English is a famously flexible language, eager
+
eager:
dispuesto, deseoso
to assimilate or adapt words from other languages. As there is no prescriptive institution regulating which words should be added
+
to add:
añadir
to the English vocabulary, the process through which it enlarges
+
to enlarge:
ampliar
itself has no rules
+
rules:
reglas
other than the will of the people.
invaded and coloniser As you have seen in Speak Up , English has incorporated words not only from the various civilisations that have invaded the British Isles —the Saxons, the Celts, the Romans, the Normans and the Vikings—, but also from the countries it has colonised, militarily or culturally.
lingua franca While English remains the lingua franca of the world, however
+
however:
sin embargo
, there are some specific concepts from other languages that English-speakers just cannot express with one word.
no words Every Spanish learner has had the experience of searching for a specific word in English to indicate a concept or a feeling
+
feeling:
sentimiento
... and found
+
to find:
encontrar
none
+
none:
ninguna
available. This might
+
might:
podría
not be due to
+
to be due to:
ser debido a
the limited vocabulary of the speaker, but to an absence of the actual
+
actual:
real
word in English.
explanation needed Some so-called loanwords
+
loanwords:
préstamos, extranjerismos
have entered and been adapted for English and are now of common usage; words like ‘siesta’, ‘machismo’ or ‘guerrilla’. However, some words for concepts, feelings or customs
+
customs:
costumbres
simply don’t exist, and require some explanation in English to be fully understood. We have selected five of them. Can you think of any more
+
any more:
alguna más
?
1. Tutear There is only one second person in English grammar, so it’s often difficult to distinguish the level of formality when addressing
+
to adress:
dirigirse
someone. Of course, using Ms. or Mr. and the surname instead of
+
instead of:
en lugar de
the given name
+
given name:
nombre de pila
can be considered more respectful, similar to ‘usted’. The closest
+
closest:
más cercano
equivalent would be ‘to be on first-name terms’.
2. Sobremesa The act of lingering
+
to linger:
permanecer
after a meal, enjoying a friendly conversation or engaging
+
to engage:
enfrascarse
in a heated
+
heated:
acalorado
debate, often spiked
+
to spike:
salpicar
with all types of alcoholic spirits and even cigars
+
cigars:
cigarros puros
. Of course English-speakers also like a nice long ‘after dinner talk’, but they don’t have the flexibility of business hours that Spaniards do, so it is not a respectable custom and they have not coined
+
to coin:
acuñar
a word for it.
3. Estrenar In English one can ‘premiere’ a play
+
play:
obra de teatro
or a movie – a French loanword, incidentally –, but if you’re wearing a dress or a pair of shoes for the first time there’s no specific word to express it. Yes, shoes and dresses can be works of art, but you don’t ‘premiere’ them.
4. Friolero It may have to do with the warm climate we enjoy in most Hispanic countries, and thus
+
thus:
por tanto
that we’re not used to
+
to be used to:
estar acostumbrado
low temperatures, but in English a person who always wears an extra layer
+
layer:
capa
of clothes or an additional blanket
+
blanket:
manta
would simply be ‘more sensitive to the cold’ than the average
+
average:
media, común
person.
5. Vergüenza ajena According to
+
according to:
según
the cliché, the British are culturally more polite
+
polite:
educado, cortés
and well-mannered
+
well-mannered:
bien educado
than their European counterparts
+
counterparts:
equivalentes
, so one might assume that English would be the language to coin a concept to express the embarrassment
+
embarrassment:
bochorno
one feels when the other person is making a fool of him or herself
+
to make a fool of oneself:
ponerse en evidencia
. Or perhaps it is precisely because they are so refined that they prefer to ignore it and not even express it in words.
