Too literal
Do you know what a calco is? In Spanish, it means a carbon copy or a direct translation. It’s what happens when you take a phrase in English and translate it word for word into Spanish. Sometimes that works perfectly well, but more often it ends up sounding slightly odd to a Spanish ear—just as it does when the same thing happens the other way round. One I always forget is when, in a shop, someone asks if I need help and I reply with the direct translation of “I’m fine, thanks”. Perfectly acceptable in English, but slightly puzzling for the salesperson in El Corte Inglés, who may wonder why I’ve suddenly decided to comment on my state of health. Another common example is saying “I can’t swim”, at which point the Spaniard you’re with might start wondering why they’d never noticed your prosthetic leg or the tiny breathing apparatus you’ve been discreetly carrying around. If, instead, you said you didn’t know how to swim, it would make perfect sense. And one I hear all the time is “Is it ...