And believe me, you won't hear me say THAT very often.
Anyway, I was re-reading my Starbucks rant of a couple days ago, when I realized something... "alto" in Spanish actually does mean "tall." I had thought it meant "stop" because it shows up on stop signs. I mean, that seemed a logical assumption to make, considering. But I doublechecked with the oracle (i.e., my handy-dandy translation widget), and "stop" in Spanish is apparently "parada." Which I guess was too long to fit on a stop sign.
I am so confused right now.
If there are any Spanish speakers out there (and I don't mean people who took tres years in high school and then forgot everything they learned, like me), I hope you'll help me sort out this mystery. But if not, I don't really care. I still think Starbucks should use just one language for their cup sizes. It would make my life so much less perplexing, and the less perplexed I am, the better off we'll all be.
Also, I think Starbucks shouldn't waste time patting themselves on their supposedly environment-loving back for using recycled-content cups, and then not putting actual recycling cans (instead of just trash cans) in their stores.
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3 comments:
I will attempt to settle for you some of these subleties regarding these questions about these Spanish terms:
The word "alto" means tall in the masculine sense. A female would be described as being "alta"...."Ella es un persona alta" or "El es una persona alta".
The word on the stop signs also means "halt". In this case it is reflexively used to stop.
When you use the term "parada", it means "a stop"....not to stop. However, you can say "Porfavor, pare aqui usted"...meaning plese stop here (you in the formal sense).
Lastly, be very careful when you spell the word años. Please ensure that the word contains the "eñe" symbol above the N, because otherwise the word is anus.
You want someone who took more than three anuses in high school?.....Sorry honey, I don't roll that way.
Regards
*!*
P.S., Oracle is a poor source for your Spanish research. Resort to someday making an investment in a "Velazquez Spanish and English Dictionary". They're 18 bucks on Amazon....about the price of three Starbucks mocha syrup hits.
aha, thanks for the clarification, JerryNJ! since i don't know how to make the little symbol over the n on my keyboard, i will change the word to english, because after all, this is a family-friendly website. most of the time, anyway.
i do have a spanish dictionary, but i don't take it with me to starbucks. apparently i should!
my starbucks has recycling bins. then again... this is eugene ;-)
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