Although at the mention of “Spain” many Americans think of delicious tapas and flamenco dancing, a unique region in Northwestern Spain is full of cultural and linguistic diversity that many haven’t heard of: This place is called “Galicia.” Here, I’ve been immersed in the world of tri-lingualism —the questions, words, and careers it raises.
So far, I’ve learned not only that a regional Galician language exists alongside Spanish, but also that in this Galician language, the letter “x” stands for a “sh” sound–as in “shamon” for jam or “xavier” for the name Javier. With my students, co-workers, and flatmates, I am constantly asking questions: how do you say “octopus” in Spanish? Does it sound the same in Gallego? For the word “example,” do you say “ejemplo,”or Eshemplo?” Is there a specific Galician word for a forest of chestnut trees? (there is, as it turns out). And finally, how do you spell “pincho” in galician—is it the same as in Spanish?
In the process of learning any language, all of us at some point come across several letters or words or sounds that remain difficult: For my students in English, it’s often the letter “w” as in words like “jewelry” or “drowning.” For me, in Galician, it’s the “x.”
Galician as a language is fond of taking Spanish “j’s” and replacing them with “x’s”—but only in certain cases.
When attempting to say Spanish words in Galician, I am never entirely certain about how to say the “x’s” or the diphthong-laden vowel sounds.
I waver: Is it a “j” sound? A “sh” sound? Or something else entirely?
I call this moment of linguistic questioning a moment of having “sudden insecurities about the x.”
This applies not only to my attempts at learning Galician but also anyone’s efforts to communicate in a foreign tongue. On a deeper level, these spontaneous encounters with sounds, verbs, words, and thoughts that are all new to us create intersections of their own, in an “x”-shaped crossroads (or, in Galician, “un cruceiro”) of ideas.
OK. Back to the delicious tapas for a moment. Lugo is famous for its tapas, because they come with every drink you buy: first, you are offered a “pincho,” a slice of spanish tortilla, or bread with cheese; then, you are given a selection of “tapas” from the kitchen–small, cooked dishes of sausage, or rice, or pasta. Pinchos and tapas are accompanied by lots of good conversation with friends. In fact, many people in Lugo spend hours dining on tapas, because, often, they are enough for dinner.
So: Welcome to The Pinchos Podcast, bite-sized “tapas” bits of conversation NOT about the pinchos themselves but about trilingualism and education.
I’m Chloe Wheeler, a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Galicia, Spain, and I’ll be hanging out with my talented students at Lugo’s vocational school, As Mercedes.
You can join us for free on Apple podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.
March 2020.
Music Used With Permission:
~”Pepa (ft. Tanxugueiras),” A Banda Da Loba (2018), SEISPÉS PRODUCIÓNS CREATIVAS S.L. Link.
~ “Feel The Music #puroestilo,” Corti (2016), Link.
chlo-etry 