American tech words banned
Caracas, Venezuela, February 26, 2008 Through a campaign launched Monday, newly nationalized CANTV
hopes to wean employees and others from words like "staff"
("equipo" is preferred), "marketing" ("mercadeo") and
"password" ("contrasena").
Stickers and banners printed up by the company exhort
Venezuelans to "Say it in Spanish. Say it with pride."
The Communications and Information Ministry said in a statement
that Venezuelans must recover Spanish words that are "threatened
by sectors that have started a battle for the cultural domination
of our nations."
Other English words targeted include "mouse" (the company
prefers "raton"), "meeting" ("reunion") and "sponsor"
("patrocinador") - all of which have become common in Latin
American countries.
The leftist president has sought to counter what he calls U.S.
cultural imperialism on all fronts, financing Venezuelan cinema as
an alternative to the "dictatorship of Hollywood" and forcing
radio stations to play more Venezuelan music.
English is still taught in schools alongside other languages,
however. And Chavez himself often breaks playfully into English
during speeches, sometimes to salute his close friend, former Cuban
leader Fidel Castro, saying: "How are you, Fidel?"
