Cognates are words in two languages that share a similar meaning, spelling, and pronunciation. While English may share very few cognates with a language like Chinese, 30-40% of all words in English have a related word in Spanish. For Spanish-speaking Ells, cognates are an obvious bridge to the English language.
A "flat character" is essentially a character who doesn't change throughout a story. They are seen as "stagnant" and remain the same, so it doesn't affect the storyline.
