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¿Quieres mejorara tu inglés antes de tu próximo gran paso?,
¿Te has dado cuenta de lo que saber inglés te puede aportar tanto a nivel profesional como personal, pero no tienes tiempo o la determinación necesaria para hacerlo? ¿te apetece hacerlo de una forma divertida y rápida? ¡Este es tu blog!
La idea es aprender inglés a través de series, películas, vídeos, charlas, canciones y pequeños documentos teóricos que a mí me han ayudado a aclarar dudas comunes. Sin más, espero que os sea de ayude y disfrutéis. Un saludo!

Si tenéis alguna duda, sugerencia,...y queréis poneros en contacto podéis mandarnos un mail a marta.hernandez.rubio@gmail.com.

martes, 28 de febrero de 2012

How to write about Africa...

Hola amigos! 
En Funny English tenemos una nueva propuesta y es la siguiente:
Por un lado os dejamos este vídeo en el que al famoso actor Djimon Hounsou, al que conoceréis por películas como Amistad, Gladiator, Las cuatro plumas o Diamantes de Sangre, lee un texto escrito por un famoso escritor keniata, Binyavanga Wainaina sobre como NO escribir sobre África; por otro os dejamos la transcripción del mismo.


Se trata de una descripción satírica de como no se debe pero, de hecho, se escribe sobre África
A poco que hayáis leído o visto películas que suceden (take place) en Africa, (leáse Memorias de África, Diamantes de Sangre, Hotel Rwanda, La Masai Blanca,...entre otros muchos ejemplos), sabréis de lo que habla.


Os dejo el vídeo y el texto original, para que empecéis por donde queráis. Lo ideal sería, lo que recomiendan en las cursos de preparación de exámenes es: escuchar el vídeo primero, para ver qué entendéis y luego acudir al texto para corroborar y ver las palabras escritas así como su significado.
Es un post más largo de lo habitual pero que sin dudad merece la pena. Espero que lo disfrutéis.
Un saludo.






"How to write about Africa."


Always use the word ‘Africa’ or ‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title.
Note that ‘People’ means Africans who are not black, while ‘The People’ means black Africans.


Never have a picture of a well-adjusted African on the cover of your book, or in it, unless that African has won the Nobel Prize. An AK-47, prominent ribs, naked breasts: use these. If you must include an African, make sure you get one in Masai or Zulu or Dogon dress.


In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty (polvoriento) with rolling grasslands (rastrojos) and huge herds (rebaños, manadas)of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy (húmedo) with very short people who eat primates.


Don’t get bogged down with precise descriptions (no te enredes con muchos detalles), Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too busy starving (muriéndose de hambre) and dying and warring (luchando) and emigrating to read your book. The continent is full of deserts, jungles, highlands, savannahs and many other things, but your reader doesn’t care about all that, so keep your descriptions romantic and evocative and unparticular (no específico/ concreto).


Make sure you show how Africans have music and rhythm deep in their souls, and eat things no other humans eat. Do not mention rice and beef and wheat (trigo); monkey-brain is an African's cuisine of choice, along with goat, snake, worms (gusanos) and grubs (larvas) and all manner of (todo tipo de) game meat (carne de caza). Make sure you show that you are able to eat such food without flinching (estremecerse: he didn't flinch when he heard the news, ni parpadeó al oír la noticia), and describe how you learn to enjoy it—because you care.


Taboo subjects: ordinary domestic scenes, love between Africans (unless a death is involved), references to African writers or intellectuals, mention of school-going children who are not suffering from yaws or Ebola fever or female genital mutilation.


Throughout the book, adopt a sotto voice (voz baja), in conspiracy with the reader, and a sad I-expected-so-much tone. Establish early on that your liberalism is impeccable, and mention near the beginning how much you love Africa, how you fell in love with the place and can’t live without her. Africa is the only continent you can love—take advantage of this (to profit selfishly of something/aprovecharse): If you are a man, thrust yourself (arrójate) into her warm virgin forests. If you are a woman, treat Africa as a man who wears a bush (arbustos) jacket and disappears off into the sunset. Africa is to be pitied (Africa es para sentir pena por ella), worshipped (adorada/venerada) or dominated. Whichever angle you take, be sure to leave the strong impression that without your intervention and your important book, Africa is doomed (condenada, predestinada al fracaso).


1. Your African characters may include naked warriors, loyal servants, diviners and seers (vidente, profeta), ancient wise men living in hermitic splendour. Or corrupt politicians, inept polygamous travel-guides, and prostitutes you have slept with. The Loyal Servant always behaves like a seven-year-old and needs a firm hand (ncesitan mano firme); he is scared of snakes, good with children, and always involving you in his complex domestic dramas. The Ancient Wise Man always comes from a noble tribe (not the money-grubbing tribes like the Gikuyu, the Igbo or the Shona). He has rheumy eyes (ojos legañosos) and is close to the Earth. The Modern African is a fat man who steals and works in the visa office, refusing to give work permits to qualified Westerners who really care about Africa. He is an enemy of development, always using his government job to make it difficult for pragmatic and good-hearted expats (expatriados de buen corazón) to set up NGOs or Legal Conservation Areas. Or he is an Oxford-educated intellectual turned serial-killing politician in a Savile Row suit. He is a cannibal who likes Cristal champagne, and his mother is a rich witch-doctor (hechicera) who really runs the country.


Among your characters you must always include The Starving African, who wanders (wAnder: vagar/ wOnder:preguntarse) the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the West. Her children have flies on their eyelids and pot bellies, and her breasts are flat and empty. She must look utterly helpless. She can have no past, no history; such diversions (desviación, false friend!) ruin the dramatic moment. Moans are good. She must never say anything about herself in the dialogue except to speak of her (unspeakable) suffering. Also be sure to include a warm and motherly woman who has a rolling laugh and who is concerned for your well-being. Just call her Mama. Her children are all delinquent. These characters should buzz around (to talk excitedly or incessantly) your main hero, making him look good. Your hero can teach them, bathe them (bañarlos), feed them; he carries lots of babies and has seen Death. Your hero is you (if reportage), or a beautiful, tragic international celebrity/aristocrat who now cares for animals (if fiction).


Bad Western characters may include children of Tory cabinet ministers, Afrikaners, employees of the World Bank. When talking about exploitation by foreigners mention the Chinese and Indian traders. Blame the West for Africa's situation. But do not be too specific.


Broad brushstrokes (amplias pinceladas) throughout are good. Avoid having the African characters laugh, or struggle to educate their kids, or just make do in mundane circumstances. Have them illuminate something about Europe or America in Africa. African characters should be colourful, exotic, larger than life—but empty inside, with no dialogue, no conflicts or resolutions in their stories, no depth or quirks (singularidad, peculiaridad) to confuse the cause.


Describe, in detail, naked breasts (young, old, conservative, recently raped, big, small) or mutilated genitals, or enhanced genitals. Or any kind of genitals. And dead bodies. Or, better, naked dead bodies. And especially rotting (podridos) naked dead bodies. Remember, any work you submit in which people look filthy (mugriento, roñoso) and miserable will be referred to as the ‘real Africa’, and you want that on your dust jacket. Do not feel queasy (mareado) about this: you are trying to help them to get aid from the West. The biggest taboo in writing about Africa is to describe or show dead or suffering white people.


Animals, on the other hand, must be treated as well rounded (plenamente desarrollados), complex characters. They speak (or grunt (gruñir) while tossing their manes proudly (agitan su melena/crin orgullosamente) and have names, ambitions and desires. They also have family values: see how lions teach their children? Elephants are caring (los elefantes se preocupan) and are good feminists or dignified patriarchs. So are gorillas (También los gorilas). Never, ever say anything negative about an elephant or a gorilla. Elephants may attack people’s property, destroy their crops (cultivo), and even kill them. Always take the side of the elephant. Big cats have public-school accents. Hyenas are fair game (blanco de burlas) and have vaguely Middle Eastern accents. Any short Africans who live in the jungle or desert may be portrayed with good humour (unless they are in conflict with an elephant or chimpanzee or gorilla, in which case they are pure evil).


After celebrity activists and aid workers, conservationists are Africa’s most important people. Do not offend them. You need them to invite you to their 30,000-acre game ranch or ‘conservation area’, and this is the only way you will get to interview the celebrity activist. Often a book cover with a heroic-looking conservationist on it works magic for sales (esto funciona genial para las ventas). Anybody white, tanned and wearing khaki who once had a pet antelope or a farm is a conservationist, one who is preserving Africa’s rich heritage (patrimonio). When interviewing him or her, do not ask how much funding they have; do not ask how much money they make off their game. Never ask how much they pay their employees.


Readers will be put off (disuadidos -de seguir leyendo-) if you don’t mention the light in Africa. And sunsets, the African sunset is a must (es obligatorio) . It is always big and red. There is always a big sky. Wide empty spaces and game are critical—Africa is the Land of Wide Empty Spaces. When writing about the plight (dificil situación) of flora and fauna, make sure you mention that Africa is overpopulated. When your main character is in a desert or jungle living with indigenous peoples (anybody short) it is okay to mention that Africa has been severely depopulated by Aids and War (use caps).


You’ll also need a nightclub called Tropicana, where mercenaries, evil nouveau riche Africans and prostitutes and guerrillas and expats hang out (pasar el tiempo).


Always end your book with Nelson Mandela saying something about rainbows or renaissances. Because you care

domingo, 26 de febrero de 2012

Not everyone loves classical music...

This is Rob Paravonian, a comedian, best known for his "Pachelbel Rant" which parodies the use of the chord progression from Pachelbel's Canon in many popular songs.


Feliz domingo!





- I´m a geek: freak de la informática.


- There´s no way to be cool when (No hay forma de ser guay cuando...) your instrument is bigger than you.


- The bullies just smell you coming from a mille away: los bullies (acosadores escolares) te huelen a millas.


- But I put up with (aguantar, soportar) all the abuse, because...


- I hate Pachelbel´s canon indeed, with a passion: Odio el Canon de Pachelbel de verdad, con pasión.


- it´s 8 quarter notes that we repeated over and over: son 8 notas que repetíamos una y otra vez.


-And the chelo, we got stuck with 8 loudly crappy sticky notes: y el chelo, nos quedabamos atascados en 8 ruidosas, horribles y pegadizas notas.


- ...so I got home and I thought: I´ll clear my mind (despejaré mi mente) with some folk music.


- If you´d stay away (mantenerse alejado) from the music that I love it will be better, but he won´t, he is shameless (descarado, desvergonzado).


- When I found myself in trouble: Cuando me meto en líos.

viernes, 24 de febrero de 2012

Will Smith y su sabiduría de vida.

I have a great time with my life and I want to share it...


Así empieza este vídeo que recopila la "sabiduría" de Will Smith.
¿El del principe de Bel Air?, ¿el de Men in black?. El mismo.
Resulta que además de ser un actor simpático y comprometido es un luchador nato, que nunca ha entendido el significado de la palabra "no", que por lo visto solo entiende de trabajo, voluntad y esfuerzo.
¡Que tengáis un feliz fin de semana!





- skill: habilidad, destreza, técnica, aptitudes.
skilled: cualificado, también especializado, experto, diestro en algo.
to excel: aventajar, superar.
to excel at/in something: destacar en algo.
to excel onself: lucirse.
- craft: arte, destreza, artesanía. 
- every single day: cada día.
- but if we get on a treadmill (cinta de correr, también rutina) together, there is two things: you are getting off (get off: bajarse, bajar de un transporte público) first, I´m going to die.
- Lay one brick at a time (same that "one day at a time"): to deal with things as they happen, and not to make plans or to worry about the future.
- I want to do good (not make!): quiero hacer el bien.
- delusional: ilusorio.
- Put up a barrier: poner/levantar una barrera.




Some quotes to think about...


- I want the world to be better, because I was here.


- If you are not making someone else´s life better, then you are wasting your time.


- There is no reason to have a plan B, because it distracts you from plan A.


- He who says he can and he who says he can't are both usually right, Confucius.


- Being realistic it´s the most commonly travel road to mediocrity.


- There is redemptive power that making a choice has.
Make a choice! Just decide what is going to be, who you are going to be, how you are going to do it.  And then, from that point, the universe is going to get out of your way.


- You want something? Go and get it. Period.


Me quedo con esta: Attack your fears.
Enjoy your weekend and enjoy your life!

sábado, 18 de febrero de 2012

Super bowl!

¡Muy buenos días de sábado!
Mientras preparamos un poco de teoría (que ya toca), os dejamos con esta molestísima naranja.
Enjoy your weekend!




- Hey! Watch out "Mr Grab-Your-Pants"! i don´t like being carrying around like that: Hey! Ten cuidado! No me gusta que me lleven así!


- Heeey! What the heck are you?: ¿Qué diablos eres?


- Oh no! You are not! Not in a miracle, buddie!: De eso nada, ni de broma lo eres colega!


- Yeah, newsflash, thanks!: noticia/bomba de última hora.


- Somebody didn´t take their shoes off: Alguien no se quito los zapatos.


- You are a lemon-head: bobo (slang).


- I shape like this so it´s easy to throw me: Tengo esta forma para que sea más facil lanzarme.


- Hey handball, do you have any money? Cos I want my quarter-back (Posición de jugador de football americano).
Pero aquí lo que quiere decir es "I want my quarter back" (quiero que me devuelvas mi cuarta parte).


- Can you blow bubbles with your spit?: ¿Puedes hacer pompas con saliva?


- What´s going on here? I´m the start of the superbowl and this is how I get treated?: ¿Que está pasando aquí? Soy la estrella de la Superbowl y ¿así es como me tratan?


- Superbowl (bowl de comida), is that for a really big salad?

miércoles, 15 de febrero de 2012

The brain in love.

15 de febrero, resaca post- San Valentín. Un buen momento para poner un poco de cabeza a todo este asunto del amor.


"Romantic love is an addiction: a perfectly wonderful addiction when it’s going well, and a perfectly horrible addiction when it’s going poorly.” 


Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it?
In this talk, Helen Fisher and her research team took MRIs of people in love and people who had just been dumped and share her conclusions.


Anthropologist Helen Fisher studies gender differences and the evolution of human emotions. She's best known as an expert on romantic love, our most treasured emotion.





-To be madly in love: estar locamente enamorado.
- To be dumped: ser dejado.
- To be rejected: Ser rechazado


- To face: 
1. encarar (en sentido figurado).
i.e: To face a problem
2. de cara a
i.e: The room faces the beach.


- To pine for something: sufrir/ suspirar por algo.
(Pine away: Languidecer, consumirse de añoranza).


- I would stake all for you: Me jugaría todo lo que tengo por ti.


- Surpass: superar/ To be surpassed: ser superado.


- To be torn: estar desgarrado, hecho polvo.


- My body is numb (entumecido) with grief (dolor emocional)


Parting is all we need to know of hell: Despedida, es todo lo que hemos de saber de el infierno.


- How many people around the world are dancing with elation (euforia, júbilo) at this very minute?


- Madness: locura.


- It's part of what we call the reptilian core of the brain, associated with wanting (el deseo), with motivation (la motivación), with focus ( centarse)  and with craving (ansia). 


- To crave (for) something: Tener ansia de algo, físico (a food crave) o algo inmaterial (She craves love).


- When you feel the rush of cocaine: cuando sientes el subidón de cocaína.


- But romantic love is much more than a cocaine high, at least you come down from cocaine: El amor romántico es mucho más que un colocón de cocaína, al menos el efecto de la cocaína se pasa.


- Romantic love is an obsession. It possesses you. You lose your sense of self. 


- But no, you just love them harder: pero no es así, al revés, le quieres más.


- The less my hope, the hotter my love: Cuanta menos esperanza tengo, mayor es mi amor.


- An appropriate mating partner: una pareja de apareamiento adecuada.


- Gains and losses: ganancias y pérdidas.


- Willing to take enormous risks: deseoso de asumir enormes riesgos.


- Attachment: apego.
- To feel attached: sentirse apegado.


- No wonder (con razón) people suffer around the world, and we have so many crimes of passion. 


- When you've been rejected in love, not only are you engulfed with (envuelto con) feelings of romantic love


- Foremost (lo primero, más importante, destacado), I have come to think (he llagado a pensar, he consluído) that romantic love is a drive (impulso, instinto).


- To distort reality: distorsionar la realidad. 


- Withdrawals: retirada, renuncia.
- Relapse: recaída.


- She had to pull over from the side of the road: tuvo que aparacar a un lado de la carretera.


- Too scruffy: desaliñado, dejado.


- To be picky: quisquilloso (eligiendo).


- People have often asked me whether what I know about love has spoiled it for me: La gente me ha preguntado a menudo si lo que sé sobre el amor, me lo ha fastidiado/ estropedo.


- There's one thing that makes me pursue (perseguir) my understanding of human nature, 


- So my final statement (afirmación) is: love is in us. It's deeply embedded in the brain. Our challenge is to understand each other.




"The god of love lives in a state of need. It is a need. It is an urge. It is a homeostatic imbalance (desequilibrio). Like hunger (hambre) and thirst(sed), it's almost impossible to stamp out (con el que es imposible acabar, sofocar, controlar)", Plato.

domingo, 12 de febrero de 2012

The greatest love of all...

...it´s the one you can find inside you.
Teach the children well and they´ll lead the way.


Tristemente es hoy noticia esta gran voz.
Os dejo una de sus mejores canciones en mi opinión.
Un gran mensaje.
Feliz Domingo.







Greatest love of all.


I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
(enseñadle bien y dejadles guiar el camino)


Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be
(Dejad que sus sonrisas os recuerden como solíais ser)


Everybody´s searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
(la gente necesita a alguien a quien admirar)


I never found anyone to fulfill my needs
(Nunca encontré a nadie que cubriera mis necesidades)


A lonely place to be
So I learned to depend on me


I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I live as I believe
(Hace un tiempo decidí, no caminar bajo en las sombras de nadie nunca más.
si fallo, si tengo éxito, 
al menos estaré viviendo como creo que he de hacerlo)


No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
(no pueden quitarme mi dignidad)


Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
(es fácil de conseguir)


Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all


I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be


And if by chance, that special place
That you've been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love

martes, 7 de febrero de 2012

Easy come, easy go...

Espero disculpen la osadía, pero me ha apetecido estirar la frase del día y de paso incluir un recurso nuevo: las letras de canciones en inglés.


Estas resultan útiles en el sentido de que, al tener que expresar lo máximo con un ajustado número de palabras, reflejan perfectamente la esencia del inglés: el ir al grano (go straight to the point), lo gráfico y concreto de sus expresiones, y su aficción por usar el mínimo número de palabras posibles:


-¿para que te voy a enviar un email if I can email you?
-¿para qué voy a buscarte en facebook if I can just facebook you?
-¿para qué te voy a buscar en Google, if I can Google you?


...Y así...hasta infinito. Los ingleses son muy fans de convertir nombres en verbos para abreviar, y de llamar a las cosas por su nombre:


- raincoat.
-doorstop.


Bueno al tema, que me desvio (como buena española). Os dejo la letra de Easy come, easy go de George Strait para que repasemos/ aprendamos algunas expresiones:










Says she's had enough of me, I've had enough of her too. 
(Dice que ha tenido suficiente de mí, yo he tenido suficiente de ella también).


I might as well go on and set her free, she's already turned me loose. 
(Might as well: Indicates that it is probably better to do something than not to do it.
Set someone free: liberarle, dejarle ir).


No fault, no blame, nobody done no wrong- 
(Blame: culpar).


That's just the way it sometimes goes. 
Sometimes two people just don't get along, it's time to hit the road. 
(To get along: llevarse bien/ Don´t get along: no llevarse bien).


Goodbye, farewell, so long, vaya con Dios.
Good luck, wish you well, take it slow. 
(Buena suerte, deseo que te vaya bien, tomátelo con calma).


Easy come girl, easy go. 
(Chica que facilmente viniste, facilmente vete).


We tried to work it out a hundred times, ninety- nine it didn't work. 
(Intentamos hacerlo funcionar...).


I think it's best we put it all behind before we wind up getting hurt. 
(Creo que es mejor dejarlo todo atrás, antes de que terminemos haciéndonos daño).


No hard feelings darling, no regrets, 
(Sin malos rollos, sin arrepentimientos).


No tears and no broken hearts. 
Call it quits, calling off all bets, it just wasn't in the cards. 
(Hagamos las paces/pelillos a la mar, cancela todas las apuestas, simplemente no estaba escrito en las cartas (destino)).


Goodbye, farewell, so long, vaya Con Dios. 
Good luck, wish you well, take it slow. 
Easy come girl, easy go. 


Easy come girl, easy go. 
vaya Con Dios, good luck, 
Easy come, easy go. 

domingo, 5 de febrero de 2012

What´s the weather like?


Hi everyone! 
Due to the severe weather conditions we are undergoing (sufriendo, experimentando) these days, I thought this was an appropiate issue to address. Just in case you bump into (encontrarse a alguien) an English person in the elevator, they are known for being such a weather-speaking lovers.
Let´s start with this video where you can:


1. listen live to these weather expressions
2. check the spelling at the end of the video
3. check the meaning if you keep reading this article.


Nothing more to add, I hope you are all having a nice/ warm/ indoors Sunday.




- To ask about the weather.


What's the forecast (like): ¿cuál es/qué dice el parte meteorológico?.


it's forecast to rain: se preveen lluvias.
it's going to freeze tonight: va a helar esta noche.

it looks like rain: parece que va a llover.
it looks like it's going to rain: parece que va a llover.
we're expecting a thunderstorm: se espera una fuerte tormenta.

it's supposed to clear up later: se supone que se va a despejar en un rato.



- What's the weather like?
(¿qué tiempo hace?)

it's ...
sunny: soleado.
bright/shiny: brillante/ alegre/ bonito/ radiante/ con mucha luz.
dull: gris/ feo.
cloudy: nublado.
windy: ventoso (fuerte).
breezy: ventoso (flojo)/ hace aire/ brisita.
crisp: hace aire frío.
chilly: hace fresco.
foggy: hace niebla.
stormy: hace tiempo tormentoso.
rainy: lluvioso.
dry: seco (no lluvioso).


it's ...
raining: lloviendo.
hailing: granizando.
snowing: nevando.




- In order of strength:


The rain can be heavy (fuerte)/ hail (granizo)/ just rain/ scattered showers (chubascos dispersos) or drizzle (llovizna/ agualluvia).


The snow can be heavy snow/ just snow or sleet (aguanieve).






- To talk about the weather.


what a nice/beautiful day!
(¡qué día tan bonito hace!).


it's not a very nice day: no hace muy buen día.
what a terrible/horrible day!: ¡hace un día terrible/horrible!.
miserable weather!: ¡hace un tiempo horrible!.


it's starting to rain: está empezando a llover.
it's stopped raining: ha parado de llover.
it's pouring (with rain): está lloviendo muy fuerte.
it's raining cats and dogs: están lloviendo chuzos de punta.

the weather's fine: hace buen tiempo.
the weather is nice/ pleasant: el tiempo es bueno/ agradable.
the sun's shining: está luciendo el sol.

there's not a cloud in the sky: el cielo está completamente despejado.
the sky's overcast: el cielo está cubierto de nubes.
it's clearing up: se está despejando.
the sun's come out: el sol ha salido


there's a strong wind: hace un viento muy fuerte.
the wind's dropped: el viento ha remitido.






- What's the temperature?
(¿qué temperatura hace?)

it's 24°C ("twenty-two degrees"): hace 22°C.
temperatures are in the mid-20s: la temperatura está en torno a los 20 grados.

it's ...
baking hot: hace un calor horrible.
hot: hace calor.
warm: hace un tiempo suave/ templado.
mild: hace un tiempo suave/ templado/ beningno.
freezing: está congelando.
freezing cold: hace un frío de muerte.

jueves, 2 de febrero de 2012

The paradox of choice.

Muy buenos y fríos días!


En este fantástico jueves os dejo esta conferencia de TED.com: The paradox of choice. 
Una charla muy interesanten sobre la sobre-exposición de estímulos a la que estamos sometidos en esta, la era de la comunicación. 


About this talk: Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at (apunta) a central tenet (principio) of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied.








- The official dogma runs like this (va así):


-...then each of us can act on our own to do the things that will maximize our welfare, and no one has to decide on our behalf (en nuestro propio interés, por nosotros).


- This, I think, is so deeply imbedded (metido) in the water supply that it wouldn’t occur to anyone to question it.


- And if by some/any chance (y si por algún motivo) you haven’t seen that in your store yet, you can rest assured that one day soon you will (puedes descansar tranquilo que pronto lo verás).


- And the result is- we call it patient autonomy, which makes it sound like a good thing, but what it really is is a shifting of the burden  and the responsibility for decision making (es un traspaso de la carga y responsabilidad en la toma de decisión)  from somebody who knows something, namely the doctor (por ejemplo un médico), to somebody who knows nothing, and is almost certainly sick, and thus (por tanto) not in the best shape to be making decisions, namely the patient.


- Nowadays, everything is very much up for grabs (available for anyone to obtain, claim or win).


- All of these are consuming questions. (preguntas absorbentes, que te consumen el tiempo).


- Why? Because with 50 funds to choose from, it’s so damn hard to decide which fund to choose, that you’ll just put it off till tomorrow (posponer algo, dejarlo para el día siguiente).


-...this mean that people are gonna have to eat dog food when they retire because they don’t have enough money put away (ahorrado).


- The second effect is that even if we manage to overcome the paralysis (sobreponernos a la parálisis) and make a choice, we end up (terminaremos) less satisfied with the result of the choice then we would be if we had fewer options to choose from.


- And he spends two weeks nagged by the idea (fastidiado por la idea) that he is missing the opportunity, day after day, to have a great parking space.


- My jaw dropped (to cause great surprise or astonishment).


- Adding options to people’s lives can’t help but increase the expectations people have about how good those options will be. And what that’s gonna produce is less satisfaction with results, even when they’re good results.


- The reason that everything was better back when everything was worse, is that when everything was worse, it was actually possible for people to have experiences that were a pleasant surprise (una sorpresa agradable).


- With a hundred different kinds of jeans on display (en el expositor), there is no excuse for failure.


- I’m pretty confident that we have long since past the point where options improve our welfare (Creo firmemente que hace tiempo que hemos pasado el punto donde más opciones mejoraban nuestro bienestar).
- these expensive, complicated choices, it’s not simply that they don’t help, they actually hurt. They actually make us worse off.


(To be better/ worse off: estar mejor/peor así)