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shoe

May 21, 2006, 2:32 PM

Post #1 of 13 (9972 views)

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Vale	Can't Post \| Private Reply

Can anyone explain the Spanish word vale to me? Their might not be a English word that corresponds and I can't figure out what my dictionary is trying to tell me by its use of examples.

It is used in the Spanish expression for "better late than never" which I think is; Más vale tarde que nunca.

Thank you,
shoe

Nothing is intrinsically good or evil, but its manner of usage may make it so.
-St. Thomas Aquinas

doogie

May 21, 2006, 4:14 PM

Post #2 of 13 (9962 views)

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Re: [shoe] Vale

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Vale viene de Valor - Value. ¿Cuánto vale ese zapato? What is the value of that shoe? Si dices "Más vale tarde . . . " es decir "Más valor" o "Mejor" ¿Si?
Doogie,
Tapatío de corazón

Don Moore

May 21, 2006, 4:33 PM

Post #3 of 13 (9958 views)

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Re: [shoe] Vale

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In many contexts, you could translate vale as "it is worth," hence, "it is better," or "it avails."
Don Moore

raferguson

May 21, 2006, 6:55 PM

Post #4 of 13 (9950 views)

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Re: [shoe] Vale

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To add to the confusion, the word "vale" is used to mean a dozen things in Spain, including good, ok, yes, etc. I heard it several times a day on my last trip to Spain. I believe that it is spelled "vale", but I heard it in casual conversation rather than read it.

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

esperanza

May 21, 2006, 8:55 PM

Post #5 of 13 (9948 views)

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Re: [raferguson] Vale

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It's used in a similar way here in Mexico. Many conversations about casual social arrangements, more or less informal business deals, etc., are concluded by one party asking, "¿Sale?" and the other party answering, "Vale".

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Don Moore

May 22, 2006, 7:01 AM

Post #6 of 13 (9931 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Vale

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That is fascinating. Is that sort of like "Is it a go?" or "Does it fly?" followed by "It's worth it." or
"It's good to go." ??
Don Moore

esperanza

May 22, 2006, 7:45 AM

Post #7 of 13 (9924 views)

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Re: [Don Moore] Vale

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Exactamente.

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tonyburton

May 22, 2006, 7:46 AM

Post #8 of 13 (9924 views)

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Re: [Don Moore] Vale

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I'm sure others will correct me, but finding an "explanation" for many sayings and refrains is an exercise fraught with difficulty - imagine, for instance, trying to explain "See you later, alligator"; "In a while, crocodile"... In Spanish, as in English, poetic license plays a part in the precise words used in many popular sayings.

jerezano

May 22, 2006, 8:28 AM

Post #9 of 13 (9916 views)

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Re: Vale/valor/etc

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Hola,

>>quote..vale comes from the word valor<<end quote<< Not so!

VALE comes from the verb valer which means to value, to have merit, to equal, etc. The present tense is valgo, vales, VALE, valemos, valen.

Once you know what the verb means and how to use it, the possibilites become endless. Valor (value/worth) is from the same root.

Endless possibilites starting with >Its OK! to >Boy is this good! >What a good woman! But if no is with it, >It's not worth much, >It's cheap, >That stock is valueless, etc.

A suggestion worth picking up is that when we find a verb form like "vale" we stick the r on it to make it the infinitive and then look up that verb in our handy-dandy dictionary.

Adios. jerezano.

Don Moore

May 22, 2006, 10:19 AM

Post #10 of 13 (9907 views)

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Re: [tonyburton] Vale

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Tony,

I understand that trying to explain why things are said as they are is fraught with difficulty. That is precisely why I enjoy doing it. I have always enjoyed linguistics and etymology. If others only wish to learn to speak a language, that is fine with me, to each his own. I will go on asking why because I love finding out why. I have learned two languages pretty well by the audio-lingual approach, which rarely if ever overtly explains why. I have taught English to speakers of other languages by the same approach. But I also love studying the grammar, structure, history, etymology and syntax of languages. I speak Spanish and Cebuano, a Philippine language (Malay-Polynesian family) and I have dabbled with several other languages. I have also studied Latin and classical Greek. I just love it. I hope that does not violate the intent of this forum.
Don Moore

Don Moore

May 22, 2006, 10:22 AM

Post #11 of 13 (9905 views)

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Re: [tonyburton] Vale

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By the way, Tony, I think it is quite easy to explain the origin of "See you later, alligator; After while crocodile." I could rather easily explain that in English to anyone who speaks English, and in a couple of other languages, too.
Don Moore

tonyburton

May 22, 2006, 11:03 AM

Post #12 of 13 (9900 views)

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Re: [Don Moore] Vale

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Far from it! I wasn't suggesting for a second that you or anyone else stops asking, only that some aspects of language are not very susceptible to analysis - they simply "are". That doesn't reduce the fascination of speculation.

wendy devlin

May 23, 2006, 3:57 PM

Post #13 of 13 (9877 views)

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Re: [tonyburton] Vale

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Uno de mis dichos favoritos:

Un hombre preparado vale por dos.

My interpretation: Feel free to correct!

A prepared( savvy, informed)person(how gringa!) is worth two people who don't know what they're doing.

Good advice for anywhere but especially in Mexico.