Ecuador’s Marriage Equality Ruling
Ecuador’s government has reached a decision to allow same-sex marriage marking the 50th anniversary of the gay equality movement.
Ecuador’s Marriage Equality Ruling
Ecuador’s government has reached a decision to allow same-sex marriage marking the 50th anniversary of the gay equality movement.
Five of nine judges in Ecuador’s top court on Wednesday ruled in favor of two gay couples who sued after their request to be married was denied by the country’s civil registry and is the 27th country to allow same-sex marriage with the move coming during the annual gay Pride month.
In 1998, Ecuador became one of the first countries in the world to constitutionally ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. Since 2008, civil unions with all of the rights of marriage (except for adoption) have been available to same-sex couples. Additionally, transgender people under the 2016 Gender Identity Law may change their legal gender solely based on self-determination, without undergoing surgery. Ecuador is also one of the few countries in the world to have banned conversion therapy.
“Whenever there’s progress, there’s always steps backwards,” said Neela Ghoshal, senior researcher in the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch.
We hope that you enjoyed learning about Ecuador’s Marriage Equality Ruling! What are your thoughts on the progress concerning marriage equality in Ecuador? Join the conversation below!
Taiwan's Spanish Celebration
Taiwan celebrated it’s very first "Spanish Day" in Taipei honoring the world's second-most-spoken language and its cultural heritage…
Taiwan's Spanish Celebration
This past March, Taiwan celebrated it’s very first "Spanish Day" in Taipei honoring the world's second-most-spoken language and its cultural heritage, as well as raise interest among local high school students in learning Spanish.
Photo: CNA
Paraguay, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic round out the roster of the campaign initiated by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Taipei to instigate the day. The project to promote Spanish started six months ago, which also won support from representative offices from countries such as Chile, Peru, Mexico and the United States. According to the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, there are about 2,500 students with Spanish as their major in universities in Taiwan, with a further 2,000 students taking it as a second foreign language course.
Although interest in learning Spanish is growing in Taiwan's higher education system there remains a gap to fill among high school students. Considering that the world's Spanish-speaking population is nearly 548 million people, the popularity of the language has not yet received the desired amount of attention in Taiwan's high schools compared with European languages such as French and German.
Photo: Songshanculturalpark.org
The celebration hosted at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park offered an array of cultural events including a Spanish speaking contest, screenings of Spanish-language movies and performances of art and dance.
We hope you've enjoyed learning about Taiwan's Spanish Celebration! What are your thoughts on the campaign to promote the Spanish language by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce? Join the conversation below!
6 Spanish Words Adapted from English You Must Know!
We’ve put together a list of a few words that the Spanish have adopted for when traditional Spanish doesn’t quite cut it. To a native English speaker they sound familiar yet still slightly strange…
6 Spanish Words Adapted from English You Must Know!
While the French and Italians may spend more time than their linguistic counterparts being outwardly vocal about the preservation of their native tongue, the Spanish language is always evolving as well (much to the dismay of the Royal Spanish Academy who has launched their own campaign to slow the change). As globalization continues to become more prevalent, the “englishification” of the Spanish language has been on the rise. We’ve put together a list of a few words that the Spanish have adopted for when traditional Spanish doesn’t quite cut it. Keep in mind that these are slang terms that have been adapted to mean something entirely different than their original English meaning. So, to a native English speaker, they will sound familiar all the while sounding slightly strange. Here are 6 that you must know!
Footing - jogging (hacer footing would mean to 'go jogging')
Parking - used to refer to a car park or parking lot
Crack - used to describe someone who's great at doing something - essentially a compliment!
Gin-tonic the Spanish have adopted the English name for the refreshing alcoholic beverage and just dropped the 'and' in the middle.
El office - a pantry or utility room.
Smoking - this term has been adopted specifically in Spain to mean ‘black tie’ and is alternatively spelled 'un esmoquin'.
We hope you've enjoyed learning about 6 Spanish Words Adapted from English You Must Know! Interested in delving even further into the Spanish language? Our culturally infused group classes taught by native instructors can improve your fluency faster than you may have ever thought possible! Click below to learn more!