Wednesday 16 July 2008

Living in a Bilingual World (Allegro)

- What my Dad is saying is…
- Hey, don’t translate now, nena, will you?

There we were again, in the same situation. Daughter had brought home a friend from school and whenever I made a comment to her in Spanish, she would translate it into English to her friend. Not that there was any harm in what she was doing, after all we don’t make any kind of negative remarks in front of strangers or acquaintances about them. That’s a no-no en la casa de CubanInLondon. But I would rather she was a bit more controlled in the whole translation bit. I can picture the following conversation when she grows up and she brings home her first date:

- (Me) And where did you get this Anthony Perkins lookalike?
- (Daughter) My Dad says that you looked like the guy from ‘Psycho’, especially the Mother bit.
- (Date) Ahem…
- (Me) You didn’t have to translate that, nena, did you?
- (Daughter) Yes, but I want them to know what you’re talking about.
- (Me) Well, it’s not really necessary, is it? At the end of the day you’re not doing a degree in Spanish translation.
- (Date, looking unsettled) Er… could I have some water, please?
- (Me) He probably wants the shower, too, preferably with you in it.
- (Daughter) Oh, papi, stop it now. You’re not Alfred Hitchcock, you know, and I’m not Janet Leigh.
- (Me) Yes, but still, he’s quite soft-spoken and looks a bit shy.
- (Date, looking around and trying to whisper to Daughter in front of me) What are you talking about?
- (Daughter) My Dad said…
- (Me) Enough! That’s enough translation for tonight.

Well, at least she finds translating Spanish into English fun.
Copyright 2008

6 comments:

  1. The pic is kind of scary. The story is hilarious--but let us hope that it truly remains just a story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yup, let's hope the story never materialises. I will pop by your site in no time as I have been absent for quite some time now. I have finally found a job, and a good one, too, now and I will have some more free time to post more often.

    Thanks for popping by.

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, that's a funny scenario!! And that picture of Anthony Perkins is THE creepiest!

    Thanks for the chuckles. :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Willow, I was around the Manor last night but was in a rush, so did not stop to leave my comments. Will do so tonight. And yes, both you and shine are right. That picture IS scary!

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tendra que buscarse novios con un buen sentido del humor y que no se parezcan a Anthony Perkins!! ...y que quizas hablen espaniol :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bueno, lo del espan-ol, si, me convendria. Lo del Anthony Perkins, jeje, quién sabe, nadie esta al tanto de lo que pasa por la cabeza de una persona. Gracias por pasar.

    Saludos desde Londres.

    ReplyDelete

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