Is there a Spanish expression for "home town"...as in, "Chicago is my home town?"

Also, these days I see news articles on shoppers looking for "las especiales." I keep telling my students that Spanish doesn't use adjectives as nouns, but seeing this appear frequently makes me wonder if this expression is now mainstream and not just border usage. Is it common to hear something like "Voy de compras en busca de las especiales?"

Hi la maestra! I probably have no business sticking my nose in here since I'm not fluent in Spanish so I invite ALL others to give their educated opinions on this topic.

Seems to me that in Spain "mi pueblo" is most often used when talking about ones home town, whether it be a small village or a big city. But this usually doesn't describe the past home town, a place of ones childhood before moving to the big city, for example.

As for "las especiales", I'm going to guess that this is a kind of spanglishized word in Spanish speaking parts of the USA, but I could be wrong (yet again! ). I think in Spain they mainly use "¡OFERTA!" or "Voy de compras en buscar de las ofertas", which would be SALES or temporarily discounted things in stores. (I describe the word SALE here because some of my non-fluent-in-English Spaniard friends see the word "SALE" and some think it simply means "to sell" and not that it's a discounted item).

"Las Especiales" might be perfectly correct for Latin America (& Spanish-speaking USA), but we all know of the sometimes unexpected differences and pitfalls of comparing "The King's Spanish" with Latin American Spanish.

I have to laugh at myself when I attempt such things. These "observations" of mine are only from Spain and my memory isn't the best so I invite all others to educate us all. Thanks!

Saludos, MadridMan (who's giving MORE serious thought to a new forum for Teachers/Students/Education-related topics)

When I refer to my home town I usually make it a compound: 'es mi hogar, mi pueblo.'

MadridMan was right on in reference to Sales.
What we know as Sales are normally referred to as 'Ofertas,' not especiales. Sometimes the two words are used in combination (i.e., Ofertas especiales). I don't know what the salespeople in Spain will think when you ask about especiales.

[ 11-24-2001: Message edited by: Eddie ]

simple forum update here..

Hi Maestra;

Both MMan and Eddie are right about the 'mi pueblo' o 'el pueblo' expressions:

-ESTE PUENTE(long weekend) ME VOY AL PUEBLO.-

About the other one, 'las especiales', I don't know ....sales are ofertas, descuentos, o REBAJAS. I can only think of 'el especial del día' o 'el especial de la casa', expressions used at restaurants, or food-related shops. Or as Eddie says: rebajas/ofertas/descuentos especiales.

[ 11-25-2001: Message edited by: pim ]

Another forum update here... sorry. Last one.

Hola La Maestra,

There is no exact translation for the term "hometown" in Spanish. Pim, MM and Eddie are correct about referring to "mi pueblo",if it is a small town or "mi ciudad" if it is a big town. That distinction was brought to my attention some years ago when I was in Cordoba and made the mistake of telling a local what a beautiful "pueblo" Cordoba was, he looked at me offended and said "senorita Ud. dira que Cordoba es una linda ciudad!" "Miss you must mean that Cordoba is a beautiful city!"

The term "especiales" is without a doubt a case of Spanglish,or as the RAE calls it an "Americanismo," like "parquear" for estacionar. The New Edition of the Real Academia is just out and I will be picking up my set in Madrid at El Corte Ingles. This set is doubling the number of "americanismos," of the previous edition, so maybe we may find if the term has been added.

Booklady

Booklady, I'm probably totally wrong, but I think the context in which you speak of Córdoba as a "ciudad" and not a "pueblo" above is different from "my hometown as "mi pueblo". I've heard Spaniards refer to Barcelona as "mi pueblo" in only referring to it as their place of residence even though, clearly, Barcelona is a city.

MM, I like the forum update! Education and language is SO much better than General Chatter for these questions!

Thank you all for "mi pueblo."

Booklady, if you find that "las especiales" has become an acceptable/understood term, please let me know!! I do my best to keep Spanglish out of the essays I assign (though I have to admit to using 'mesabanco' for 'pupitre'!), but when I see the blasted thing in our newspaper I feel obligated to check the usage out! Given the fact that language is a living, growing thing and that there are more variations on language and vocabulary than I could possibly keep up with, having all you MMMB folks out there to help me is INVALUABLE! (Hmmm....I guess I should have put you on my list of things I'm thankful for this holiday season )

MMan, you're not wrong at all.
Why do we say 'el pueblo' when referring maybe to Valencia or Zaragoza(not small villages)?, I think it's a way to really be saying: 'I'm going back to my roots'. There's a popular song that goes:

"Me voy p'al pueblo, hoy es mi día, voy a alegrar toda la alma mía,..."
NOTE: it's really EL alma, but for the rhyme purpose they make it feminine.

Also, when talking casually, among people that knows you quite well, one can just say: 'Este fin de semana me voy a casa/a mi casa'. And they'll know that you're spending the weekend in your hometown.
I guess for (many)Spaniards our parents'homes, will always be nuestras casas too somehow!

BTW,
MMan, thanks for your mail. My Ohioan pal Dorene has become a member as I knew she would!