Celebrities Who Speak Spanish as a Second Language

Celebrities Who Speak Spanish as a Second Language If youre learning Spanish, youre in the company of celebrities. Although there are plenty of famous folks who grew up with Spanish as a first language and have crossed over into English-language celebrityhood, there are some celebs who had to learn Spanish like the rest of us. Here are some you may recognize, although not all of them claim to be fluent: Actors Ben Affleck and his younger brother Casey Affleck learned Spanish while living in Mexico and during film stints in that country. Poet Maya Angelou (1928-2014) traveled extensively during her adult life. According to her official website, Angelou voraciously read and studied and was able to master French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic and Fanti (a language of western Africa). Baseball manager Dusty Baker speaks Spanish fluently. According to SportingNews, he learned the language in high school classes because his mother made him. Early in his baseball career, I was the only (American) guy on the team talking to the pretty little girls, he told SportingNews. Im 19 years old. I didnt have any clue how beneficial it was going to be later on in my life. Among those his language abilities inspired was first baseman Joey Votto, who said in a 2012 interview that he studies Spanish daily and even hired a tutor so he could communicate better with Latin American players. Having grown up in Canada, he also speaks French. Soccer superstar David Beckham learned Spanish while playing for Real Madrid. Italian actress Monica Bellucci has appeared in at least one Spanish-language movie, 1998s A los que aman. (IMDb) German-born Pope Benedict XVI, who like many of his predecessors was  multilingual, routinely addressed Spanish-speaking audiences in their native tongue. Rocker Jon Bon Jovi has recorded a few of his songs in Spanish, including Cama de rosas (Bed of Roses). (Bonjovi.com) Actress Kate Bosworth speaks Spanish fluently. (IMDb biography) When he was president of the U.S., George W. Bush would occasionally answer questions in Spanish from news reporters. He appeared to understand the spoken language much better than he could speak it. His brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, however, speaks Spanish quite well. When he was president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, who studied Spanish at the U.S. Naval Academy, would often speak Spanish at conferences in Latin American countries. But in situations where the nuances of words mattered, he insisted on the use of professional translators. (2012 interview with the Council of Foreign Relations.) Although he married an Argentine woman, actor Matt Damon spoke Spanish long before he met her. He said in a 2012 interview with The Guardian that he studied Spanish through immersion in Mexico as a teenager and later backpacked throughout Mexico and Guatemala. American actor Danny DeVito, who voiced the title role in the 2012 animated film The Lorax, also provided the voice for the Spanish and Latin American versions. (ABC.es) Young actress Dakota Fanning had a Spanish-speaking role in the 2004 film Man on Fire. (IMDb) Although he didnt speak Spanish before signing on, actor and comedian Will Ferrell starred in the 2012 Spanish-language film Casa de mi padre. Australian movie heartthrob Chris Hemsworth has picked up a smattering of Spanish from his wife, Spanish actress Elsa Pataky.   British actor Tom Hiddleston is known for his his attempts at speaking native languages when talking to his foreign fans, and he has been known to speak French, Spanish, Greek, and Italian along with bits of Korean and Chinese, among others. (Bustle.com) Actor Matthew McConaughey picked up Spanish while growing up in Uvalde, Texas, which has a large Spanish-speaking population. (Perezhilton.com) American actress Gwyneth Paltrow spent the summer of her sophomore year in high school as a foreign exchange student in Talavera de la Reina, Spain. She continues to regularly visit the town and her host family. (People) Rocker David Lee Roth recorded a Spanish version of his 1986 album  Eat Em and Smile, calling it Sonrisa Salvaje (meaning Wild Smile). Actor Will Smith spoke a limited amount of Spanish during a 2009 interview on the Spanish TV show El Hormiguero. At one point he exclaimed,  ¡Necesito ms palabras! (I need more words!) (YouTube) Actor and singer David Soul learned Spanish while attending college in Mexico City. He also can speak German.

Up Style and Down Style

Up Style and Down Style Up Style and Down Style Up Style and Down Style By Maeve Maddox Book titles–and newspaper and magazine headlines–are usually formatted in one of two styles: â€Å"up style† and â€Å"down style.† Up Style This style calls for capitalizing the first and last words in the title or headline and all â€Å"major words† in the title. Not all style guides agree as to what should be considered a major word. Most agree that nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions (if, because, as, that, etc.) are major words and should always be capitalized. That leaves articles (a, an, the), prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor) in the minor league where lowercase prevails. Unfortunately, as is frequent with arbitrary rules, style guides don’t always agree. Both the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook agree that articles (a, an, the), and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor) should not be capitalized unless they are the first or last word of the title, but when it comes to prepositions, they differ. CMOS says never capitalize a preposition unless it is the first word in the title. AP says leave short prepositions in lowercase, but capitalize prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters. Here is how the same title would be formatted according to CMOS and AP: CMOS: Four Theories concerning the Gospel according to Matthew AP: Four Theories Concerning the Gospel According to Matthew Most stylebooks state that all verbs are capitalized, including is, am, and be, but that the to of an infinitive is to be treated like a preposition and put in lowercase: How to Train Your Dragon, How to Be a Better Parent. Down Style The only words capitalized in down style are the first word of the title and any proper nouns that appear in the title: Four theories concerning the Gospel according to Matthew. (book title) Coastal Commission enters fray over San Mateo County beach access (headline) Down style has been adopted by many newspapers because it calls for fewer rules. The purpose of having style guides is to make reading pleasant by providing a clear, consistent manner of presenting written material. If you write for yourself, adopt any style you wish for your blog or other publications. If you write for hire, follow your employer’s house style. The following headlines and book titles taken at random from the Web illustrate the fact that not everyone follows the same stylebook: Journey Home Finally Begins for the Victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight (headline, NYTimes) Why Triumphant Jihadis In Iraq Will Help Assad Crush Opposition In Aleppo (headline, HuffPost) Modern Identity Changer: How To Create And Use A New Identity For Privacy And Personal Freedom (book listed on Amazon) Gone With The Wind (AMC filmsite.org) Gone with the Wind (Imdb) Gone With the Wind (Rotten Tomatoes) Hardball: How Politics Is Played, Told by One Who Knows the Game  (book listed on Amazon) How To Hide Anything  (book listed on Amazon) Why Government Fails So Often: And How It Can Do Better (book listed on Amazon) I’ll save the question of â€Å"Italics or Quotation Marks?† for another post on book titles. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comparative Forms of AdjectivesPeople versus Persons75 Synonyms for â€Å"Hard†