Bonus points if you know what movie that's from...
There was an SNL sketch many years ago (Jimmy Smits was hosting) where they were in an office and trying to decide what they wanted to eat for lunch. They were mentioning a lot of Mexican dishes, and every time they did, they said them with this really exaggerated Spanish accent. This was during one of SNL's "not funny" periods, so it wasn't that entertaining.
BUT, it did get me thinking-- What makes it weird/funny for people who aren't native Spanish speakers to use an accent when saying Spanish words? When a person uses a French word or phrase, the expectation is that he/she will attempt to replicate the correct French pronunciation. What makes it different for Spanish?
Say my two examples out loud...
Example: Je ne sais quoi. If you know this phrase, chances are you said it much like a Parisian would.
Example: Enchilada. Not so much with this one. What's up with that?
My theory is because French is seen as being cooler and more sophisticated, and Spanish is not. Why? Because white people speak French, and brown people speak Spanish.
Which leads me to a somewhat related topic--Spainiards. When you think of a person from Spain, do you associate them more closely with Europe, or Latin America? Do Spainiards consider themselves "white"? For that matter, do lighter-skinned Europeans consider themselves "white", or is that a concept that stays within the borders of the U.S.A? Inquiring minds want to know.
1. That sketch was hilarious! What's wrong with you?
ReplyDelete2. The "je ne sais quoi" vs "enchilada" difference has to do with contact and repetition (we hear Spanish-speakers say it regularly), but actually, if you get too far from the source, you lose even the trace "enchiLAHda" and it turns into an enchiLADDA.
3. SpANiards. And yes they do.
home alone!
ReplyDeletethis was home alone one when david s cousin the girl told him that when he asked about how to arrange his suitcase before leaving to paris !
ReplyDeletehome alone!
ReplyDeleteHome alone
ReplyDeleteYou're what the French call les incompetent. I think it all goes back to class when Elizabeth I and before were around, people in court could speak French and therefore seen a higher class so would pronounce it properly. In fact that's probably rubbish! People who can speak French will always pronouce it properly as they can because they'd just sound stupid otherwise.
ReplyDeleteAlso what do you see as brown? My mother is Spanish my father is French, My grandad is Jamaican and I was raised in the UK...suppose brown? Calling someone a Spaniard would probably be more something in South America and in Europe you would say someone from Spain is Spanish. Latin American would be South America. That's just my ideas and it seems obvious, but maybe I'm not getting it.
ReplyDeletekevin your such a disease!
ReplyDelete