Avoiding Spanish Interference
Many Galicians also speak Spanish, so Spanish words slip into Galician. Standard Galician keeps its own forms: grazas, entón, ademais, despois, ata, pois.
How It Works
Common pairs
- grazas, not gracias (thank you)
- entón, not entonces (then, so)
- ademais, not además (also, besides)
- despois, not después (after, afterwards)
- ata, not hasta (until, as far as)
- pois, not pues (well, so)
- logo or despois, not luego (later, then)
Why it happens
Most Galicians are bilingual, and these words look almost the same in both languages. That makes them easy to mix. Note that hasta does exist in Galician, but only as a noun meaning a pole (as in a hasta da bandeira, the flagpole) or an animal’s horn, never as the preposition until.
More than single words
Interference also affects gender (o leite, not a leite; see gender differences), pronoun position (lévote, not te levo) and verb forms. Grammar patterns are covered in Spanish-influenced grammar.
Examples (6)
- Moitas grazas pola axuda.
Thank you very much for the help.
- Entón, quedamos ás cinco?
So, shall we meet at five?
- Traballa nun banco e ademais dá clases de inglés.
She works in a bank and also teaches English classes.
- Primeiro comemos e despois imos á praia.
First we eat and afterwards we go to the beach.
- Agardo por ti ata as seis.
I will wait for you until six.
- Pois eu non o sabía.
Well, I did not know.
Common Mistakes
Saying gracias instead of grazas.
Moitas gracias pola axuda.Moitas grazas pola axuda.Grazas is the Galician word for thanks.
Using the Spanish además.
Además, é moi barato.Ademais, é moi barato.The Galician word is ademais.
Using hasta as the preposition until.
Estarei aquí hasta as oito.Estarei aquí ata as oito.Galician says ata for until. Hasta is only a noun, meaning a pole or a horn.
Related Patterns
- grazas / por favor / de nadaPlease and Thank You
Introduces grazas and other basic courtesy words.
Level 1 - ademais / en cambio / pola contraEveryday Connectors
Shows how ademais links ideas in a sentence.
Level 4 - poisPois: Well, Then or Because
Explains the uses of pois, the Galician word for well or so.
Level 4 - Gender Differences From Spanish
Another common area of Spanish interference: noun gender.
Level 2 - Spanish-Influenced Grammar to Avoid
Covers Spanish interference in grammar rather than in words.
Level 5 - ata / desde / entre / sobre / cara aMore Prepositions: Ata, Desde, Entre and Sobre
Teaches ata as the preposition until.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice Avoiding Spanish Interference in Bubblegum
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