Sure, Yo hablo Español Muy Bueno

If ‘pollo’ is ‘chicken’, ‘repollo’ must be ‘more chicken’

See how easy it is! —-Except, its not so; ‘repollo’ means ‘cabbage’! While Latin American Spanish does permit you to understand the meaning of some words or expressions from the context or similarity to English, and other cues, its easy for Gringos to fall into linguistic traps south of the border.

Word similarity to English (or even identity) is sometimes a help, sometimes a trap. For example, ‘un pickup’ does indeed mean ‘a US-type light open-bodied automotive truck with 4 wheels’. But, in spoken Spanish, it is pronounced ‘un pickUP’, with emphasis on the 2nd syllable, instead of the US emphasis on the first, that is ‘a PICK-up’. Moreover, it is NEVER used in a verb form in Spanish, as in, ‘he picked them (or her/him/it) up’. So, ‘Vamos a la playa para pick up muchachas’ just won’t work.’

‘Un MOdem’, ‘un ROUter’, ‘un app’ and many other technical or semi-technical terms, do generally mean the same as their US names. But, if you’re selling some equipment or a computer for $1000. and negotiating price with the potential Latin buyer (because he offered $700) you cannot translate ‘a compromise of the difference to $850’ using the word ‘ compromiso’. The meaning of that term in Latin Spanish is: ‘commitment’ or even ‘engagement (as to a fiancee)’; it never means a US ‘compromise’.

So, if you’re faking it, keep in mind that you’re on thin ice. There are, however, some other buenos amigos linguistically in addition to the technical terms. For example, ‘esencial’=essential; ‘ imediatamente’=immediately; ‘problema’=problem; ‘teoría’=theory; ‘intervalo’=interval; ‘masaje’=massage; ‘ingenioso’=ingenious; and ‘material’=material.

But, keep a lookout for other malos amigos, like ‘compromiso’. For example:

‘Lo que sucedió era …’ = what happened was … (NOT what succeeded); and

‘Los sucesos’ = events or happenings, (NOT the successes);

‘Libreria’ = stationary store, (NOT library); that would be ‘biblioteca’;

‘Inquilinos’ = tenants, (NOT inclines);

‘Solicitud’ = application (as for a job), (NOT solicitude);

‘Individuales’ = place mats, (NOT individuals);

‘Gracioso’ = funny, (NOT gracious);

‘Asistir’ = to attend,(NOT to assist);

‘Directrices’ = directives, (NOT female directors)

‘Tripulacion’ = crew, (NOT tribulation)

‘Oficina’ = office, but ‘Oficio’ = domestic housework.

Study these hard. There will be a short quiz next time.