January 17, 2012
Image: Vache raciste? by jasonpermenter. thispaperlife: Double racist, actually, the first one (which would be la vache espangol) is a French derogatory term for the Spanish. Actually, thispaperlife, the first one in this image is “vache mexicaine.” You will never see a traditional Mexican outfit in Spain, and to think otherwise is likely to offend both Spaniards and Mexicans. But to clarify, the words “vache espagnole” are part of a longer phrase, “parler anglais comme une vache espagnole.” Literally translated, “to speak English like a Spanish cow,” which means to speak English really badly. The phrase is not derogatory to cows, nor Spanish people. We don’t call the Spaniards “Spanish cows.” In fact, I don’t believe we even have a derogatory word for Spaniards the way you Americans do for people of Hispanic descent (although we do for Italians–”rital“–and Germans–”boche”). The worst term I’ve ever heard to designate Spaniards is “espingouin,” a combination of “espagnol” (Spanish) and “pingouin” (penguin). It 1/ doesn’t mean anything, because there aren’t many penguins in Spain and 2/ is more of a sweet, funny-sounding term of endearment. You see, we do that in Europe, because with so many different cultures in such a small space, we have no problem poking fun at each other and ourselves. The Portuguese mock the Spaniards for being vain and proud, the Spaniards mock the French for the same reason, everyone mocks the Germans for following the rules, everyone mocks the English for being insane, the English mock the French for being pompous, self-important, and irrelevant, and the feeling is very much mutual. And did I mention what everyone thinks of Italians? We’re a big, loud family, and we like to shout at each other, the better to make up later on. We started enough wars amongst ourselves to know that we’re all different, we won’t agree on everything, and the best we can do is share the space that’s been allotted to us peacefully (hence the EU). We’re not afraid of stereotypes, because we don’t mind applying them to ourselves. The phrase itself is often used self-deprecatingly. I speak English like a Spanish cow, which means not at all: cows don’t speak, so imagine a Spanish cow trying to speak English. — From SF.

Image: Vache raciste? by jasonpermenter.

thispaperlife:

Double racist, actually, the first one (which would be la vache espangol) is a French derogatory term for the Spanish.

Actually, thispaperlife, the first one in this image is “vache mexicaine.” You will never see a traditional Mexican outfit in Spain, and to think otherwise is likely to offend both Spaniards and Mexicans.

But to clarify, the words “vache espagnole” are part of a longer phrase, “parler anglais comme une vache espagnole.” Literally translated, “to speak English like a Spanish cow,” which means to speak English really badly.

The phrase is not derogatory to cows, nor Spanish people. We don’t call the Spaniards “Spanish cows.” In fact, I don’t believe we even have a derogatory word for Spaniards the way you Americans do for people of Hispanic descent (although we do for Italians–”rital“–and Germans–”boche”). The worst term I’ve ever heard to designate Spaniards is “espingouin,” a combination of “espagnol” (Spanish) and “pingouin” (penguin). It 1/ doesn’t mean anything, because there aren’t many penguins in Spain and 2/ is more of a sweet, funny-sounding term of endearment.

You see, we do that in Europe, because with so many different cultures in such a small space, we have no problem poking fun at each other and ourselves. The Portuguese mock the Spaniards for being vain and proud, the Spaniards mock the French for the same reason, everyone mocks the Germans for following the rules, everyone mocks the English for being insane, the English mock the French for being pompous, self-important, and irrelevant, and the feeling is very much mutual. And did I mention what everyone thinks of Italians? We’re a big, loud family, and we like to shout at each other, the better to make up later on. We started enough wars amongst ourselves to know that we’re all different, we won’t agree on everything, and the best we can do is share the space that’s been allotted to us peacefully (hence the EU). We’re not afraid of stereotypes, because we don’t mind applying them to ourselves.

The phrase itself is often used self-deprecatingly. I speak English like a Spanish cow, which means not at all: cows don’t speak, so imagine a Spanish cow trying to speak English.

— From SF.

10:08pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/Z9DOYyEx9a7v
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  1. whileyouweresleeping reblogged this from thispaperlife and added:
    Vache raciste? by jasonpermenter....Actually, thispaperlife,
  2. biorhythmist said: ^_^
  3. jasonpermenter posted this
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