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tashby

Nov 18, 2010, 6:49 PM

Post #1 of 21 (8381 views)

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"Just for fun...."

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Does this extremely common American English language phrase translate culturally in Mexico? As in....."Just for fun, let's skip work today and go fishing...." or...."I don't really want to spend the weekend at your family's house....let's go to Vallarta instead, just for fun."

I have no doubt that "just for fun" can be translated literally, but I'm wondering what Mexican Spanish ism best captures that same thought and spirit.

If it's a literal translation of the same phrase then great, if not, I'd love to hear from those of you who hear otherwise.

THANK YOU!

mazbook1

Nov 18, 2010, 7:40 PM

Post #2 of 21 (8375 views)

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Re: [tashby] "Just for fun...."

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I haven't personally heard this in México, but common in Spain is solo para divertirse.

tashby

Nov 19, 2010, 5:24 PM

Post #3 of 21 (8340 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] "Just for fun...."

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Thanks. Yes. That's a great literal translation, but you say your don't hear it and if it's not an expression that's commonly used verbally in Mexico, then it's not what I'm looking for. (I know I sound a little vague here....)

What I'm really asking is if there's a common Spanish phrase that's in the Mexican vernacular that articulates the same spirit/idea of doing something on a whim....on a lark.

"Let's drop this watermelon off the roof to watch it splatter in the street....just for laughs".

"Just for kicks, let's toss Vanessa's tennis shoes up onto the CFE wire to see how angry she gets."

"We're heading to Palenque tonight for grins....wanna come?"

Mexicans definitely know how to have fun in a big way, often spontaneously. I'm wondering if there is a popular catchphrase that expresses the idea of doing something/anything impulsive with no other purpose in mind than "just for fun".

The reason I'm asking is I'm toying with the idea of starting a business and I'm trying to come up with the right name for it. "Just for fun" works in English. Wondering what the Mexican Spanish equivalent is, assuming it exists.

I don't want to reintroduce the Chevy Nova if I can help it.

Thanks again.

(This post was edited by tashby on Nov 19, 2010, 6:22 PM)

Maesonna

Nov 19, 2010, 5:43 PM

Post #4 of 21 (8332 views)

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Re: [tashby] "Just for fun...."

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I’m not entirely sure, but I offer de puro relajo. “Relajo” has a multiplicity of meanings, some of them contradictory, but here I think it has connotations both of “leisure” and “fun.”

tashby

Nov 19, 2010, 5:52 PM

Post #5 of 21 (8327 views)

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Re: [Maesonna] "Just for fun...."

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Thank you Maesonna! That one is really interesting and potentially much closer to what I think I want to say....but yeah, some of the contradictory meanings could be quite disastrous (or interesting) depending on your point of view.

Nice link, too. Had never seen that site.

I facilitate an English conversation class tomorrow morning, so I'm going to put the question to some native Spanish speakers as well. I'll see what turns up. Thanks again.

(This post was edited by tashby on Nov 19, 2010, 5:55 PM)

eyePad

Nov 19, 2010, 6:43 PM

Post #6 of 21 (8317 views)

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Re: [tashby] "Just for fun...."

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hey tashy,
relajo is a good one, expecially since that is not a use of Spanish in Spain - that is from latin america.
Here's some others that come to mind
por gusto
por diversion
para complacerte
I think there are a lot of plays on words that might be slightly sexual
el rosal de los gustos (ugh)
el parque placentero
el sentido placentero (oh oh)
los gustos de los gustos (ok , I'm getting poetic)
I think you have a good idea for a name!
apáñatelas como puedas

(This post was edited by eyePad on Nov 19, 2010, 6:45 PM)

mazbook1

Nov 19, 2010, 6:58 PM

Post #7 of 21 (8314 views)

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Re: [tashby] "Just for fun...."

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tashby, that wasn't a literal translation per se, it actually is how they say "just for fun" in Spain.

As for México, since the entire culture of "fun" is based on spontaneity here, as my wife continually reminds me, it may be that there isn't anything specific here…it's taken for granted! LOL I'll ask her if there is some specific idiom commonly used here for that meaning.

Peter

Nov 20, 2010, 9:00 AM

Post #8 of 21 (8279 views)

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Re: [tashby] "Just for fun...."

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If you want the pure street version of "just for kicks" or "for the helluvit" if you're not talking to someone's grandmother here, they might commonly say, "puro pinche pedo" or "puro pedo".

cbviajero

Nov 20, 2010, 10:41 AM

Post #9 of 21 (8273 views)

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Re: [tashby] "Just for fun...."

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I remember the chevy nova fiasco and always wondered why they would name a grade of gasoline nova.
Regards
Chris

Peter

Nov 20, 2010, 11:06 AM

Post #10 of 21 (8269 views)

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Re: [cbviajero] "Just for fun...."

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In Reply To

I remember the chevy nova fiasco and always wondered why they would name a grade of gasoline nova.

I always remember the Chevy Nova as being a popular and successful model in the US but often wondered how well it sold here. I'm not sure why I would want a car that no va.

tashby

Nov 20, 2010, 3:18 PM

Post #11 of 21 (8252 views)

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Re: [Peter] "Just for fun...."

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Hmmmm. I definitely need to keep it clean, so it's probably a good idea to avoid the pure "street" version and any articulations that are commonly associated with sex.

I had six native Spanish speakers in my group today, and I'm pretty sure they understood what I was getting at with the colloquial phrase "just for fun...", but since only one of them has spent any time in the U.S., I'm not completely sure.

They threw out a few ideas, a couple of which were mentioned by eyepad and mazbook, I think:

solo por jugar
solo por divertirse
solo por distraerse
porque sí (which I'm told means "just because"...)

When I mentioned de puro relajo, they didn't sound too enthusiastic about it. They sort of looked around at each other uncomfortably. I'm not sure, but I got the impression they may have been wondering if I was aware of other meanings. Neither their English, nor my Spanish, is good enough to get into nuance.

I definitely need to sit down with people who are fluent not only in both languages, but in both cultures.

Thanks for all the help!

P.S. The launch of the Chevrolet Nova into Latin America by US-based General Motors is pretty much the "poster child" for cross-cultural marketing blunders in the U.S. It is legend.

Bennie García

Nov 20, 2010, 3:40 PM

Post #12 of 21 (8247 views)

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Re: [tashby] "Just for fun...."

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In Reply To

P.S. The launch of the Chevrolet Nova into Latin America by US-based General Motors is pretty much the "poster child" for cross-cultural marketing blunders in the U.S. It is legend.

Except that is an urban legend.

esperanza

Nov 20, 2010, 3:53 PM

Post #13 of 21 (8241 views)

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Re: [Bennie García] "Just for fun...."

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Back when the Chevrolet Nova was already a used car in the USA, I started work as a traveling alcoholism counselor for a Migrant Council, with the stipulation that I needed them to provide a car for me to use. The route that I traveled required driving about 500 miles/week. One of the Migrant Council board members owned a much-used Nova. He generously donated it to the Council for my particular use.

I assure you that, urban legend or no, my vehicle was the object of much derision and laughter when I would drive it into the migrant camps. "Jajajajajaja...allí va llegando la señora en su No Va. Jajajajajajajajajaja. Verdad que No Va, señora?"

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Bennie García

Nov 20, 2010, 4:32 PM

Post #14 of 21 (8235 views)

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Re: [esperanza] "Just for fun...."

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"No va" wouldn't be used in that sense. Native speakers know that.

tashby

Nov 20, 2010, 4:34 PM

Post #15 of 21 (8232 views)

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Re: [Bennie García] "Just for fun...."

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You know? I almost added to the end of my post re the Nova...."I'm not even sure it ever happened."

Ha! Thanks.

esperanza

Nov 20, 2010, 4:38 PM

Post #16 of 21 (8230 views)

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Re: [Bennie García] "Just for fun...."

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In Reply To

"No va" wouldn't be used in that sense. Native speakers know that.

Well, Benny, all the folks in the migrant camps were native speakers. They were mostly people from Michoacán, Guerrero, and Oaxaca.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

mazbook1

Nov 20, 2010, 6:00 PM

Post #17 of 21 (8201 views)

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Re: [tashby] "Just for fun...."

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tashby, I tossed the question in my wife's lap at breakfast this morning and here is what she (pura Sinaloensa) said:

She would understand solo para divertirse, but it is definitely not used in México, although it would indicate some very spontaneous action.

Somewhat less spontaneous would be para entretenerse, which is the most common, at least in Sinaloa and maybe in all of México.

A close second to that would be para distraerse, not quite as common in Sinaloa, but heard everywhere in México.

But the absolute most spontaneous (probably "fun" at someone else's expense) would be agarrar cura, again, at least in Sinaloa. This is definitely "street" Spanish, but has no sexual overtones at all. (Nor do the others, she was quick to point out.)

(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Nov 20, 2010, 6:04 PM)

raferguson

Nov 21, 2010, 11:26 AM

Post #18 of 21 (8163 views)

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Re: [esperanza] "Just for fun...."

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Great story, Esperanza.

You don't have to stretch to convert "Nova" to "No Va", so I can believe that Nova would be the butt of jokes.

Whether the name hurt the sales of the Nova is a different question. This articles below suggests that it did not. I had forgotten that Pemex calls its gas "nova", so they must not have thought it had a negative connotation.

http://spanish.about.com/cs/culture/a/chevy_nova.htm

http://www.snopes.com/...ss/misxlate/nova.asp

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Nov 22, 2010, 10:49 AM)

Maesonna

Nov 21, 2010, 5:59 PM

Post #19 of 21 (8129 views)

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Re: [raferguson] "Just for fun...."

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The Snopes link that Richard gives is well worth reading. It gives a linguistic explanation of why “Nova” generally doesn’t parse as no va to Spanish speakers. Some empirical evidence suggesting that they sold well in Mexico: the Nova has been out of production for over 30 years, and you still see them on the road from time to time. There must have been a lot more Novas in their heyday.

(This post was edited by Maesonna on Nov 21, 2010, 6:01 PM)

tashby

Nov 22, 2010, 4:52 PM

Post #20 of 21 (8084 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] "Just for fun...."

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By the way, thank you for asking your wife, Mazbook. I appreciate it.

I'm still stirring this pot....and may approach it from the opposite angle. Since I want the name to appeal to both Spanish and English speakers, it might be best to start with the right Spanish articulation that captures the spirit, then translate to English.

I can do anything in English. I've been butchering that language for decades.

surjo666

May 6, 2011, 1:51 AM

Post #21 of 21 (6869 views)

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Re: [tashby] "Just for fun...."

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That's interesting... Doesn't the Mexicans ever "Just have Fun"!!!!???? :)