad / a foreigner). Nationalities behave like adjectives and agree in gender and number: español/española, mexicano/mexicana, francés/francesa, inglés/inglesa, estadounidense (same for both), chino/china. Note that languages and nationalities are not capitalized in Spanish: Hablo e