Spanish Word of the Day

Quote: Nareed

There people will understand sandwich, but they often use the non-word "lonche." Don't even ask why or where it came from, I've no idea.

My first tutor detested the word lonche as an abomination to the Spanish language. She said it was an obviously aglified from "lunch."

Speaking of my first tutor, I have started to see her again. The tutor from Peru found full time work and it is just too difficult agreeing on a time and place to see her any longer.

We anglify hundreds of Spanish words. From tobacco,sombrero, stockade, tornado, tuna, vanilla,stampede, to vigilante. And all the words like rodeo, fiesta, taco, vamoose, that we lifted directly. Not to mention the tens of thousands of words English took from other languages.

They are entitled to spanglify a few words without everyone getting upset. But I don't think there is a Spanish teacher in America who doesn't complain about the the lingua de linea.

Quote: Pacomartin

We anglify hundreds of Spanish words. From tobacco,sombrero, stockade, tornado, tuna, vanilla,stampede, to vigilante. And all the words like rodeo, fiesta, taco, vamoose, that we lifted directly. Not to mention the tens of thousands of words English took from other languages.

Let's look at sombrero for example. While that is the general Spanish word for hat, in English we needed a term for the huge straw hats that are commonly found in souvenir shops catering to gringos. So, what better than to call them what they call them in Mexico.

Similar situation to the word Kangaroo. That is an aboriginal word. When the English saw them for the first time they obviously had no term for the animals so adopted the native word.

My tutor only objects when an anglified word is introduced into Spanish when a perfectly good Spanish one already exists for the same thing. For example, I've never heard her complain about sandwích, because there is no other exact equivalent in Spanish.

And speaking of taco, my last Scrabble game with my daughter I formed the word taco, and she challenged it, saying it was a foreign word. I defended myself, saying that it English adopted it, and it was found in the dictionary. She responded that the dictionary stated it was a foreign word. A big argument ensued, and we still have never reached an understanding of whether it should count.

Quote: Nareed

Emparedado" is like the two dollar word no one uses outside foreign book translations and old dubbed TV shows.

"'I thought we'd had it,' he said, grabbing a sandwich." -- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (pg. 83)
Creí que no nos salvábamos -- dijo, cogiendo un emparedado. -- Harry Potter y la cámara secreta (pg. 77)

Quote: Wizard

Let's look at sombrero for example. While that is the general Spanish word for hat, in English we needed a term for the huge straw hats that are commonly found in souvenir shops catering to gringos. So, what better than to call them what they call them in Mexico.

"Mexican hat"?

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My tutor only objects when an anglified word is introduced into Spanish when a perfectly good Spanish one already exists for the same thing. For example, I've never heard her complain about sandwích, because there is no other exact equivalent in Spanish.

Your tutor is a stick in the mud. There is no language anywhere on earth, except perhaps for a few isolated groupings here and there, that has not been influenced by other languages. Preserving the "purity" of a language is a fool's errand at best, and chauvinistic tyranny at worst.

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"'I thought we'd hate it,' he said, grabbing a sandwich." -- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (pg. 83)
Creí que no nos salvábamos -- dijo, cogiendo un emparedado. -- Harry Potter y la cámara secreta (pg. 77)

Yes, foreign book translations like that. You can tell because of the choice of the verb "coger." No Mexican with a smidgen of good manners ever uses that verb. BTW, the first part of the translation bears not even a pasing resembalnce to the original.

Quote: Nareed

Your tutor is a stick in the mud.

She is, and she would be the first to admit it.

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You can tell because of the choice of the verb "coger." No Mexican with a smidgen of good manners ever uses that verb.

I think every translation I've ever seen, except for the Dork Diaries, uses coger liberally.

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BTW, the first part of the translation bears not even a pasing resembalnce to the original.

I had a typo in the English. Change "hate" to "had."

Quote: Wizard

I think every translation I've ever seen, except for the Dork Diaries, uses coger liberally.

It is probably the clearest sign that the translator is European. Definition #31 in the RAE says:

31. intr. vulg. Am. Realizar el acto sexual.

Note that it says all of Latin America, not just certain countries.


I can't think of anything equivalent in American and British English. Mostly it is phrases, not just a common everyday verb.
'Knockers' used to walk the streets of 19th Centruy England, mainly industrial,towns. They carried a long stick and banged on the bedroom windows of their 'customers' to wake them in order that they could get to work on time. Hence "knock me up in the morning" still is used by mostly older people in Britain. However the phrase in American English,has been in use since 1813, and the term "knocking-shop" = "brothel" is very old. But warnings about using the misleading term have existed for 150 years, so it is highly unlikely that anyone from Britain does not know the American English use of the phrase.

Quote: Wizard

I think every translation I've ever seen, except for the Dork Diaries, uses coger liberally.

Again, a clear sign of a non-Mexican origin.

In Mexico "coger" means "to f---." So no one here who's ever heard of manners uses it casually. You may as well use the word "chaqueta" when talking about a casual coat.

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I had a typo in the English. Change "hate" to "had."

Oh, well, that changes everything.

Quote: Wizard

"'I thought we'd had it,' he said, grabbing a sandwich." -- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (pg. 83)
Creí que no nos salvábamos -- dijo, cogiendo un emparedado. -- Harry Potter y la cámara secreta (pg. 77)

Google translate also uses "cogiendo un emparedado" as their first choice. Their second choice is "agarrar un bocadillo".

Because all the EU documents are regularly translated into multiple languages, they provide a good source material for the database for Google translate. In addition all the documents are in electronic form, so they are easy to manipulate. Hence the preference for European Spanish by computer translators.

If I search on the phrase "we'd had it" I only find instances of Canadians or Brits using it in the sense of being in imminent danger of death. Americans English tends to use it more as a phrase that "we have reached the limit of our endurance". Sometimes, as in the song by Hank Williams Jr.,"If the South woulda won, we'd had it made" it is used in the sense of getting the golden ring. I think Americans would be more likely to say "I thought we were goners" if they thought they were going to die.

Quote: Pacomartin

Google translate also uses "cogiendo un emparedado" as their first choice. Their second choice is "agarrar un bocadillo".

"Taking a sandwich" = "Tomando un sandwich."

"agarrar" really means "to grab."

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Because all the EU documents are regularly translated into multiple languages, they provide a good source material for the database for Google translate.

There are at least two assumptions there: 1) that said translations are of high quality and 2) that the Spanish used is universal.

I don't know enough about the first, but the second one is wrong.

I screwed up this post, thinking it was mine. Sorry.

-- Wizard