Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

antisonantes

English translation:

I was offended by the way he spoke to me/ He made some out of line remarks when he spoke to me*

Added to glossary by Jenni Lukac (X)
Sep 9, 2013 15:21
10 yrs ago
14 viewers *
Spanish term
Change log

Sep 23, 2013 07:47: Jenni Lukac (X) Created KOG entry

Discussion

Vidomar (X) Sep 9, 2013:
One more thing Besides, it seems more logical to offend someone with rude words than with high-flown language.

PS.: I made a mistake before: "...in every Spanish-speakin countrY".
Vidomar (X) Sep 9, 2013:
Antisonante I can´t tell you if the word is used in every Spanish-speaking countries. And from what I could see, this seems to be a modern word. What I can say is that the word is effectly used:
http://forum.dofus.com/es/1099-gremios-nom/146707-lenguaje-a...
http://es.board.bigpoint.com/darkorbit/showthread.php?t=5915...
http://www.eh4ck3rs.com.ar/t29-palabras-mal-catalogadas-como...
http://www.network54.com/Forum/651078/thread/1366740120/last...
And many others.
Robert Forstag Sep 9, 2013:
I'm not so sure.... Not in the RAE, and I could find no entry in any of the online dictionaries (based on a brief search). The reference supplied by Vidomar hardly strikes me as authoritative either....
Vidomar (X) Sep 9, 2013:
Antisonante is not a typo Antisonante is a Spanish word:
http://darknespent.foroactivos.net/t8-respecto-a-las-palabra...

Proposed translations

+2
2 hrs
Selected

I was offended by the way he spoke to me/ He made some out of line remarks when he spoke to me*

I think that fluidity is a big problem here. Conversationally, an English speaker might break up the idea into two or more sentences; for example, "I was offended by the way he spoke to me. He said some very insulting/inappropriate things." or "He used very inappropriate language when he spoke to me and I felt very insulted." If the conversation was between an employee and his or her superior (I noted this query was entered under human resources), the translation would most likely depend on whether the inappropriate language was being used by the employee or the superior.
"Antisonante" is definitely not in any official dictionary yet. Although Yahoo answers is not what I'd call a truly reliable source, this person probably has the gist of the variation:http://es.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2008062212432...
The type of people who use the word:http://www.eh4ck3rs.com.ar/t29-palabras-mal-catalogadas-como...
Americans, at least, would describe a person who used this type of language as "being out of line.";www.crosswalk.com/1377480/comments.html
Radio Host Apologizes for 'Out of Line' Remarks on Muslims - 1 - - - Comments. orwww.indeed.com › Forums › Job › Accountant‎
12 entradas - ‎2 autores
She gets away with belittling employees in front of others and EXTREMELY OUT OF LINE REMARKS. The way things work are confusing, and training?
Peer comment(s):

agree Vidomar (X) : Seems to be the right idea with the right words.
2 hrs
Thanks, Vidomar. It would be interesting to have more context.
agree María Eugenia Wachtendorff
8 hrs
Thanks very much, María Eugenia.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
1 hr

She/he insulted me with rude/bad/swear/crude words.

Antisonante is not a typo. The word exists in Spanish.
Peer comment(s):

neutral Robert Forstag : Given your assumption that this is not a typo (and you could be right here), and that the term means "nasty, crude, vulgar," this is not the way it would come out of the mouth of an adult native speaker of English.
36 mins
agree Charles Davis : This is the meaning, though I agree with Robert that this is not how someone would say it in English. I've posted an alternative with an explanation.
8 hrs
Thanks a lot, Charles.
Something went wrong...
5 mins
Spanish term (edited): Me insultó con palabras altisonantes.

He insulted me in [rather] high-flown language

There clearly seems to be a typographical error here, as the word that makes sense in this context is "aLtisonantes."

Suerte.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2013-09-09 18:11:26 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Assuming Vidomar and Jenni are right, and that "antisonantes" is not a typo, I would offer the following as a natural translation that might be heard coming out of the mouth of an adult American:

He insulted me with some pretty nasty language.
Something went wrong...
+1
9 hrs

He/She insulted me and swore at me

Or maybe "insulted me in vulgar terms" or "insulted me in strong language". It means profanity or swearing.

"Antisonantes" is not a real Spanish word. It's not exactly a typo; it's a word people use deliberately but incorrectly: a sort of malapropism. What they mean is "palabras altisonantes". This confusion is reflected in several yahoo questions, one of which Jenni has quoted.

As any dictionary will tell you, "altisonante" (or "altísono") means "high-flown", as Robert puts it: pompous, flowery language. However, in Mexico it has undergone a curious semantic shift and can also mean vulgar or profane: "palabras altisonantes" means profanity, swear words.

I can't say how this shift occurred. Perhaps the idea is of language that is "over the top", exaggerated. The answerer in the yahoo question Jenni quoted said ""altisonante" se refiere a palabras que "suenan" mucho por su contenido polémico o vulgar"
http://es.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2008062212432...

But it is a curious shift, and perhaps this gives some people the sense that "altisonante" is not the right word, leading to the invention of a more negative-sounding alternative, "antisonantes".

I first came across this meaning of "altisonante" in the Spanish Wikipedia on "lenguaje soez", where there is an interesting list of expressions for swear words in different Spanish-speaking countries. It includes:

"lenguaje altisonante (en México)"
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenguaje_soez

And it's confirmed by this Mexican academic article entitled "“El léxico de los estudiantes universitarios a partir de las 'expresiones altisonantes’ como corpus cultural y representacional”", where it quite clearly means specifically swear words or profanity:

"También se ha encontrado que en diversas sociedades las palabras altisonantes, aunque son consideradas como agresivas, insultantes, o inapropiadas por los miembros de la misma, es frecuente que en ciertos contextos sean muy usadas y no siempre rechazadas, hasta el grado de considerarlas graciosas o parte de la jerga cotidiana en las conversaciones informales, incluso pueden tener un prestigio encubierto entre ciertos grupos sociales.
Otra aportación interesante del estudio para la explicación sociolingüística de las “palabrotas” es que el lenguaje soez generalmente es utilizado para expresar de manera insultante referencias a lo sagrado, como la religión y las relaciones familiares, o acerca de lo que se considera tabú, como el sexo, las partes del cuerpo o las relaciones personales entre los seres humanos."
http://versatilsite.com/pdf/el lexico.pdf



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 hrs (2013-09-10 06:38:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

What I do think is that the specific meaning of "antisonante" (= "altisonante") should be reflected in the translation. It's one thing to insult people, but another to use profanity/swear words in doing so; that is crossing a line, and if this is about an employment complaint (reporting a conversation at work), the distinction could be important.
Peer comment(s):

agree Vidomar (X) : Thanks for the comprehensive explanation, Charles. I think we have a wonderful example here of how language questions may be complex and surprising.
2 hrs
Thank you, Vidomar! Absolutely true.
Something went wrong...
1 day 6 hrs

agresive / pedantic / petulant words or language

aggressive/pedantic/pompous/petulant/

… anti-sonante quiere decir contra-sonante, lo cual está mal dicho, en cambio alti-sonante quiere decir que suena alto, es decir, que las groserías suenan alto.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day6 hrs (2013-09-10 22:08:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

aggressive
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search