Getting 'tina'd

Six months ago, I was sitting in a classroom in UNC's Global Education Center listening to an adviser during a mandatory meeting for students studying abroad in Latin America in the fall. Midway through the meeting, she invited in a panel of students who had studied in Latin America to share their advice and provide us with expectations. 

The most memorable moment came when every student told us to expect our English to be horrible upon our return. Expect to say crazy things like “I have 21 years” rather than I'm 21 years old, because after five months you´ll be translating directly from Spanish to English instead of the other way around.

Horseradish, I thought. I'm a linguistics major. I'm untouchable. I went to Juilliard for Christ's sake.

How wrong I was. The Spanish–to–English literal translations have already begun, to hilarious and embarrassing effect. In fact, you could say my Argentinafication is taking place at an alarming rate.

The first time it happened was during the first week of class about a month ago. When telling a group of friends why I needed to go home, I told them “I need to get ready my apartment.” Certainly an understandable phrase in English, but awkward compared to “I need to get my apartment ready.” I immediately realized I had been thinking of the Spanish verb alistar, which expresses “get ready“ in one word, and my Spanish–accustomed brain didn't split it up upon translation.

Other examples: When contemplating whether to pour myself a glass of soda now or later, I thought “When I have thirst, I'll drink.” Argentina–fied. When talking about the weather, I let slip “It's bastante cold outside.” 'Tina–fied! When describing my experience at a nightclub, I told someone “There was a mountain of people there.” Bam! 'Tina'd. 

I'm actually quite proud of my verbal mishaps. Exchange students tend to wear their blunders as a badge of honor that represents their attempts at cultural immersion. And if I come back to the U.S. sounding like a nearly fluent English speaker from South America, I will know my 'tinafication is complete.