LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

Tras leer el rifirrafe académico en la Universidad de Cambridge a propósito del profesor Jason Arday, de su fama y de su meteórica carrera profesional, me ha dado por rememorar mis tiempos de universitario en España, en la Universidad Complutense, donde obtuve la licenciatura y el doctorado. He estado escudriñando el claustro actual de las facultades que corresponderían a mi antigua Filosofía y Letras. No hay un solo nombre que me resulte familiar. En mis tiempos teníamos a Melchor Fernández Almagro, Dámaso Alonso, Esteban Pujals, Joaquín de Entrambasaguas, Antonio Ballesteros Gaibrois, Fray Justo Pérez de Urbel, Antonio Oliver Belmás, que recuerde —¡busquen, busquen!—. Todos fueron profesores míos. ¿Qué ha pasado?  Aquellos profesores escribían y aportaban, además de su trabajo en el aula. Se les conocía dentro y fuera de la universidad. Daban prestigio a la Complutense. Repito: ¿qué ha pasado? En Cambridge se encumbra a profesores cuya trayectoria académica ha suscitado serias co...

Hace tiempo que he llegado a pensar que mis vecinos, por mucho tiempo que nos conozcamos y hayamos vivido cerca, no son ni han sido nunca mis amigos. He acuñado el término amigo de rellano para estos conocidos míos, con los cuales intercambio algunas frases anodinas cuando coincidimos, precisamente en el rellano. Estas personas a las que nunca visitamos y con las que nunca paseamos, viajamos con ellas o tomamos un café en una terraza son los amigos de rellano . 

  I am no cultural prophet of doom, by any means, but the evidence is there for all to see: the physical book, the one with pages and covers, letters and illustrations, and increasingly expensive price tags, may have its days numbered. I know because I am witnessing something I would never have suspected in my youth: people getting rid of their libraries, as you can see in the picture my wife Rocío took yesterday evening of a nearby street dumpster. In my youth, people coveted books. They kept them, treasured them, and passed them on. If my grandfather had seen this picture of books tossed into a garbage bin, he would not have believed his eyes. I find it hard to believe mine. Those who bemoan the evident fact that people are reading less and less perhaps turn a blind eye to the more disturbing question: is the problem reading, or is it the book itself? Why? Television, mobile phones, iPads and e-readers may be some of the culprits. But there is something else worth pondering. In 1...

A Alejandro Rodríguez Álvarez se le conocía como Alejandro Casona, dramaturgo español, autor de las famosísimas La dama del alba , La barca sin pescador , Prohibido suicidarse en primavera , Nuestra Natacha , Los árboles mueren de pie , La sirena varada ... He is truly worth looking into. You will not regret it, I am sure.    “… una flor vale más que una lección de botánica.” Alejandro Casona, Nuestra Natacha , 1936. “Yo lo que quiero es beberme hasta el último trago de mi juventud.” Alejandro Casona, Nuestra Natacha , 1936.   “El llanto es tan saludable como el sudor, y más poético.” Alejandro Casona, Prohibido suicidarse en primavera , 1937. “… la muerte es la soledad absoluta.” Alejandro Casona, Prohibido suicidarse en primavera , 1937. “… cuando podáis hacer una cosa a traición, no la intentéis de frente.” Alejandro Casona, Nuestra Natacha , 1936. “¡La vida empieza todos los días!” Alejandro Casona, Nuestra Natacha , 1936.  

  Fecha de nacimiento puede ser date of birth o birthdate. Sin embargo birthday es el aniversario del nacimiento, o cumpleaños. Y podemos desear: Happy birthday to you o mejor: Many happy returns of the day , que es un deseo más amplio. Lugar de nacimiento: place of birth o birthplace . A birth certificate es un certificado de nacimiento. By birth de nacimiento: He is a New Yorker by birth , es neoyorquino de nacimiento. He is a Spaniard by birth , es español de nacimiento. Y como en castellano se dice: Es tonto de nacimiento, en inglés hay que expresarlo así: He’s a born fool.

Putting together my Phraseological Dictionary, English-Spanish , I have come across many expressions in both languages that I did not know. I have always double-checked and researched before adding them to my list. One such is Dar patadas de ahogado , a very descriptive phrase that I have duplicated in English as to make useless efforts, struggle in vain, fight a losing battle or clutch at a straw . Below, please find two citations for usage.  — “… alianzas políticas de un régimen que da patadas de ahogado para legitimar su poder.” El Comercio, 10/12/2004. Ecuad. || “El alcalde está dando patas de ahogado para tratar de salir lo menos embarrado posible.” El Nuevo Herald, 11/09/1997. EE.UU.

  Between, entre, se emplea con dos, among con tres, o más: There’s a thief among us , indica que somos más de dos.   Pero esto está cambiando y ya oímos y leemos  between en vez de among cuando se refiere a más de dos personas. Me temo que among acabará desapareciendo, pero yo me mantengo en mis trece y seguiré la gramática de siempre porque you cannot teach an old dog new tricks , que en castellano resulta como loro viejo no aprende a hablar  a pesar de que el Newspeak se está implantando a marchas forzadas. 

Katie (Katy) bar the door es una expresión norteamericana que nos advierte de que algo posiblemente peligroso o desagradable puede acontecer. Por ejemplo: I f Trump is reelected, it's Katie, bar the door que podríamos traducir al castellano como Si Trump es reelegido, Dios nos coja confesados (o agárrate que vienen curvas; o oído al parche .) Como siempre, adjunto debajo citaciones que demuestran que la expresión se emplea.   — “If you showed any weakness or a lack of knowledge, Katie, bar the door.” Magazine Salon (COCA), 2018. US. || “If we start industrializing the coastline on the shores of Lake Superior, Katy, bar the door…” The Washington Post, August 27, 2024. US. || “That first hit was coming on already, so it was Katie bar the door.” New Yorker, 1/15/2018. US.

When in English we say that someone is comparing apples and oranges, we mean that the comparison makes no sense and that they are talking nonsense, or talking through their hat. Spanish in this sense is very colorful and we will say that someone confunde  la gimnasia con la magnesia (la velocidad con el tocino, churras con merinas, jabón con hilo negro, el culo con las témporas) . You will truly impress your listeners, so give it a try. Pensar que un Ferrari es como un Ford es confundir la gimnasia con la magnesia To think a Ferrari is like a Ford is like comparing apples and oranges — “No hay que confundir la gimnasia con la magnesia.” La Vanguardia, 13/02/1994. Esp. || “… son ganas de confundir la velocidad con el tocino.” La Razón, 02/09/2002. Esp. 

  Jack Handey (1949-), the popular humorist, gives us a wonderful piece of advice in his book  Deep Thoughts : “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, pee in it, and serve it to the people that piss you off.” 

Al terminar y entregar a la editorial, Editatum, el tercer volumen de mi Literatura en lengua inglesa , me he dado cuenta de que me he saltado a importantes escritores que, aunque ya no estén de actualidad, deberíamos conocer. Y lo mismo podría decir de muchos literatos importantes de lengua castellana que hoy apenas conoce nadie. Eso será porque, como dijo Eduardo Zamacois (1873-1971): «Todos somos perenne y fatalmente esclavos de nosotros mismos» ( La cita , 1907). Somos esclavos de nuestra educación y de las modas literarias, que cambian nuestros pareceres a placer y relegan a los estantes de las bibliotecas a escritores como Zamacois, autor de la que en su tiempo fue famosa novela Memorias de un vagón de ferrocarril (1916) y perteneciente a la promoción de El cuento semanal , de gran impacto literario. Animo, pues, a los jóvenes -y no tan jóvenes- a descubrir a este escritor español nacido en Cuba y fallecido en Argentina. Quizá descubramos que algunos escritores no dejan de ser ...

Reading Ilya U. Topper’s article in the Instituto Cervantes’s El Trujamán , “¿Quién asesinó al verbo matar?” (July 29, 2026), in which he bemoans the chaotic drift of Spanish into the passive voice, giving examples with matar , I find myself in agreement with him. I have pointed this out several times because, although the passive is part of the Spanish language, its use differs from English, and Spanish has ways of avoiding it and employing the active voice, which, according to Strunk and White, “is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive.” However, I differ with Topper on the reason why the passive voice is slowly replacing the active voice. He states: “El origen de esta evolución del idioma casi con certeza es un error en las traducciones del inglés, fomentado por los programas multilingües: aunque Google Translate es hoy bastante versátil según el contexto, la frase aislada «he was killed» sigue traduciéndose como fue asesinado”, blaming human translators and AI programs....

 Por simple limitación lingüística, tengo que leer en traducción a Strindberg, Tolstói, Pirandello, Sienkiewicz, Ibsen y a tantos otros grandes de la literatura universal. De los más de seis mil idiomas que se hablan en el mundo, apenas me defiendo —y no demasiado bien— en tres. Esa circunstancia me condena, como a la inmensa mayoría de los lectores, a conocer buena parte de la literatura universal a través de traducciones. Muerte en Venecia (1912), de Thomas Mann, es una de esas obras. La he leído en castellano y en inglés, porque el alemán que conozco apenas me alcanza para seguir el texto original. Como tantos otros lectores, siempre me queda la misma duda: ¿qué estoy leyendo realmente? ¿A Thomas Mann o a sus traductores? Revisando mi biblioteca encontré tres traducciones españolas de la novela, además de una inglesa. No pretendo hacer aquí un estudio de teoría de la traducción; simplemente quiero mostrar un ejemplo que invite a reflexionar. Porque todos leemos traducciones. Na...

       You probably know by now that love is funny. When we fall in love, we are so dizzy, so completely on cloud nine, that we forget the object of our affection does not exist in isolation. They come with family, friends, pets, colleagues—in short, a whole social world.      Languages have long recognized this and remind us with proverbs. In English we say, Love me, love my dog. If you love me, you must also love my dog, my family, my friends—the whole kit and caboodle.      Castilian Spanish has a similar saying: Quien bien quiere a Beltrán, bien quiere a su can. If you love Beltrán, you must also accept his dog—and, by extension, his family, his friends, and all the rest. I'm not making this up. Here are a few examples: — "Love me, love my dog. If you want to be friendly with me, you must be friendly with my dog—and with my companions." A. Johnson, Common English Proverbs (1958, UK). — "Love me, love my dog." Gettysburg Review ,...

La claridad es esencial en la comunicación verbal y escrita. El posible doble sentido en nuestro discurso, en la frase o palabra, que puede interpretarse de varias maneras, se llama anfibología . Y no es que lo que decimos se pueda entender bien, sino que es necesario que de ningún modo se pueda dejar de entender. Esto es primordial y por eso debemos evitar una posible anfibología: lo que decimos tiene que estar claro y debe entenderse. Podemos incurrir en importantes errores de interpretación que pueden costar caro gracias a la ambigüedad del enunciado.   Ejemplos : César o cesar /  Ingles o inglés /  Sólo o solo  “Macario habló solo/sólo diez minutos.” “Estaré en Barcelona solo / sólo una semana.” /  Me encanta que hagas paella y me gusta también la tortilla de patatas. La próxima semana la haces. /  Y resultando que no, debe condenarse al reo a.., /  Hablaban con él de sus cosas (¿Las de él o las de ellos?) /  Todos ellos fueron con él a s...

In an earlier post I mentioned the usage of "aquí" and "acá", in European Spanish vs American Spanish. This summer a colleague of my daughter's, Violeta, originally from Perú, in a café terrace in Madrid, was bantering about "por la mañana" and "en la mañana". She kept correcting herself, pointing out the difference in the usage of the preposition. This is another giveaway as to where the speaker hails from. "En la noche oigo ruidos raros" will tell you the speaker is not from Spain because she would have said: "Por la noche oigo ruidos raros." Is this important? Only if you use either preposition and a "native", a local, corrects you. Do not argue. Never argue about questions grammatical with average native speaker. 

Languages solve communication problems in different ways. One area where English is remarkably efficient is in asking about degrees. Once we know that a quality exists, we can simply place how before the corresponding adjective or adverb to ask about its extent: How expensive was the car? How tall is Bob? How far is Barcelona from Madrid? How difficult was the exam? The same pattern works with an enormous range of adjectives, making it both simple and highly productive. Spanish, however, does not seem to have a single, equally general construction. Depending on the country, one may hear questions such as ¿Qué tan lejos está...? , ¿Qué tan rico es tu novio? , or the more formal ¿Cuán lejos está...? These are perfectly natural in some varieties of Spanish but uncommon or even odd in others. Rather than relying on one universal pattern, Spanish tends to express the same ideas through different constructions. For example, instead of asking How far is Barcelona from Madrid? , many spe...

No hace mucho cuando las lavadoras caseras, llamadas en inglés washing machines , tenían dos rodillos con los que se escurría ( wring ) el exceso de agua, una vez lavada la ropa y antes de ponerla a secar. Había que ir con cuidado para no pillarse los dedos. Y de esto nació la expresión inglesa Go (put) through the wringer que aún perdura aunque las lavadoras de las que hablo hace tiempo que desaparecieron.  “She may have had the voice of a young girl, but her tone suggested a middle-aged woman who’d been through the wringer a few times.” ( Azalea, 01/01/2018. US.) Pasarlas canutas, moradas, negras mal, tiene el equivalente inglés de go through the wringer .  

Allow me a personal note today. It is July, which for me is also a cruel month, mingling memory with the few remains of desire. It marks the departure of Laura, the bird who flies each year from San Francisco, perches in my soul, and sings sweet tunes that cheer my tired brain. Though I know the journey demands an effort, she unfailingly brings us joy and leaves us smiling. Now she returns to her school, to the pupils she loves, and to the hard work of being an example worth following. Godspeed, Laura. We shall be waiting for your yearly flight back, whose warmth lingers long after your wings have disappeared from sight.

I have sent off the finished MS of the third and last volume of my Literatura en lengua inglesa III , which covers Sinclair Lewis to J. K. Rowling, and deals with 72 authors who have used the English language to produce their literary work. Written in Spanish, it has extensive quotations in English. It reflects my literary journey since boyhood and my reaction to my readings, both at the university and on my own, as a teacher. In a few months, the book will be available. I will correct two sets of galley proofs and possibly make minor changes. 

 ChatGPT has recently allowed itself the luxury of correcting my usage of "pun" as a synonym of "retruécano." As I tend to make mistakes galore, I have decided to go to the sources, and the sources are monolingual dictionaries, not bilingual ones. Let us compare: Random House Webster's . PUN: The humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words. Diccionario María Moliner. RETRUÉCANO: Chiste conseguido manejando palabras parónimas (de forma parecida y distinto significado).  MM does a better job at definition, concise and to the point. Is "retruécano" a good equivalent of "pun"?

 Decía Rabelais que "le rire est le propre de l'homme" y cito de memoria, y además creo que deberíamos reírnos más y más a menudo. Y en contra de lo que se piensa, los británicos también se ríen, y prueba de ello es que tienen muchas maneras de expresarlo. Veamos y aprendamos: Laugh one’s head off (kill oneself laughing, laugh oneself silly, die laughing, laugh like a drain, split one’s sides laughing, bust out laughing, have them rolling in the aisles) Partirse (troncharse, morirse, mondarse, desternillarse, revolcarse) de risa, reír a mandíbula batiente I laughed my head off listening to Benny Hill Me tronchaba de risa escuchando a Benny Hill — “The lady almost busted out laughing.” Obamaconspiracy.org, 10/2012. US.

Religions have their own sets of beliefs, duties, and rituals that followers are expected to observe faithfully. It is hardly surprising, then, that English has the expression be religious about , meaning to do something with unfailing consistency, discipline, or dedication. Thus, "Some agents are religious about making sure the offer..." ( The Boston Globe , 24 July 2021, US). Likewise, "When drying wet hair, be religious about it." ( The Standard , 1 July 2022, UK). Spanish has a close equivalent: religiosamente . "Se lava el pelo todos los días religiosamente."

  LATINO / HISPANIC / SPANIARD El término latino se emplea como si fuera una palabra inglesa: Latino women , Latino cooking (principalmente enchiladas). Es despectivo y engloba a todo “latinoamericano”, sea de origen europeo, maya, misquito, africano o azteca. En los Estado Unidos hoy el US Census Bureau divide a la población, a efectos de institucionalizar el prejuicio, racial y social, en muchas categorías: White ( Caucasian ), Black , Oriental , Hispanic , Latino … El desdén racial en los Estados Unidos no ha desaparecido, aunque hayan tenido un presidente negro y el prejuicio de los blancos sigue más vivito y coleando que en el siglo XIX o XX. Por eso es importante, cuando se viaja a los EE.UU., explicar que uno es un Spaniard , que ellos identifican con España, en vez de Spanish , que engloba a Hispanics y Latinos. El trato será diferente, aunque parezca mentira, y por mucha pena que nos cause. A los Spaniards no los consideran una amenaza. Si naces en Florida, por e...

 Si buscamos el significado de "brain freeze" en inglés, se nos dirá que es "a brief, sharp headache, caused by something cold touching the roof of one's mouth." Sin embargo, lo traduzco como "írsele a uno el santo al cielo", que tiene significado muy distinto. ¿Por qué? Porque el Cambridge English Dictionary también añade que es "an occasion when someone cannot think clearly, or cannot remember something." O sea: "írsele a uno el santo al cielo" simple y llanamente: Sorry, I had a brain freeze. What were you saying? Lo siento, se me ha ido el santo al cielo. ¿Qué decías? — “… the regulators go into a brain freeze because they don’t know what to do.” Mother Jones, March-April, 2013. || “Excuse me, I just had a brain freeze on that.” Meet the Press, 10/27/2013. (10:30 am). US.

I am reviewing a translation, ostensibly to root out possible mistakes or misunderstandings. Neither of the two translators is a professional. Apart from the usual faux pas, typos, and misspellings, I have detected a tendency to ad lib: to introduce remarks that do not appear in the original, to “clarify” passages that need no clarification, and even to append material that is simply uncalled for. Moreover, these translators handle syntax as they see fit, moving phrases to the end of a paragraph when they occur at the beginning in the original. We are dealing here with two languages that have much in common; this is not a translation from Urdu into Japanese. In the end, readers will be none the wiser, since they will have no opportunity to compare the translation with the original.

Spanish politics is common fare in talk shows, newspapers, and on everyone's lips these days. New scandals pop up daily, pointing the finger at government officials at all levels. Former ministers and aides are already in jail, and others are soon to follow. In case you wish to surf through this shameful state of affairs, let me jot down vocabulary that will be of help: Mordida - kickback Soborno - bribe Cloacas del estado - government plumbing, state's sewers  Fontanero - plumber Cantar - snitch, blow the whistle Tirar de la manta - blow the whistle Conseguidor - fixer, facilitator Testaferro - straw man, front man Imputado - indicted Maquillar las cuentas - cook the books Orden de registro - search and seize Orden de busca y captura - warrant for arrest Chivatazo - tip-off Chivo expiatorio - scapegoat Enchufismo - cronyism Prevaricación - official misconduct Dimitir - resign  Caja B - off-the-books fund Malversación - embezzlement Tráfico de influencias - influence peddling ...

 Many writers glorify the art of writing and encourage others to put their thoughts on paper, to develop their ideas, plots, realities, traumas, fears, and fantasies, convinced that writing liberates the mind and brings a deep sense of satisfaction. For them, the act of writing can be a source of almost limitless pleasure and delight. My own experience has been rather different. My writing is nothing to write home about (pun intended), and I have so few readers that not even my relatives take a peek at my "literary" output. They invariably assure me of their keen interest, only to add that they simply have no time. Steven Pressfield's delightful little book Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t  fits me to a T. All this came to mind because I recently came across a remark by Tom Wolfe in Hooking Up , in the chapter "My Three Stooges." He writes: "I can tell you... to write one book is a killer financially, a blow to the base of the skull mentally and physically, h...

Por nada del mundo, decimos for all the tea in China. The Oxford English Dictionary tiene una citación que dice: “I’m not going to stand in my girl’s light for all the tea in China.” También decimos not for love or money. I wouldn’t kiss that man for love or money. Y hablando de té, cuando algo no nos gusta, empleamos la expresión: it/he/she is not my cup of tea. Por cierto que, como todo, cambia: el five-o’clock tea pasó a mejor vida en el Reino Unido, pero donde tea significa también cualquier comida, especialmente al final del día. At what time are we having tea? Significa a qué hora vamos a cenar.

  President Richard Nixon said, "I am not a crook," and popularized the expression. The Spanish government is bringing back words and expressions that were dormant, like "tirar de la manta."  So many of the government´s members are either in jail, indicted, or investigated that the President fears one of them will finally blow the whistle on him, "tire de la manta" and expose all the dirt that might get him in the clink, behind bars. English has more idiomatic phrases to express this idea of telling on someone:  Take the lid off, pull the plug, blow the whistle, give the game away, let the cat out of the bag, and spill the beans. Mr. Pedro Sánchez, the present PM, might find it worthwhile to learn these English equivalents. If one of his colleagues ever decides to blow the whistle , spill the beans , or let the cat out of the bag , at least he will be familiar with the vocabulary of political scandals when he travels abroad.

 By now, all and sundry must know that I read with a pencil in hand to highlight passages, phrases, and words, both known and unknown.  or me, reading is an act of learning. I am well past halfway through Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead, and today I underlined the word midrift as odd-sounding. I underlined it and looked it up. Sure enough, the word should be spelt midriff , "the middle part of the body, between the chest and the waist." Ms. Kingsolver says at the end of her novel: "Every draft of this book was improved by advice from insightful readers..." and names a few of them. The author might reply and remind us that the narrator is, on page 302, only 15. The argument will not hold water because Demon uses ten-dollar words throughout,  far more difficult than midriff.  Unless the misspelling was deliberate—and I doubt it—it appears to have slipped past both the author and her readers.  

I often hear "We don't say that in English" and, in Spanish, "Eso no se dice en español" from the lips of native speakers who, as I have often said, are a language's worst enemies. I have also often paraphrased Ortega's idea that the horizon of our language is not the horizon of language itself. There is always more beyond the limits of our own linguistic knowledge. The average native speaker is convinced that if he or she has never heard a word or turn of phrase, it simply does not exist. Take the idiom to the manner born , for example. It may be rendered in Spanish as venir de buena cuna , ser de buena cuna , or ser de alcurnia . Here is a recent example: "Ian Fleming was to the manner born. His grandfather was one of the wealthiest merchant bankers..." ( Los Angeles Times , April 4, 2024). And, just in case a native English speaker still has doubts about its genuineness, here is another citation: "Geoff Cowan was, in many respects, to...

  Señora, como the lady of the house , la señora de la casa. Ladies and gentlemen , señoras y señores. The first Lady , la primera dama. Es el equivalente femenino de gentleman , caballero, señor. Una persona puede ser a woman , pero no a lady, puede ser mujer pero no una señora. Estas son cuestiones sociales más que lingüísticas. Margaret is a real lady , Margaret es una verdadera señora. En Inglaterra es también un título nobiliario, el femenino de Lord : Lady Margaret Thatcher. Lady Di.  Nunca nos dirigiremos a una señora diciéndole lady , sino madam o ma’am. Si es muy joven, Miss o young lady basta y sobra.  

  KITCHEN / CUISINE El sitio donde guisamos es kitchen ;  el tipo de comida que guisamos es cuisine : French cuisine, Italian cuisine. En ambos casos en castellano es cocina. 

 I am a people watcher. When I walk down the street or sit on a park bench, I often gaze at passers-by, especially couples who, to my eye, seem oddly mismatched. Then I reflect on how English and Spanish express the idea behind matchmaking and the mysterious ways in which people find their mates for life. We often wonder how those two coming down the path ever got together, let alone married. Mystery of mysteries. A Spaniard might shrug and say, "Siempre hay un roto para un descosido," perhaps accompanied by a deep sigh. Or, "Dios los cría y ellos se juntan." In English, we may say that "there's a lid for every pot." Less commonly, "there's a shoe for every foot." My favorite, however, is "there's an ass for every saddle." In my A Phraseological Dictionary, English-Spanish , I document these expressions with bona fide citations, lest some smart-aleck imagine that I have invented them.

Ser el úl timo mono. Persona o entidad sin relevancia. — Aparece en el Diccionario de la Academia en 1989: “Ser una persona insignificante, no contar para nada.” María Moliner dice: "no tener una persona ningún poder o influencia, en cierto lugar." Para Manuel Seco es: "La persona más insignificante o de menos categoría en un lugar." Se emplea por lo menos desde 1872. Lo reseña el Diccionario de argot , de Luis Besses de 1905: “El último mono: el último de la clase.” José María Iribarren menciona una extraña variante: “El último mono es el que se ahoga”, y dice: “Alude este dicho a la creencia de que los monos, cuando tienen que atravesar un río, se cuelga uno de ellos de la rama más próxima a la orilla, y los demás forman cadena hasta que el último llega al suelo y consigue poner a toda la fila  en oscilación creciente. Cuando han tomado suficiente impulso, el de arriba se suelta, y suele ser el que no logra alcanzar la orilla y muere ahogado.”  Esto lo tomó, s...

El idioma se adapta a los vaivenes y actitudes de la sociedad, como bien sabemos. Un hijo nacido fuera del matrimonio era antaño objeto de ostracismo y vituperación social. Hoy, que una mujer tenga un hijo sin estar casada ya no la relega al aislamiento social de otros tiempos. La lengua inglesa tiene —o tenía— una expresión chusca para describir esta circunstancia: Born on the wrong side of the blanket Hijo de madre soltera; ilegítimo; de padre desconocido. Mary married this guy, born on the wrong side of the blanket. Mary se casó con ese tipo, hijo de madre soltera. --“I was born on the wrong side of the blanket.” Anya Seton, Winthrop Woman (1958). --“… those royal romances which always seemed to involve births on the wrong side of the blanket.” Time Magazine (21 de febrero de 1969). Según una explicación popular, los hijos concebidos dentro del matrimonio lo eran "debajo de la manta", mientras que los nacidos de relaciones extramatrimoniales se concebían "al otro ...

Dr. Pedro Álvarez de Miranda (Royal Spanish Academy, RAE) has been kind enough to forward a very interesting article of his, "Dos efemérides", published recently in El Cultural (18 June 2026). He discusses the magnificent Diccionario de autoridades (1726–1739), which predates Dr. Samuel Johnson's dictionary by sixteen years. The article is well worth reading, both for its intrinsic interest and for the light it sheds on the importance of the Diccionario de autoridades in the history of European lexicography. In his Chasing the Sun: Dictionary Makers and the Dictionaries They Made (1996), Jonathon Green made little mention of these early Spanish contributions, including the Diccionario de autoridades , which marked a cusp in the history of dictionary making. Dr. Álvarez de Miranda writes with considerable scholarly authority and gravitas, and succeeds in whetting the reader's appetite for language and its history. 

 Of late, Spanish politics has been topsy-turvy, with socialist politicians jailed, indicted, prosecuted, or accused of corruption and graft. The English adjective offshore is on everyone's lips, in the digital press, on radio programs, and in talk shows of all kinds. Commentators and know-alls use it in Spanish as a noun: "El político corrupto tiene un offshore en Singapur." The pronunciation varies from ofsor to obsor . They are referring to companies or individuals with operations, accounts, or assets in tax-haven jurisdictions. The expression has become remarkably popular, and one now hears it in everyday conversation. I would be interested in tracing its trajectory as a linguistic stowaway. Time, and perhaps the law, will determine whether it becomes established currency in Spanish or is eventually consigned to oblivion.

Wit es una palabra inglesa polifacética que igual sirve para un roto que para un descosido y que acumula gran cantidad de fraseología. Si la traducimos por "ingenio" a secas, como hace el Collins, le haremos un flaco favor. Por eso de las prisas y falta de tiempo -aunque tengo 24 horas al día como todo hijo de vecino- quiero referirme al aspecto negativo de la palabra.  Un dullwit es un torpe, retrasado, lento de entendederas, cretino, sonso, bobo, lentorro... No acaba ahí la cosa porque también puede ser un halfwit , persona de pocas luces que también puede definirse como slowwitted o dimwit. Aún podemos añadir, con el mismo significado dumbwit. Nitwit quizá sea la más hiriente, al referirse a la inteligencia de las liendres. Y todo con wit . En fin, que la lengua inglesa sabe sacar provecho de una palabra para ofender al prójimo. Y tiene muchas más, claro, en referencia a la supuesta deficiencia intelectual de los demás.  

 I am trying to put together a chapter on Doris Lessing (1919-2013) for my Literatura en lengua inglesa III (Editatum, 2023, 2025, and 2026). What first surprises me is the linguistic side to her biography. Born in Persia (now Iran), where she lived till age 6, she then moved to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she lived till age 30, when she settled in London in 1949. J. M. Coetzee reviews her autobiography in his book Stranger Shores , but does not dwell on linguistic questions. What I find surprising is that she spoke only English. There is little evidence that she ever acquired either Farsi or Shona beyond a few words and expressions. True that the British recreated abroad, in the colonies, their home way of life and shunned local languages and ways of life, but the fact that Lessing, as a child and adolescent, did not even try to learn the local languages shocks me. After all, her English was acquired outside the United Kingdom, in exotic countries. What intrigues me is no...