There is nothing that can quite awaken the senses on a relaxing Tuesday afternoon like getting your legs waxed. Hot hot hot wax spooned onto the leg and then ripped off with hopes of taking all hair with it. Really, I voluntarily made this happen. I even was willing to pay for it! A whole $25,000 pesos. Although this is a start to a great story, this isn't the point. The highlight was talking to the main man in charge of the salon I went to.
Alright, us native English speakers like to make English words Spanish by adding an "o" to the end of our words. Come on, I know you've all done it. It's after dinner and we want to relax...let's go sit on the couch-o. Yeah and we can have some dessert-o to accompany our coffee-o. Just stick on an "o" and it's automatically Spanish, right? Well sure, to us it makes sense but it may make a Spanish-speaker cringe.
Little did I know, Spanish speakers like to do something like this to make their words "english-ized" too. Certainly they don't add an "o". The suffix of choice? -tion. I recall hearing this at some point but I thought it was nonsense. Well today, this myth became a reality. The man at the salon quickly realized I was American and so began his attempt to speak English with me. Not English-English, but rather his Spanish-ized version.
"Señorita, quisiera un aguitation" ....Miss, would you like some "water" ....agua + ita +TION
"I speakey poquito inglestion" ....I speak a little "english" ....ingles + TION
"Mucho gustation" ...."happy to assist you" ...gusta + TION
On and on it went. The entire conversation was like speaking Spanish is piglatin. In my head I had to chop off the "-tion" and figure out what Spanish word he was trying to say. It took everything in me not to giggle as the man was talking. I know he was just trying to accommodate me and I appreciate his ambiTION.
Alright, us native English speakers like to make English words Spanish by adding an "o" to the end of our words. Come on, I know you've all done it. It's after dinner and we want to relax...let's go sit on the couch-o. Yeah and we can have some dessert-o to accompany our coffee-o. Just stick on an "o" and it's automatically Spanish, right? Well sure, to us it makes sense but it may make a Spanish-speaker cringe.
Little did I know, Spanish speakers like to do something like this to make their words "english-ized" too. Certainly they don't add an "o". The suffix of choice? -tion. I recall hearing this at some point but I thought it was nonsense. Well today, this myth became a reality. The man at the salon quickly realized I was American and so began his attempt to speak English with me. Not English-English, but rather his Spanish-ized version.
"Señorita, quisiera un aguitation" ....Miss, would you like some "water" ....agua + ita +TION
"I speakey poquito inglestion" ....I speak a little "english" ....ingles + TION
"Mucho gustation" ...."happy to assist you" ...gusta + TION
On and on it went. The entire conversation was like speaking Spanish is piglatin. In my head I had to chop off the "-tion" and figure out what Spanish word he was trying to say. It took everything in me not to giggle as the man was talking. I know he was just trying to accommodate me and I appreciate his ambiTION.
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