Spanish C2 · Day 16
Day 16: Protestas diplomáticas entre cancillerías — Emphasis through end-weight: heavy phrases to the right (part 1)
What you'll learn
- Grammar: Emphasis through end-weight: heavy phrases to the right (part 1)
- Reading: La cortesía del reproche
- Try it yourself
Every lesson: vocabulary with audio, grammar, reading, a speaking step and a short test.
Grammar point: Emphasis through end-weight: heavy phrases to the right (part 1)
At C2, end-weight is a way to rank competing claims, not simply to vary sentence endings. In protests between ministries, moving a heavy phrase to the end can establish what the judgement asserts while leaving its substance for later: "Ayer entregó la embajadora una nota por el allanamiento; hoy exigió la cancillería una rectificación pública." The parallel endings establish two contrastive foci. Neither ending …
Key vocabulary (8 of 20 words)
- la nota de protesta – formal diplomatic note of protest
- la gestión diplomática – formal diplomatic representation or intervention
- la reserva de reconocimiento – reservation of recognition
- el no reconocimiento – non-recognition
- el efecto prejudicial – effect of prejudging an issue or creating a precedent
- la reserva de derechos – formal reservation of one's legal position
- el mutismo diplomático – diplomatic silence where an objection might reasonably be expected; specialist term
- la nota verbal – formal diplomatic note conventionally written in the third person
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