I mentioned in a previous post that the Spanish I speak is slightly different than the Spanish that most people speak in Argentina. There are always regional differences to the way a language is spoken, so this wasn't surprising. And other than blowing my cover as a local, the diction wasn't a problem.
There was, however, one case where this resulted in a bit of amusement. To me, the word "chicos" has always meant something akin to "kids" or "young 'uns." I'm not alone in thinking this, either; I'd say at least part of the Internet agrees with me.
So imagine my amusement when the driver on our very first cab ride kept referring to my travel companions as "chicos." The Mild Ex was also pretty amused, as she likes to give me a hard time about being older than she is. I was a little surprised, to be honest. I'm not usually mistaken for the oldest person in a group. In fact, most people who don't know me very well assume that my younger brother is the eldest sibling. Still, maybe I was looking particularly mature that day, so I went with it.
I would've kept being all amused, too, except we went on one of those group tours. The person leading the tour used the same word, "chicos," to refer to the group. There were definitely people there that were older than I was, and there was no way a reasonable person would refer to them as kids. In fact, a few of them were obviously older than the tour guide.
It was roughly half a second later that I realized that in that particular country, "chicos" is more accurately translated to something like "guys" (e.g., "hey guys, I want you to ...."). So much for everyone suddenly recognizing just how mature a person I had become. To make matters worse, I then had to explain my newfound discovery to my travel companions. The Mild Ex was further amused at my goof, and I think I remember a few jokes about me thinking I was more important than I actually was (I had that coming).
Still, I learned my lesson; Argentinians have their own brand of Spanish. Or, as I like to jokingly say, they speak funny. Regardless, whenever I heard that word, I'd chuckle just a little on the inside at my initial screw up. Moreover, I had a new story to tell, at the small cost of a few jokes at my expense. I suppose that's a fair trade, chicos.
There was, however, one case where this resulted in a bit of amusement. To me, the word "chicos" has always meant something akin to "kids" or "young 'uns." I'm not alone in thinking this, either; I'd say at least part of the Internet agrees with me.
So imagine my amusement when the driver on our very first cab ride kept referring to my travel companions as "chicos." The Mild Ex was also pretty amused, as she likes to give me a hard time about being older than she is. I was a little surprised, to be honest. I'm not usually mistaken for the oldest person in a group. In fact, most people who don't know me very well assume that my younger brother is the eldest sibling. Still, maybe I was looking particularly mature that day, so I went with it.
I would've kept being all amused, too, except we went on one of those group tours. The person leading the tour used the same word, "chicos," to refer to the group. There were definitely people there that were older than I was, and there was no way a reasonable person would refer to them as kids. In fact, a few of them were obviously older than the tour guide.
It was roughly half a second later that I realized that in that particular country, "chicos" is more accurately translated to something like "guys" (e.g., "hey guys, I want you to ...."). So much for everyone suddenly recognizing just how mature a person I had become. To make matters worse, I then had to explain my newfound discovery to my travel companions. The Mild Ex was further amused at my goof, and I think I remember a few jokes about me thinking I was more important than I actually was (I had that coming).
Still, I learned my lesson; Argentinians have their own brand of Spanish. Or, as I like to jokingly say, they speak funny. Regardless, whenever I heard that word, I'd chuckle just a little on the inside at my initial screw up. Moreover, I had a new story to tell, at the small cost of a few jokes at my expense. I suppose that's a fair trade, chicos.
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