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Peter

Nov 24, 2010, 10:09 AM

Post #26 of 30 (1774 views)

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Re: [eyePad] Como estas? vs. Como esta? vs. Como esta usted?

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I always thought of "que onda" as "what wavelength are you on?" I believe it comes from the 1960s or thereabouts.

That goes with my interpretation of it being similar to asking "How's the vibes?" Waves, vibrations, undulations all amount to about the same thing, it's just that we choose different words for similar expressions. Some similar sounding words take on a different meaning as applied to similar concepts.

I'm not sure that in Spanish vibración would have a similar connotation as onda, much like an English-speaking 60's hipster would not say he's "picking up good undulations."

Bennie García

Nov 24, 2010, 11:41 AM

Post #27 of 30 (1766 views)

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Re: [Peter] Como estas? vs. Como esta? vs. Como esta usted?

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[reply I'm not sure that in Spanish vibración would have a similar connotation as onda, much like an English-speaking 60's hipster would not say he's "picking up good undulations."

There are many other colloquial uses for the word onda. like agarrar la onda roughly "to get with it" , se me(te) fue la onda which means losing your train of thought or spacing out on something and there are lots of others.

As far as "vibrations" I think it is more common to hear the terms buenas vibras or malas vibras which are literally good or bad "vibes".

raferguson

Nov 24, 2010, 1:41 PM

Post #28 of 30 (1756 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Como estas? vs. Como esta? vs. Como esta usted?

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Let me thank everybody for their input. It produced a larger discussion than I expected.

My take away is that I am going to switch 100% from "Como esta usted?" to "como esta". I agree that the word usted is not commonly used as part of that expression.

I prefer to speak formally, but I don't want to be completely out of step with common usage.

Thanks,
Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

Bennie García

Nov 24, 2010, 2:02 PM

Post #29 of 30 (1756 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Como estas? vs. Como esta? vs. Como esta usted?

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100% of the time? Never say never. Yes there are many times when it is unnecessary and redundant but that doesn't mean it isn't commonly used. There are times when usted should be articulated. There will be times it is needed to eliminate ambiguity. Other times when you are not all that familiar with a person. For example I wouldn't say to a judge "Como está, Sr. Juez". That seems to infer familiarity that probably doesn't exist. IMO include usted in that example or similar situations. If your goal is to achieve a higher level of Spanish then learning the nuances of certain usage is something one should aspire to.

raferguson

Nov 25, 2010, 8:23 AM

Post #30 of 30 (1728 views)

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Re: [Bennie García] Como estas? vs. Como esta? vs. Como esta usted?

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Never say never. I can imagine using usted if the situation was especially formal, maybe "¿Como esta usted, Senador Martinez?", which I think was your point.

So maybe a 100% switch is going to far. Good point.

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

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