llamar pa’ atras
v.— «The phone rings inconveniently and, with an English idiom, you promise to call back. “Back” in English is not just the opposite of front, it also connotes an opposite reaction in a way that makes words like “backlash” work. The Spanish word for back, atras, doesn’t have that secondary meeting. If you translate it directly in a usage like “call back,” the result is Spanish gibberish. But it happens. And when Spanglish speakers issue a baffling promise to llamar pa’ atras (“to call in the back”), they move Spanish words to an exclusive Spanglish understanding.» —“Is this our creole?” by Rick Stone Sun-Sentinel (Florida) Dec. 26, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Aman from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, grew up in a region of India where an e– sound was added to English words beginning with consonant clusters, such as scooter and school. Later he noticed the same pattern in Spanish. The sound-sequencing rules that...
The word cria refers to “a baby llama,” and derives from Spanish criar, meaning “to rear” or “to raise” a young animal. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Cria, the Llama Baby” Grant, I just learned the meaning of the word Kriag. C-R...