"Lost in Translation" Part 11A

 By Jose Reyes & Alberto DeArmas

              In the Cuban language there are many words that we use practically every day but do not exist in the Spanish Dictionary or they do exist but are used in different instances and have different meanings. The new meanings to these words just evolved somehow and we use them frequently. Growing up in America, we learned to speak English but we sometimes mixed these words up and used them when conversing in English with our fellow Cuban-American friends. Sometimes we would be conversing with an American and we would use these words. We would be speaking in English but thinking in Cuban terms.

              I've collected some of these words we used when we would be speaking English and use them in a sentence (In English), another words, this is how the fellow Cuban-American and the American you were speaking to, would hear it. 

  Cuban to English   (Words)

 Word:  Elemento  

Cuban: Esa calle tiene un elemento malo.

English: That street has a bad element. 

 Word: Plantado

Cuban: Me dejaron plantado. 

English: They left me planted.

 Word: Bomba 

Cuban: No te acelques mucho a la bomba, te van a dal una Multa.

English: Don't get too close to the bomba, you might get a Ticket. 

 Word: Embarque, Embarquaron 

Cuban: Tremendo embarque!

English: Tremendous Embarkation!    

Cuban: Me Embarquaron!

English: They Embarked me!    

 Word: Guagua

Cuban: Yo cogi la Guagua para Nueva Yor.

English: I caught the "Guagua" to New York.

Word: Estin

Cuban: A noche no trabajo el Estin.

English: Last night we had no steam.