THE STOWAWAY IN OUR LANGUAGE
A domestic flight is a flight taking place within the borders of a single country. The standard Spanish equivalent is vuelo nacional , although the calque vuelo doméstico is heard in several Latin American countries, particularly under the influence of English. I am writing this because yesterday I watched the television interview Isabel Díaz Ayuso, President of the Community of Madrid, granted to Canal 5, in which she used the expression vuelos domésticos when speaking about flights within Spain. Despite my admiration for her as a politician, I regret hearing her introduce this stowaway expression into Spanish. Before we know it, vuelos domésticos may well replace the established vuelos nacionales . You might protest: so what? What difference does it make whether we say nacional or doméstico when referring to flights within a country? Nothing of great consequence, really. I merely wish to point out the influence that persons of import can exert on our linguistic habits. Words sp...
