Disclaimer: This article contains language that some people may find offensive
THEY are two of the brightest showbiz lights in Spain and the USA respectively, both blazing a trail for young female talent.
But when Catalan popstar Rosalia popped up a cameo in HBO hit Euphoria to have an on-screen row with Hollywood star Zendaya, it was the Spaniard who came off better.
The entertaining interlude has raised the question – is the Spanish language really a sharper blade for insults and put downs than English?
Rosalia has already tried her hand at acting in Pedro Almodovar’s Dolor y gloria, and her turn in Euphoria has now sparked a lively linguistic debate.
Rosalia’s character Magick and Zendaya’s Rue exchange heated – apparently adlibbed – profanities, and Rosalia’s colourful Spanish language clearly comes out on top.
While Zendaya’s character Rue mustered up a lacklustre ‘liar’ and ‘hood rat’, Rosalia’s flavourful language included some classic Spanish insults including ‘hija de puta’, ‘pedazo puta’ and ‘que te calles la puta boca.’
Showcasing the creativity of the Spanish insult she said ‘como sigas hablando mierda, te cojo y te rajo’ and ‘me cago en tus muertos’ which roughly translate as ‘if you keep talking s*** I will grab you and cut you up’ and ‘I s*** on your dead relatives’.
Undoubtedly, Rosalia wiped the floor with Zendaya in this fiery exchange, but do Spaniards really do insults better than English-speakers?
Expats in Spain quickly grow used to hearing ‘cabrón’, ‘hostia’, ‘gillipollas’ and ‘¿qué coño haces?’ in everyday street language, though Spanish also offers a wealth of more creative digs.
Take ‘vete a freir esparragos’ (literally ‘go and fry asparagus’) which is a surprising way to tell someone to get lost.
Another food-related expression, ‘me importa un pepino’, does not mean ‘I care about a cucumber’, but rather ‘I don’t care at all’.
‘Your mother’ insults are a staple of the English insult, particularly in the US, and Spanish is no different.
While ‘tu puta madre’ remains a classic insult, variations like ‘tu puta madre en bicicleta’ (‘your stupid mother on a bike’ is a creative, and slightly absurd way, to say ‘no way’.
Spanish also boasts creative ways to insult someone’s appearance with ‘tiene una cara como una nevera por detrás’ (they have a face like the back of a fridge’) almost matching its English counterpart ‘they have a face like the back of a bus’.
Spanish insults also plumb depths that English would rarely dare enter. ‘¡Que te den por culo!’ is an insult that doesn’t even bear translating into the Queen’s (look it up yourself).
It makes English’s ‘go f*** yourself’ seem positively meaningless in comparison.
However, what English lacks in creative crudity, it makes up for in its overall offensive punch. Spanish, for example, lacks a curse equivalent to the c-word.
The direct translation in terms of meaning in Spanish is coño, which is considered quite a soft, PG-13 word.
And this can often catch out Spaniards who try their hand at using the c-word, being unaware as they are of the immense offensive rudeness of this utterance.
But which language has the greater range when it comes to describing the private parts of human anatomy that we all know and love?
In fact, when it comes to describing either the male or female genitalia, Spanish wins on both counts – and it’s not particularly close.
While English has around 50 to 70 words each to describe these body parts, Spanish – thanks to the numerous dialects and countries that speak it – has around 200 to 250.
READ MORE: Malaga bullring boss investigated for workplace negligence following fatal goring of retired matador
Spanish speakers in Mexico alone have more words for penis than most English speakers have ever heard.
Having said all that, English still has its fair share of creative insults and derogatory similes.
Like Spanish, English also boasts a range of food-related insults from calling someone a ‘lemon’ or a ‘donut’ or ‘as much use as a chocolate teapot’.
Brits are also partial to an appearance-based insult with ‘a face like a slapped a***’ and you can, of course, be ‘dressed like a dog’s dinner’.
Meanwhile, someone you think is a bit thick couldn’t ‘organise a p***-up in a brewery’, or they might be ‘as useful as a chocolate teapot’ or simply be ‘as much use as a handbrake on a canoe.’
There are also a wealth of ways to call someone ‘crazy’ including ‘off their rocker’, ‘nutter’, ‘barking mad’ and ‘as mad as a box of frogs’.
Which, all considered, makes Zendaya’s choice of ‘hood rat’ as an insult rather disappointing.
Perhaps she is just a sweet-natured girl who wasn’t the greatest choice of champion for the English language’s darker and dirtier side.
Because although Rosalia may have won the swear-off in Euphoria, both languages clearly offer a wealth of creative ways to land a dig (but use them with caution!)
Click here to read more La Cultura News from The Olive Press.
