So apparently, in Spain they say things like, "Te cogo en la esquina" ("I'll pick you up on the corner") or "Coge el lápiz" ("Hold/grab the pencil") or "Cogí el tren" ("I took the train"). o_0 If you know anything about the Spanish spoken in Mexico, you know people can take coger to mean something vastly different -- to f**k. Haha.
I love languages! So these linguistic (and cultural) differences between countries that (supposedly) speak the same language fascinate me. Looking forward to discovering what other differences exist and hope I don't accidentally say something I don't mean to say. Don't want to get in trouble or anything... It'll be interesting, considering my knowledge of Spanish is a Mexican/American hybridized version of the language, which I never completed mastered but have been absorbing all my life (my parents are Mexican and I live in Los Angeles).
I wonder what kind of Spanish I'll come back speaking. Right now, I sound slightly Mexican, slightly American, and apparently slightly French (I studied French for 10 years). After 8 months in Spain, I'll probably have an accent and vocabulary that will make people confused about where I'm from. It'll be quadrahybridized! Yes, I think I just made up a word. But that's the beauty of language -- never static, always evolving, always a reflection of the culture of the speakers.
For me, I'll keep on tomando el tren, agarrando el lápiz, and have my friends que me recojen en la esquina. Well, maybe not on the corner. People can make jokes about that too. :D
Ahhh I'm the exact opposite - I'm so used to Spain Spanish that now that I'm back I'm having trouble NOT saying coger. Coger, you'll find, is the most useful verb ever, just like vosotros makes so much sense. :)
ReplyDeleteLol yes cultural differences can be hilarious one I experienced when I studied abroad in Puerto Rico with the word "Bicho"
ReplyDeletein mex and many other countries Bicho=bug
in el salvador (my roots) bicho= word for guy like chico or muchacho
in Puerto Rico, Bicho= penis lol.
Needless to say I got in a little trouble.
I'm with Kaley, sometimes coger is just the perfect word. I try to play it off like hey, I'm not a native speaker so I didn't know I just told you to "f these documents" lol. But when I studied abroad I quickly learned the differences in languages, like in Spain computer is ordenador, and apartment is a piso. I told this Dominican guy I was going to get my own piso in Spain and he had no idea what I was talking about.
ReplyDeletePS- Love your layout :)