224
IJARTISAN REVIEW
Your point about sports is well taken . There are three words in the
cultural tradition of the English-speaking people that have attained uni–
versal acceptance, although they have also proved absolutely untranslat–
able; these are
sport, c1l/b,
and
hobby.
They not only speak volumes about
the style of the Gothic fox, but they are also an integral part of the
foundation of the cultural edifice that the English-speaking peoples con–
structed in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution. This style of the
Gothic fox can also be perceived in the manner in which the Spanish
language is being transformed and assimilated in parts of the English–
speaking world, where words such as
l1Iarql/eta
and
aparcar
have replaced
lIIercado
and
estacionar.
It is ironic that the descriptive name "Spanglish"
should be used to define what passes for Spanish in California, Florida ,
and New York. The irony is that the adulteration of spelling and syn–
taxis , and the abandonment of all grammatical decorum are only possible
because this variety of pidgin exists under the shelter of the Gothic fox.
Every time they open their mouths, the users of "Spanglish" announce
that they have embraced the cultural habits and disposition of their
English-speaking hosts, and to prove it, they regale their listeners with
the tattered , pitiful remains of the language they inherited from Nebrija,
Cervantes, and Unamuno.
To extend the point about sports: There is a quantitative aspect that
ought not to be ignored. We must not forget that basketball and vol–
leyball, both invented here in Massac husetts , in the Springfield and
Holyoke YMCA about a century ago, are today the two most popular
social activities in China. More Chinese play basketball and volleyball
than there were inhabitants in the United States when these games were
invented . What are we to say of the numbers of Latin Americans who
play soccer? And what of the popularity of rugby in the south of France
an d soccer in the north? Of course France is an advanced and immensely
sophisticated nation, but no one cou ld possibly argue that the universal
acceptance by the French of two games invented at Rugby School dur–
ing Dr. Arnold's headmastership is due to duress, or to imperial prepon–
derance, on the part of Mr. Gladstone .
About the wealth of Argentina during the last century: Yes, of
course . Not only Argentina, but Chile as well, and the rest of the Latin
American republics , and for most of the past five centuries. It is possibly
true to say that Latin America is the largest region of the modern world
to enjoy such riches without major interruptions and for such a long
time . But we must not confuse wealth with industrial modernity. Latin
America has always been rich in primary commodities. The world has
never seen such a torrential flood of gold and silver as the one that fol-
