DE TONTOS Y FOOLS

 En la Vulgata, traducción al latín de San Jerónimo, de la Biblia, leemos en Eclesiastés 1:15: Infinitus est numerus stultorium, el número de los tontos es infinito. O sea, que somos muchos los tontos. Tanto es así que en castellano e inglés tenemos muchas maneras de hablar de los tontos:

Castellano: tonto de capirote (del haba, del bote, del culo, del higo, de baba, de remate, de las narices, de nacimiento, tontolaba).

Inglés: complete blockhead (fool, jerk, goof-off, dope, dimwit, dumb), be a card shy of a full deck.

Y muchas más voces que demuestran que la Biblia tenía razón, en cuestión de tontos.

PROFESSOR JAMES A. PARR (1936-2022)

 

James A. Parr and I met, at the University of Pittsburgh, in a class conducted by Dr. Mario Pei, of Columbia University. I was starting my MA studies there as a graduate teaching assistant, and Jim was the holder of a Mellon Fellowship for his doctoral work. Later, he specialized in Spanish for English speakers and I pursued teaching English to Spanish speakers. We both have written many books, and even one together: an edition of Julio Cejador´s La lengua de Cervantes.  He even wrote a prolog to my El laberinto del idioma inglés (2009). Over the years we have met often and corresponded a lot. Our friendship has lasted because, it is my guess, we both have a wry sense of humor that has stood us in good stead till now. Yesterday I learnt of his death in July. For over a year he had not been answering my emails and now I understand why. His departure is a great loss to me and I will miss him. My condolences to his family, to Patricia, his wife, and to the Hispanic Studies community in the United States. 

LOL vs ROL

 

Just as exercise is vital in keeping our body fit, LOL (laughing out loud) is required to keep our mental health fine-tuned. I will not dwell on this because it is common knowledge: a good guffaw does wonders for our mental well-being once in a while. And for language? How can we keep it fine-tuned on a daily basis? Practicing ROL (reading out loud) often. I read out loud (ROL) in English and Spanish as often as possible. Reading in silence or to oneself is fine, of course, but this practice of ROL does drill the vocal cords or the movement of the tongue and lips which are essential in oral communication. ROL slowly, pronouncing carefully, using the proper intonation and modulation. A short paragraph will do and will only take a few minutes of your valuable time. Fancy you are an actor declaiming to an audience, book in hand: make them become interested in your reading and try to charm them with your voice. Enjoy the sounds of the language and vibrate with them. Thus read, the sounds of Spanish and the sounds of English will become magical, music to the ears. You will become aware of the beauty, the musicality of language, the miracle of language. Do me the favor of trying ROL and listening to yourself. Thank you.  

SOBRE LA FELICIDAD

 

"... porque sabed que hay un instante en nuestra vida, un instante único, supremo, en que detrás de una puerta que vamos a abrir está nuestra felicidad o nuestro infortunio." (Azorín, Confesiones de un pequeño filósofo, 1902.)

"La felicidad es poder pensar en las musarañas sin que nadie te lo eche en cara." Juan Luis Cebrián, La rusa, 1986.

"... el secreto de la felicidad es llevarla en secreto." Camilo José Cela, Cristo versus Arizona, 1988.

"El dinero no da la felicidad pero ayuda a quitársela a los demás." Chumy Chúmez, De su propia cosecha, 2007.

"No hay destino cósmico del género humano que le determine hacia la felicidad. " Gustavo Bueno, El mito de la felicidad, 2005.

(De mi Diccionario panhispánico de citas, Serbal, 2008.)

LANGUAGE AND THE BRAIN

 

It seems that the capacity for language use and acquisition is located in the brain's left hemisphere. In my neuroscientific ignorance, I suppose that scientists have come to this conclusion by trial and error: we poke this spot in the brain and you cannot move your left arm; we needle this other spot and you cannot speak... etc. However, I have a doubt: if one language is located in the brain´s left hemisphere, two (or three) languages must also be located in the same place... but how? Are all languages crowded together? How does the brain differentiate one from another? When I speak English, where does my Spanish stay? And vice versa. I reckon all languages I know are located in the left hemisphere, but in different locations, right? Why doesn´t the brain get all mixed up and confuses words and expressions? A mystery. This mystery I shall unravel in my next life. In the meantime, think about this as it bears on language learning. 

MAKING A LANGUAGE-LEARNING COMMITMENT

 

The advantages of possessing an additional language to our own are clear. How language study forces our brain to be on the alert, spot on, is evident to all. The glitch is how to start and keep going... forever, because the study of a language is forever, and forever means until we pass on. There is no goal, no end, and no finish line where you will be awarded a medal for achievement. Improvement and constant improvement is the name of the game. The way to continue is "commitment". We must make a commitment to ourselves, the commitment that we will pursue the study of language till the end of our time. How? Making a "habit" out of it, a daily habit. We are creatures of habit, don´t ever forget. Besides, if others can, why shouldn´t you?

CAFÉ CON AROMA DE MUJER

 Por curiosidad lingüística, eché una ojeada a la serie colombiana de antena 5, que ha llegado precedida de mucho bombo y platillo por parte de la cadena española. Siempre he creído que la labor del actor era comunicar, ser entendido, articular de forma que el oyente, el espectador, comprenda lo que se le dice. Pues no, estaba equivocado, como siempre. No logré comprender más del 20 por cien de lo que decían, dicen, los protagonistas. Especialmente la joven que creo tiene el papel principal, no articula de manera comprensible y exagera su dejo colombiano-venezolano arrastrando y farfullando las palabras (slurring) con una sonrisa que clama ser atractiva. Aparte de que esta serie reivindica un machismo trasnochado, fin de siglo XX, que espero no sea reflejo de las sociedades hispanas de hoy, al sur de México. El famoso guionista americano Robert McKee se quejaba en una entrevista de que a los actores norteamericanos no había forma de entenderles por lo mal que enunciaban los sonidos ingleses. ¿Es esto de pronunciar mal y al desgaire una moda universal? ¿Se creen así más auténticos? No me resigno a que me den gato por liebre y exijo profesionalidad en el lenguaje a los actores, por muy jóvenes que sean y por muy colombianos que sean.

ACTIVE VS PASSIVE VOCABULARY

The active vocabulary is the largest of all the vocabulary we own in a language. This type of vocabulary is made up of the words and phrases we use on a daily basis and takes up a good 80 percent of our language memory. What about the other 20 percent of our storage memory? It is taken up by passive vocabulary, the words we recognize and know when we hear or read them but do not often use, if ever. We tend to forget them until we are confronted by them. It is as if we had two bags with words: in one pack we have the run-of-the-mill ones we are constantly employing and in the other the obscure, high-brow terms, mots, we do know and recognize only when we stand face to face with them, but will never use. Now, the challenge is to pass the passive words to the active pack, somehow. How? I figure that some words are reluctant to be owned, for whatever reason, and we must try harder to harness them and place them into active service so that we can express ourselves better and with more accuracy. My method is to use them often in my daily intercourse (in the good sense of the word) and to copy them longhand in my notebooks. It is hard work because they are a wild bunch and takes time to tame them. 

GOOD Y WELL

A causa del uso popular y desenfadado de well y good, la gente se confunde. Pongamos las cosas claras y simplifiquemos:

Well y good

Well es adverbio: She works well, I dance well.

Good es adjetivo: He’s a good teacher, this is a good meal.

 

Pero: It smells good, huele bien. It feels good, tiene buen tacto; hace sentir bien.

Mucho más en mi Gramática inglesa para torpes, Oberón.

DISCOVERING A LIBRARY

 

My first encounter with a real Library was at Duquesne University. In Madrid, I was too young to have access to the Biblioteca Nacional and older friends borrowed books for me to read, like Nietzsche's Aurora (Dawn), I recall. So, entering the Library at Duquesne University was a discovery, a deep satisfaction to see so many books on their shelves, at my fingertips. To this day, in a Library -now I visit the Biblioteca Nacional as a researcher-, I feel at home, at peace. I secured a part-time job at Duquesne University Library, (50 cents an hour) granted to me by the Librarian, Mrs. McCann. At odd times, between classes, I would log in for some hours there, cataloging books, microfilming the LC Cards from the Catalog Files, and having first access to all the incoming books to be cataloged and classified. Being a member of the staff, I could borrow all the copies I wanted, and even have access to the titles in the Index Expurgatorius, where Sartre was included then. What a joy! Some summers I spent the month of August working there full-time, a wonderful way to enjoy August and books, and ideas, and discover new writers, philosophers, and historians... which made me feel free and happy.

PREMIOS Y DISTINCIONES

 

Most authors, of all types, worth their salt, have awards, distinctions, honorary doctorates, and honors... except me. I have but one. In my Bio I have only one mention: Universidad de Extremadura, in 1996, granted  a Premio Extraordinario de Lexicografía, to my A Dictionary of Proverbs, English-Spanish (Ediciones del Serbal.)  This is it, and I never even sent them the dictionary! I am, thankful to the Universidad de Extremadura, of course. This lack of commendations must be a flaw in my scholarly career and makes me wonder. I do not feel bad about it, but it makes me wonder.