Have you ever been to Cuba? If so, then it is quite likely that while there, you were greeted by a Cuban who proceeded to ask where your family was from. This is because in Cuba, every person has what’s called a “last name” (which is also the name of their father). While these last names are usually pretty straightforward and easy for foreigners to pronounce when they see them written down in Spanish (examples: Gonzalez or Diaz), the pronunciation can be tricky for native English speakers. In this blog post I will outline 14 mistakes that people make with Cuban last names – some of which might even leave your mouth agape!
Gonzalez. Pronounced “gohns.” The Spanish word for John is Juan, but in Cuba the J sound gets omitted and so it’s pronounced as gahnz instead of jahns.
Diaz. Pronounced “deeze” or sometimes even with a silent D like Dahys (pronounce that Doehs). This last name originates from Spain – where we say Deez, because they don’t have to deal with an American English accent! These two examples show how pronunciation changes can happen after generations of living in another country altogether.
This post was written by Gina Gorman who lives on the west coast of Florida near Tampa Bay: blog content writer at Zippy.
Garcia. Pronounced “gahrk ah.” You may have heard this one pronounced like “garsee” or even with a silent G as in Grossman, but the correct pronunciation is actually how it’s spelled – Garcia! It comes from Spanish and they pronounce their vowels differently than we do so that could account for some of the confusion.
Italicized text shows what to delete if you’re shortening your article for publication online; just leave these blank lines where appropriate when you edit your article into its shorter form. If there are any questions about this, just ask!
Garcia. Pronounced “gahrk ah”. You may have heard this one pronounced like “garsee” or even with a silent G as in Grossman, but the correct pronunciation is actually how it’s spelled – Garcia! It comes from Spanish and they pronounce their vowels differently than we do so that could account for some of the confusion.
If you’re writing long form content instead of shortening your article to only include bullet points here are some guidelines:First sentence should introduce topic and conclusion paragraph should summarize what was discussed at length in the body paragraphs below.# A blog post title isn’t necessarily always two sentences:# It can be a one sentence introduction followed by a concluding paragraph.
If you’re using bullet points to shorten your article here are some guidelines:
Main idea, main point should always be the first entry in list of bullets.# There is no need for introductory sentences or conclusion paragraphs at the end.# If there’s a numbered list that follows each other without any explanation it means they can follow on with another number sentence and not needing an extra line between them. *Use numbers appropriately throughout to make it easier for online readers to navigate.*
Some bullet points can be at the start of a paragraph. It means it will continue talking about what is being discussed in detail below.*
Use numbers appropriately throughout to make it easier for online readers to navigate. *Some bullet points can be at the start of a paragraph, which means that they’ll talk about what’s been said below and then mention more information or examples on why this point matters.# First sentence shouldn’t always have an explanation.# Sometimes you need just one sentence as your introduction, followed by other paragraphs discussing this same subject matter with different angles and viewpoints.# The conclusion should summarize everything within the article so people know how things end up after reading through all these details. ~~The conclusions are meant not only to summarize the article but also to summarize what you are telling your reader.
Make sure that all of your paragraphs have a topic sentence, and more than one sentence per paragraph. It’s not enough for people just to read through this with no idea where you’re taking them or why they should continue reading. They need reassurance that it will be worth their time.# Don’t make readers feel like they’re lost in an introduction because there is too much detail without any direction as to how those details relate back to the main point being discussed. You can still explore many different perspectives on the same subject matter while making sure everything has relevance at some level by following these guidelines.* **Keep in mind that each paragraph needs its own conclusion so it’s not just a bunch of random thoughts.
Use the first sentence to introduce your main point and then go on from there, linking each paragraph back to the topic sentence in some way. This will help readers know what you’re getting at by providing context that is relevant to what they’ve read before without going too far off course with only tangential observations about related topics.* ~~It also helps clarify for them where you’re coming from as an author so they can make more informed decisions about whether or not it aligns with their own perspectives.# If someone doesn’t like one perspective on any given subject matter, there should be another viewpoint offered up which provides balance and complements the information we already have.* ^^That way, readers are able to feel like they’re making decisions that have been thoughtfully considered and not just arbitrarily made.
The first step is always the hardest. I’ll never forget my father’s words when he told me it was time for me to go on without him – “Live your life free of regrets.” As long as you know what you don’t want in a partner or friend, then there should be no confusion about who will complete your world.# However, sometimes people can get so bogged down with all the things they may end up regretting if they didn’t say something or do something that their list gets longer than reality allows them to find true love.* ^^It becomes more difficult because this person needs someone who understands and accepts them for who they are, not because of what they look like or how much money their family has.
It is important to be honest with yourself and the people around you so that you can find someone else who will love you just as unconditionally.#
What do I want in a partner? Someone who understands me more than anyone else knows me – someone who sees the real person behind all my flaws.* ^^More importantly, this one thing needs to go both ways: each time we realize there’s something about ourselves we wish was different, it should always remind us why our partner loves us despite those faults.* ^^I’ve accepted myself for everything I am; from the good days when I feel confident enough to show the world myself, to my not-so-favourable days when I can’t seem to do anything right. * ^^It is important for me in a partner someone who accepts me for everything that I am; from the good days when I feel confident enough to show the people around me and most importantly, myself – those moments where we don’t know how much time has passed because all you need is them next to you.* But on other days, it’s also just as important they accept these less favourable parts of me too: those moments where sometimes even getting out of bed seems like an insurmountable task or sitting down at your computer makes your brain hurt more than usual.# I