#ai replies

[fandomswhatnot]

Just thought i'd post these HTF AI replies

[dasakuryo]

Out of curiosity, what is wrong with Elena of Avalor?

Elena of Avalor is yet another homogeneous representation of Latinxs and Latin American cultures that further reinforces the idea that Latin America is an homogenous entity, rather than being one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions of the world.

The fact that the Latina princess is also the only princess to not have her own movie... well, you see the problem with that.

Here’s the thing Latin American cultures are an intersection of pre-colonial and post colonial identities coexisting and forging particular experiences. This means that the cultural background draws from the native populations, the colonizers and later on the immigrants to each particular country and region, that’s to say, each country as a unique and particular cultural background. Latin American identities exist because of the socio-historical and cultural events and processes that took place in different Latin American countries. Henceforth, you need all these cultures and backgrounds coexisting to form a given Latin American identity, without them there’re no Latin American cultures, without them there’re no Latin American identities and therefore no Latin Americans and no Latinxs.

And yet... Elena of Avalor is set in a magical kingdom non-existent land. Disney basically merged and mashed together aspects and features of at least two different Latin American cultures/identities (Mayan culture and Chilean folklore) without actually mentioning or acknowledging them at all.

There are a few articles online, and I remember one Latinx youtuber making a video adressing many more problematic elements that yet again have to do with the homogeneizing view that the US media has and projects about Latin America and their cultures, therefore homogeneizing Latinxs and prompting bias, stereotypes and Latinx erasure, not to mention a complete and utter disregard for authenticity.

[dasakuryo]

☾ and ✌

Thank you ♥

☾ : favourite word from your language 

This is hard, Spanish or rather el español is a really pretty language and, to my humble opinion as a bilingual, more deeply rooted in emotion than English (which tends to be more linear and sort of technical sometimes). Spanish as a lot of unique and beautiful words, both in meaning and sounds, so I would list a few because I can’t choose

Aurora: (n) luz tenue de tintes rosados que aparece antes del amanecer (faint lightning in pink/reddish tones that appears right before sunrise)

Arrebol: (n) coloración roja que adquieren las nubes al ser iluminadas por el sol (reddish colour that paints clouds when reached by the sun rays)

Étereo: (adj) que dura por un corto período de tiempo (something that lasts for a short period of time)

Che: this is an interjection equivalent in Rioplatense Spanish to the expression hey, and aside from being a cultural marker speaks a lot about the different cultures co-existing and shaping our languages. There are tons of theories so as to where it originated, either from Italian, Spanish (from Valencia influence), guaraní languages (where che means yo and sometimes mi) or if it comes from the mapuzungun che (people). 

The distinction between amar and querer. Truly, a te quiero can mean as much as a te amo, and a te quiero can even be more powerful than a te amo, and being told te amo by your partner/someone you’re in love with as oppossed as te quiero carries a lot meaning and emotion, and goes beyond... I guess is difficult to explain to a non native Spanish speaker and more so in terms of English which, really, has no distinction as uses love and I love you for the same things in which Spanish draws clear distinctions.

✌ : favourite proverb/saying from your language 

Al que madruga Dios lo ayuda.

My grandparents used to say it all the time, and it literally means God will help those who get up at the break of dawn (I think the closest equivalent in English is the early bird catches the worm). Either way, I can assess it’s not true lol

Chocolate por la noticia.

literally chocolate for the news, it is an equivalent to you don’t say or really?

El que no llora no mama

literally the one that does not cry isn’t nursed; it comes from a famous tango, Cambalache, and it means that demands of adults would not be heard if you don’t complain.

And not a saying nor a proverb, but there’s an expression I love which may easily be one of the few expressions that refers to (cis) women bodies in a positive light, tener los ovarios bien puestos (literally, to have the ovaries well placed) refers to women who never back down, are brave and bold, and react when crossed, harmed or insulted. When a professor disrespects you and your intelligence for being a woman, when you’re catcalled on the street, etc etc and you react and send them al carajo (or a freír churros, literally, to fry churros, another lovely but rather old fashioned phrase lol) tenés los ovarios bien puestos.

Another really useful expression is me cago en la mierda (I shit on the shit). You know, hyperboles are fun, also saying fuck or shit doesn’t quite properly convey the anger.

[dasakuryo]

☪ : what do you hate about your language? and ✓ : funniest word in your language

☪ : what do you hate about your language? 

I hate the fact that having so many Spanish speaking countries in Latin America (plus also Spain), we somehow recycle what’s an innocent word or expression in one variety and make it mean something really dirty (usually sexual or insulting) in another one. For a Spaniard if a person is pija (una persona pija) means they have a lot of money, but for me as an Argentinean pija is a colloquialism for penis like WHY?? also, there are tons of examples like that. Whenever I meet someone from another Latin American country I am cautious about which words I use because, what if I insult them without meaning to? what if I am complimenting them and turns out I am saying something really dirty? x.x And all these ties to the next

✓ : funniest word in your language             

the word for straw, because AGAIN at some point you’re going to offend someone which the word you have in your Spanish variety for it lmao what even... and for something as harmless as a straw, it’s frankly ridiculous.

And jic, in Argentina we call it pajita (when it’s the plastic disposable one) and bombilla when is the mate one. Then again, pajita can also mean little jackoff in other countries so .. you’re never free of sinning (?)

[dasakuryo]

If you live somewhere where everyone speaks Spanish why are you so worried about people with thick accents when they speak English if you live somewhere where you aren't required to speak English?

Translation: I amentitled gringx who can’t wrap their head around how English imperialismfunctions.

Sorry for not coming back to you sooner,

I live in a country wherepeople are required to learn English since childhood, I live in a country whereEnglish is a mandatory subject in schools since primary school (that’selementary school, in some provinces as early as first grade). I live in acountry where even kids in kindergarten have to learn English.

You know, unlike yougringxs who learn a language in high school to add it to your credits orwhatever, we actually HAVE TO learn English since we’re children. Parents knowthat their kids learning English is extremely important because as ourcollective unconscious dictate “if you want to go far in life and besomeone, you’ve to learn English, you need to know English,” this is whyparents will go out of their way to send their kids to English institutes orfind a teacher who can give them private lessons since an early age, evenparents who struggle with income and are not in an advantageous economicsituation will save money so their kids can learn English and “aspire togreater horizons”.

Our collectiveunconscious, regardless of the efforts and reassurance of teachers of tellingus the exact opposite, immediately connects accuracy and fluency withnative-like accents. Since we’re children we feel our thick, clearly non-nativeEnglish accents, are inadequate, we feel inadequate. And that’s why? Becausenative-speakers have consistently looked down on people who have a non-nativeEnglish accents, and in the USA and Europe, Latinxs accents have always beenfrowned upon and considered as a sign of our backwardness, ignorance andinferiority.

Media reflectssociety, and also has the power to pose discussions and change it. When peoplemake fun of thick accents, of non-native English accents, of Latinxs speakingSpanish, they’re making fun of Latinxs. So the fact that USA media making funof accents and using them as the punchline of a joke, or a joke in and ofthemselves, it’s problematic, is wrong, it adds to Latinxs (particularly KIDS)self-loathing of their own accents and, what’s even worse, it teaches them thatin order not to be mocked by native English speakers they have to sound likenative speakers. So kids will struggle, refuse to speak, try to mask theiraccent, try to become this carbon-copy of the native English speaker they’veseen on TV… because, nobody is mocking them.

It takes a toll onyoung people and adults learning English as a second language, the very firstthing anyone says is “I don’t speak right”, why? Because the ‘speakingright’ is synonym with native accents, because our accents are ugly, laughableand a sign of our backwardness. You know, what we get from what English nativespeaker say and perpetuate about us with their representations and mockery.

What’s that? Youthink learning English in Latin American countries ends in high school? Thinkagain, it goes on in universities, it goes on all throughout your studies ifyou want to get any higher education degree, and in many fields keeps on beingpresent when you’ve already acquired your degree. Over 90% of reference andtext books used in Universities are only available in English, there’re notranslations unless some students does it, which means that you’ve to knowEnglish in order to study. Want to get your degree? Yeah, you’ll have todemonstrate you can read and translate a whole text in English. Want to applyfor a scholarship? If you know English your chances are better? Oh, you’repursuing a career in STEMs, for example, oh well… all publications and papersare available in English, so you have to know, understand and have some degreeof proficiency in English if you want to keep up with new discoveries andtheories. You have made a breakthrough and discovered something important andwould like to present it to the scientific international community? Oh, well,guess you can only do that in English.

Which prompts thefollowing in more than a handful of people: Oh but… you don’t know English, notquite… and your accent is thick and clearly non-native, are you sure you can dothis? Remember what we all know about them, they don’t like our accents, ourskills, knowledge and qualities will be questioned as soon as we open ourmouths… are you really sure you can do this?

That’s why one of mybest friends, with one of the best GPAs has downright been telling me for yearsthat she won’t even bother to apply for a scholarship abroad. She’s brilliant,but she’s taking her accent as an obstacle instead of as an asset. You know, adirect consequence of what ill-intended, biased representations and mockery ofnon-native English accents from native English-speakers can do EVEN TO PEOPLEWHO DON’T LIVE IN AN ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY.

Oh, and please, I amnot even talking about all the multinational companies which operate in LatinAmerican countries and which demand their employees with a university/collegedegree to give their job interviews in English.

We’re constantlybombarded with the message from native speakers that our English is not goodenough, that we have to pass as natives if we want to aspire to something,particularly if we come even remotely close to study and/or work with USAmericans,Europeans, and the like –if we want to better our chances and not being mockedthat’s.

Non-white Latinxsalso experience this in a whole new level, because not only does theirappearance will grant them suffering discrimination and racism, but on top ofthat they have to add their discrimination towards their accent because it isyet another sign of their otherness. Non-white Latinxs have it even harder.

Furthermore, in caseyou think I am making shit up, linguists have talked about English as animperialistic language, like Phillipson expresses:

Linguicism: the ideologies and structures which are usedto legitimate, effectuate and reproduce an unequal division of power andresources (both material and non-material) between groups which are defined onthe basis of their language (i.e., of their mother tongue). This condition isbest seen within the broader context of linguistic imperialism - an essentialconstituent of imperialism as a global phenomenon involving structuralrelations between rich and poor countries in a world characterized byinequality and injustice.

Language expansion isconsidered an essential part of a core country’s policy of extending its powerand influence in order to achieve its imperialistic strategies. Phillipson holdsthat the legitimization of English linguistic expansion has been based on twonotions: ethnocentricity and educational policy, with‘ethnocentricity’ being the “practice of judging other cultures by standards ofit own.” These two practices have been used to impose a distinction betweenlanguages. It has also been a way topromote the notion of the assumed inferiority of secondary languages withrespect to the norms determined by the dominant culture.

Phillipson takes thisnotion one step further with ethnocentricity transformed into that of ‘anglocentricity’ with the consequencethat the dominance of English isjustified in terms of such oppositions as superiority/inferiority,civilization/backwardness, progress/regress, the first element of which isconstantly attributed to the dominant English language.

According toPhillipson education serves the imperialcenter by having three functions: ideological, economic and repressive. Theideological function serves as a channel for transmitting social and culturalvalues. In this role English is regardedas a “gateway for better communication, better education and higher standardsof living.” The second function – economic – legitimizes English as a means of qualifying people to contribute totheir nation and operate technology that the language provides access to.The third function – repression –serves to dominate languages.

Linguisticimperialism calls attention to the potential consequences of English teachingworldwide when center country ideologies are embedded in instruction, having the effect of legitimizing colonialor establishment power and resources, and of “reconstituting culturalinequalities between English and other languages.”

[Cited and paraphrased from

Phillipson, R. 1992.Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford. Oxford University Press.

-Phillipson, R. 1988.Linguicism: structures and ideologies in linguistic imperialism. In J. Cumminsand T. Skutnabb-Kangas (eds.), Minority Education: From Shame to Struggle.Avon: Multilingual Matters.]

So when someoneperpetuates the idea that thick accents and non-native English accents are tobe mocked of, which ties directly to the First-World perception of Latinxs (inthis case) as ignorant, backward, unqualified people, I have every right to bemad as hell about it. Because as a non-native English speaker and Latina I amdirectly affected by its consequences, even though living in a non-English speakingcountry.

Unlike USAmericanswho actually get to choose whether to learn Spanish or not (who cares thatthere’re more Spanish speakers in the American continent than English speakers,right?? Why should you ever have to be forced to learn that backwardlanguage??), Latin Americans don’t have a choice, we have never had a choice.That’s how linguistic imperialism functions, besides forcing us to learn aforeign language, is telling us that we won’t be taken seriously if we don’tadjust to the GoodEnglish™.

By the way, I have a non-native English accent,and I am extremely proud of it.

And finally,

[dasakuryo]

'she's from spain so she's latina' estoy gritando internamente, ayuda

BELGRANO, MORENO Y CASTELLI ESTÁN LLAMANDO A FRENCH Y BERUTTI PARA PRENDERLE FUEGO EL RANCHO.

[dasakuryo]

Regarding your addition on the post about staging revolutions across Latin America; do you happen to know if that's what happened in El Salvador by any chance? My parents are from there and I'm unclear on the history

Yes, the same happened in El Salvador.

(1980) the US government to this day justifies its aid in the murder of more than 63k civilians during the US-supported military dictatorship in El Salvador

(from this list of USA imperialism and interventionism in Latin America)

There’s no coincidence that virtually all Latin American countries had their democractically elected goverments overthrown virtually throughout the 20th century but especially during the Cold War.

There’s a reason, actually several reasons, why the vast majority of Latin Americans don’t trust and resent the USA.

[dasakuryo]

Hola Ailín~! Are you still taking prompts from the list you reblogged earlier? if so: “Yell, scream, say something!” for rebelcaptain, por favor :)

Pero obvio que sí.Thank you so much for requesting, darling, I hope the story doesn’t disappoint! :)

“Yell, scream, say something,” Cassian says. He has asked her a really important question, and yet Jyn can't bring herself to utter an answer. // [In which Jyn is confronted with the fact there's a future past the war, but it's up to her to choose what, and who, that future will entail.]

{Read on AO3}