20/09/2014 00:00
TW
0

Dear Sir,
Your correspondent from Bahia Blava complaining about barking dogs (Daily B Friday) has an uphill battle ahead.
Impossible I venture and the reason is in the letter itself “our dogs are trained to behave”.
Many Brits will be amazed to know that the Spanish can believe that we are cruel to our dogs!
For them we castrate them physically and also mentally when we house train them. These habits many Spanish detest.
For them a dog is a dog and should bark at everything.
It is natural to fight other dogs especially over a bitch in heat! We treat them like toys not animals and so are being cruel.
A language can tell a lot about the speakers’ customs. The very words ‘pet’ (English) and ‘mascota’ (Spanish) don’t translate identically.
Your linguist Amanda Jeffrey could explain it better but in English a mascot is something that brings luck while pet has two related meanings - a tame animal kept for companionship and the other to give affection – neither of which would necessarily apply to a Spanish mascota.
A case of “when in Rome do as the Romans do”?

Mike Lillico
Playa de Palma

Now it’s England the great’s turn
Dear Sir,
As an Englishman first and a Mallorquin second, I have been totally disinterested in the Scottish independence issue personally.
However, if Scotland had the right to vote for independence, then England must now have the same choice, or make a lie of it being a democracy.

Name withheld
Palmanova