Words, words, words.

@marguicha (229479)

Chile

November 21, 2025 7:43pm CST

When I read books in Spanish (my native language) it depends on where the writer is from whether I understand more or less. In Latin America we use some words that the Spaniards brought with them centuries ago and they are completly outdated in Spain. And on the other hand if I read a book from the northern part of South America there are words I can only imagine what they mean. That´s what happened to me when I read 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. And when I went to Puerto Rico to see my parents who were there, my mom told us the very first day not to use some words because there they were bad words. Mexicans use many words that have a Maya origin while in my country we use words that are Quechua. I wanted to share this with you because just today I had to look online for the Spanish word for gizzards and then look again for the definition. The word that I have been using all my life is not online.

Do you have such problems in your language?

13 people like this

12 responses

@xFiacre (14091)

• Ireland

22 Nov

@marguicha Irish was only standardised relatively recently (1958) , and the words can differ from town to town.

4 people like this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

I didn´t know that. Thank you.

3 people like this

@LadyDuck (488138)

• Italy

22 Nov

I have problems in my own language because in some regions they use different words. I never read Andrea Camilleri books in Italian because he uses all the time Sicilian words and I miss half of what he writes.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

In the first chapter of 100 Years of Solitude, García Márquez wrote about a veggie patch that one of the characters had planted. I did not know what was there until one of my friends who had lived in Venezuela while Pinochet was in power told me. And my mom had a Mexican friend in the US with whom she shared recipes. She asked her to write them in English

. Victoria knew the word from the Maya language and my mom knew the Quechua name.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

@LadyDuck I remember that once the Spanish version of a German book was so bad that I got a French version.

2 people like this

@LadyDuck (488138)

• Italy

22 Nov

I think that if I want to read a Camilleri novel, I will buy an English version, at least I can understand what he writes.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@RasmaSandra (91341)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

22 Nov

I read in both English and Latvian and do well with switching from one language to another,,

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

I read in Spanish (my native language) and English. But I don´t do well when people are talking to me in the other language.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

23 Nov

@RasmaSandra When I was younger and had a good voice, most of the songs I sang in the shower were in English. English have so many Christmas sons and when I went to parties in my teens, we played and danced to rock and roll.

1 person likes this

@RasmaSandra (91341)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

23 Nov

@marguicha I find it rather strange how I can switch so easily when I listen to my favorite songs and some are English and some Latvian and my ears just pick up the difference easily.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@Deepizzaguy (116452)

• Lake Charles, Louisiana

22 Nov

I understand that some words from nations in South America would be considered offensive in other Latin American nations when comedians say them on television,

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

IThe difference is because we use some native American words depending on where we live.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

@Deepizzaguy In Mexico and surrounding places, many words are of Mayan origin. Aguacate (avocado) is one of them. The word in Mayan is aguacatl. We call it palta. It isn´t Spanish either. It comes from the Quechua.

1 person likes this

@Deepizzaguy (116452)

• Lake Charles, Louisiana

22 Nov

@marguicha That is true.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@LindaOHio (207237)

• United States

22 Nov

We usually don't have that problem with English.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

You do have problems with different accents though.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

23 Nov

@LindaOHio I remember many years ago when I went to see my best American friend in Wisconsin. We had to take the plane back in Miami so we went from Wisconsin to Florida in Edna´s car. The men drove and we either talked or slept. We woke up in Atlanta and I went with Edna to a supermarket while the men fill the car with gas. I thought that the cashier had some ailment in her tongue but Edna told me that it was the accent.

1 person likes this

@LindaOHio (207237)

• United States

23 Nov

@marguicha Yes some Southern accents are really thick.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@Dreamerby (9536)

• Calcutta, India

22 Nov

Yeah Bengali of the 80s 90s was more formal than now...so there are still some words that I wouldn't understand from those days

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

I imagine that India has many different languages still.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

@Dreamerby India was not only one country until very recently.

1 person likes this

@Dreamerby (9536)

• Calcutta, India

22 Nov

@marguicha Yeah many languages...Bengali is my mother tongue

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@GardenGerty (166641)

• United States

23 Nov

We can learn a lot of history by studying language usage. What you are describing would be a lot like people in America trying to read Old English, or even some modern English from the UK or from Australia.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

23 Nov

I have learned a lot of English because I have read most of the English classics. But I don´t know what words are still in use as I don´t live in an English speaking country.

@AmbiePam (107398)

• United States

22 Nov

Of course, I’m fluent in English, but I can only read a little Spanish. Growing up, a lady in our church was from Mexico. She taught my sister and I quite a lot of Spanish, but unfortunately, I retained only my numbers and a few songs in my memory that were Spanish. Whereas, my sister taught Spanish, and can speak quite a lot.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

I read and write fluently in English but my accent is terrible. I haven´t spoken English for over 60 years.

1 person likes this

@May2k8 (19332)

• Indonesia

22 Nov

Each province has a different accent, but we can still use the national language so it's not a problem for me.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

I see. We have a problem in South and Central America because it is very big.

1 person likes this

@DaddyEvil (162716)

• United States

22 Nov

Not really. English "borrows" a lot of words from other languages. My parents were born in the early 1900s so I might say or write something that is considered "old fashioned" here. *shrug* I usually don't let that worry me. If a word is in my vocabulary, I'll use it.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

I do tooo. But I´m aware that there are words in Spanish that are only used in other parts of Latin America.

1 person likes this

@wolfgirl569 (125727)

• Marion, Ohio

22 Nov

I have heard people say they got in trouble visiting other countries because what they learned here had different meanings somewhere else. I think english is pretty much the same except different phrases.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

Probably. Accent is different though.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (366333)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Nov

I haven't had problems like this. Languages can be difficult at times.

1 person likes this

@marguicha (229479)

• Chile

22 Nov

Some languages have more dialects than others.

1 person likes this