LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

Human beings seem naturally inclined to dodge responsibility and skirt the blame. When things go wrong, there is always something in the way: circumstances, family obligations, bad luck, society, health, destiny — you name it. Rarely are we simply at fault. Languages, of course, reflect this very human tendency. Both English and Spanish abound in idioms suggesting burdens, impediments, or invisible chains that prevent us from acting freely or successfully. We are not responsible, the expressions imply; we are weighed down by forces beyond our control. Take the English idiom an albatross around one’s neck , made famous by Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner . The albatross symbolizes a heavy psychological or moral burden from which one cannot easily escape. Spanish offers several close equivalents: llevar una cruz a cuestas , llevar una pesada carga , or even tener la soga al cuello . “I wasn’t ready to wear my failure like an albatross around my neck.” -Haggai Carmon , The ...

HAIL   Come hail or high water Caiga quien caiga, pase lo que pase, pese a quien pese I will marry Peter come hail or high water Me casaré con Pedro caiga quien caiga — “… come hail or high water, they’ll make it…” Sports Illustrated, August 21, 1995. US. Give someone Hail Columbia Echar un rapapolvo, regañina Mom has given me Hail Columbia this morning for getting up late La mamá me ha dado una regañina por levantarme tarde — “A lady in the house, whose husband loves her more before people than elsewhere, said she didn't want Hail Columbia with the rest, as her husband frequently gave her Hail Columbia upstairs!” Melville Landon, Saratoga in 1901 , 1872. US. Hail a taxi (cab) Parar un taxi Hail that cab for me, please Por favor, párame ese taxi Hail and welcome Bienvenido sea usted Hail and welcome, Mr. Biden Bienvenido sea usted, Sr. Biden — “To all of you who choose to, I say, hail and welcome.” Southern Review, Summer, 2007. US. Hail from Ser de, ...

  Cheek by jowl (jole) Codo con codo, mano a mano, pared con pared The church is a little different, standing cheek by jowl with the monastery La iglesia es un poco diferente, pared con pared con el monasterio Cheek to cheek Cara con cara, juntitos, agarrados They were dancing cheek to cheek Bailaban agarraditos Have a cheek (nerve) Ser un cara (caradura), tener la cara dura, ser un jeta Peter has a cheek Pedro es un cara Have the cheek (nerve) to Tener la cara (la desfachatez) de, la jeta de He had the cheek to tell me I am always late Tuvo la cara de decirme que siempre llego tarde Tongue in cheek Con la boca pequeña, con sorna (burla) I told her tongue in cheek that she was attractive Le dije con la boca pequeña que era atractiva — “… the women eventually chose several men to become honorary Sons of Bilitis (or SOBs), tongue-in-cheek designation they wore proudly.” Paul D. Cain, Conversations… , 2002. US. Turn the other cheek Poner la otra mejilla If he ...

  Today I arose “at the peep of dawn,” because I was “not feeling up to par” and decided to work on my dictionary, mainly because I “don´t have a penny to my name” and after “taking counsel with my pillow” I “pinned all my hopes” on selling this book to a big publisher for a hefty advance. (57 words)   Let me rewrite the above without idiomatic phrases: Today I arose early because I was feeling unwell and decided to work on my dictionary, mainly because I am poor, and after some consideration, I set my hopes on selling this book to a big publisher for a hefty advance. (41 words)   Which version is better? Which one do you prefer and why?

  El año pasado Last year Vimos la película el año pasado We saw the film last year   El año que viene Next year, coming year Iré a San Francisco el año que viene I’ll go to San Francisco next year En cien años todos calvos It will be all the same one hundred years hence Entrado en años Advanced in years Es un hombre entrado en años He is advanced in years Estar de buen año To be healthy and plump Desde que volvió de vacaciones Juana está de buen año Since Joan came back from her vacation she looks pleasantly plump Hace años Years ago Vi la película hace años I saw the film years ago Quitarle años a uno Take years off someone Ese corte de pelo te quita años That haircut takes years off you Quitarse uno años Lie about one’s age Margarita se quita años Margaret lies about her age Tener añitos Get on in years Mikalela ya tiene sus añitos Mikaela is getting on in years Tener años Be years old ¿Cuántos años tienes? How old are you? Todo el año...

  In 2018 Marilyn Yalom published "An Unconventional History of Love," and later gave a TED talk entitled "How the Image of the Heart Became the Symbol of Love." I recommend both.  The heart has entered the English language through many expressions of daily use, dealing not only with love: 1) He is a man after my own heart: He has the same tastes and views as me.  2) I am still eating my heart out because she left me: I am still sad, longing for and missing her. 3) She broke the engagement because she had a change of heart: She changed her opinion, her mind. 4) The troops lost heart and ran away: The troops became discouraged and afraid. 5) I am telling you this from the bottom of my heart: I am telling you sincerely, in all truth. 6) Please, have a heart and help me: Be compasionate, good to me, and help me. Eat to one´s heart content. Wear one´s heart in one´s sleeve. Have a heart of gold. At heart. Cross one´s heart. Take heart... and many more. 

Clichés are funny and show that we pay no heed to logic or reason when we express ourselves. Examples taken from newspapers and magazines: --"... Mass Exodus from Cities?" (Motly Fool, April 23, 2020) which has its Hispanic equivalent in "éxodo masivo." --"That really I think is the tip of the iceberg ..." (CNBC, April 23, 2020.) There is more to what we see, the tip. Spanish says "la punta del iceberg." --"Coronavirus delivers a moment of truth on the meaning of the EU. " (The Guardian, April 23, 2020). "La hora de la verdad" is its Spanish counterpart. But a cliché, nevertheless. --"The days are numbered for the United States coal industry." (Mining Global, April 21, 2020). "Tener los días contados" is what Spanish-speaking people say, using the same ready-made expression. --"...killing his wife after a heated argument at their home in..." (The Week, April 25, 2020). "La mat...

Phrases -idioms- in languages are like fossils, static in time. Thus in English we say All day long but All year round ... (todo el día, todo el año) and do not ask why, and do not even point out the inconsistencies, grammatical or logical, in them. People often get all confused and say and write all year long , for example, because they forget or ignore or do not give a hoot. Whatever. But I checked. And my research led me to WordReference and its forums... Take the time to check either English expression (or any other) and you will find out how daring people are with matters linguistic. People who show a complete lack of mastery of English give answers to others who are in the same linguistic boat. I guess that in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king (en el país de los ciegos el tuerto es rey.) WordReference and Wickipedia are fine projects but lack seriousness and scholarship. Do not trust either. Be careful with the answers given in WordReference and Wikipedi...