Mala

As an extension to a previous post titled Malo (coincidentally, the title of this post is Mala), I will continue with the discussion of Spanish dialectology. We will look at pronunciation, in particular, paying attention to the regional spread of the change of syllable-final /-s/ becoming [-h].

We're going to compare two accents, one from Southern Spain and one of from the Caribbean. This will exemplify the similarities between the Southern Spanish accents and some Latin American ones, particularly those in the Caribbean.
The singers here are La Mala Rodriguez, who grew up in Seville, Andalusia in the South of Spain, and Residente from Puerto Rico. In contrast to the other Spaniard, Bebe, who was the center of another linguistic note recently on this blog (titled Malo, as mentioned above), La Mala does not distinguish between /s/ and /θ/, and so the the /θ/ phoneme is absent from her speech; and so, she speaks with seseo, as any Latin American would, i.e. she says hace ['ase], trece ['tɾese]. Like the Latin American accents, La Mala's pronunciation of /s/ lacks the apical quality heard in Northern and Central Spain, which was also the case for Bebe's pronunciation.

A very prominent feature in La Mala's speech is the aspiration of /s/ in syllable-final position, even across word boundaries. As I said in my other entry, this change is common in many regions and is beginning to spread more and more to other regions where it hasn't been traditionally heard. And so, we hear La Mala sing das [ðæ̞h], tienes ['tjenɛh], si tú quieres nos ponemos contentos [situ'kjerɛh nɔhpo'nemɔh kõn'tẽntɔh] and respeto [rɛh'peto] (the transcription for Residente's pronunciation would be the same, so the two singers would pronounce these words in the same fashion).

All of this is true, as well, for the Puerto Rican Residente; and what has just been discussed in the previous paragraph is what makes their speech sound so similar, and is what almost hides the fact that La Mala is a Spaniard. Her accent, along with other accents from Southern Spain and particularly the Canarian Islands, can be easily be mistaken as coming from the Caribbean; and, oftentimes, they are mistaken as such. Anecdotally, when I first listened to this song, not previously knowing about La Mala Rodriguez, I was under the impression that she was indeed from the Caribbean; either from Puerto Rico or Cuba. It wasn't until I heard the way she pronounced a few other words further into the song that I realized that she was actually from Southern Spain. Someone, like myself, trained in phonology can make that distinction; but, the average native, non-Spaniard Spanish speaker can not, and will simply conclude that La Mala is caribeña.
 
There are a few pronunciation features that identified La Mala as a Spaniard (from the South, certainly; someone from the North of Spain does not risk being mistaken for a Latin American) to me. First and foremost, it was the dropping of final /-r/ in the infinitives, as in ver [βe].  For instance, La Mala rhymes arrastrada [aræ̞h'tɾa] with hablar [a'βla]. A Cuban or a Puerto Rican will pronounce this final /-r/, generally either as [l], or in more careful speech, as [r]. This is what we hear from Residente in the song; he sings, for example, verte ['βelte], faltarnos [faltal'nɔh] and puerto ['pwelto], though in other instances, [r] is retained, as in puerco [pwer'ko] and tener [te'ner]. This particular difference in the pronunciation of syllable-final /-r/ is what sets La Mala and Residente apart; other than that, with regards to her accent, La Mala has more common with a caribeño than with her fellow countrymen from the North (Madrid, for instance).

Some other pronunciation aspects that La Mala and Residente share are:

• /j/ is pronounced as aspiration, [h], i.e. La Mala complejos [kõmple'hɔh]; Residente juro ['huɾo]. In Northern Spain, /j/ is generally realized [χ], and in other places, like Latin America, [x] is heard instead.
• /n/ in coda position is pronounced [ŋ], strongly nasalizing the preceding vowel, i.e. presión [pɾe'sjõŋ], insomnio [ĩŋsõnnio].
• loss of intervocalic /d/ ([ð]) in some cases, i.e. La Mala arrastrada [aræ̞h'tɾa], nada [na:], bocado [βo'kao]; Residente toda ['toa], criado ['kɾjao] (but inodoro [ino'ð̞oɾo]).
  
• General use of the syncopated form of para > pa. Colloquially, this is common throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
  

It is important to note that La Mala consistently pronounces the word vamos as ['amɔh], suppressing the initial /b/; Residente retains this sound, and so, pronounces it as ['βamɔh]. La Mala also pronounces the one instance of bueno as ['ɣ̞weno], with the change [βwe] > [ɣ̞we], which is another pronunciation that is universal, and while stigmatized in many countries, in other regions, like Spain, it has gained some acceptance in informal situations.

I conducted an experiment in which I asked a small number of Spanish speakers (acquaintances of mine) to listen to the song. Many of them, without any instruction, proceeded to ask me if the female singer was Cuban. All were surprised to find out that she is actually Spanish, as the average Spanish speaker from Latin America is not aware that a Spaniard can sound very much like a Latin American, like a caribeño or even Chilean, to be more precise.

Mala:
Puedo nutrirme escuchando esto, ¿sabes?
Tú me estas escuchando, ¿ah?
Asco, aja, aja.
Vamos a faltarnos el respeto, aja.

 Residente:
Vamos a faltarnos el respeto

Mala:
Aja, mira
Yo quiero un hombre sin complejos
Que tenga buenos reflejos
Pa' ver como se hace viejo
Miro el horoscopo pa' ver que me depara
Cuando me pongo perra, tu nada me para
Esta busqueda de mi demonio me tiene con insomnio
Como plaga (con picante como tica mas sala), aja
Yo soy mas bien normalita, okay una mijita rara
Llévame pa' la cueva de los pelos arrastrada
No me dejes ni hablar, si tengo la oportunidad
De agarrarte como quiero la presión (la presión je je) se te va a disparar
Lo de no probar bocado es la prueba de que na' (de que na' na')
Se puede comparar con a'na
Ay papa estoy haciendo lo posible,
Cada vez que me proyecto, yo no tengo edad
Soy como la monja

Vamos, vamos a morir en el intento, vamos alla
Si tú quieres nos ponemos contentos
Al ratito fuerte (al ratito lento)

Me sabe mejor lo que no me das
Que lo que me das, ay papa
Que lo que tú tienes pa' mi
Tengo que gritar, yo estoy en libertad
Vamos a ponernos a llorar


Residente:
Vamos a faltarnos el respeto
Usando el alfabeto completo
Mala:
Vamos a faltarnos el respeto
Usando el alfabeto completo


Residente:
Oye flaca, este sudaca quiere tener sexo con caca
Kinky peludo, como chubaca
Quiere tener sexo, puerco, sucio como de inodoro
Oríname en el pecho, te lo juro que yo te enamoro, mi tesoro
(Escúpeme en la boca)
Mientras me agarras las tetillas,
Con solo verte de rodilla, yo me lubrico
(Ay, que la tienes muy pequeña, chico)
Pero eso lo sabe tu mamá y ahora todo Puerto Rico
Cuando lo hundo hasta lo mas profundo
Me vengo rapido como en... (cinco segundos)
Pero no te me pongas violenta,
Que este caballo representa y el primer polvo no cuenta
Por ahí va el burrito sabanero a marcarte pa' toda la vida
Como cicatriz de pandillero

Residente:
Vamos a faltarnos el respeto
Usando el alfabeto completo
Mala:
Vamos a faltarnos el respeto
Usando el alfabeto completo


Residente:
Vamos hacerlo siete, ocho, nueve veces
Te voy a sacar a pasear por la calle 13
Pa' que veas los arbolitos y los pajaritos
Y que de una vez me chupes el pito
Yo te quiero decir cosa bonitas mamita, pero no me sale
Es que yo fui criado con los animales, sin modales (mamando tetas de orangutanes)
No me quiero poner romántico,
Pero si tengo que cruzar el atlantico
Pa' darte pa'abajo, lo cruzo nadando
Por el agua resbalando, mientras voy fumando
Mi amor, te voy a cantar una cancion de cuna
Pa' que rompas fuente, una laguna
Pa' que le llegues a la luna
Y cuando bajes te preparo arroz con tuna


Residente:

Vamos a faltarnos el respeto
Usando el alfabeto completo
Mala:

Vamos a faltarnos el respeto
Usando el alfabeto completo
x2


Mala:
Me sabe mejor lo que no me das
Que lo que me das, ay papa
Que lo que tú tienes pa' mi
Tengo que gritar, yo estoy en libertad
Vamos a ponernos a llorar
 x2

Oye, anormal (jaja)
Bellaco
Cabrona
Desgraciado
Estupida
Falfoya
Gamberra
Huevón
Imbecil
Jinetero
Pi'caca
Gambrucio
Mala
Calle 13
Mala
Calle 13
Mala, mala
Calle 13
Mas te crece
Calle 13
Mala
Calle 13
To' pa' ti (To' pa' ti) ...

Trouble With Blogger

If you have a noticed a lack of another this week, it is due to a problem I had with Blogger (where this blog is hosted) while working on a post. It was almost complete, and somehow, when after it was saved, it was empty; so I lost what I had written (this, of course, tested my patience). Fortunately, this is something I can recreate, but it will have to be at a later time; I have started working on another topic.
After this incident, I will certain make sure to back up my posts as I'm working on them.

Language Ambiguity

Some time ago, I came across an old discussion on the Antimoon forums in which forum goers talk about how spoken Greek resembles Spanish. The forum topic starts off with a poster saying:

As many (or few) may know, Modern-Greek and Spanish are similar in pronunciation [...].

Someone in the forum links to this music video and asks others to listen to the song so that they can hear for themselves how similar Greek sounds to Spanish. I have to admit, that song serves as a prime example of the acoustic similarity of these two languages, making you feel as if you are supposed to understand what is being said, but you are unable to.
This is an observation I had made myself for quite some time with regards to Greek and European Spanish, about how they indeed sound similar. What is of interest here is how two geographically distant languages give the aural impression of being much more closely related.

To exemplify this, I have selected an audio sample for each language, which you will find below. I reviewed about two minutes of each clip presented; coincidentally, all these clips come from the Ugly Betty adaptions in each country.

Spanish, the Spanish from Central and Northern Spain, to be specific, and Greek sound superficially similar not only because of a similar phonetic inventory, but also because of the frequent occurrence of certain phonemes in both languages. These two languages posses the same set of five vowels [a e i o u], and a similar syllable structure, with words ending generally in a vowel, usually [e] or [o], or [s].
A very important aspect that aids in this superficial similarity is that, in Greek, the quality of /s/ is pronounced in a similar fashion to the typical /s/ of Northern/Central European Spanish, a type of /s/ that the untrained ear may hear as [ʃ]. Common to both languages as well are the series of fricatives [θ], [x~χ], [ð], [ɣ], and [ʝ], among other shared phonemes (see Modern Greek Phonology on Wikipedia).
Regarding the quality of /s/ in Greek, H. Foundalis writes on his website about the Greek language, his mother tongue:

[s], as in“soap”; a voiceless alveolar fricative. Actually, if you listen carefully to native Greek speakers, it sounds a bit between [s] and [sh] (probably because there is no [sh] in Greek, so the sound is somewhat shifted in the phonological space). However, to the native English ear it sounds much closer to [sh] than to [s], whereas every native Greek speaker would swear they pronounce it exactly like the English [s], unless forced to admit the difference by looking at spectrogram.

The very same is true for the quality of /s/ in Northern and Central Spain, and Foundalis himself makes a remark about it: This is the way “s” is pronounced in Castilian Spanish (as opposed to Latin American Spanish).

Greek	Northern/Central Spanish

Moving on to another pair of a Romance language with a non-Latin one, all the arguments just discussed apply to European Portuguese and Russian as well. What is described above for Spanish and Greek has been exactly my experience regarding another Ibero-Romance language when hearing Russian in a crowded, noisy place: it sounds like European Portuguese. I get this anxious feeling of wanting to understand what is being said, but I can't; and I assume that I can't understand because of the noise. I have to get close and pay attention simply to confirm that it's Russian, doing this also as an experiment, about which I'm writing here.

In these languages, we find a high occurrence of [ʃ], the schwa-like [ɐ], the peculiar vowel [ɨ], and /l/ in a velarized or pharyngealized variety, [ɫ]. Not only that, but European Portuguese also shares with Russian unique consonant clusters, in Portuguese occurring due to the high frequency of vowel suppression.

Russian	European Portuguese

Malo

Some time ago, I translated a song titled Malo, performed by the Spanish singer Bebe. The song deals with the topic of domestic violence; and while that's a subject of concern on itself, what is of interest here is its linguistic factor: it showcases the singer's accent. The lyrics being quite strong and explicit, I translated the song into English with some freedom, in an idiomatic fashion.

Bebe is from Southern Spain region of Extremadura. Her accent serves to highlight certain features that are common throughout not only Latin America and the Caribbean, but also Southern Spain and the Canary Islands.

Location of Extremadura within Spain. Source: Wikipedia

The first thing that must be pointed out is that she maintains the distinction between /θ/ and /s/, a pronunciation feature normally associated with the standard idiom in Spain. For this reason, her accent can be thought of as a transitional accent, distinguishing between /θ/ and /s/, sharing this with the Northern and Central Spanish accents, while at the same time having features that are common to the Latin American, Andalusian, and Canarian accents.

The main feature in Bebe's Extremaduran accent that we will review is one that is heard throughout the Spanish speaking world, and like seseo, is starting to become more of the norm rather than the exception: the phoneme /s/ in closed syllables being rendered as aspiration, [h], quite often altering the quality of the preceding vowel. A few examples from Bebe's recording are apareciste [apaɾe'θi̞hte], estoy ['ɛhtoy], mujeres [mu'xeɾɛh], and the recurring eres ['eɾɛh], with this happening even across word boundaries las heridas [læ̞he'ɾið̞æ̞h].

Other the features you will hear in her pronunciation, with examples from the song, are:

• loss of word-final /r/, especially noticeable in the infinitives, quemar [ke'ma], salir [sa'li], tragar [tɾa'ɣ̞̞a] (but volverme [β̞o̞l'β̞e̞rme] and cobrarme [ko'β̞ɾarme); valor [β̞a'lo], mejor [me'xo], olor [o'lo], favor [fa'β̞o] (but por favor [po̞rfa'β̞o]). This occurs colloquially in various regions in Latin America as well, though it is not as extended or accepted as the change /s/ > [h] discussed above (though the dropping of /-r/ in infinitives has ocurred throughout the Romance languages, i.e. Catalan cantar [kən'ta], French chanter [ʃɑ̃'te], colloquial Brazilian Portuguese cantar [kɐ̃'ⁿta], and so in the Extramaduran accent cantar [kan'ta]).
  
• loss of intervocalic /d/ in cansada [kan'sa:], morado [mo'rao] (but deditos [ð̞e'ð̞itɔh], ido ['ið̞o], puedo ['pweð̞o]). More usual with the participle endings -ada and -ado, this is common throughout the Spanish speaking world, although it is characteristic of a few regions where it has become generalized, such as Spain itself, the Caribbean, and some Southern American countries. 
• Though Bebe preserves /θ/ in her accent, she lacks the /s/ of apical quality heard throughout Northern and Central Spain (that is, one that acoustically approaches [ʃ], like sh in the word show); she pronounces a laminal type of /s/, like the one heard in Latin America.
  

Malo	Bad
Apareciste una noche fria, con olor a tabaco sucio y a ginebra. El miedo ya me recorría mientras cruzaba los deditos tras la puerta. Tu carita de niño guapo se la ha ido comiendo el tiempo por tus venas. Y tu inseguridad machita se refleja cada día en mis lagrimitas.	You appeared one cold night, with the smell of dirty tobacco and gin. By this time, I already felt horrified while I held my fingers crossed behind the door. Through your veins, time has been eating away your pretty face. And your macho insecurity is reflected everyday in my tears.
Una vez más, no, por favor que estoy cansada y no puedo con el corazón. Una vez más, no, mi amor, por favor, no grites que los niños duermen. Una vez más, no, por favor, que estoy cansada y no puedo con el corazón. Una vez más, no, mi amor, por favor, no grites que los niños duermen.	Not again, please. I am tired and my heart can't take it. Not again, darling, please. Don't shout, the kids are sleeping. Not again, please. I am tired and my heart can't take it. Not again, darling, please. Don't shout, the kids are sleeping.
Voy a volverme como el fuego voy a quemar tu puño de acero. Y del morao de mis mejillas saldrá el valor pa' cobrarme las heridas.	I'm going to become like fire and burn your iron fist. And from the bruises on my cheeks I'll get the courage to make you pay for my wounds.
Malo, malo, malo eres no se daña a quien se quiere, no tonto, tonto, tonto eres no te pienses mejor que las mujeres Malo, malo, malo eres no se daña a quien se quiere, no tonto, tonto, tonto eres no te pienses mejor que las mujeres.	Bad, you are a bad, bad person, You are not supposed to hurt someone you love. Stupid, you are stupid, stupid, Don't think you're better than a woman. Bad, you are a bad, bad person, You are not supposed to hurt someone you love. Stupid, you are stupid, stupid, Don't think you're better than a woman.
El día es gris cuando tú estás, y el sol vuelve a salir cuando te vas y la penita de mi corazon yo me la tengo que tragar con el fogón. Mi carita de niña linda se ha ido envejeciendo en el silencio. Cada vez que me dices puta se hace tu cerebro mas pequeño.	The day is cloudy when you're around, And the sun comes out again when you're gone. With the burner on the stove, I have to suppress the grief in my heart. My pretty girl face has been growing old in silence. Every time you call me a whore your brain becomes smaller.
Una vez más, no, por favor que estoy cansada y no puedo con el corazón. Una vez más, no, mi amor, por favor, no grites que los niños duermen. Una vez más, no, por favor, que estoy cansada y no puedo con el corazón. Una vez más, no, mi amor, por favor, no grites que los niños duermen.	Not again, please. I am tired and my heart can't take it. Not again, darling, please. Don't shout, the kids are sleeping. Not again, please. I am tired and my heart can't take it. Not again, darling, please. Don't shout, the kids are sleeping.
Voy a volverme como el fuego voy a quemar tu puño de acero y del morao de mis mejillas saldrá el valor pa' cobrarme las heridas.	I'm going to become like fire and burn your iron fist. And from the bruises on my cheeks I'll get the courage to make you pay for my wounds.
Malo, malo, malo eres no se daña a quien se quiere, no tonto, tonto, tonto eres no te pienses mejor que las mujeres Malo, malo, malo eres no se daña a quien se quiere, no tonto, tonto, tonto eres no te pienses mejor que las mujeres. 2x	Bad, you are a bad, bad person, You are not supposed to hurt someone you love. Stupid, you are stupid, stupid, Don't think you are better than a woman. Bad, you are a bad, bad person, You are not supposed to hurt someone you love. Stupid, you are stupid, stupid, Don't think you are better than a woman. 2x
Malo, malo eres, malo eres, porque quieres... malo, malo eres... no me chilles, que me duele...	Bad, you are a bad person. You are bad, because you choose to be that way... Bad, you are a bad person... Don't yell at me, because it hurts me...
Eres debil y eres malo, y no te pienses mejor que yo ni que nadie... y ahora yo me fumo un cigarrito y te echo el humo en el corazoncito... porque, malo malo eres tú... malo, malo eres, sí... malo, malo eres, siempre... malo, malo eres...	You are weak and you are bad. Don't think you are better than me or anyone else. And now I'll smoke a cigarrette And blow the smoke in your little heart... Because you are a bad, bad person... Bad, you are bad, yes... Bad, you are bad, always... Bad, you are a bad person.

For a comparison of accents, listen to this rendition of the same song, by Mexican singer Yuridia.
You will notice that she, as opposed to Bebe:

• does not posses /θ/, as can be expected from Latin Americans, and so, for example, pronounces corazon as [koɾa'son] and acero as [a'seɾo], unlike Bebe who says [koɾa'θon] and [a'θeɾo].
• pronounces /s/ in all positions (the vast part of Mexico is among the few regions that does not see the change /s/ > [h] in any position, though it is heard in a few places within the country). So we have Yuridia saying apareciste [apaɾe'siste], mujeres [mu'xeɾes], and eres ['eɾes], while Bebe says [apaɾe'θi̞hte], [mu'xeɾɛh] , and ['eɾɛh]. Yuridia renders the phrase una vez más as [unaβ̞es'mas], whereas Bebe sings [unaβ̞eθ'mæ̞h].
• retains all final consonsants, particularly /-r/, as in cantar [kan'tar], quemar [ke'mar], olor [o'lor], por favor [porfa'β̞or].
• retains /d/ in all positions, i.e. cansada [kan'sað̞a] (but she keeps the morao from the original).
• replaces puta (whore) with bruta (stupid), which, more than anything, has to do with differences in television censorship between the two continents (America and Europe).
  

Ave, Maria

The second post with Ave in the title, only a few days after the first one, makes its way to Filius Lunae. Below, we have the Ave Maria (or Hail Mary) recited in Latin by me; just like I did with the Pater Noster, it is read with a Classical pronunciation. Refer to the previous post that discusses the details of this restored, Classical pronunciation in these prayers.

Turu Turu

Turu Turu is a song that was originally composed in Italian by Gianfranco Caliendo. After its success in Italian, it was translated and sung in Catalan, Spanish and finally, in Portuguese. The Catalan and Spanish version are very close to the Italian original, keeping the same title and very similar phrasing thoughout the song. The Portuguese version differs more with regards to the translation style, with the exact wording varying more when compared to the other languages. The title was also changed in the Portuguese rendition to Quando você passa (When you pass by), though the theme of the song is kept the same, which includes the presence of the recurrent turu turu.
Among the lines that follow the Italian almost word by word are:

Italian: Menomale che tra noi sta nascendo un sentimento che fa turu, turu...
Spanish: Menos mal que entre tú y yo va naciendo un sentimiento que hace turu, turu...
Catalan: Encara sort que entre tu i jo va naixent un sentiment que fa turu turu...

Italian: ... hai sbagliato a darmi il numero di casa.
Spanish: ... olvidaste darme el número de casa.
Catalan: .... vas oblidar donar-me el numero de casa.

And others. (We exclude the Portuguese here because the translation there was done a bit more freely, as stated above).

According to the song, turu turu, recalling a beating heart, is the sound we hear in our heads when we think of the one we love, and this serves as the basis for the musical piece.

Italian
Sung by Francesco and Giada.

Oggi ho un turu, turu, turu per la testa
che fa turu, turu, turu e non mi passa
Lo fa sempre quando esci un po’ da solo
ed io resto pressappoco dove sono

Se potessi fermerei
i tuoi passi in un momento
per scoprire dove sei
se mi stai portando dentro
Menomale che tra noi
sta nascendo un sentimento
che fa turu, turu, turu, turu. turu, turu, tu

Io vorrei chiamarti ma non ho una scusa
e hai sbagliato a darmi il numero di casa
Non riesco a immaginarti tutta sola
Che peccato che non te l’ho detto ancora
che non sto mangiando più, che non vedo più gli amici
che mi manchi solo tu, le tue mani i tuoi sorrisi
Ma qualcosa tra di noi può succedere lo stesso
Non ci arrenderemo mai fino a che sarà successo

Questo turuturuturu nella testa
mi fa troppo male e adesso dico basta
Ma c’è un turuturu nella vita mia
che cancella tutta la malinconia
Da domani proverò a sentirmi un po’ diversa
A me piaci come sei, meglio se resti la stessa
Da domani canterò sottovoce una canzone
Quando io la sentirò sarò cotto di emozione

T’innamorerai, dovessi attendere altri due secoli
E allontanerai questo turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, tu

Se c’è ancora un turuturu per la testa
è perché se t’innamori quello resta
Ogni giorno viene a farti compagnia
neanche il vento se lo può portare via
E non chiedermi cos’è questo vuoto nella mente
Perché sei vicino a me anche quando sei distante
…troveremo dentro noi qualche cosa d’importante
con un turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, tu

Questo turuturuturu nella testa
che ci prende come un gioco fatto apposta
Da domani scoprirai che rimane solamente turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, tu…. 

Catalan
Sung by Gisela, a Spanish singer of Catalan origin.

Tinc un turu turu turu dins del cap
Que fa turu turu turu i no se'n va
Ho fa sempre quan em sento trista i sola
I em deixa més o menys tal com estava

Si pogués jo detenir
Un minut del teu camí
Descobrir allà on ets
Si m'estas portant a dins
Encara sort que entre tu i jo
Va naixent un sentiment
Que fa turu turu turu turu turu tu

Jo et trucaré però dona'm una excusa
Vas oblidar donar-me el numero de casa
Jo no puc imaginar-me tota sola
un pecat si no t´ho dic a tota hora
Gairebé perdo el sentit
Ja no em queda cap amiga

El que em falta és només tu
Un somriure i mil carícies
Perquè tot entre tu i jo
és tan màgic i increïble
No es rendirem pas, no
Lluitarem de mica en mica
I aquest turu turu turu dins del cap
Que em pot fer tan mal que li dic jo para
Que hi ha un turu turu en aquesta vida meva
que m'esborra poc a poc la melangia

I demà ja miraré
De deixar de ser perversa
Em sento millor així
Jugant a ser una princesa
I potser et cantaré
Molt suau dues cançons

Les escoltaràs així
Sentiràs mil emocions
T'enamoraràs
Potser m'esperaràs
No podràs estimar
I t'allunyaràs
D'aquest turu turu turu turu turu tu

Si et sona un turu turu dins del cap
És perquè sense dubtes t'estas enamorant
cada dia ve a fer-te companya
Ni el més fort huracà l'allunyaria
No preguntis més com és
Que em roba la consciencia
Perquè si no hi ets no sé
Aturar aquesta impaciència

Trobarem escolta'm be
Un inmens mon ple d'estrelles
Amb un turu turu turu turu turu turu tu
Aquest turu turu turu el cap se't fica
Donant voltes com eterna melodia
I al final descobriràs
Que et queda solament
Turu turu turu turu

Spanish
Sung by Gisela as well.

Tengo un turu, turu, turu en la cabeza
Que hace turu, turu, turu y no me deja
Lo hace siempre cuando estoy un poco sola
Y me deja más o menos como estaba


Si pudiera detener yo tus pasos un momento
descubrir en donde estés,
si me estás llevando dentro
Menos mal que entre tú y yo,
Va naciendo un sentimiento
Que hace turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, tu


Yo te llamaré más dame tú una excusa
Olvidaste darme el número de casa
No consigo imaginarme toda a solas
He pecado si no te lo digo ahora


Y hasta pierdo la salud
Que no tengo ni una amiga
Que me faltas solo tú
Tú sonrisa y tus caricias
Pero todo entre los dos
Nos podrá pasar por eso
no nos rendiremos, no
Y al final será un progreso


Y este turu, turu, turu, en la cabeza
me va haciendo daño y ya le digo basta
Que hay un turu, turu en esta vida mía
Que me borra toda la melancolia


Y mañana probaré
A dejar de ser perversa
Me divierto más así
Sin dejar de ser princesa
Y quizá te cantaré
Muy bajito dos canciones
Tú te las escucharas
Sentirás mil emociones


Te enamorarás
Tal vez esperarás
Otros dos siglos más
Y te alejarás
de este turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, tu


Y es que tengo un turu, turu, turu en la cabeza
Es porque si te enamoras se te queda
Cada día viene a hacerte compañía
Ni el más fuerte vendaval lo alejaría


No preguntes como fue
que te robas a la mente
Porque si no estás, no sé
Como estás en mi presente
Hallaremos óyeme
Algo inmenso e importante
Con un turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, tu


Y este un turu, turu, turu en la cabeza
Se te mete como un fuego y te da vueltas
Y al final descubrirás
Qué te queda solamente
turu, turu, turu, turu, turu..

Portuguese
Sung by the Brazilians Sandy & Junior (this is the same Sandy from an earlier entry).

Esse turu, turu, turu aqui dentro
Que faz turu, turu, quando você passa
Meu olhar decora cada movimento
Até seu sorriso me deixa sem graça

Se eu pudesse te prender
Dominar seus sentimentos
Controlar seus passos
Ler sua agenda e pensamento
Mas meu frágil coração
Acelera o batimento
E faz turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, tu

Se esse turu tatuado no meu peito
Gruda e o turu, turu, turu, não tem jeito
Deixa sua marca no meu dia-a-dia
Nesse misto de prazer e agonia

Nem estou dormindo mais
Já não saio com os amigos
Sinto falta dessa paz,
Que encontrei no seu sorriso

Qualquer coisa entre nós,
Vem crescendo pouco a pouco
E já não nos deixa sós
Isso vai nos deixar loucos...

Esse turu,turu,turu aqui dentro
Que faz turu, turu, quando você passa
Meu olhar decora cada movimento
Até seu sorriso me deixa sem graça

Nem estou dormindo mais
Já não saio com os amigos
Sinto falta dessa paz,
Que encontrei no seu sorriso

Qualquer coisa entre nós,
Vem crescendo pouco a pouco
E já não nos deixa sós
Isso vai nos deixar loucos...

Se é amor, sei lá...
Só sei que sem você, parei de respirar
E é você chegar
Pra esse turu, turu, turu, turu, vir me atormentar

Se esse turu tatuado no meu peito
Gruda e o turu, turu, turu, não tem jeito
Deixa sua marca no meu dia-a-dia
Nesse misto de prazer e agonia

Eu desisto de entender
É um sinal que estamos vivos
Pra esse amor que vai crescer
Não há lógica nos livros
E quem poderá prever
Um romance imprevisível
Com um turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, tu

Se esse turu tatuado no meu peito
Gruda e o turu, turu, turu, não tem jeito
Nem estou dormindo mais
Já não saio com os amigos
Sinto falta desse turu, turu, turu, turu, turu, tu.

Mamá, Papá

Mark at Language Log links to a cartoon that deals with the universality of the sounds in the words mother and father, and their origin, that includes an interesting punch line:

It's so amazing: "ma", "pa" are some of the first and easiest language-like sounds babbling babies make - and what's the word for "mother in English? "Mama"! And it's also "mama" in Dutch, and in Romanian, and in Catalan, Slovak, Quechua, Chinese, German, Russian, and MORE.

My contribution to the topic at hand will be relating it to Romance, certainly; this time, in particular, to Spanish.

In Spanish, the standard word for mother is madre (from Latin MATREM). Mamá would be the equivalent, in usage, to the English mom; and mami would then be mommy. Amá and ma are also heard, depending on region and sociolect, though they are considered non-standard.

The paradigm for father is very similar: padre is father (from PATREM); papá, dad (equivalent, again, in usage); papi, daddy; and, non-standard apá and pa (the first one of this pair, as above, often stigmatized).

The Language Log post referenced spurred an interesting discussion, regarding the first sounds a baby can produce, comparing and expanding the issue with regards to other languages, and how all of these words are common, as it seems, to the majority the world's languages.
Some of the related words discussed there include breast, grandma and milk. Building on this, at least in Mexico, and perhaps Central America, a slang word for breast is chichi; teta is a standard word for nipple, and is often used colloquially with the meaning of breast, and also baby bottle.
The standard word for grandfather is abuelo (often in its diminutive form, abuelito, to show endearment), and in some places, tata may be used instead; in other places, tata is actually used as an affectionnate term for father. Connected to the Spanish tata, it must be pointed that the standard word for father in Romanian is tată, coming from the Latin TATA (dad). The Lewis & Short dictionary on Perseus compares the Latin word to the Greek τέττα (tetta), and the Sanskrit tātas.
Abuela is then Spanish for grandmother (like its masculine counterpart above, often abuelita; or, colloquially, especially among young people, shortened to ábue). The feminine analog to tata would be nana, the origin of which is listed as voz infantil (children's voice) on the RAE. Nana is also the word used for nanny in some countries, often interchangeable with niñera (from niño, child).

Ave, Aurora

Here's a poem composed in the 1800's by the Brazilian Antônio Lopes Castro. Written with the purpose of showing the affinity Portuguese has with Latin, this poem can be read in either of those two languages.

AVE, AURORA !

Salve, aurora ! eia, refulge !
Eia, anima valles, montes !
Hymnos canta, o Philomela,
Hymnos jucundos, insontes !

Quam pura, quam pudibunda
Es tu, aurora formosa !
Diffunde odores suaves,
Divina, purpurea rosa !

Es tu, aurora formosa !
Diffunde odores suaves,
Divina, purpurea rosa !

Eia, surge, vivifica
Pendentes ramos, aurora !
Aureos fulgores emitte,
Pallidas messes colora

Matutina aura, mitiga
Solares, nimios ardores;
Inspira gratos Favonios,
Euros, Zephyros protectores.

Eoa, Tithonia Diva,
Fecundos campos decora,
Canoras aves excita,
O serena, bella aurora !

Protege placidos somnos,
Inquietas mentes tempera,
Duras procellas dissipa,
Terras, flores refrigera.

Extingue umbrosos vapores,
O sol, o divina flamma !
Lucidas portas expande,
Tristes animos inflamma !

Salve, aurora ! eia, refulge!
Eia, anima valles, montes !
Hymnos canta, o Philomela,
Hymnos jucundos, insontes !

 
Portuguese spelling has been reformed since the writing of the poem, so it would look a little different if rewritten with today's standards, i.e. quam > quão; philomela > filomela; hymnos > hinos, and a few others (basically, the simplification of a number of graphemes, y > i; ph > f; th > t; ll > l; mm > m). Pronunciation-wise, there are differences as well, but, nevertheless understood, at least if read in Latin to a Portuguese speaker.
As explained in the article Consangüinidade Latim-Português by João Bortolanza (pg. 92 in a Brazilian university's magazine), the poem's author achieved his purpose by limiting the Latin verb forms to those of the second person singular imperative (canta, salve, refulge, protege, decora, excita, etc), and the present indicative form es, you are; and for nouns, using only the vocative singular (for feminine nouns like aurora, rosa, diva, etc.) and accusative plural (masculine and feminine nouns, which would end in -os and -as, respectively, and -es); all these forms are the same in Latin and Portuguese. Bortolanza also points out that the article had to be excluded completely, although it is very common in Portuguese but nonexistent in Latin. Bortolanza concludes this section by praising the author, Lopes Castro, and saying that it is no easy task finding common words in both languages, with identical roots and declensions.

Vivo Por Ella, Vivo Por Ela

Bilingual songs aren't any sort of novelty. However, I am attracted to the combination of certain languages (Romance, of course), in particular, Spanish and Portuguese. While Spanish speakers can understand written Portuguese without much difficulty, they have a hard time doing the same with spoken Portuguese. Portuguese speakers, on the other hand, are able to understand both written and spoken Spanish quite well. Thus, the songs that will be reviewed in this entry can be thoroughly understood by a Portuguese speaker listening to them, even though about half of the lyrics are in Spanish. A Spanish speaker can follow along and understand most of the sung Portuguese, though he will a have harder time than a Portuguese speaker does with the Spanish.


Vivo Por Ella
Sung by the Italian Andrea Bocelli and the Brazilian Sandy, this song combines Spanish and Portuguese. Bocelli's Spanish pronunciation is recognized as European because he makes use of the /θ/ phoneme (otherwise /s/ in Latin America and a few regions within Spain), as in the words veces /'beθes/ and fuerza /'fwerθa/. Sandy's native Portuguese accent is Paulistano, from São Paulo; among other features traditionally Brazilian, she pronounces /s/ before a voiceless consonant as [s] (as opposed to [ʃ], a marked pronunciation feature colloquially known as chiado, common in Portugal and other parts in Brazil, but not São Paulo).
In the transcription of the lyrics below, the Spanish is marked by the color blue, and the Portuguese by the color green. There are a few parts in which both artists sing together in Spanish, and, at the end of the song, they both sing a line in Italian, marked with red in the text (this line is actually the original Italian name of the piece). The recurring word is vivo, I live, which is, as a matter of fact, spelled exactly the same in the three languages heard in the song, and pronounced very similarly as well: [vivu] in Portuguese, [vi:vo] in Italian, and [biβo] in Spanish.
It should be noted that what each singer sings isn't simply a translation of what the other has just sung; they each have their own verses, expanding and moving the song forward; the same is true for the other piece analyzed after this one below. For instance, in the third stanza, Bocelli begins singing the Spanish phrase es la musa que te invita (it's the muse that invites you), and Sandy completes it in Portuguese in the following line: a sonhar com coisas lindas (to dream of beautiful things);  even a Spanish speaker has no problem understanding this particular sentence that combines both languages (undoubtedly, a Portuguese speaker understands it; see introductory paragraph).

Vivo por ella is Spanish for I live for her, which would be vivo por ela in Portuguese (and, as we can see in the penultimate line of the song, the same phrase is vivo per lei in Italian). We find out towards the end that it is música what they live for.

Bocelli:	Vivo por ella sin saber Si la encontré o me ha encontrado. Ya no recuerdo como fue, Pero al final me ha conquistado. Vivo por ella que me da Toda mi fuerza de verdad. Vivo por ella y no me pesa.
Sandy:	Vivo por ela eu também E não há razão pra ter ciúmes. Ela é tudo e mais além Como o mais doce dos perfumes. Ela vai onde quer que eu vá. Não deixa a solidão chegar. Mais que por mim Por ela eu vivo também.
Bocelli:	Es la musa que te invita
Sandy:	A sonhar com coisas lindas.
Bocelli:	En mi piano a veces triste La muerte no existe Si ella está aquí.
Sandy:	Vivo por ela que me dá Todo o amor que é necessário. Forte e grande como o mar, Frágil e menor do que um aquário.
Bocelli:	Vivo por ella que me da Fuerza, valor y realidad Para sentirme un poco vivo.
Sandy:	Como dói quando me falta
Bocelli:	(vivo por ella en un hotel)
Sandy:	Como sai quando me assalta
Bocelli:	(vivo por ella en propria piel)
Both:	Si ella canta, en mi garganta Mis penas más negras espanta.
Bocelli:	Vivo por ella y nadie más Puede vivir dentro de mí. Ella me da la vida, la vida... Si está junto a mí...
Both:	Si está junto a mí...
Bocelli:	Desde un palco o contra un muro
Sandy:	(vivo por ela e ela me tem)
Bocelli:	En el trance mas oscuro
Sandy:	(vivo por ela e ela me tem)
Both:	Cada día una conquista. La protagonista Es ella también.
Bocelli:	Vivo por ella porque va Dándome siempre la salida, Porque la música es así, Fiel y sincera de por vida.
Sandy:	Vivo por ela que me dá As noites livres para amar. Se eu tivesse outra vida, seria Dela também...
Bocelli:	Ella se llama música.
Sandy:	E ela me tem.
Bocelli:	Vivo por ella, créeme.
Sandy:	Por ela também.
Both:	Io vivo per lei
Bocelli:	Yo vivo...
Sandy:	E viverei...

É é

From Language Hat:

IS IS, WAS IS.
For years now I've been noticing the increasing prevalence of the grammatically unmotivated doubling of is, as in "The thing is is that..." [...] I was recently watching a Nova program about the mission to repair the Hubble when I heard astronaut Mike Massimino say "My point was is..." [...].

The observation above lends itself for a discussion about a similar development in Portuguese and Spanish; similar in that we find two conjugated verbs in succession, one of them being the verb to be. Though it is not quite part of the formal language, it is rather common in Portuguese, found in Brazil as well as Portugal; in Spanish, it is not as common, though I have encountered it from Colombians, for instance, and Venezuelans. This verbal process makes use of an emphatic, and sometimes contrasting, to be, which is placed right after the main verb in a sentence. In other words, the conjugated form of to be emphasizes the verb it follows, in a construction that is ultimately an ellipsis of a more traditional structure; for instance, eu quero é escrever, lit. I want is to write, being just about equal in meaning to o que eu quero é escrever, what I want is to write (or that which I want is to write) with the o que (that which, or, what) being omitted. Some more examples are eu quero é diversão*, lit. I want is fun (i.e. with emphasis, it is fun that I want); eu quero é Deus*, lit. I want is God (i.e. it is God that I want); ele tem é inveja, lit. he has is envy (i.e. it is envy what he has). Although this emphatic structure is frequent with querer (to want) and eu (I), it is used with other verbs and the other personal pronouns as well. When used with ser (to be), it leads to the special case of two consecutive is's, é é, particularly in Brazil where the verbal system relies heavily on third person forms: você/ele/ela/a gente é (discussed before on my blog*). Thus, if the main verb is itself is, we end up with that double is: ele é é burro, lit. he is is dumb, which could be expanded to o que ele é é burro, what he is is dumb.
So far, we have seen verbs in the present tense, but this is just as valid in the past; building from previous examples, we would have: eu queria era escrever, lit. I wanted was to write (o que queria era escrever, what I wanted was to write); ele tinha era inveja, lit. he had was envy (i.e. it is envy what he had).
In the future, this emphatic to be can be found along with the conjugated verb ir (to go) to form the periphrastic future: ele vai é ficar aqui, lit. he goes is to stay here (i.e. as for what he is going to do, he is going to stay here), as opposed to ele vai ficar aqui, he is going to stay here, with no emphasis or contrast.
While this construction is found in Spanish as well, it is not an extended feature, and in no way whatsoever has it penetrated the language the way it has in Portuguese; rather, its distribution is quite limited, regionally, like I stated; as an example, nonetheless: tengo es dinero, lit. I have is money, which can be said to be short for lo que tengo es dinero, lit. that which I have is money (i.e. it is money that I have).