Yesterday my mom said, "Aye caramba Chica Perica;" I almost wrecked the car.
My mom is challenged with the English language. I tried to teach her a few simple French phrases as she went with me to France for a high school trip. My ears nearly bled and I'm frankly still not over it after 16 years. I had lost all hope of ever making her the least bilingual.
What is the world coming to when my mom speaks Spanish to me? Kind-of gives me hope....
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Definition: Chica Perica
Look up "perica" in a Spanish dictionary and you won't find it. It's a slang derivative of "perico" which means "parakeet". Now, in Spanish, words ending in 'o' are considered male, and words ending in 'a' are considered female. So, using this rule, perica is a female parakeet.
(It took me quite awhile to figure this one out as my second language is French, pas espagnole.)
In Spanish the word for "girl" is chica. So, if we put the words together the phrase means "girl parakeet" or "parakeet girl".
So, how on earth did this crazy gringa get to be called "Parakeet Girl"? Well, for a long time I thought that it was a pet name, and perhaps because I reminded the person who tagged me with this nom de plume of a bird considering my tendency to talk incessantly.... I was pretty much on target.
In Spanish, at least in Latin American countries, chica perica is a colloquialism for "chatterbox". Well, OK, I admit I had a moment of, "Excuse me???", but then I had to laugh-- no nickname has come closer to describing me so perfectly. So, I have charged ahead, embracing my chatterboxiness to proudly call myself Chica Perica!
So, world, here I am to chatter away at you. I will happily share with you my trips (literally) through the world trying to speak too many languages at once. At times I have to admit I can't even figure out which language to think in! You may have heard of "Spanglish", a blend of Spanish and English, but what do you call English, French, and Spanish-- besides insanity-- with a little Italian, Chinese, German, Latin and Greek mixed in to spice things up? I call it my new-found life in International Business and trying to survive it.
I hope that - j'espere que - yo espero que - oh whatever - I hope that you enjoy it!
(It took me quite awhile to figure this one out as my second language is French, pas espagnole.)
In Spanish the word for "girl" is chica. So, if we put the words together the phrase means "girl parakeet" or "parakeet girl".
So, how on earth did this crazy gringa get to be called "Parakeet Girl"? Well, for a long time I thought that it was a pet name, and perhaps because I reminded the person who tagged me with this nom de plume of a bird considering my tendency to talk incessantly.... I was pretty much on target.
In Spanish, at least in Latin American countries, chica perica is a colloquialism for "chatterbox". Well, OK, I admit I had a moment of, "Excuse me???", but then I had to laugh-- no nickname has come closer to describing me so perfectly. So, I have charged ahead, embracing my chatterboxiness to proudly call myself Chica Perica!
So, world, here I am to chatter away at you. I will happily share with you my trips (literally) through the world trying to speak too many languages at once. At times I have to admit I can't even figure out which language to think in! You may have heard of "Spanglish", a blend of Spanish and English, but what do you call English, French, and Spanish-- besides insanity-- with a little Italian, Chinese, German, Latin and Greek mixed in to spice things up? I call it my new-found life in International Business and trying to survive it.
I hope that - j'espere que - yo espero que - oh whatever - I hope that you enjoy it!
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