Spanish 1/Computers

Communication

 * cara a cara - face-to-face
 * carta - letter
 * comunicarse - to communicate
 * me comunico - I communicate
 * te comunicas - you communicate
 * enviar - to send
 * tarjeta - card
 * red social - social network

On the computer

 * bajar / descargar - to download
 * buscar - to search
 * cámara digital - digital camera
 * canción - song
 * composición - composition
 * computadora portátil - laptop computer
 * crear - to create
 * curso - course
 * tomar un curso - to take a course
 * diapositiva - slide
 * dirección electrónica - e-mail address
 * documento - document
 * escribir por correo electrónico - to write an e-mail
 * enviar un correo electrónico - to send an e-mail
 * estar en línea - to be online
 * grabar un disco compacto - to burn a CD
 * gráficos - graphics
 * información - information
 * informe - report
 * laboratorio - laboratory
 * navegar por la red - to surf the web
 * página web - web page
 * presentación - presentation
 * sitio web - web site
 * visitar salas de chat - to visit chat rooms

Usage

 * complicado(a) - complicated
 * ¿Para qué sirve? - What's it for?
 * ¿Qué te parece? - What do you think?
 * rápidamente - quickly
 * Sirve para... - It's used for...

Verbs

 * tener miedo - to be afraid

Pedir (to ask for)
Pedir, like hacer, is a verb that has an irregular yo conjugation.


 * pido - I ask for
 * pides - you ask for (singular)
 * pide - he/she asks for
 * pedimos - we ask for
 * pedís - you ask for (plural)
 * piden - they ask for

Note: Remember that usted and ustedes conjugate in 3rd person form.

Servir (to serve)
Servir is also a verb that has an irregular yo conjugation.


 * sirvo - I serve
 * sirves - you serve (singular)
 * sirve - he/she serves
 * servimos - we serve
 * servís - you serve (plural)
 * sirven - they serve

Note: See above.

Saber (to know)
In Spanish, there are two ways of the verb, "to know." Saber is used for information or activities you know. It is also an irregular yo conjugation.


 * sé - I know
 * sabes - you know (singular)
 * sabe - he/she knows
 * sabemos - we know
 * sabéis - you know (plural)
 * saben - they know

Note: The usual usted and ustedes warning that you should know by now.

Conocer (to be acquainted with)
Conocer also means "to know," but it talks about familiarity of people, places, and things. Like saber, it has an irregular yo conjugation.


 * conozco - I know
 * conoces - you know (singular)
 * conoce - he/she knows
 * conocemos - we know
 * conocéis - you know (plural)
 * conocen - they know

Note: The usual.

Vocabulario adicional

 * búsqueda - search
 * iniciar sesión - to log on
 * disco duro - hard disk
 * impresora - printer
 * imprimir - to print
 * marcapáginas - bookmark
 * multimedia - multimedia
 * página inicial - home page
 * tecla de borrar - delete key
 * tecla de intro - enter key

Cultural Insight (Computer Usage)
In Spanish-speaking countries, the usage of computers is less than that in the United States, other English-speaking nations and Western Europe. With many homes not having a computer, people tend to go libraries or computer cafés to log on to computers. At computer cafés, individuals can hang out with friends while surfing the web or playing online games with light snacks and drinks being sold to patrons.

Country Focus (Argentina)
Argentina (Spanish: Argentina) is a South American country, constituted as a federation of twenty-three provinces and an autonomous city. It is second in size on the South American continent to Brazil and eighth in the world. Argentina occupies a continental surface area of 2,766,890 km² (1,068,302 sq mi) between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast, and Chile in the west and south. Argentina also claimed 969,464 km² (374,312 sq mi) of Antarctica, known as Argentine Antarctica, overlapping other claims made by Chile (Chilean Antarctic Territory) and the United Kingdom (British Antarctic Territory), but all such claims are suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1957.

Argentina has the second highest Human Development Index level and the second highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parity in Latin America after Chile and Mexico respectively. Argentina's nominal GDP is the 31st largest in the world; when purchasing power is taken into account, however, its total GDP makes it the 23rd largest economy in the world.



The country is currently classified as an Upper-Middle Income Country or as a secondary emerging market by the World Bank.

In 1480, the Inca Empire under the rule of king Pachacutec launched an offensive and conquered present-day northwestern Argentina, integrating it into a region called Collasuyu. European explorers arrived in 1516. Spain established a permanent colony on the site of Buenos Aires in 1580; the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created in 1776. From the 1950s to 1970s, moderate military and weak civilian administrations traded power. The armed forces took power through a junta in charge of the self-appointed National Reorganization Process until 1983. The military government repressed opposition and leftist groups using harsh illegal measures (the "Dirty War"); thousands of dissidents "disappeared", while the SIDE cooperated with DINA and other South American intelligence agencies, and with the CIA in Operation Condor. Democracy was restored in 1983.



Argentine culture has significant European influences. Buenos Aires, considered by many its cultural capital, is often said to be the most European city in South America, as a result both of the prevalence of people of European descent and of conscious imitation of European styles in architecture. The other big influence is the gauchos and their traditional country lifestyle of self-reliance. Finally, indigenous American traditions (like maté tea drinking) have been absorbed into the general cultural trend.

Factbox:

-Official Language: Spanish

-Other Languages: Welsh, Italian, French, German, other European languages, Native American languages, Levantine Arabic, Chinese languages

-Capital: Buenos Aires

-Government: Democracy

-Area: 2,780,403 sq km (1,078,757 sq mi) (8th)



-Population: 40,134,425 (31st)

-Religion: Christianity (Catholic 92%, Protestant 2%) 94%, Judaism 2%, Islam 1.5%, Buddhism 0.1%, other (Atheism, Traditional beliefs) 2.4%

-Human Development: 0.866 (49th, HIGH)

-Independence: July 9, 1816

-Currency: Argentine Peso

Country Focus (Uruguay)


Uruguay (Spanish: Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.5 million people, of which 1.4 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area.

It is bordered by Brazil to the north, by Argentina across the bank of both the Uruguay River to the west and the estuary of Río de la Plata to the southwest, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. Its surface is 176.215 km² being by its territorial extension the second smallest country in South America, larger only than Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana.

Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Uruguay won its independence in 1825-1828 following a three-way struggle between Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, where the president fulfills the roles of both head of state and head of government.

The economy is largely based on agriculture (making up 10% of GDP and the most substantial export) and the state sector, Uruguay's economy is on the whole more stable than in its surrounding states, and it maintains a solid reputation with investors.



According to Transparency International, Uruguay is the second least corrupt country in Latin America (after Chile), with its political and labor conditions being among the freest on the continent.

Uruguay has an impressive legacy of artistic and literary traditions, especially for its small size. The contribution of its alternating conquerors and diverse immigrants has resulted in native traditions that integrate this diversity. Uruguay has centuries old remains, fortresses of the colonial era. Its cities have a rich architectural heritage and an impressive number of writers, artists, and musicians. Uruguayan tango is the form of dance that originated in the neighborhoods of Montevideo, Uruguay towards the end of the 1800s.



Factbox:

-Official Language: Spanish

-Other Languages: European languages, Riverense Portuñol

-Capital: Montevideo

-Government: Democracy

-Area: 176,215 sq km (68,037 sq mi) (90th)

-Population: 3,494,382 (131st)

-Religion: Christianity (Catholic 62%, Protestant 4%) 66%, Atheism 17.2%, Animism 0.6%, Judaism 0.3%, Buddhism 0.1%, other (Non-religious, Agnostic) 2.4%

-Human Development: 0.865 (50th, HIGH)

-Independence:August 25, 1825

-Currency: Uruguayan Peso

Country Focus (España)
Spain (Spanish: España) is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish mainland is bordered to the south and east almost entirely by the Mediterranean Sea (except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar); to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. With an area of 504,030 km², Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe (after France) and with an average altitude of 650 m, the second highest country in Europe (after Switzerland).

Spain is a constitutional monarchy organised as a parliamentary democracy and has been a member of the European Union since 1986, and NATO since 1982. It is a developed country with the ninth largest economy in the world and fifth largest in the EU, based on nominal GDP.



Spain is a key site when it comes to studying the human prehistory of Europe. After a long and hard conquest Hispania became one of the Roman Empire's most important regions. During the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule. Later it was conquered by Muslim invaders. Through a very long and fitful process, the Christian kingdoms in the north gradually rolled back Muslim rule, finally extinguishing its last remnant in Granada in 1492. The same year Columbus reached the New World, a global empire began. Spain became the strongest kingdom in Europe and leading world power during the 16th century and first half of the 17th century, but continued wars and other problems eventually led to a diminished status. A French invasion of Spain in the early 19th century led to chaos; triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire and left the country politically unstable. In the 20th century it suffered a devastating civil war and came under the rule of a dictatorship, leading to years of stagnation, but finishing in a strong economic revival. Democracy was restored in 1978 in the form of a constitutional monarchy.



Spain is known for its culturally diverse heritage, having been influenced by many nations and peoples throughout its history. Spanish culture has its origins in the Iberian, Celtiberian, Latin, Visigothic, Roman Catholic, and Islamic cultures.

-Official Language: Spanish

-Other Languages: Catalan, Galician, Basque, Aranese (the former four regionally official), Asturian, Extremaduran, Aragonese, other European languages



-Capital: Madrid

-Government: Constitutional monarchy

-Area: 505,992 sq km (195,364 sq mi) (51st)

-Population: 46,030,130 (27th)

-Religion: Christianity (~73% Catholic) 73.2%, Non-religious 22%, Islam 2.3%, Buddhism 0.75%, Judaism 0.1%, other (Hinduism, Sikhism, Bahá'i) 1.7%

-Human Development: 0.955 (15th, VERY HIGH)

-Independence: 1469 (unification of Castile and Aragon)

-Currency: Euro

Country Focus (Guinea Ecuatorial)
Equatorial Guinea (Spanish: Guinea Ecuatorial) is a country in Central Africa. It is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa, and comprises two regions: Río Muni, continental region including several offshore islands; and Insular Region containing Annobón island in the South Atlantic Ocean, and Bioko island (formerly Fernando Po) that contains the capital, Malabo.

Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just north of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the east is the mainland region. Equatorial Guinea borders Cameroon on the north, Gabon on the south and east, and the Gulf of Guinea on the west, where the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón. Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name is suggestive of its location near both the Equator and the Gulf of Guinea. It is one of the territories in mainland Africa where Spanish is an official language, besides the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and the UN-recognised but Moroccan-occupied Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara).

Equatorial Guinea is the smallest country in continental Africa in terms of population. (Seychelles, The Gambia, Rwanda, and São Tomé and Príncipe are smaller in terms of area, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has a smaller population but is disputed.) It is also the smallest United Nations member from continental Africa. The discovery of sizeable petroleum reserves in recent years is altering the economic and political status of the country.



Despite its name, no part of Equatorial Guinea's territory lies on the equator.

Bantu migrations between the 17th and 19th centuries brought the coastal tribes and later the Fang. Elements of the latter may have generated the Bubi, who emigrated to Bioko from Cameroon and Rio Muni in several waves and succeeded former Neolithic populations.

The majority of the people of Equatorial Guinea are of Bantu origin. The largest tribe, the Fang, is indigenous to the mainland, but substantial migration to Bioko Island has resulted in Fang dominance over the earlier Bantu inhabitants. The Fang constitute 80% of the population and comprise 67 clans.

Factbox:

-Official Languages: Spanish, French

-Other Languages: Fang, Bube, Annobonese, other African languages, Portuguese, English Creoles

-Capital: Malabo

-Government: Democracy

-Area: 28,051 sq km (10,828 sq mi) (145th)

-Population: 676,000 (166th)

-Religions: Christianity (87% Catholic, 5% Protestant) 93%, Islam 1%, other (Animism, Non-religious) 6%

-Human Development: 0.719 (118th, MEDIUM)

-Independence: October 12, 1968