The text illustrates:
The text illustrates:
The ways Mexicans tell time
Understanding this takes not a fluency in the language but rather a fluency in Mexican culture.
Mexicans are famous in the Spanish-speaking world for their extensive use of the diminutive. While in most Spanish-speaking
countries the addition of the diminutive ‘ita’ to an adverb like ahora (meaning ‘now’) would strengthen it to indicate immediacy (i.e.
‘right now’), this is not the case in Mexico. Dr Company explained that Mexicans instead use the diminutive form to break down the
space between the speaker and the listener and lessen formality. In this case of ‘ahorita’, the addition of the diminutive reduces
urgency rather than increasing it – a difference that can be extremely confusing for foreigners.
(Disponível:<http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170725-the-confusing-way-mexicans-tell-time>.
Adaptado. Acesso: 26 de julho de 2017.)
The ways Mexicans tell time
Understanding this takes not a fluency in the language but rather a fluency in Mexican culture.
Mexicans are famous in the Spanish-speaking world for their extensive use of the diminutive. While in most Spanish-speaking countries the addition of the diminutive ‘ita’ to an adverb like ahora (meaning ‘now’) would strengthen it to indicate immediacy (i.e. ‘right now’), this is not the case in Mexico. Dr Company explained that Mexicans instead use the diminutive form to break down the space between the speaker and the listener and lessen formality. In this case of ‘ahorita’, the addition of the diminutive reduces urgency rather than increasing it – a difference that can be extremely confusing for foreigners.
(Disponível:<http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170725-the-confusing-way-mexicans-tell-time>
