IF DAFFY DUCK HAD BEEN SPANISH

 

Porky Pig asks Daffy Duck, “Are you ready?” and Daffy retorts, “I was born ready.” If Daffy Duck had been born Hispanic, he would have answered: “Almost. But wait, I have to get my hat, or make a call, or get some papers, or grab a bite to eat…” to delay going, working, finishing something off, or whatever. Spaniards were not born ready; they are never prepared, especially in language learning, their "asignatura pendiente."

Spanish indeed has a proverb, a refrán, that says, “No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy”—do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Alas, this proverb is a carryover from the Romans, who had it in Latin as ne in cranium, quod possis hodie, long before the Spanish language came into being. It did not affect the minds of the inhabitants of the Peninsula, who developed contrary attitudes.

“Ya lo sé” is a ready-made expression or phrase that you will hear from the mouths of Spaniards constantly. Their self-confidence knows no limits, which leads them to intellectual and economic disasters.