Dual languages: the baroque beauty of Spanish versus the power of synthesis of English – 30/03/2019

Córdoba Special Envoy.

Castilian is slow to add (and to transmit) words of science and technology, but it has a rich literary heritage that bathes in prestige. This was one of the points of agreement of the VIIIth Congress of the Spanish language, which closed its doors this Saturday in Cordoba.

The obvious: the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries have huge budgets for research. Hence the answer of the Spanish dialectologist Francisco Moreno Fernández, teacher at the University of Alcalá: "The enemy of Spanish is not English, but poverty. The best strategy for Spanish is the development of Spanish-speaking communities. In the meantime, we must try to make sure that Spanish or Castilian has the same resources as English in the field of technology and that it offers quality resources for its use and its education. "Call attention on departmental budgets (and former ministries) of education, culture and science.

But beyond (our) regional problems of economic development and investment, are there structures in languages ​​that make them more universal? Moreno Fernández, also a member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language, said: "English has syntax mechanisms to express content with fewer words, as with refusals of the type not bad (not bad) or not surprising (It does not surprise me) However, the main difference usually lies in the way of organizing the speech, in the textual courtesy, that in the Spanish forces. introduce mitigations that are not common in English, as when it is written: "With these words, I would like to draw attention to …", instead of saying directly what it is, or "I beg you not to comment. .. ". This in English is usually solved more directly, although English does not give up the courtesy. "

Look also

The secretary of the North American Academy of Language and Licensed Hispanic Literature is the Argentine resident in the United States, Jorge Covarrubias. Explain: "When translating a text from English, always the Spanish version of the same text is longerIt does not mean it's better or worse. But English has an advantage in its economy"Simple example and for precipitates: cheeseburger summarize in one word "cheeseburger". Moreno Fernández: "Translations from English to Spanish tend to be 10-15% longer compared to the original."

Clarin Bulletins

Books to share | We recommend two titles and we tell you why you can not lose them.

Every Monday.

Postgraduate professor at the Faculty of Languages ​​of the National University of Córdoba and a reference in sociolinguistics, María Teresa Toniolo confirms that "English is more direct to thingsand this is important in scientific communication, it is directly and precisely to stop you on what you want to communicate. There is no detour ", while Spanish is" more symbolic and badytical. "Therefore, it is easier to study English than Spanish. for a person who does not have one of these two languages ​​as their mother tongue, adding: "The Spanish tends to break down, he is morose and loving, he stops in the environment that surrounds it, in interpersonal relationships. He uses more adjectives and requires more "modifiers", such as prepositions. "Another example, the stage: Río de la Plata versus the version with which it was defined in the United Kingdom, River Plate. "In this example, the preposition and the article are saved," says Toniolo. Language gringa no difference between "you" and "you". You it solves everything. Fewer returns

The poet and storyteller José María Merino, member of the Royal Spanish Academy, is introduced into the debate. He points out that Castilian is "more metaphorical" naturally, it extends more in the description. "I think his wealth is an extraordinary literary culture, and here in America, it's clear: Neruda, Vallejo, Cortázar, Borges, Gabriela Mistral, Rosalía de Castro, so much …", he emphasizes . It incorporates a nice, almost poetic particularity: "Indeed, maybe the English for pure and strict business is more appropriate because it is shorter, more synthetic, etc. Now, the Spanish has more musicality and different musicalities depending on the regions of America. "In any case, warns that" Spanish speakers are not aware of the already mentioned cultural heritage of our language ", alluding to the great diversity (even geographical) of the story and Castilian poetry, which allowed to collect eleven Nobel Prize for literature. . We find the central theme: education, training and more education.

Transforming Spanish into a more pragmatic language does not seem to be an opportunity to promote it. Merino explains: "I usually tell young people that with every word you lose, you are more helpless because you believe that if a word is used to say ten things, it's better, but no, if there are ten words that can say ten things, use ten words. "With the economy, nuances can also be lost. "The word is not just a simple communication system," he continues, "it's a relationship and defense system in life, a person who speaks with more wealth than you, get the work you want ".

The "prestige of language" sounds like a superficial subject, but it is no less so in a world so coldly competitive (and often horribly ruthless). At the last Davos Forum, this global gathering of strong and elegant men, was presented the Index of Power of Languages, which marks the influence of every language in the world and woven links. Spanish was in fourth place, close to French but far from English. José Crehueras, President of Grupo Planeta, put this information in context in his presentation in Córdoba. According to UNESCO, calls creative industries (related to culture) generate 3% of global GDP and employ 1% of the planet's population. 40 percent of the series we see by streaming -Yes, it is inevitable to use this Anglicism- it is based on novels, books. Thus, strengthening the heritage of Spanish (spoken by about 570 million people worldwide) can generate jobs and production in our countries. And this could open new avenues for the beloved and long-suffering publishing industry. Yes, it is a pure and hard globalization.

Look also

Another phenomenon, linguistic miscegenation. At this stage of the planet, we use the smartphone and Whatsappeamos (This chronicler costs guasapear), there are already in the UK "tapas bars", a definition derived from Spanish "tapas" and translated by British tourists. In the United States, Castilian words are gaining more and more space: the New York subway has signage in both languages ​​and in Miami (and other places in the north) the Spanish becomes more strong. As long as there is no supporter of Trump nearby.

Between alarm and humor, Merino deals with the Hispanic heritage: "When we use English neologisms to describe things that have no name, such as with" tren ", we enrich the language. term that already exists in Spanish to another in English, I must tell you that you have just committed a verbicide"