Subtopic	Posts		Updated
	Archive 01	50		2001/08/24, 07:54 pm
	Archive 02	50		2001/10/03, 01:21 am
	Archive 03	50		2001/10/24, 03:52 am
	Archive 04	50		2004/01/01, 06:16 pm

In a South American music CD that I have,
"Ayuda me" sounds VERY much like "Achuga Me".

Go figure....

What does "aye, que rico" mean?

Literally, "oh, how rich" or "that's rich". Idiomatically it is a compliment to your ability to deliver sensual delight and sexual pleasure, and is used in other contexts to compliment food, entertainment, et al. In the monger context it is just about the most classic example of what benevolent liars the chicas are. Bless them!

(Message edited by adecirverdad on April 12, 2004)

I need a TJ slang translation for:

CUT ME SOME SLACK, PINCHE PUTA!

Dios mio, ayuda me.

"mamada"
For most part this word means blow job.
"¿Dame una mamada, no mamacita?" or "¿Dame una mamadita, no mamacita?"

But in the Mexican slang among friends (Male or Female) it can be used to mean sord of as a "stupid thing." For example:
Let's say Pancho says a totally stupid or unfunny joke.
Pepe can respond by saying:
"que pinche mamada tan pendeja" or "¡No seas mamón!
Now here "mamón" literrally means the one who sucks, but it is also meant as the one who said something stupid or silly.
There is also a femenine part to this word "Mamona"

To answer your question LDvee you have "pinche puta!" down. However, there is no straight translation for "cut me some slack."
Since I know it mainly means 'give me a break,' it is an expression that has no straight answer. Try this: YA NO CHINGUES, PINCHE PUTA, or LARGATE, PINCHE PUTA. Assuming that you are using these to let her know to leave you alone.

But if you mean to ask her for a discount then try...

NO SEAS MENDIGA, PINCHE PUTA, or NO LA FRIEGUES, PINCHE PUTA, or NO MAMES GüEY!

I was asking a Colombian GF (in Colombia, she's never been to the US nor Europe) about the subjunctive - and she said she's never used it.

I gave her some examples, asking her if she'd use subjunctive or regular, noting the mood or emotion... and she never chose the subjunctive conjugation over the present tense.

Until I asked her why a stop sign says PARE and not PARA... or EMPUJE on a door.

I wonder if use of the subjunctive varies by social classes - at least in Colombia and/or Brasil (portuges)?

Don't want to oversimplify but here's my take as a half-Hispanic, half-Spanish guy living in NYC, and having travelled to Spain, PR, DR, and Cuba.
Obviously, I can't comment on other countries like Colombia, Panama, Argentina, CR, etc.

I would say in general, the subjunctive is more commonly used in Spain (of course) but also yes, as you go up the socio-economic ladder, you will find the people know how to keep track of all those conjugations better, heh, heh. . . :-)

"Pare" on a stop sign is imperative, not subjunctive. Most Spanish speakers only use subjuctive if they want to speak formally, just like us Americans do - in other words, your chica friend has no more idea of what subjuntive is than you know what the imperative tense is. But you both use those tenses once in a while.

BTW, never call a Mexican woman a "guey", or a "puta" for that matter. If I were frustrated at a chica, I would say "no joda, chica".

Not if you first meet her but if you get comfortable with her and joke around you could. I guess it also depends if you're Mexican or white. Just like black guys call each other the "N" word but it's not ok for anyone else to do so.

Who the hell does Spanish subtitles for movies? Some are better than others, but some are just IDIOTIC, like the worst student in a conversation class is translating things purely phonetically. In the first 10 minutes of a movie that's on TV here in Mexico at the moment I've counted at least 3 errors per MINUTE. No wonder most Mexicans' English SUCKS!

Example: Hendrix singing "Move over, Rover". Translation:

"Muevese Robert"

FIFTY thousand dollars somehow translates as "15,000".

Even with my limited Spanish abilities, I can sometimes catch translations in the subtitles that are just plain *wrong*. Obviously they don't spend a lot of money hiring truly fluent people to do the translations.

Watching an really bad American Biker flick a few months ago. The white bad guy to the black bad guy. The dialog was something like "fuck you, Nigger". The translation?
Es verdad, Hombre?

Everyone in the theater wondered why the fight!

I have seen "fuck you" translated in Spanish movies from Spain as "Jódete" which makes sense as joder in Spain means to fuck as well as to bother. But in Mexico for instance, joder mostly means to bother not to fuck. "Cojer" means to grab but in Mexico also mens to fuck. "Foyar" or "Follar" (I'm not sure which way you spell it) in Spain is to fuck, but to a Mexican doesn't mean a darn thing. In Spain "hechar un polvo" also means to fuck but a Mexican might think you're talking about witchcraft or something. "Chingar" for a Mexican is equally used to mean to bother as well as to fuck. However, if you use chingar as to bother it is cursing, so you would not use it in a polite and professional way. Same goes for joder. Example:

¡Basta, no estes jodiendo!
¡Basta, no estes chingando!

The polite way would be:
¡Basta, no estes molestando!

So "fuck you" very much depends on who does the translation, but the closest thing I can think of for Mexico would be:

¡Chinga tu madre! (literally fuck you mother) OR
¡Véte a la verga! (literally go to the dick) (which makes no sense in English but it very much does in Spanish)

Now, as Mexican I have no knowledge of a spanish word for Nigger, but then again there are very few black people in Mexico. Maybe Cuba, DM, Colombia or Cenral Americans have a word. So as far as I am concerned I would just translate nigger as "negro" or black. However if you want it to have roughly the same meaning as in nigger you can add "pinche" in front of it.

Sandy,
the correct translation should have been:
¡Chinga tu madre, pinche negro! OR
¡Vete a la verga, pinche negro!

Spanish translation is not an easy business, after all more people call Spanish their first language than any other language in the world. so there are bound to be many differences.

BTY Sandy
The translation was way off as Es verdad, hombre

I think that translators are more hassitant to curse than English screen writers are. Therefore, they try to soften the language, but in this case there is no excuse as the meaning is completely lost. More appropriate "soft" language would have been:

¡Véte a la mierda idiota! (literally "go to the shit idiot" but real meaning of "Eat shit idiot")

Not exactly the same thing but it correctly preserves the meanning within the context of the movie and gives a reason for the fight.

I, personally, detest censorship and believe in an artist expression. So I would translate with the meanning intended as well as the emphasis but also keeping in mind the audience and local language.

LL, I've heard Mexicans say "a la verga" but never "vete a la verga." Maybe I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time (repeatedly, over many years) LOL.

Maybe they both mean the same. I never did ask anybody what it meant. Intuitively, I knew it had to be pejorative.

Maybe a guy from Mexico, like Regio, could clear up any misconceptions. Hey Regio, if you're reading this thread, what does "a la verga" mean in Mexico? When would someone use it?

Gregorio:

They both mean the same thing, it's just that we get lazy sometimes and drop the VETE so we just say "a la verga." Actually I should have specified that it is more common to say "a la verga" but I needed to add the "Vete" because the "a" in "a la verga" implies that an action must take place: Vete.

You would use it in the same situations you would use "fuck off."

You may also use it in place of "No way!" as in:

"We'll split the profits 70/30." answer: "No way!"

Now Spanish:

"Nos dividimos la feria 70/30." answer: "No, a la verga" or "a la verga"

Spanish slang is not an easy thing to learn and it just takes practice and a little trial and error.

Here's a funny one you can tell a Mexican you really want to insult. Just make sure you can kick his ass because it is one of the worst things you can tell a Mexican:

"Chingas a tu pinche, puta y bomba madre maricón"
(Go fuck your fucking whore fat -ass mother you faggot)

You can add more emphasis too by adding "isima" ending to puta and bomba: putísima and bombísima

thus

CHINGAS A TU PINCHI PUTISIMA Y BOMBISIMA MADRE MARICON

Although the word is Pinche, most Mexicans will say Pinchi.

Has anyone had any experience with language schools in Mexico? I have seen a few ads, and am thinking about spending a week or so. Any experiences, suggestions, etc would be appreciated!

I've got some good news, and I've got some bad news for the guys that really want to learn Spanish. (i.e. beyond the "cuanto cuesta un blow job?" stage)

Good news: Anything you do, whether you go to a foreign language school, buy text books, work books, watch Spanish TV--it's all good. Trips to border towns etc. It will all help you.

The bad news: Learning Spanish takes a long, long time. It is not as easy as many people claim it is. The really bad news is that unless you get a chance to spend many years living in a Spanish speaking country, or a border city, you will never truly achieve what I consider to be the final prize--verbal fluency. You have to live it, breathe it, shit it, and yes, even fuck in it LOL..."la letra con sangre entra"

"la letra con sangre entra"
That's funny Gregorio. First time I hear that.

I started learning English at 15 and 19 years latter, I'm still learning! So go figure!

It is said that it takes the average person 3-5 years of total immersion to learn a foreign language. It may be faster depending on your background and what you consider fluency.

I learned a decent amount of Italian rather easily thanks to my Spanish and Portugese and French are on my list.

An old Mexican guy laid that one on me many years ago. It's OLD, OLD, OLD. I think it's from Spain...

Yep. My dad's from Spain and he would use that phrase to explain the ummm, not so enlightened pedagogical and class discipline methods of the good old days. . . :-)

"Not so enlightened pedagogical and class discipline methods of the good old days"?
Your dad sounds like a kindred spirit to me.

Back in his day, a kid knew he better not misbehave in school, cause he'd get in double trouble at home. Learning actually took place in the class because the kid feared consequences. Those WERE the good old days...

Heh, heh :-) Yep, my dad thinks Franco was a great man so he's definitely "old school" but with a laid-back, "such is life" approach. But yeah, things have really swung to the other side in terms of education. There's little accountability for kids nowadays. . .

Mándele saludos de mi parte, un viejo profe de español que se sorprendió al saber que todavía esiste gente consciente de lo que realmente pasa en esta perra vida, ja, ja...I've been using that "la letra con sangre" line for many years-- very, very few people knew what the hell I was talking about. Your dad has validated my existence.

Gregorio

The statement also sounds like it was invented during the Spanish Inquisition, thus making it literally true, ¿Qué no?

Everybody who speaks Spanish as a native uses the subjunctive. It is not some kind of formal way of speaking that only educated people use. Children use it. The Columbian woman just didn't know that she was using it.

Here are some examples of how you might use the subjunctive (italicized) in Spanish in your chosen hobby. I am not claiming that my Spanish is perfect. And no accent marks ...

A girl says to you ...
"Cuando vengas, no vengas en la boca."

(She is saying, "When you cum, don't cum in my mouth.")

You ask her to go to the beach with you ...
"El sabado, voy a passar tres dias a la playa de Tamarindo en un hotel muy comodo. Me gustaria que vayas conmigo, como si fuera mi novia. Si quedaras tres dias conmigo, que quisieras para un regalo?"

(Saturday, I'm going to Tamarindo beach for three days, to a very comfortable hotel. I would like you to go with me, as if you were my girlfriend. If you stayed with me for three days, what would you like for a gift?)

Personally, I say or ask,

Puedo terminar (or gosar) en su boca?

Or, no termino en su boca!

Queres ir a la playa y quedar en un hotel como si fueras mi novia? Para quedar conmigo, que quieres como un regalo?

That's my lingo, learned in Guatemala City.

Unless gozar-note spelling- has a idiomatic meaning in Guatemalan spanish I think you may be misusing the word. In standard spanish gozar means to enjoy.

Goze la vida - Enjoy life

Did you file a report about your experience in Guatemala City?

Nah Reytj, I studied there primer curso, secundaria (7th grade). So I really have no exploits to write about, other than being an athletic "jock".

And now when I return to visit family and friends, I have to keep a very low profile with regards to mongering!

Me being an anal retentive when it comes to Spanish grammar would change "goze la vida" to "goce la vida." No biggie...

Perhaps it's in the archives somewhere (I think I saw something once when I wasn't interested), but does anyone know where I can get the Pimsleur Spanish series cheap (or free)?--I'm willing to buy or borrow someone's discs, or download..

Post here or PM me---Thanks!

New additon to the top ten list of all-time worst Spanish subtitle bloopers:

In the movie "Capote" they showed a scene in the jail after the two killers had been captured, the two guys were chatting back and forth and one of them says something like "This is the last place in the world I want to be." The other guy replies "You got that right"

Subtitle at the bottom says "tienes ese derecho..."

Hunterman,

If you've got a good public library, they oftentimes have the Pimsleur available for checkout. If not there's always eBay.