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Anyone who speaks Spanish is aware of the confusion, laughs and sometimes embarrassing gaffs that can occur when speaking to someone from another latin nation.
I first learned Spanish in Mexico...and practiced it later in Cuba...so I learned to tread carefully after using the word papaya the first time on la isla grande.
Papaya is the name of a fruit in Campeche...but a very nasty word for female genitalia in Camaguey...and not to be used in polite or mixed company. Unless you like to shock people!
"There are lots of different words, but the first ones we want to learn are the vulgarities that others use," said Colombian water polo player Carlos Toro...in this report about the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara.
"Innocent verbs or nouns in one country can be supercharged words in another, often referring to something sexual. The names for fruits and vegetables, kinds of fish, cuts of meat invariably cause confusion. Then add the varied pronunciations to the brew."
