Spanish is one of the most important romance languages. Even though it has fewer words than English, Spanish has more descriptive and emotional words, and as a result can express feelings more clearly.
“I love you” and “I like you” are words that people use to express their feelings of love towards someone else. In contrast to English, which only has two words to express love towards someone else, Spanish has different words to indicate different stages of love.
In Spanish we say “Me gustas” when we first feel attracted to someone else. Later, when feeling more than just physical attraction we say “Te quiero”. Finally, “Te amo” is a very powerful phrase that it is used usually when one has strong feelings and really cares about someone, as is the case with family, friends or a significant other.
Spanish is a romantic and expressive language, and the use of Spanish ultimately allows for more clarity of expression when it comes to feelings, thereby eliminating confusions that can occur from the use of the English language.
I have observed that Spanish has more words that describe explicitly how an individual feels about something or someone than English. For instance, in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, during the balcony scene there is a part that sounds much more romantic and understandable in the Spanish version.
The English version, though it is written in an elegant way when Juliet said, “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” it does not reflect Shakespeare’s intent to create a romantic scene. On the contrary, in the Spanish version Juliet says, “¡Ah, Romeo, Romeo! ¿Por qué eres Romeo?” The phrase “por qué eres” or “you are” may seem simpler but it is actually more romantic as the reader feels Juliet’s frustration for this impossible love.
Spanish allows for a simpler and more romantic rhetoric. One day as I was coming back from my service learning site with Linda, a native English speaker who teaches at Latino Apostolate, knows Spanish and has traveled to Central America and Mexico, I asked her what she thought about English and Spanish. She told me that as she learned Spanish and became accustomed to the environment of the Spanish-speaking countries she was living in, she noticed that people were more emotional and expressive.
They cared a lot about the people around them and about how they expressed themselves. She compared it to her culture by remembering how, back in the U.S., people are more straight forward than affectionate. She then concluded that Spanish native speakers are careful in how they say things to avoid hurting people rather than just stating the point as they do in her country and other English-speaking countries.
Although Spanish allows for greater clarity of expression, I believe it may need more words to serve as synonyms, which the English language has plenty. Because of this, I think that Spanish and English may complement each other.
Spanish allows for a clear and precise communication when it comes to feelings, whereas English has more elegant and sophisticated words. I realize there is no perfect language when it comes to all encompassing self-expression. Nevertheless, I still prefer Spanish to English when it comes to self-expression, especially in terms of love.
Wilda Valdez is an international business sophomore. She can be reached at
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