English Tips for Spanish Lawyers (viii)

Por Nick Potter

 

In this series we look at real-life examples of the most common mistakes in English by native Spanish lawyers. These and lots more invaluable tips are available in a new e-book/paperback, here: 50 English Tips for Spanish Professionals.

Specially or especially?

One of the typical and, of course, sexy characteristics of the Spanish accent in spoken English is the addition of an “e” sound in front of English words starting with the letter “s”. For example, “here in Espain”. The cause is obvious – the equivalent Spanish name or word starts with “e”. So it’s a hard habit to break.

Occasionally, this happens in writing too: “especial treatment” is one example I’ve had to correct (it should read special treatment); “No especial termination events are foreseen” is another (here, specific).

Yet curiously a very common error in written English is when the opposite occurs - an “e” is missing when there should be one.

This happens when especialmente is mistranslated as specially.

Question: Which ONE of A – F below is correct?

A	Turn off your computer screen, specially at the end of the day
B	The process will be simpler (specially taking into account that it will not have a French law component)
C	The bank’s customers are considered as “consumers” who are specially covered by Spanish legislation in terms of transparency
D	To appear before judges, courts or any other judicial body, administrative authorities, specially, the Bank of Spain or CNMV
E	The client is concerned about the possible consequences in terms of (i) a consumer’s point of view and, specially, from (ii) the Spanish Government’s perspective.
F	Featuring specially commissioned data, the initiative highlights that shareholder activism has increased globally by 88% since 2010
G	TUPE regulations could be deemed to apply specially if, as result of the seizure, the following circumstances occurred

Before you read the answer, remember:

Especialmente can be translated as specially or especially.

Specially means for a special purpose or reason.

• A shampoo specially designed (diseñado especialmente) for people with sensitive skin.
• The children waved flags they had made specially (hecho especialmente) for the occasion.

Especially is much more common. It is used to specify something in particular or to mean particularly (i.e. very much):

• French banks lent heavily to southern Europe, especially (especialmente, singularmente) Spain and Italy.
• The secondments we offer outside our office are especially valuable (especialmente valioso) to enhance your experience and build relationships with colleagues across the firm.

Especialmente in Spanish almost always means especially, particularly or specifically. Not specially.

So

Only F is correct, as it refers to a special purpose.

A	Turn off your computer screen, specially especially at the end of the day
B	The process will be simpler (specially especially taking into account that it will not have a French law component)
C	The bank’s customers are considered as “consumers” who are specially specifically covered by Spanish legislation in terms of transparency
D	To appear before judges, courts or any other judicial body, administrative authorities, specially, specifically / in particular, the Bank of Spain or CNMV
E	The client is concerned about the possible consequences in terms of (i) a consumer’s point of view and, specially, specifically / in particular, from (ii) the Spanish Government’s perspective.
F	Featuring specially commissioned data, the initiative highlights that shareholder activism has increased globally by 88% since 2010 [CORRECT]
G	TUPE regulations could be deemed to apply specially especially / particularly if, as result of the seizure, the following circumstances occurred

Note

Because the word particularly also means especially, it cannot stand alone and must describe something. Never start a sentence with the word “Particularly” followed by a comma, as in for example:

“Particularly, Law 15/2012 created the tax on the value of electricity production”

En particular here would translate best as specifically (en concreto).

“In particular” means especially and is used to show that a statement applies to one person or thing more than any other e.g.

• A rise in domestic spending would matter in particular to the tens of thousands of companies that are too small or too uncompetitive to tap foreign markets
• The second half was a nightmare for Nottingham Forest and, in particular, their goalkeeper