Friday, March 23, 2012



Charles of Austria or Habsburg (Ghent, February 24 1500 – Yuste Monastery, Spain, September 21,1558), was King of Spain as Charles I (1516-1556), the first to unify under his name the crown of Castile and Aragón, he was Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1520-1558).


"Hablo latín con Dios, italiano con los músicos, español con las damas, francés en la corte, alemán con los lacayos e inglés con mis caballos."

I speak in Latin with God, Italian with musicians, Spanish with the ladies, French at court, German with commoners and English with my horses.

Other Versions:
"Hablo el español con Dios, el italiano con las mujeres, el francés con los hombres y el alemán con mi caballo."

I speak in Spanish with God, Italian with women, French with men and German with my horse.

"Hablo en italiano con los embajadores; en francés, con las mujeres; en alemán con los soldados; en inglés con los caballos y en español con Dios."

I speak Italian with the ambassadors; in French with women; in German with soldiers, in English with horses and in Spanish with God.

"Uno debe hablar español con Dios, italiano con la amiga, francés con el amigo, alemán con los soldados, inglés con los patos, húngaro con los caballos y bohemio (checo) con el diablo.”

One must speak Spanish with God, Italian with a female friend, French with the male friend, German with soldiers, English with ducks, Hungarian with horses and Bohemian with the devil.


When I was a young boy, my grandmother would often quote the Spanish king universally known as Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor) even though he was also Charles I of Spain. Notice that in all versions of the many quotes attributed to Charles on his use of language that German and English are always short changed!

In many respects I sort of agree with him. Case in point is the English verb to taste. Rarely do we use that more melodious to savour. In Spanish the verb saborear (from the noun sabor) is used universally without any air of pretension of the English to savour. And yet it seems that sabor and particularly saborear rolls in one’s mouth and it instantly seems to open up the taste buds and saliva begins to flow. And consider the song composed by Mexican Álvaro Carrillo popularized by the Mexican Trio Los Panchos in the 50s. Would such a song ever happen except in the language, the favourite language of Charles V?


Sabor a Mí - Álvaro Carrillo

Tanto tiempo disfrutamos de este amor
nuestras almas se acercaron tanto así
que yo guardo tu sabor
pero tú llevas también, sabor a mí.
Si negaras mi presencia en tu vivir
bastaría con abrazarte y conversar
tanta vida yo te di
que por fuerza tienes ya, sabor a mí.

We enjoyed this love for long
our souls became so close that
I keep your taste
but you, too, carry within you the taste of me.
If you were to deny my presence in your life
I would only have to hug you and to converse with you
so much living I gave you
so by now you must have in you the taste of me.

Pasarán más de mil años, muchos más
yo no sé si tenga amor, la eternidad
pero allá tal como aquí,
en la boca llevarás, sabor a mí.

More than one thousand years shall pass, many more
I do not know if ther is love in eternity 
but there, just like here
in your mouth you will have, the taste of me.

The above is but a preamble to attempt to explain my granddaughter Lauren’s sleepover tonight. I picked her up at her home and from there we went to Limelight Video to pick up Parent Trap (Hailey Mills, Maureen O’Hara & Brian Keith). Once we got home I told her I had a surprise. These were two books, $1.00 each rejects from the Vancouver Public Library bin at the 10th Avenue branch. One is the most fantastic Alphabeasts by Canadian illustrator Wallace Edwards, the other Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures by John Malam & Steve Parker. I made sure to dedicate them to her so that her mother (as my wife cynically thinks) will not get rid of them as she has of other childhood books.

The film was perfect. Rosemary had not seen it. Lauren retired to bed to look at her books. This morning I served her breakfast in bed (well, the three of us all in bed) which consisted of soft boiled eggs, buttered cheese bread toast and orange juice. Rosemary had coffee I had tea. After breakfast I snapped these two b+w Fuji instant prints.

Friday and Saturday morning with Lauren has been a time of savouring. La he paladeado (which in Spanish means I have moved her around slowly in my palate, like good food). And it just shows you that thankfully I will never have to learn German as I will never be able to afford a horse.