Phone call

[poli]

Chaval is used in Spain and probably nowhere else. From watching old movies I learned that Americans used the word sister (and little sister) to someone who was not a sibling frequently in the 1930's and 40's. This use pretty much disappeared here except among Evangelical Christians.

[Rusty]

Hermanita is a dimunitive. It can be used to mean a younger sister, but it can also be a tender way to refer to an older sister.

[Jane]

She calls me hermanito but I am 10 years younger than her. Would it be appropriate for me to call her hermanita? BYW, I wrote a letter instead of calling. :)
Geeper, that would be hermanita... because, the last I checked, you´re a lady. Or am I mistaken?:D
Hermanito refers to a younger brother.
She can call you hermanita since you´re younger, but I don´t think you can refer to her the same way, unless as a term of endearment, since the word in itself is dimunitive:)

[geeper]

I'm male.

[Jane]

I'm male.

Ooops!!! :footinmouth: :o
Sorry... my mistake.

[geeper]

No problem, I have set it in my profile so there will be no question in the future! :)

[Jane]

No problem, I have set it in my profile so there will be no question in the future! :)
Perfect!
Sorry, again.

[Elaina]

She calls me hermanito but I am 10 years younger than her. Would it be appropriate for me to call her hermanita? BYW, I wrote a letter instead of calling. :)

Sometimes, in some cultures the use of the diminutive is only a term of endearment and not necessarily to denote older, younger, etc. That's how I have come to see it.

:twocents:

[Tomisimo]

En la frase......

Este es Geeper.......¿Qué consideras Spanglish?

:?::?:
I wouldn't necessarily call it Spanglish, but it's something that is used in Spanish, due to English influence. In English I say "This is David, can I speak with X".
In Spanish, that's not the normal way of saying it. You would say::good: Soy David, ¿me permite hablar con X?
:good: Habla David, ¿me permite hablar con X?
:?: Este es David, ¿me permite hablar con X?
The third option is understandable, but is not natural.

[CrOtALiTo]

Hey como estas hermano, ciudate.

[Planet hopper]

The -ita suffix is taken as friendly, as english uses the word tiny, doesn't matter if she's older

[Planet hopper]

Este es _________
Is used when you are introducing someone to a third person, not in the context we are talking about, which (to me) sounds more like when you answer to a knock on the door and say Who's that? It's me
In Spanish we would say ¿Quien es? Soy yo, never ese soy yo.
It feels deviant to me, spanglish-like, maybe more common in central-south america.

[Rusty]

Este es ... is not used in Central America. They use soy or habla.

On the telephone:
Hola.
-Hola. Soy Magda. (Habla Magda.)
¡Magda! ¡Que bueno oir de ti!