¡Vamos a chambear! Let´s work / 5 minutes of Spanish + Podcast- English version

 

La chamba

Hello, how are you?

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening depending on where you are or what time you are listening to us.

 If you want the Spanish version click here

Thank you very much for being here participating in this podcast about Spanish, a language that we love and that today summons us.

 

You already know us, don't you? We are Malena and Eduardo, Spanish for foreigners teachers at Spanish in Cabo and SpanishUp2U. If you want to improve your relationship with Spanish, click here and discover how in a short time you will be able to speak much better.

 

And have fun at the same time. Also, you can consult us for trips, not only in Mexico, but all over the world. Would you like to improve your Spanish while traveling in Latin America?

 

How about traveling with your family and surprise everyone because you can communicate with the locals? Can you imagine the admiration of your family? Holidays are ideal for traveling, besides

 

Exactly and May starts with a holiday, because on May 1st, we celebrate Labor Day in all Spanish-speaking countries. It is an important holiday.

 

So today in this Podcast 148 (one hundred and forty eight) we are going to talk about work. In Mexico labor activity is called: la chamba (work).

 

We say, for example:

As soon as I finish my work I'm going to the beach.

Or I have to go to my work ( chamba) early

Also, I love my chamba

Not everyone says that, but we do                           

Exactly, we love our chamba, thanks for listening and of course for the comments.

 

Where does the word "chamba" come from?

In Mexico, it is believed that it comes from Chamber of commerce, it is that in the 1940's Mexican braceros worked in the U.S. fields in agricultural tasks and when their contract was over they went to the local Chamber of Commerce to apply for new work. They were people with little formal education, so in their broken English they would say: "Voy a la chamba o voy a la Chamber" (I'm going to work or I'm going to the Chamber). I'm going to Chamber of Commerce.

Was there a labor agreement in those years between the two countries?

Yes, a treaty between the U.S. and Mexican governments, since labor force was needed, given the U.S. participation in World War II.  This agreement lasted from 1942 to 1964.

So this word did not exist until 1940?

Actually, according to the Royal Academy of the Spanish language (RAE) the word chamba appears in dictionaries of the XlX Century, it comes from the Portuguese chambao, from there come words like chambón (unskilled) or chiripa, casualty.

For example, I passed the exam by chance, I had not studied seriously.

You never passed an exam by chance, but anyway, chiripa is luck. So chamba could come from chambao, chiripa, which come from Portuguese.

It is probable that this word has two origins, one complements the other. In the chamber you also had to be lucky, not everyone was selected.

These words with ch come from African, it is logical, in Brazil the Portuguese trafficked many slaves.

In other words, it is another word of African origin.

Like many words in Spanish chamba has its verb_ chambear and its adjective_ chambeador-.

I go to chamba / Im going to work

He is a chambeador boy- He´s hardworker

We want to chambear, join SpanishUp2U and ask us for lots of podcasts, we like to chambear.

What about you, do you want to chambear in a fun way and master Spanish, click here and you will see how you can do it almost without realizing it and at your own pace?

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See you soon,

 

bye, bye