Okay, this was fascinating to read. I'm not the multi-language geek and I'm certainly no translator, but I have friends who translate, two of them professionally, and other people's half-assed translations make them crazy.
It's so fun to pick apart even just a particular WORD -- as you said in your post, penible would likely turn into one of those multi-word explanatory forays. Also I have a friend who's French and her English is impeccable except every now and again she uses an English word very slightly ... off kilter. And we get into discussions there, it's fun! (I of course am a crummy Ammurrican who only speaks half-assed Tourist Spanish and am in no position to criticize anyone.) Simply as a lover of my own language, though, it's fun to pick apart multiple meanings.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-12-27 09:57 pm (UTC)It's so fun to pick apart even just a particular WORD -- as you said in your post, penible would likely turn into one of those multi-word explanatory forays. Also I have a friend who's French and her English is impeccable except every now and again she uses an English word very slightly ... off kilter. And we get into discussions there, it's fun! (I of course am a crummy Ammurrican who only speaks half-assed Tourist Spanish and am in no position to criticize anyone.) Simply as a lover of my own language, though, it's fun to pick apart multiple meanings.