The Universal Language

Those of us who write in both English and Spanish navigate a linguistic minefield. "False cognates" lurk behind every corner and must be ceaselessly beaten back with a mataburros. Past a certain age, more words are forgotten in both languages than learned in either one.

Yesterday, during an afternoon nap I saw a pinwheel in a dream. But, I couldn't remember the word for pinwheel in English or Spanish. While still dreaming I thought about writing a good friend and copy editor and asking her what do you call that toy, which is a stick with a star that blows in the wind and has curved points. The word pinwheel didn't blow back into my memory until this morning.

I mention this just to say I understand the why of mistakes such as "uso justo" and "mamás de estos tiempos" (below see "No Hablar Espanol") even if they greatly annoy me for their crude grasp of Spanish. Mistakes made in English are no less irksome.

Washington's Voz is a bilingual newspaper and website that offers news in English and Spanish. A recent front page features a headline that reads "Latinos can't afford to breath fresh air." Yep, "breath" instead of breathe. I like to think my breath is fresh even though as a resident of Mexico City I breathe some of the most polluted air on the planet.

At first, I figured maybe the missing e was pocketed by a rogue copy editor  except that the same mistake is repeated in the text of the article. "But it seems there are communities where people literally can't afford to breath, and Latinos and African American seem to partake most often on that privilege. A report by the Sierra Club shows that even if they don't die everyday, good breathing has become a luxury for many Hispanics."

Even if I don't die everyday, I find good writing has become a luxury.

I take some solace in an observation García Márquez once made. He said, "el idioma universal no es el inglés, sino el inglés mal hablado." Y mal redactado, for that matter.