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April 05 Affiliate Newsletter Volume 2 Issue 4


Welcome to the April LearnSpanishToday.com Affiliate Newsletter!

Hi,

We had a big milestone this month. We had our first affiliate make over $500 in commission. This wasn't just a new super affiliate coming in making a bunch of initial sales either. This was an affiliate who has been with us for awhile, who's sales have gradually been going up month after month.

If you would like to check your affiliate account for your commission total for this month go to:
http://www.learnspanishtoday.com/cmd.php?cmd=login.

If you don't remember your username and password
E-mail me brock@learnspanishtoday.com, and I'll get them to you.

This issue:
1. Top 10
2. Affiliate tip!
 3. New Affiliate Content

Top 10

Here are last month's top 10 affiliate earners:

Top 10 Affiliates in March '05:
Commissions Earned (USD)
1. $578.31
2. $338.83
3. $218.06
4. $216.19
5. $198.17
6. $153.68
7. $135.70
8. $135.54
9. $132.34
10. $123.34

Affiliate Tip of the Month!

Affiliate Training

I've spent the last few weeks creating email trainings for our new affiliates as they join the program. These five trainings delve into all the major features of the program including: The Affiliate Resource Center, The Affiliate Module, Newsletter Links, Sales Patterns and Fraud. I wanted all current affiliates to also have access to these trainings, for reference on a new aspect of the program you'd like to implement or just to make sure your taking full advantage of all the resource available to you. The trainings are found on the bottom of the affiliate newsletter archive page. Here is the link: learnspanishtoday.com/affnewsletter.htm.

New Affiliate Content

Newsletter Ad

If you have a newsletter here is a great little Spanish lesson for you to add to your next issue:

learn Spanish Embarrassed or Pregnant?

By Dave Clark
Visual Link Spanish

You can't always translate phrases directly from English to Spanish and expect to get them right or make sense. By the same token, you can't take words that sound the same in both languages and suppose that they have the same meaning.

There is a heavy duty term used in the language learning world called "cognate." A cognate is a word that looks similar in English and Spanish and has the same meaning in both languages. For example, the word "irregular" in Spanish and English is spelled the same, has the same meaning, and has similar pronunciation. It is a cognate. There are many words in Spanish and English that are cognates and many words that are false cognates. A false cognate is a word that looks the same in both languages, sounds similar, but has a different meaning. You have to watch out for "false cognates" in Spanish because they can really get you into trouble. Let me give you an example of this.

The English word "embarrassed" sounds and looks a lot like the Spanish word "embarazada." Many people learning Spanish think it has the same meaning. However, the Spanish word "embarazada" actually means "pregnant!" Let me tell you -- there is a big difference between being "pregnant" and being "embarrassed." The following story will illustrate this fact and hopefully make you aware of "false cognates" so you don't have problems with them.

A large crowd had gathered together in an auditorium to hear a lecture. There were some native Spanish speakers, who were dignitaries, sitting on the stage. An American woman had been invited to address the audience as a guest speaker. As she began speaking, she introduced herself, and then to break the ice, she pointed to the person on the stage who had invited her to speak and said in Spanish, "I'm 'embarazada' and it's his fault." She meant to say "I'm embarrassed and it's his fault," but what she actually said was "I'm 'pregnant' and it's his fault." The crowd gasped and everyone was in shock. You can imagine how she must of felt afterward when she found out what she had really said.

This is a very drastic example, but it shows the importance of knowing that "false cognates" exist. Learning them will help you avoid cultural faux-pas, and embarrassment.

¡Buena suerte! (Good luck!)


Copyright © 1999-2005 US Institute of Languages All rights reserved.


If you would like a customize version of this article for your newsletter or just for a page on your site, let me know and I will customize one for you with your affiliate ID brock@learnspanishtoday.com.
Feedback

That's it for this month. Please let me know if you have suggestions, or if I can help with anything.

Take care,

Brock M. Hadley
US Institute of Languages
Affiliate Director
www.learnspanishtoday.com
brock@learnspanishtoday.com
Toll Free-866-977-2647

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©2005 U.S. Institute of Languages