Yeah, big word I know but what it basically means is the relationship between a language and the culture that language reflects. I am carrying out a study on HOW THE SPANISH LANGUAGE EXPRESSES THE CULTURAL VALUES OF SPAIN. Of course Spain is a big country with many different dialects and many local cultural differences but I would like to hear from as many different people as possible to get a good cross-section. So I would welcome answers to these questions if anyone has the inclination:

PROVERBS RELATING TO LANGUAGE
For example, in English we have proverbs like: "if you have nothing good to say then don't say anything at all" - this reflects the cultural value of politeness - and "silence is golden", which reflects how pleasant silence can be. Do Spanish speakers have any proverbs that reflect their cultural values? I would love to get these in Spanish with an English translation if possible.

NAMES/NICKNAMES
In English, names do not generally have a meaning when given at birth, so the name Peter given to a baby will normally just be because Peter is an attractive name to the parents. Do Spanish parents give names to their children that mean something? I knew a Spanish woman once called Begonia which is the name of a flower. Would this mean something more or would it just have sounded a nice name to her parents?

We often give nicknames to people depending on their characteristics. I have a tall skinny friend that people call storky - he looks like a stork (bird). I know that Spaniards often have surnames that seem to derive from nicknames like Gordo, Barba, and Tristo. Is it common to give nicknames in Spanish and how are they derived?

I will have some more questions coming. Many thanks.
Sticky

Hope this somewhat answers your question. Nicknames: at least in South Am-there is ALWAYS "La Negra" and "El Chino" in every group-names given for a person's dark skin and their eyes-these are mestizo people who are given these names-so these are not race based. Nor are they derogatory-they are affectionate. I never really got used to that. Not sure what to do with that.

Words reflecting culture: one situation that has always struck me is how in English we use the words "godmother, godfather, godparents" which seem to simply express the intention that someone will raise the godchild in the faith of the parents if they are not able. In contrast, in Spanish-they use the words "comadre, compadre, and compadres." They are co-parents now. And "compadres" doesn't just describe the godparents-it is a shared title-the parents and the godparents call each other this-they now have this link between them as well as to the children (that is a descriptor we don't have in English as far as I am aware). And I think this reflects their understanding of the situation as involving a co-parenting relationship between all the parents in which everyone's role is affected. It's nice.

Muchas gracias Schwendy - that is exactly the sort of thing I am looking for. It is fascinating how much of the way a culture thinks is reflected in their language. Language will always be an imperfect way of describing the subtleties of humanity but that is a fine example of how culture influences language influences culture influences language...

Another question to prompt some thinking:

TABOO WORDS or FORBIDDEN WORDS
Words can often be generally forbidden by society for various reasons. The words “Jesus” or “Oh God” can be used as expletives (swear words) but English society generally disapproves of their use in public or general company. Similarly the word “fuck” is treated the same. But these words may not be forbidden among, for example, a group of men in a pub. Are there words that are taboo or forbidden in some parts of Spanish society but acceptable in others? If so, why are they forbidden – is it religion? sex? parts of the body? that makes them taboo?

Similarly, are there any areas that are not talked about? For instance in Bali (Indonesia) you should not ask a child what they want to be when they grow up – only God knows the answer to that and for the child to answer would be putting himself/herself in the position of God. Does anything similar exist in Spain?

Buenos dias
Sticky

This is an awesome subject. There are some people on this board that have some real linguistic gifts and you should receive a lot of helpful posts.

Yeah, I hope I do. And you are right, it is an awesome subject and an infinite one. One could ask as many questions about this as there are cultures and languages in the world and still not have the answers.

I have a couple more topics. Please remember that I do appreciate that it is impossible to make generalisations as there are so many sub-cultures in Spain. I am interested in YOUR experience. That said, I am sure that, just as in the English-speaking world, there are many universal phenomena.

NAMING and CATEGORISING
Many cultures have a variety of words that reflect the importance of something to their society that may not be as important to another. For example in English we have the word potato. One South American tribe, where the potato is their staple crop, has 150 words for potatoes depending on quality or type. Generally the more important a phenomenon is to a society the more that society will notice the details – and possibly have names for those details. Are there any similar phenomena in Spain? I was wondering whether maybe olives or bullfighting may be possibilities. Perhaps there are different words for different olives - in my supermarket they are just called green olives and black olives. Perhaps there are names for different ages of bulls? Or names for different stages of training for matadors?

FAMILY TERMINOLOGY
I believe that, in Spain, terms for family are fairly similar to those in the English-speaking world. In New Zealand Maori children are often raised by relatives and they use a form of ‘father’ and ‘mother’ to refer to their adoptive parents (they are not actually adopted and have very close contact with their birth parents). I think that, generally speaking, the Spanish extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) is more important than in English-speaking countries where we tend to just be mum, dad and the kids with the occasional visit to see the relatives. Is there terminology or words that reflect this in Spain? Would there be, for example, a word that describes all the relatives on the mother’s side and all those on the father’s side? Or maybe all the relatives of a particular generation, for example all the grandparents, have a word that groups them? Are there any family terms that simply don’t exist in English-speaking countries?

Muchos gracias
Sticky

well, in puerto rico we say 'camaron' for all sort of shrimps. if they are big we say camarones grandes...but in spain camarones are only the tiny ones. here we have camarones, gambas, langostinos....

continuing with comadre, compadre subject. i just was asked to be the godmother of my friend's little baby girl. it is said that compadres are the people you choose to see in heaven, other than your immediate family.

Hi Sticky. I've been racking my brain for you but I'm drawing up zeros. There is one American phrase that I have not heard in Spain. "Children are to be seen and not heard". Spanish culture is much more accepting of having children scattering about their feet than in the U.S. In Spanish pubs, you will often see kids scurrying about the place and the adults don't seem to care at all.

Try letting your American ankle-biters run around a Hooters or TGIF and see how many dirty looks you get.

I've also noticed that Spanish children are permitted to "talk back" to their parents. I was amazed how often I would hear a small Spanish child utter a phrase or use a tone that, if used by an American child, would bring less than pleasant consequences to the American child.

This phrase is also very common in England, and I believe originated from the Victorian era, where children were nothing more than a social symbol and a means to continue the family name.

Most children of upper middle class families spent very little time with their parents, and were only 'presented' to them in their 'Sunday Best' for evening meals and special occasions.

The Nanny was always the nurturer and emotional bond for the child, and often the title Nanny/Mummy were interchangeable (I read somewhere once that Prince Charles always referred to his Nanny as 'Mummy' and to the Queen as 'Her Majesty' .

I believe that this distinction is still true today. To say 'Mummy' signifies emotion and love, whilst 'Mother' implies a sense of coldness and lack of attachment.
Also, when you reach your teens, it is rare to still say 'Mummy', but to use 'Mum' or 'Mother' instead, which is thought to sound less childish and affected.

I'm not sure if this distinction is seen in any other culture, or whether it is isolated to our very class driven society.

Interestingly, I've not heard 'Madre' used often if at all in Spain, whereas 'Mami' or 'Mama' is heard frequently, even amongst my adult friends, which as an English person, I find slightly unusual, but lovely .

This really is an interesting topic!

Ok, here are some of my observations:

Names/Nicknames
Right now my husband (Spanish) and I (American) are expecting our first child. So naturally, we are currently playing the name game. In my culture (and I suppose in the Anglo culture overall) it is common to name the son after the father and then give him the title "Jr.". My brother is a "Jr." because he is named after my father. To mix things up a bit, my father is a naturalized US citizen originally from the Philippines. There it is common to have the child's second/middle name be it's mother's last name. So, my father's and my brother's second/middle name is my father's mother's last name. (follow that?!). For whatever reason my parents thought it would be neat for me to have the same initials as my father and my brother. So the three of us share the same initials, but obviously I don't share their name. My poor younger sister, odd-man-out, has her own name and own initials.

Interestingly enough in the Spanish culture not only is it common for the son to be named after his father, but a daughter to be named after her mother. That is the case of my husband's family where he shares his father's name and one of his sisters shares her mother's name. Likewise, I know one Spanish family who has two daughters. The parents are Luis and Carmen. Their daughters' names are Carmen and Luisa. Go figure.

I am trying to convince my husband that our child, if born a girl, should have a name other than mine. It's just the idea of having my daughter named after me is something foreign to my culture...however normal it seems to him. Funny thing is that I have no problem if he wants to name the child after him should it be born a boy.

That was a very smooth way of mentioning your pregnancy. Congradulations! When is your due date?

If you ever want to sit down and talk about my idea of baby essencials (books, music, etc.) I'm there for you.

I'm sending calming energising thoughs your way,
Bonnie

well, this is something my spanish teacher once told us... in english we say, I broke it, but it Spanish it's more common to say,it broke or it's broken, or se ha roto... not assuming responsibility for the breaking... another example is drop.. we translate drop as dejar caer, but when in spanish do we use it??? we would say, se cayo i think.. as in, it fell, not i dropped it... i don't know how accurate this is, you real bilingual people can add your two cents... but i think there's something to it..
congrats chica on your pregnancy!!
besos, julie