cedros Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 What would be a Spanish term for a person who is a "do gooder"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 " Boy Scout " There really is not good equivalent. Actions just-for-charity's-sake are not a big component of modern Mexican culture. People here really do not go out of their way to intrusively "help little old ladies across the street" , when the little old lady is actually just waiting for a bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted January 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 A Spanish term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 According to my Mexican wife, and my Mexican mother-in-law, " Boy Scout " is a Spanish term, and definitely a Mexican term. Since the concept of do gooders really does not exist in Mexico or Spain, Boy Scout is about as close as you can come to do gooder . Many Spanish words are the same as English, like when buying mattresses and sheets: Do not ask for "Reina" , ask for " Queen " . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbviajero Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 According to my Mexican wife, and my Mexican mother-in-law, " Boy Scout " is a Spanish term, and definitely a Mexican term.Boy scout is most definitely not a Mexican term... Do gooder could be translated as metiche,ie;meddlesome,or in a positive way as a persona caritativa,ie;charitable person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 140 years of Mexican native-spanish speaker's experiences say "Boy Scout" is a Mexican term, used by educated Mexicans. They both say that " do gooder " - as in one who compulsively gives help that is neither needed or wanted - is not a Mexican concept. "Persona caritativa" means charitable in only positive ways, and is a fine literal word-for-word dictionary translation, but "Persona caritativa" does not include the essential negative connotations of a do gooder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted January 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Thanks. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbviajero Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 They both say that " do gooder " - as in one who compulsively gives help that is neither needed or wanted - is not a Mexican concept.Sure it is,it's called being a metiche like I stated before. You're wrong about boy scout being a Mexican term ,regardless of what your mother in-law says,it's just not a term that most Mexicans would ever use or even understand in this context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 A metiche is a nosy buttinksy into conversations, someone who wants to stick their nose into everything, and give an opinion on everything, which is different from a do gooder. A do gooder is someone who tries to do good things, driven by their good intentions. A metiche does not necessarily have good intentions. Both my Mexican and Mexican mother-in-law say metiche is buttinsky - and is a very Mexican thing - like a meddling tia . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbviajero Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Metiche like do gooder have different meanings depending on the context,you're good at googling and providing links,can you provide one showing the Mexican usage of Boy Scout as far it relates to the negative connotation of the term do gooder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 None of what I wrote came from googling. It came from a knowledge of Spanish, and from my Mexican wife and Mexican mother-in-law. Both my wife and mother-in-law are well educated, and as worldly Mexicans, who like to read, they knew about Boy Scouts before meeting me. I'll trust wise Mexicans any day, over Google, on Mexican Spanish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 The Mexican ladies now volunteer: acomedido en exceso as an approximation for do gooder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbviajero Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Both my wife and mother-in-law are well educated, and as worldly Mexicans, who like to read, they knew about Boy Scouts before meeting me.Lots of Mexicans know about Boy Scouts,just not in the negative context of the term do gooder. Bottom line,some words and phrases just don't translate well.There's an article in todays NY Times that addresses that very subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex45920 Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 May I butt in? I have Mexican-American friends in Los Angeles...people who can trace their family histories back to a time when Boyle Heights was still the Jewish section of town. They use the Yiddish word "yenta" for a female buttinsky, a gossip or someone who just talks too much. A male would be a "yento" as in, "Hey yento, shut the eff up!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 Lots of Mexicans know about Boy Scouts,just not in the negative context of the term do gooder. Bottom line,some words and phrases just don't translate well.There's an article in todays NY Times that addresses that very subject. Perfect. The wife and I agree totally with you about how Boy Scout is used, and also that this is one of those words and phrases that don't translate well. Good NY Times piece. Putz, nebach, schmuck/schmo, gemutlichheit, et al just don't translate as a single English word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 Anyone have a link to the NYT article? I glanced at the site but didn't see it. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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