4 ms·

But chapulín means exactly the same thing as grasshopper. Anything that an English speaker would call grasshopper a Mexican would call a chapulín. I guess I u

by jordigh 11y ago

But chapulín means exactly the same thing as grasshopper. Anything that an English speaker would call grasshopper a Mexican would call a chapulín. I guess I understand why people do this. It's obviously not wrong, because nobody can speak incorrectly. It just strikes me as a bit of a cultural misunderstanding, but that's how things are.

pvaldes 11y ago
The spanish common word for the animal is 'saltamontes', that could be translated as 'mounts-jumper'. Samely as 'grasshopper' this word (used mainly for short-horned grasshoppers) do not have any edible or culinary connotations. Is just an animal (and sometimes 'a disciple'). Chapulín have a richer meaning, can be used to name a dish, a type of insect (including some crickets), can be easily interchanged as toddler, or as 'a dishonest politic' (that jumps to another party), and is also a beloved super-antihero of a popular series for children in the mexican tv that was later photocop... parodied again in the simpsons to make fun of latino spanish speakers (bumblebee man).
- jordigh 11y ago
  I guess you believe that piscina and alberca have different meanings too... There is a train of thought in linguistics that there is no such thing as an exact synonym. http://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/2062/do-absolute-synonyms-exist http://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/2062/do-absol...
  - pvaldes 11y ago
    Of course, the main purpose of an alberca is not to swimming. A piscina is a swimming pool.
    - jordigh 11y ago
      Not in Mexico. They're used as exact synonyms as far as I can tell. But you seem convinced that absolute synonyms don't exist. As a corollary to this, exact synonyms between languages don't exist either, so exact translation is impossible. I'll agree that exact translation is impossible, but I think a good translator's job is to convey the closest possible linguistic experience possible. In this case, a chapulín is the closest Mexican equivalent to saltamontes or grasshopper. Although Mexicans will understand the word "saltamontes", it sounds a bit foreign and will resort to chapulín instead.

by jordigh 11y ago

pvaldes 11y ago

The spanish common word for the animal is 'saltamontes', that could be translated as 'mounts-jumper'. Samely as 'grasshopper' this word (used mainly for short-horned grasshoppers) do not have any edible or culinary connotations. Is just an animal (and sometimes 'a disciple'). Chapulín have a richer meaning, can be used to name a dish, a type of insect (including some crickets), can be easily interchanged as toddler, or as 'a dishonest politic' (that jumps to another party), and is also a beloved super-antihero of a popular series for children in the mexican tv that was later photocop... parodied again in the simpsons to make fun of latino spanish speakers (bumblebee man).

jordigh 11y ago
I guess you believe that piscina and alberca have different meanings too... There is a train of thought in linguistics that there is no such thing as an exact synonym. http://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/2062/do-absolute-synonyms-exist http://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/2062/do-absol...
- pvaldes 11y ago
  Of course, the main purpose of an alberca is not to swimming. A piscina is a swimming pool.
  - jordigh 11y ago
    Not in Mexico. They're used as exact synonyms as far as I can tell. But you seem convinced that absolute synonyms don't exist. As a corollary to this, exact synonyms between languages don't exist either, so exact translation is impossible. I'll agree that exact translation is impossible, but I think a good translator's job is to convey the closest possible linguistic experience possible. In this case, a chapulín is the closest Mexican equivalent to saltamontes or grasshopper. Although Mexicans will understand the word "saltamontes", it sounds a bit foreign and will resort to chapulín instead.