MadreMadre
Perilous Journeys With a Spanish Noun
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Book, 2011
Current format, Book, 2011, 1st ed, Available .Book, 2011
Current format, Book, 2011, 1st ed, Available . Offered in 0 more formatsThis exploration of Mexican language and culture examines the word madre and the evolution of its use in both the sacred and the profane and discusses the role of a creative female in Spanish society.
Literally, a total mother or a dis-mother? How can "me vale madre" mean worthless and "ique padre!" mean marvelous? Whether your pasion is Spanish language, travel, Mexican culture, the social and biological shaping of language, or the murky logic of gender relations, you'll love Liza Bakewell's spunky and dogged pursuit of the loaded meanings of the word madre through years of wildly original research in taxicabs, at dinner parties, in artists' studios, in churches, and elsewhere.
How could madre mean whore as much as virgin? What happens to the ninety-nine madres when one father enters the room and they become a group of padres? And why can't a bien educada woman in Mexico say the word madre without raising eyebrows?
Whether questioning a disillusioned reporter friend on why his fury about Mexican politics takes on such machista dimensions, or listening as her academic colleagues launch scandalous piropos across the dinner table, or simply being a madre to her twin girls, Bakewell writes with contagious passion about the many ways in which we shape language, and how it, conversely, shapes us.
Why is the word madre, "mother," so complicated in Spanish—especially in Mexico?
Leaping off the page with energy, insight, and attitude, Liza Bakewell's exploration of language is anything but "just semantics." Why does me vale madre mean worthless, while !qué padre! means fabulous, she asks? And why do one hundred madres disappear when one padre enters the room, converting the group from madres to padres? Thus begins a journey through Mexican culture in all its color: weddings, dinner parties, an artist's studio, heart-stopping taxi rides, angry journalists, corrupt politicians, Blessed Virgins, and mothers both sacred and profane.Along the way, a reader discovers not only an invaluable lexicon of Mexican slang (to be used with caution or not at all) but also thought-provoking reflections on the evolution of language; its winding path through culture, religion, and politics; and, not least, what it means—and what it threatens—to be a creative female, a madre.
me vale madre!qué padre!madrespadremadrespadresmadre
Literally, a total mother or a dis-mother? How can "me vale madre" mean worthless and "ique padre!" mean marvelous? Whether your pasion is Spanish language, travel, Mexican culture, the social and biological shaping of language, or the murky logic of gender relations, you'll love Liza Bakewell's spunky and dogged pursuit of the loaded meanings of the word madre through years of wildly original research in taxicabs, at dinner parties, in artists' studios, in churches, and elsewhere.
How could madre mean whore as much as virgin? What happens to the ninety-nine madres when one father enters the room and they become a group of padres? And why can't a bien educada woman in Mexico say the word madre without raising eyebrows?
Whether questioning a disillusioned reporter friend on why his fury about Mexican politics takes on such machista dimensions, or listening as her academic colleagues launch scandalous piropos across the dinner table, or simply being a madre to her twin girls, Bakewell writes with contagious passion about the many ways in which we shape language, and how it, conversely, shapes us.
Why is the word madre, "mother," so complicated in Spanish—especially in Mexico?
Leaping off the page with energy, insight, and attitude, Liza Bakewell's exploration of language is anything but "just semantics." Why does me vale madre mean worthless, while !qué padre! means fabulous, she asks? And why do one hundred madres disappear when one padre enters the room, converting the group from madres to padres? Thus begins a journey through Mexican culture in all its color: weddings, dinner parties, an artist's studio, heart-stopping taxi rides, angry journalists, corrupt politicians, Blessed Virgins, and mothers both sacred and profane.Along the way, a reader discovers not only an invaluable lexicon of Mexican slang (to be used with caution or not at all) but also thought-provoking reflections on the evolution of language; its winding path through culture, religion, and politics; and, not least, what it means—and what it threatens—to be a creative female, a madre.
me vale madre!qué padre!madrespadremadrespadresmadre
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- New York, NY : W.W. Norton, c2011.
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