What is Vale? (EP 23)
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What is Vale? (EP 23)
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This episode is devoted to a single, four-letter word that you'll hear a LOT in Spain: vale. What does it mean, when is it used, and why is the answer … just about all the time for anything? This episode traces the full arc of vale, from its Latin roots meaning "be well," through its centuries as a formal Spanish farewell, and into its modern role as the Spanish equivalent of "okay."
Along the way: the mid-20th century shift in meaning, the furious linguist who called out its "coarsened, repetitive hammering," and the moment the Real Academia Española made the deliberate choice to formalize vale over the English import. Plus the geographic divide between Spain and Latin America, the mechanics of ¿vale?, ya vale, and the three-word phone goodbye that compresses an entire conversation into six syllables.
If you want more about Spain:
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