[Tal Cual, Venezuela]

Tal Cual, Venezuela

Chavez' Harebrained Scheme to Restrict the 'Language of Empire'

"Why force people to speak Spanish, if the ill-named "Motherland [Spain]" is as much our enemy as George W. himself?"

EDITORIAL

Translated By Douglas Myles Rasmussen

March 5, 2008

Venezuela - Tal Cual - Home Page (Spanish)

CANTV [Venezuela's state-owned phone company] has prohibited the use of Anglicisms such as mouse, telemarketing and staff. The measure does have its logic. There is no reason to use the language of the English-speaking Empire, which is our enemy.

What doesn’t cease to surprise is the language adopted by President Chavez' curative linguistic measure: "Say it in Spanish, Say it with pride." I wonder: Why Spanish, if the ill-named "Motherland [Spain]" is as much our enemy as George W. himself? I’ll go even further: The Empire that rules - "Why don’t you shut up?" - has caused us much more harm than English.

[Editor's Note: The phrase "Why don’t you shut up?" was uttered in Spanish - in other words, the language of Empire - by King Juan Carlos of Spain. As the King was speaking to Hugo Chavez, the author implies that the use of Spanish by Venezuela's former colonial master should make Chavez just as opposed to Spanish as he is English. The exchange took place during at the Ibero-American Summit  in Santiago, Chile, on Nov. 11, 2007 WATCH ]

I don’t know why, but I get the impression that what CANTV has done here isn't politically correct, given that our leader, director and beloved father has said: "Four hundred years ago a cry of rebellion arose in this country." But this cry wasn’t uttered in Spanish: "Anna karina rote, aunukon Itoto Paparoto Mantoro." [An indigenous Indian phrase meaning, "We are men and we are in resistance, we are free!" This was a cry uttered during the indigenous resistance to the genocide being committed by Spain during the 18^th century in what we now call the Americas.]

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The Bolivarian Revolution occurred less than 200 years ago, not 400, so this is either an error or more likely a huge exaggeration on the part of President Chávez. Secondly, the author refers to "a cry of rebellion that arose in the country." During a series of recent speeches, Hugo Chavez referred to this indigenous battle cry, "Anna karina rote, aunukon Itoto Paparoto Mantoro." The author points out that this cry wasn't made in Spanish, but in a native Indian language. Therefore, these new rules forcing people at CANTV to speak Spanish are nonsense - since Spanish isn’t really the mother-tongue. Rather, it's the tongue of the nation's former oppressor - which is an ally of the "Empire"].

As the Romans used to say, Roma locuta, causa finita (Rome has spoken; case closed).

Friends of CANTV, I believe that you've got big problems if you intend to directly defend 300 years of oppression [under the Spanish] - not to mention the open support of the Spanish King that such a decision implies. If this isn't treason to the Nation, then let God come down and bear witness.

It would have been Revolutionary to have said: "Say it in Wayú, Say it with pride ." And when I say Wayú, I also say Piapoko, Akaguayo, Pemón, Ye’kuana or Yanomami. [All are tribes indigenous to Venezuela]. Of course I understand that these languages aren't spoken by a great many people, but the slang of the malandra is in fact part of everyone's daily language. Who in Venezuela, for example, hasn't lived with the expression "Quieto bichito, bájate de la mula te dije ya." [Get off the mule, already," which means to Venezuelans "pay what you owe."]

It would have been somewhat logical, my friends, to make a campaign in defense of this slang by selecting such common phrases as: alebrestao (upset), aguevoneao (lethargic), pelar bota (to be pennyless), buitre (a person obsessed with conquering the opposite sex, a "Don Juan"), caligueva (extreme boredom), resuelve (part-time job…or lover), paco (police agents), chamo (young man) and an endless list of words that now constitute, without a doubt, a language.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

That way we could mount a campaign which warns: "Don’t say: 'Take what I'm saying seriously if you don’t want me to fire countless bullets into your head.' Say instead: 'Don’t get Popy on me [make trouble] or I’ll fill your head with lead.'"

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Popy is a children’s entertainer in Venezuela with a colorful off-screen reputation WATCH . "Ponerse Popy" means "to be a troublemaker."]

Don’t say: "Look, evil being or a person with an ugly appearance, if you keep up your stupid behavior I will act upon your person with the purpose of committing homicide." 

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Say: "Look, devil, if you keep up your mariquera (queerness - homosexual behavior) I’ll leave you tieso (cold, rigid, dead)."

So, gentlemen of CANTV, you still have time to rectify the situation.

If you don’t want Miky to become unreasonable, or vaina (things) to get pelúa (complicated) so that you lose your chamba (job), pack your bags; for the way pa’lante (forward) is pa’lla (that way) and stop the pifia (blunders, errors) at once.

CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH VERSION

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US March 27, 4:45am]