Technology/Language

I knew that the technology is set up differently before I came to Spain. For instance, aside from Spanish being the language, the keyboards are set up in accordance with the language. After typing on the computers here, there have been a few instances where I momentarily forgot which key was what on my laptop! For instance, the key for the hyphen is at the bottom of the keyboard in Spain, whereas in the USA it is at the top.

Technology is everywhere and some people take more advantage of it than others. I would say that people here take advantage of it quite often. It is not uncommon for families to sit around the television (I do believe I’ve even heard some people call it a “tele”) after a lunch and dinner. People are on their phones quite often as well. Here, they call them “movils.”

You might be thinking, “hey, there’s a a lot of terms here that sound English.” I would say that your are not far off. When I have heard Spaniards speaking English, I can tell they have learned British English, but it also seems evident in the Spanish language as well. After all, Spain is close to England. On the other side of the spectrum though, there is a lot of Arab influence, especially in the Andalusian region (the southern most state of Spain) where I am living. It is very evident in the Spanish language. For instance, many words that begin with the prefix “al” come from Arabic. The word for lunch,”almuerzo” is an example of this.