Armadillo

Paraguay is considered a bilingual country, as most folks speak both Spanish, and Guaraní, the indigenous language of Paraguay. In most parts of the country though, Guaraní is actually by far the dominant language. Spanish is spoken when necessary.

As you might expect, the first words in Guaraní my training buddies and I were taught were salutations and vulgarities. One of the first things I was taught had something to do with a sexual activity involving a cactus. By say, hour three in country, it was common knowledge that tattoo –“tatu”- was now the female genitalia.

With that in mind let’s skip ahead a couple of weeks. I’m visiting a female Peace Corps Volunteer as a part of my training to get insight into what life as a volunteer is like. She and I visit an elderly lady who she considers her Paraguayan grandma. Here is a part of a conversation they had…

Grandma: I love tatu!

Volunteer: Tatu!?!

Grandma: Oh yeah! We used to eat it all the time. In fact I’d have some right now if I could!

Volunteer: Wait. You want to eat MY tatu!?

Grandma: No, not your tatu! Tatu de animal.

That last statement threw my mind for a loop.

Eventually we learned that tatu also means armadillo in Guaraní.

The truth is, Guaraní is a really cool language, and not just because it made me blush one time during training. It’s considered much more expressive by Paraguayans than Spanish, and Guaraní is more to the point. I could say a lot about Guaraní, but here are a few basics for those of you with an interest. (I’m more focused on speaking than writing so my spelling may not be the best, and I am not expecting perfect pronunciation from you guys anyway).

Mba’echapa- (Mbah-AI-shaw-PA) How are you?- A bit formal, I use it with women who are older than myself.

Ipora, ha nde- (I-poh-RAH) (Hawn-Day) Very well and you?! Most folks I know tend to say they’re great, no matter what. I came across a guys whose car had broken down on the side of the road in the middle of the summer, and when I asked he said he was doin’ just fine!

Ha upe- (How-PAY) This is my go to phrase when I’m hanging with my buddies. Literally it mean “and then?” Shrug your shoulders and raise your hands a bit, palms up for extra points on this one.

Trankilopa- (Tran-KEE-lo-PA) A standard response to the above, this let’s people know it’s all good!

Jaha- (Jah-HAH) Let’s go!

Well, look’s like you’ve gotten all the important stuff down. It’s time to come to PY for a visit!