HINDSIGHT IS NEVER 20/20. PART 1

How is it possible that two persons recall differently an event that happened years ago? Often one person remembers something vividly, and the other doesn’t, and even doubts it ever happened. Why?  

We know that family members have different memories of past events. The same occurrence may be recalled in different manners by each member of the family to the point that it may not appear as the same episode.

I have come to ruminate about these things because of late I have had some experiences with hindsight and recalling things past which baffle and puzzle me.

In her VOXXI post “Three Kings: a great excuse to eat Roscón de Reyes.” (Jan 5, 2013) my daughter Laura recalls her childhood; and writing about the hidden prize or gift in the pastry called Roscón, says: “I must add that my family cheated a bit! We would discover that my dad’s good luck at finding the hidden prize over and over again was not such; he would stick his finger under the dough unbeknownst us, so when it was time to choose a slice he knew where the prize was hidden. Funny, yes, but disappointing!” Of course I do not remember it that way, at all. Was I really a cheat? Did I swipe the “prize” from my own children? Was I so childish? Do I have 10/20 “hindsight” memory?

My good friend Silvano Corrêa from Sao Paulo, reminiscing about our days as undergraduates at Duquesne University, says I had an affair with a girl named Penny. Unfortunately I never had affairs with anyone –remember that I am a bookworm- especially with this Penny he keeps mentioning. But Silvano insists. Is he right? If so, why can’t I remember? Or is he wrong and his memory is playing tricks on him?

In his The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, 1901, Sigmund Freud wrote: “…listen to two persons exchanging reminiscences concerning the same outward impressions, say of a journey that they have taken together some time before. What remains most firmly in the memory of the one is often forgotten by the other, as if it had never occurred, even when there is not the slightest reason to assume that this impression is of greater psychic importance for the one than for the other. A great many of those factors which determine the selective power of memory are obviously still beyond our ken.”

Memory is selective and retains what strikes it firmly, while at the same time dismissing events that, for whatever reason, do not interest the intellect and thus are not retained. David Hume (1711-1776) called memory impressions and ideas in his A Treatise of Human Nature.

Probably you have had similar experiences when going over past events in your family. You remember well the 5000 dollars you lent your brother-in-law two years before, but he does not seem to be able to recall that, and he swears he never received the money. One person recalls her childhood and adolescence as nightmarish while her sibling remembers it as nice or even idyllic. We tend to forget our promises, our debts, disagreeable appointments, and occurrences that might bring discomfort. Go figure.  

Freud went further when he said that the forgetting in all cases is proved to be founded on a motive of displeasure, which may not be off the mark, off the wand, really. Memory is very picky and tries to ensure our well-being by erasing what we dislike or hurts us, in a healthful attempt to keep us sane. 

There is no tangible, solid evidence –a photograph catching me in the act- of my cheating my children with the cake; and in the case of my affair at Duquesne, it is my friend’s word against mine: he has no pictures, letters or witnesses. So, when someone asserts something as Gospel truth, from memory, it would be good to remember that that person may not have a 20/20 hindsight. Judges in Court think otherwise.

Hindsight is 20/20 when we realize we made the wrong decision in the past, when it is too late to mend. But, as the saying goes, it is asinine to close the barn door after the horse has bolted.

Yet the past always seems better, as Jorge Manrique told us: Cualquier tiempo pasado fue mejor, because memories fade and finally disappear, even collective memories, luckily, as Edward Berenson points out in HuffPost, March 25, 2013.

(to be continued as Part II: Collective Memory.)   

A SPANISH-SPEAKING COUNTRY IN AFRICA

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, is the only African country whose official language is Spanish. An independent Hispanic nation in Africa. 

Spanish language.

The Fang and Bubi languages –and their dialects- are spoken in Equatorial Guinea, along with other minor native tongues (bisió, annobon, for example) but Spanish is the official language which is used by most of the population in this tiny west-African independent country. Over 90 percent of the population know and use Spanish as a vehicle of interracial, international, educational and daily communication.

According to Agustín Nze, Equatoguinean Ambassador to London, the population has strong Hispanic feelings and ties, and feels proud of the Hispanic tradition and roots. In fact, there is a mounting interest in Latin American literature, Spanish television programs and cultural information, to the point that the local native languages are only spoken and in danger of extinction. Efforts are being made to keep them alive and in use.

The Asociación de Academia de la Lengua, named don Agustín Nze, “miembro correspondiente”, correspondent member of the Academy, Real Academia Española. Other members are Julián Bibang Oyee, Federico Edjo Ovono, Leandro Mbomio and one woman, Trinidad Morgades, all distinguished professors, diplomats, artists and writers. Efforts are being made to create a Equatoguinean Academy of the Spanish Language, to join the Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española made up of 21 members or countries.

TVGE Internacional (Televisión Guinea Ecuatorial Internacional) broadcasts in Spanish 24 hours a day.

Historical background.

In 1778 Felipe de los Santos Toro y Freyre sailed from Montevideo to take possession of the Guinean territory to incorporate or annex it to the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata. The Hispanic presence had its ups and downs with the permanent attacks and takeovers of the British with their usual and historical stalking and harassment of the Spanish Empire. After many vicissitudes and adversities, Spain sent an expedition which hoisted the Spanish flag in 1843. By 1916 Spain had consolidated the territory known as Guinea Ecuatorial, which in 1956 became overseas Spanish provinces.

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, gained its independence in 1968.

Due to its oil production it is one of the richest, and poorest, countries in Africa. We will not go into the political history of the country since independence.

Geography.

The country, a bit smaller than Maryland, comprises 28,000 sq. kilometers (10,000 sq. miles) and has a density of 40 inhabitants per sq. kilometer, with a total population of 1,600,000.  Malabo (formerly Santa Isabel) is the capital, with a population of around 150,000. Other cities are Bata and Oyala.

Is Guinea Ecuatorial a Hispanic country?

It is a member of the Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos, and since 2009 of the Cumbre Iberoamericana.

According to Wackipedia (sic) “The term (Hispanic) is more broadly used to refer to the culture, peoples, or nations with a historical link to Spain. The term is commonly applied to those countries which were once colonized by Spain.” Without going deeper into this problem, I propose the following:

If a Mexican, who only speaks Spanish, travels to Africa and visits The Democratic Republic of the Congo, for instance, where 242 different languages are spoken, and where French is used as a lingua franca, his stay is going to be difficult, language-wise. If the same Mexican visits Malabo, the capital of Guinea Ecuatorial, he will have few linguistic problems and will be able to enjoy the culture and customs of the country with ease. See my point?

Spanish is spoken in a tiny African nation, lost in a sea of French and English dominated cultures. Will it survive? Are Spanish-speaking countries willing to help their language in Guinea Ecuatorial?          

SPANIARDS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Two words come to my mind every time I consider the plight of Spaniards today: hubris and procrastination. Both terms define the personality of the Spanish people, their foibles, drawbacks, their work ethics, attitudes and way of life, in a nutshell.    

Hubris means “excessive pride or self-confidence, arrogance,” which dictionaries, with some help from me, translate into the Spanish tongue as “orgullo desmedido, arrogancia, petulancia, soberbia…” Chutzpah, in short.

Procrastination is the other word that rounds out the mindset of Spaniards: “the act of putting off habitually and intentionally,” and the verb is to procrastinate, which has a translation into Spanish as “procrastinar”, “difererir, aplazar”, a verb that 99  percent of Spaniards do not know. Furthermore, it is not listed in most dictionaries. The noun is “procrastinación.”

Porky Pig asks Daffy Duck: “Are you ready?” and Daffy retorts: “I was born ready.” If Daffy Duck had been born Spanish he would have answered: “Almost. But wait, I have to get my hat, or make a call, or get some papers, or grab a bite to eat…” in order to delay going, working, finishing something off or whatever. Spaniards were not born ready; they are never ready, especially in language learning.

It is true that Spanish has a proverb, a refrán, that says: “No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy”, do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today, but, alas, this is a carry-over from the Romans who had it in Latin as ne in crastium, quod possis hodie, long before the Spanish language came into being. It did not affect the mind of the inhabitants of the Peninsula, who developed contrary attitudes.

“Ya lo sé” is a ready-made expression or phrase that you will hear from the mouths of Spaniards constantly. Their self confidence knows no limits and leads them to intellectual and economic disaster.

Spaniards have been grappling and wrestling with the English language for at least three generations. In northern Europe, English is spoken with certain fluency and is the de facto second language of people in general. Not so in Spain. Why?

If asked, Spaniards will tell you –in broken English- they have been studying the language for fifteen, twenty or twenty five years… without blushing. They believe, as a justification, that northern Europeans have been given a special linguistic gift and ability from the gods. The Spanish perhaps think that the Swedish have better brains, bigger even. It is felt that the climate has something to do with it: being so cold in the north, they have nothing better to do than study indoors. Besides, you will be told that English is very difficult and has an impossible grammar and obscure sounds.   

The reality is that hubris and procrastination have been hurdles Iberians have not been able, so far, to overcome and so they are condemned to mediocrity thanks to their inability to understand that international communication in our day means language, especially English. The better you command English, the better you will be able to succeed in science, business, trade, networking and banking. Yes, but this requires effort now, not next month, not tomorrow, not later in the day… Now.

The Anglo-Saxons might be right in thinking of Spaniards as “mañana, mañana, fiesta, siesta.”

I have not yet emptied the pockets I have in my brain on this subject. I warn you I shall come back to this presently, with renewed efforts to call a spade, a spade.  

As a long-distance bicultural person, I can see Spaniards from the inside and from the outside: inside out. They have defects, but they are people, after all.

SPANISH-LANGUAGE CORNER 1

All those who try to master a foreign language and delve into it have a fantastic advantage: they already speak one, their mother tongue. I am not being facetious at all. It is a value-added benefit, especially when they try to learn and compare two languages like English and Spanish that have, believe it or not, so much in common. To speak one language is good, however two is always better than one. Let us try to compare the two languages of our culture in order to help those spirited and courageous people who are trying to study the language of Cervantes from the viewpoint of the language of Shakespeare. With both languages at our command we can truly go places in the world today. HOW TO SAY “SHALL” IN SPANISH as an invitation or request. Shall we dance? Shall I open the window? Shall we go? Shall I take you home? Spanish uses the Present indicative in the first person singular or the first person plural: ¿Bailamos? ¿Abro la ventana? ¿Vamos? ¿Te llevo a casa? Shall we dance? Shall I open the window? Shall we go? Shall I take you home? Notice that we will never use yo or nosotros. Also notice that we are dealing with questions. Always in the interrogative. ¿Vamos al cine? Shall we go to the movies? ¿Te traigo un café? Shall I bring you a cup of coffee? ¿Qué hacemos? What shall we do? ¿Nos damos un beso y hacemos las paces? ¿Shall we kiss and make up? Often you will hear: Qué te parece si… or: y si… as a substitute for the simple present indicative: ¿Qué te parece si vamos al cine? ¿Y si vamos al cine? ¿Vamos al cine? Which could also be translated as How about...? In the idiomatic expression: I will walk you home then, shall I? the translation would very well be: Te acompaño a casa, ¿te parece? Or even ¿Y si te acompaño a casa?

THE HUFFINGTON POST, NEW ENGLISH AND BROKEN GRAMMAR

Writing has finally become a cinch, duck soup, a breeze, child’s play, a snap… and more, much more.

Do you have the itch to write? Go ahead, plunge right into your computer keyboard and start pounding away without any ado about grammar, lexical proprieties, misspellings, non sequiturs and stuff like that. If you start considering primness in word order and redundancies you will not get anywhere, and besides all that belongs to the straight-laced past. In this day and age –cliché, but who cares- The Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Style Sheet, Strunk and White are all old hat and in this new order of things everything goes. Let me explain.

Many successful writers have adopted what I have come to call NewWriting, after the Newspeak invented by George Orwell. It is true that many make shy escapades into NewWriting, sprinkling their prose with drops of idiosyncratic rule-breaking pearls, but the other day –I am a lucky dog- I stumbled upon a writer who is spearheading this novel trend in writing. I was enthused and enthralled, thrilled even. Read on.

Let me tell you what NewWriting is all about according to an iconoclastic grammarian and syntactical innovator: Nathan Schneider, who has become my literary hero. He writes for the Huffington Post and by a fluke I ran into his article “Macs No More: After Edward Snowden, Time to Come to the Penguin.” (June 11, 2013) The title itself is a natural. It is revealing, intellectually whetting and has this musicality to it that rapture my neurons no end. No wonder 735 people, so far, have liked the piece which is pure gravitas for the new literati.     

The first gem comes with his disregard for simple grammar, whose aim is to attract the attention of the reader. Probably Mr. Schneider had to battle with the Editors at The Huffington Post in order to keep this rare grammatical find: “The idea is to turn the computer from a general-purpose anything-machine into a ad-distributing appliance.” This “a ad” is such a wonderful discovery, such a rule-breaking find that I must tip my hat to him, in awe. It is eye-catching if nothing else.

He loves slangy and colloquial crutches and has introduced them in his article: “The time for liberation has kind of come.” He writes “kind of” in order to suggest that we are actually hearing him speak to us, whispering to us in our right ear. We feel close to him. What an innovation! 

The nuances he introduces in his syntax are jaw-dropping: “The devil some of us have most sold our souls to isn't Apple or Google or Amazon but Adobe.” It makes us stop to think and reread the sentence in order to get the full aroma, as if it were good California wine. Rarely will we find such challenging syntax in our daily readings.    

Hyperbole is an essential part of NewWriting, as Mr. Schneider shows us: “…over which can more quickly totalitarianize the computer universe in which way too many of us live for too much of our lives.”  “More quickly” is quicker than just “quickly”. “way too many of us” is always better than a simple “many,” which is a lot.  “Too much of our lives” must be 23 hours a day, every day, I guess. Another example: “When the thing crashes, as it might somewhat frequently, it's less aggravating.” I wonder what that “somewhat frequently” means. Perhaps every thirty minutes. The “aggravating” bit is a condescending wink to us, the ignorant hoi polloi, the ragtag and bobtail.

Ambiguity is another basic element of NewWriting. For example: “The reason Apple stuff is so stylish is so we don't have to be.” To be what? Stylish? What stuff is he referring to? This introduces an element of mystery.

Mr. Schneider is a clever cookie and writes “… are getting a lot more steady and accessible” because if he uses “steadier” rather than “more steady” the “a lot more” would sound clumsy. He thinks of everything. He is shrewd as the devil.

Neologisms are not shunned, of course. Take the adjective totalitarian which NewWriting has no qualms about turning into a verb: to totalitarianize as in “…over which can more quickly totalitarianize the computer universe.”   

I am sold on this NewWriting fad because it avoids proofreading, dictionary checking, adequate sentence structure, and it is a time-saving stylistic ploy that will fast set a writing example for future generations. It will go viral.

And Mr. Schneider wisely tells us in his witty article: “When there's an error, the community (eventually) corrects it.” So, why bother doing the correcting ourselves? Let the community correct our mistakes.

I propose a toast to the Editorship of The Huffington Post for venting and backing Mr. Schneider’s groundbreaking ideas on NewWriting. Here is to them!