La pregúnta que les voy a hacer al final de esto es corta, pero la introducción es larga. OK. Here goes: Malapropismo=Malapropism in English.
Hay un “malapropismo” cuando una persona trata de decir algo y resulta que otra cosa chistosa sale de la boca. Por ejemplo. Hay un coro cristiano donde se oye lo siguente:
“En la cruz, en la cruz do primero vi la luz y las manchas de me alma yo lavé—
At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light and the stains of my soul I washed away
En un templo en el estado de Baja California donde estaba conduciendo la música y tocando la guitarra, oí a un niño cantando con todas sus fuerzas así
En la cruz, en la cruz do primero vi la luz y las mangas de mi alma yo lavé At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light and the sleeves of my soul I washed away.
That was funny! Recuerdo una vez de niña quería usar la expression “por si acaso”, y salió “por si fracaso” Todos se rieron mucho salvo yo.
Now some English malapropisms:
There is this character on NCIS, a program wherein federal special agents investigate the deaths of sailors and marines. There is a lot of drama and a lot of humor. My favorite character on the show is Ziva David. A tough Hebrew speaking soldier of the Israeli Mossad—Israel’s CIA. (She left the show after 8 seasons but you can see her in reruns.) She is world renown for her futile attempts to master American clichés.
These, of course are scripted and contrived but they are still fun.
Once when she was tired she asked her partner if she could take a “batnap”
Another time when McGee, another agent, has had a scary experience. Ziva comments, “McGee! You look like you’ve seen a goat.
There was a time when she and her partner were locked in a container. She tried to make a call on her cell phone. She was unable. She tells her partner, “Tony, I’m "braless” (for barless)
There are scores more but I will end with this one.
She says on an occasion when something went terribly wrong, “Tony, we’ve hit a shamu (for “snafu”) Shamu is a famous killer whale that does tricks for the audience in an aquatic park in Southern California.
Now, I said all of the above to give you examples of real malaprops and contrived ones. Can you give to the forum examples of malapropisms that either you have committed or have heard someone else commit? This should be fun, because we have English speakers struggling with Spanish and vice versa. Sorry to take so long on this, but this is something we all have to deal with. You have no Idea the malapropisms I made while trying to learn Mexican slang. Most of them are not fit for print
