Mexicans biography

Why do the Mexicans have such a confusion about the article on the place of work, the BBC Travel on August 6 to understand how the Mexicans perceive time, you need to own not only language, but also knowledge about Mexican culture. The author of the photo, Getty images, I spoke quite well in Spanish when I first got into Mexico. She could not even explain freely, but she was able to support the conversation.

Once I asked the seller of the ice cream in the center of Guadalahahra when the chocolate is lifted, and he replied: "Ahorita." This can be translated as "just now, literally now" - and I thought that the ice cream would be in a few minutes. Why do the Spaniards have dinner later than others? Therefore, I sat at the tent and waited. The English character did not allow to turn around and leave, because it would be ugly on my part.

Half an hour passed, and all the ice cream did not bring, and I hesitantly approached the seller and asked when there would be chocolate. His expression was surprised and, perhaps, even embarrassed. I didn’t want to wait longer, but it would just be impolite to leave, especially if this ice cream is brought specifically for me. And finally, when I was already waiting for a plenty and hungry, the sky was covered with black clouds, and I ran to the nearest bus to go home.

And on the run - showed the seller of ice cream to heaven to explain why I can’t wait anymore. Indeed, this is not my fault. And he answered me with the same expression on his face - with a complete misunderstanding. The nation, who likes to be sad already on the bus, watching how drops of rain drumming through the glass, I mentally reproduced our dialogue and indignantly decided that the seller is a liar.

In the end, this episode disappeared from memory.

But many years passed, and I moved to live in Mexico. Then I found out: in order to break the "Ahorita code", as I called this phenomenon, you need to know not only the language, but also the culture. When a person from Mexico says "Ahorita", you cannot perceive it literally; The meaning of this word depends on the context and can be different. As Dr. Concepsion, a company, a linguist and honored professor of the Mexico Autonomous University, explained to me: "When the Mexican says" Ahorita ", this may mean tomorrow, an hour later, after five years or never at all." Ahorita Llego, which can literally translate as “I will be about”, actually means “I will come for an indefinite time”; Ahorita Regreso "I'll be back now" means "sooner or later I will return, but when exactly it is unknown." The word "ahorita" is used even for a polite refusal "no, thanks" from some sentence.

I have been living in Mexico for seven years, and this answer is still driving me into a stupor when I receive guests. I catch myself on the fact that I hesitate, not knowing whether to carry them what I suggested or not. In most countries where Spanish speaks, adding the suffix "Ita" to the adverb such as "Ahora" "now" emphasizes the urgency of action that is, "right now".

But in Mexico this is not so. Is the puzzle of Stonehenge close to the denouement? Dr. Company explained that Mexicans use a diminutive form to reduce the distance between the speaker and the listener and soften the formality. In this case, "Ahorita" does not enhance urgency, but rather makes it less urgent. Foreigners can strongly confuse. There are also nuances in the pronunciation of this word, thanks to which its meaning is understood.

That is, the longer this sound, the longer a person should wait. With short, jerky sounds, the Mexicans make it clear that a certain event should occur immediately. Doctor of the company said that in Mexico, if she performs a report and speaks longer than planned, the Mexicans "perceive it as a gift." But in the UK or the USA, listeners begin to leave the audience because they believe that she takes their time.

Foreigners, who recently in Mexico, appoint celebrations on, and then wonder that most people come not earlier than I heard complaints from foreigners: they say, the Mexicans are constantly late, and this is bad manner and disrespect. Such a perception comes from the idea that “time is money”, an exhausted valuable resource that should not be squandered.

But the Mexicans are easier for the time, for them it is flexible and plastic; This is something not subject to control. But some immigrants from other countries living in Mexico cannot get used to such a turnover method to measure time. I just couldn’t work when everything was so blurred so that you don’t know at what indefinite moment of the future something will be done, ”she said.

Break“ Ahorita code ”“ and understand why my ice cream was never brought - I was able only when I relaxed with the course of my life in Mexico, much less intense than my life in London. After moving, my life has changed dramatically. I worry about the fact that I can be late.Why Irish baths with algae are useful for women, of course, when the plumbing should wait for either five minutes or five hours, it is a little nervous.

But I know: my reward is a feeling that time is less crushing me. And I enjoy the spontaneity that it gives. And, paradoxically, “Ahorita Time” actually helped me learn to live “here and now,” because it was difficult with this before. You can read the original of this article in English on the BBC Travel website. Read also.