“To Love” in Spain

Submitted by Lauren Gross on the 2015 winter session study abroad program in Granada, Spain sponsored by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures…

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot while here in Spain is the power of words and language. Going from a place where I dominate the language rather well to a place where sometimes a simple expressed thought can be a challenge has made me consider the importance of communication and the sheer chaos that can ensue with miscommunication.

One example is the use of expressions. The expressions we have in English often don’t translate correctly to Spanish and vice versa. So, if I were to tell someone here “Esta lloviendo gatos y peros” (it’s raining cats and dogs), they would most likely think I’m crazy. Another thing that is an issue for me is the use of niceties or politeness. For the most part when I ask someone to do something I usually begin with a disclaimer or some kind of way to soften the fact that I am asking for something. For instance, “I was wondering if you could please…” or “Do you think you could possibly…” However, in Spanish I’m not sure if it makes sense to ask for something in this way (or maybe I just don’t know the right expressions). In any case, I don’t like sounding demanding, but also in Spanish there’s a whole tense for commands (something we don’t have in English) and I think this gives the language and the culture a certain characteristic.

Following with the idea of language influencing culture, I think it is so interesting that there are words in certain languages to represent certain ideas that other languages simply do not have. Therefore, the mental model of a speaker of a particular language can have a whole different understanding of a concept than the speaker of a different language. One of the best examples I think of that I have learned about is the German word “schadenfreude”, which literally means the happiness one feels in the misfortune of someone else (which I can only take to mean like laughing when someone slips on a banana peel or something? but then again I don’t know because there is no word for this in English).

The whole reason these ideas came about was because as I was thinking about the Spanish language.  I noticed there are at least 3 different words for the verb “to love”. There is “encantar” which is used to express how much you love things, as in “me encanta la pizza” (I love pizza…which is quite true). There is also “querer”, which is kind of like the way you would sign a birthday card to your grandmother (te queiro mucho abuela). I would say it is more like familial love. And finally there is “amar” which is a deep romantic love, probably more appropriate for a significant other. In English, we just have the verb “to love”, though all those types of love are so different. I think this just goes to show how important learning other languages is. Not only is it necessary to really communicate with others but these nuances give a lot of insight into the values and mindsets of other cultures.

Graffiti Sevilla Lauren Gross 15W Granada FLLT sm