In article ,
Julia Altshuler wrote:
I asked a Spanish speaking friend if "Pinga" or "Pingu" would make her
think of penis right away. She learned Spanish as a second language in
high school, has lived and studied in Spain, and lives in an area with a
sizeable Mexican immigrant population now where she speaks Spanish often.

"Pinga" is Latin American slang. I knew it and I'm only
modestly capable in Spanish.

But hey - I'm all for tiny continuing to call her daughter's
dog "Pinga." I think it's perfect. Doesn't say much about
the dog, but put together with the stuff that she's posted
about illegal immigrants, healthcare in Mexico, and blacks,
and it captures probably nearly everything there is to know
about tiny: TOTALLY OBLIVIOUS.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

Julia Altshuler wrote:
[quoth her friend]:

My old dictionary says pinga is a yoke for carrying loads in the
Philippines, and pingar is to drip or fall in drops. A pingo is a rag,
in the plural worthless clothes.

Old dictionaries aren't very reliable when it comes to finding
contemporary translations of rude slang. Googling on 'pinga' may
give you a different view.

Given the popularity of the penguin with that name, one could
always feign ignorance ("I named him after Pinga the Penguin!").
That might not be the best strategy if you live in an area
populated by many speakers of Latin American Spanish.

FurPaw
--
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched,
every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense
a theft from those who hunger and are not fed,
those who are cold and are not clothed."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

To reply, unleash the dog.

"Julia Altshuler" wrote in message
. ..
I asked a Spanish speaking friend if "Pinga" or "Pingu" would make her
think of penis right away. She learned Spanish as a second language in
high school, has lived and studied in Spain, and lives in an area with a
sizeable Mexican immigrant population now where she speaks Spanish often.


snipped
So I think you're safe with the puppy's name-- unless the pinga/penis
connection is common in Caribbean or Latin American Spanish that my
friend is less familiar with.

snipped

Thank you Lia. Since the original program was Swiss, eventual rights being
bought by the British, I'd think if it was that *common* a usage, somebody
would have changed it by now. I didn't realize the original was Swiss,
until I looked it up online for this discussion. But I do remember the
earliest of the cartoons, where there was no actual language spoken. And
then the *speaking* cartoons. They are very sweet cartoons for very young
children. Pingu does quite a lot of things with an older male penguin, much
like a child would do with their papa/grandpa. Sometimes I wonder if that
isn't a little part of why Jake loves to help his papa so much, the way
pingu *helped* his own papa. Having grandchildren introduced me to a new
generation of childrens programming. Pingu and Calliou are my two
favorites. It's hard to find Calliou products here in the states, but I
have been able to buy some things for the boys on eBay. I just love Calliou
myself. Didn't think of mentioning that to Robin for a puppy name.


td

tiny dancer wrote:
Since the original program was Swiss, eventual rights being
bought by the British, I'd think if it was that *common* a usage, somebody
would have changed it by now.

Why would you expect Latin American slang be "common" in Switzerland
or Great Britain?

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

So that's my update.


thanks for the update, the pups sound like they are doing well. any new
pictures?

In article ,
Shelly wrote:
Why would you expect Latin American slang be "common" in Switzerland
or Great Britain?

Well, what I think it comes down to is this: tiny has a
probably reasonable expectation that she'll never come in
contact with a native Spanish speaker, so she can continue
to operate for the amusement of her white bread family and
white bread friends. I have a friend who's kind of a
complete and total **** and she once said "Learn Spanish?
Who would I talk to - the maid?" Same deal.

I learned Spanish because when I was in high school I knew
for a fact that I was going to be a concert guitarist when I
grew up. Whoopsie, but no regrets.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

"Shelly" wrote in message
...
tiny dancer wrote:
Since the original program was Swiss, eventual rights being
bought by the British, I'd think if it was that *common* a usage,
somebody
would have changed it by now.

Why would you expect Latin American slang be "common" in Switzerland
or Great Britain?

Did I say that, if so, please cite. Satellites beam programing world wide.
Perhaps if you and your *buddy* had more varied *interests*, you'd be more
familiar with childrens programming.

Melinda Shore wrote:

Well, what I think it comes down to is this: tiny has a
probably reasonable expectation that she'll never come in
contact with a native Spanish speaker,

I think she's made it clear that she doesn't think too much of them.
Or, maybe, that her husband doesn't. It's so hard to tell which
are her opinions and which are his, after all.

I learned Spanish because when I was in high school I knew
for a fact that I was going to be a concert guitarist when I
grew up. Whoopsie, but no regrets.

It was a choice between Spanish and French, and I had no interest in
French. Still don't, really, despite the obviousness of it. I'm
glad I have some basic Spanish skills, because it made it lots
easier to study Precolumbian art. German would've helped, too, but
life is short.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

tiny dancer wrote:
"Shelly" wrote in message
...
tiny dancer wrote:
Since the original program was Swiss, eventual rights being
bought by the British, I'd think if it was that *common* a usage,
somebody
would have changed it by now.
Why would you expect Latin American slang be "common" in Switzerland
or Great Britain?

Did I say that, if so, please cite.

I'll leave the above clip intact, instead of citing it. (And I
thought I had a short attention span!)

You said the show is Swiss, and that it was bought by the British (I
assume you mean the BBC?). And then, in the very same sentence, you
say that if the term were in common usage, it would have been
changed. Why would you expect Latin American slang to be in common
usage in Switzerland or the UK?

Satellites beam programing world wide.

Please, do tell me more.

Perhaps if you and your *buddy* had more varied *interests*, you'd be more
familiar with childrens programming.

What makes you think I'm unfamiliar with children's programming?

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

In article ,
tiny dancer wrote:

"Shelly" wrote in message
...
tiny dancer wrote:
Since the original program was Swiss, eventual rights being
bought by the British, I'd think if it was that *common* a usage,
somebody
would have changed it by now.

Why would you expect Latin American slang be "common" in Switzerland
or Great Britain?

Did I say that, if so, please cite.

You cited it yourself in the same post. Yeesh.

Satellites beam programing world wide.
Perhaps if you and your *buddy* had more varied *interests*, you'd be more
familiar with childrens programming.

Here's the deal with satellite television: geosynchronous
broadcast satellites have a "footprint" that covers specific
areas. Their signals do not penetrate rock - it's line-of-
sight only. A satellite that plants itself above
Switzerland may or may not be visible in Britain but it
won't be visible in the US, just as a satellite visible in
northern Canada (I love you, CBC North!) is not going to be
visible in Texas. Some retail satellite broadcast operators
will carry European or Asian channels, but they're typically
on a separate satellite that requires either an additional
dish or at least an additional LNB.

But yes, a big fat problem with both Shelly and myself is
that we're not interested in a sufficiently wide range of
stuff. Unlike you, who's interested in, um, uh ... interior
decorating? Turning personal tragedies into your personal
entertainment? And, um, uh, ... OOOHH, I KNOW! You're
interested in the word "cute."

My guess on this? You plant yourself in front of the TV in
the morning and watch children's shows.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community