Hein, Jan (2020). Cultural keywords in Porteño Spanish: viveza criolla, vivo and boludo. In Bert Peeters, Kerry Mullan, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 2. Meaning and culture (pp. 35-56). Singapore: Springer.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9975-7_3
Abstract:
Viveza criolla, vivo and boludo are three interrelated cultural key words in Porteño Spanish, the variety of Spanish spoken in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They have been loosely translated as “native wit and cunning”, “clever, vivacious” and “moron”, respectively. However, these translations fail to capture the exact meanings and implied logic that guide Porteños — the residents of Buenos Aires — when they use these words. This paper first looks at the historical context that saw the emergence of viveza criolla in Buenos Aires, pointing out its link to local criollo culture. It then studies how the three words have been defined in a varied sample of monolingual and bilingual dictionaries. It is claimed that, besides issues of ethnocentric framing and circularity, viveza is not sufficiently described as an expression of local culture and sociality, and neither vivo nor boludo are appropriately captured as social categories. Finally, I use the NSM approach to capture and explore the keywords’ meanings in simple, cross-translatable terms. Semantic explications are supported with discursive evidence from common sayings, fixed expressions, news articles, tango lyrics and tweets.
Rating:
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
