Embarazada
Encyclopedia
Embarazada is the Spanish
word for pregnant. It is a false friend
for native English-speaking students of Spanish who may attempt to say "I'm embarrassed" by saying "estoy embarazada." This phrase actually means "I'm pregnant" in Spanish. This may be confusing to Spanish speakers who are not familiar with the English word, even more so when said by a man.
When Parker Pen entered the Mexican
market, its advertisements which claimed that Parker Pens "won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you" was mistranslated
to "No te embarazará chorreándose en tu bolsillo" which means "Won't leak in your pocket and impregnate you".1
The correct way to say "I'm embarrassed" in Spanish is using the phrase tengo vergüenza (meaning "I have shame") or the more formal phrases me da vergüenza or estoy avergonzado.2 Yet, in Spanish, there also exists the adjective embarazoso, meaning the same as "embarrassing" in its denotation of something that causes a sensation of unease, but not of shame.3 Complicating the issue further, embarazada can sometimes also mean "hampered", or "hindered".4 This more closely mirrors the original meaning of the English word embarrass.5
in his diary. The word was derived from the French word embarrasser, "to block" or "to obstruct", or figuratively, "to put one in a difficult situation".6 whose first recorded usage was by Michel de Montaigne
in 1580. The French word was derived from the Spanish embarazar, whose first recorded usage was in 1460 in Cancionero de Stúñiga (Songbook of Stúñiga) by Álvaro de Luna
.7 The Spanish word likely comes from the Portuguese
embaraçar, which probably is a combination of the prefix em- (from Latin in- for "in-") with baraça "a noose", or "rope", which makes sense with the synonym encinta ("on noose, on rope" because of the old usage of women to wear a strap of cloth on their dresses when pregnant).8 Baraça originated before the Romans began their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula
in 218 BCE.9 Thus, baraça could be related to the Celtic
word barr, "tuft". (Celtic people actually settled much of Spain and Portugal beginning in the 700s BCE, the second group of people to do so.)10 However, it certainly is not directly derived from it, as the substitution of r for rr in Iberian Romance languages
was not a known occurrence.
The Spanish word "embarazar" is derived from the Arab word "baraza", which means to block, obstruct, oppose.
Some say the Spanish word actually came from the Italian imbarazzare, from imbarazzo, "obstacle" or "obstruction". That word came from imbarrare, "to block" or "to bar", which is a combination of in-, "in", with barra, "bar" (from the Vulgar Latin
barra, which is of unknown origin).11 The problem with this theory is that the first known usage of the word in Italian was by Bernardo Davanzati (1529–1606), long after the word had entered Spanish.12 Thus, modern scholars believe that the Italian word actually came from the Spanish one.13
In the E4 show Skins, Jal struggles to tell her friends she is pregnant. While studying for A-Level Spanish, she gently tells Michelle that she is "embarazada". Michelle is stressing about the test and goes, "What is embarazada!"
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
word for pregnant. It is a false friend
False friend
False friends are pairs of words or phrases in two languages or dialects that look or sound similar, but differ in meaning....
for native English-speaking students of Spanish who may attempt to say "I'm embarrassed" by saying "estoy embarazada." This phrase actually means "I'm pregnant" in Spanish. This may be confusing to Spanish speakers who are not familiar with the English word, even more so when said by a man.
When Parker Pen entered the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
market, its advertisements which claimed that Parker Pens "won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you" was mistranslated
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
to "No te embarazará chorreándose en tu bolsillo" which means "Won't leak in your pocket and impregnate you".1
The correct way to say "I'm embarrassed" in Spanish is using the phrase tengo vergüenza (meaning "I have shame") or the more formal phrases me da vergüenza or estoy avergonzado.2 Yet, in Spanish, there also exists the adjective embarazoso, meaning the same as "embarrassing" in its denotation of something that causes a sensation of unease, but not of shame.3 Complicating the issue further, embarazada can sometimes also mean "hampered", or "hindered".4 This more closely mirrors the original meaning of the English word embarrass.5
Grammar
Embarazada is a past participle, meaning that it indicates a state resulting from a previous action. In English, past participles usually end in -ed (e.g., destroyed), and embarazado therefore translates directly into English as "impregnated". It is a conjugated form of embarazar "to impregnate". As the word embarazado is masculine, it is rarely encountered in Spanish. It is more common for the word embarazada to be used to describe pregnancy. However, embarazado can be used as a past participle in perfect tenses, as in: "Javier ha embarazado a María." (Javier has impregnated María.)Etymology
The English word embarrassed is indirectly derived from the Spanish word. The first recorded usage of embarrass in English was in 1664 by Samuel PepysSamuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
in his diary. The word was derived from the French word embarrasser, "to block" or "to obstruct", or figuratively, "to put one in a difficult situation".6 whose first recorded usage was by Michel de Montaigne
Michel de Montaigne
Lord Michel Eyquem de Montaigne , February 28, 1533 – September 13, 1592, was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance, known for popularising the essay as a literary genre and is popularly thought of as the father of Modern Skepticism...
in 1580. The French word was derived from the Spanish embarazar, whose first recorded usage was in 1460 in Cancionero de Stúñiga (Songbook of Stúñiga) by Álvaro de Luna
Álvaro de Luna
Álvaro de Luna y Jarana , Duke of Trujillo, 1st Count of San Esteban de Gormaz, was a Spanish politician...
.7 The Spanish word likely comes from the Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
embaraçar, which probably is a combination of the prefix em- (from Latin in- for "in-") with baraça "a noose", or "rope", which makes sense with the synonym encinta ("on noose, on rope" because of the old usage of women to wear a strap of cloth on their dresses when pregnant).8 Baraça originated before the Romans began their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
in 218 BCE.9 Thus, baraça could be related to the Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
word barr, "tuft". (Celtic people actually settled much of Spain and Portugal beginning in the 700s BCE, the second group of people to do so.)10 However, it certainly is not directly derived from it, as the substitution of r for rr in Iberian Romance languages
Iberian Romance languages
The Iberian Romance languages or Ibero-Romance languages are the Romance languages that developed on the Iberian Peninsula, an area consisting primarily of Spain, Portugal, and Andorra....
was not a known occurrence.
The Spanish word "embarazar" is derived from the Arab word "baraza", which means to block, obstruct, oppose.
Some say the Spanish word actually came from the Italian imbarazzare, from imbarazzo, "obstacle" or "obstruction". That word came from imbarrare, "to block" or "to bar", which is a combination of in-, "in", with barra, "bar" (from the Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin is any of the nonstandard forms of Latin from which the Romance languages developed. Because of its nonstandard nature, it had no official orthography. All written works used Classical Latin, with very few exceptions...
barra, which is of unknown origin).11 The problem with this theory is that the first known usage of the word in Italian was by Bernardo Davanzati (1529–1606), long after the word had entered Spanish.12 Thus, modern scholars believe that the Italian word actually came from the Spanish one.13
Popular culture
The comic Married To The Sea refers to the mistranslation in the February 28, 2009 comic. The text reads, with English in parentheses, "Hey, look back up at number 3... you want to use "avergonzada" (embarrassed) there. You put "yo estoy embarazada." (I am pregnant.) You better not be embarazada, Julie, because yo no quero [sic] ser a fuckin' abuela (I don't want to be a fuckin' grandma) at thirty-nine."14In the E4 show Skins, Jal struggles to tell her friends she is pregnant. While studying for A-Level Spanish, she gently tells Michelle that she is "embarazada". Michelle is stressing about the test and goes, "What is embarazada!"