Your Child’s In-Laws

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, this is Kathy. I’m calling from Imperial Beach with a question for you.

Hello, Kathy.

Hi, Kathy.

I think that we’re lacking a word in English. I lived many years in Latin America, and I got used to, in Central and South America, a word for my child’s parents-in-law. In other words, there’s a word, consuegro, or consuegra, or consuegros for both of them, that you can say instead of having to say my daughter’s mother-in-law or my son’s father-in-law or whatever. And I think it exists. And I know in Italian, I think, and I think a number of other languages, and we’re missing it in English.

So this is a word that relates between the two sets of parents, right? It defines a relationship between those two sets of parents?

Yes, it’s a relationship that we have with the other couple for the mutual children who have married.

Right. So let me just clarify. I’ve got Jane and Joe, and they’ve married. Jane’s parents and Joe’s parents are consuegros.

Exactly.

Okay.

But there’s nothing in English quite to indicate that.

Well, we do say in-laws, because technically everyone on Joe’s side is an in-law with everyone on Jane’s side, and vice versa. No matter what, whether they’re cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, or whatever, they’re in-laws.

Right. That’s true.

But it’s not that special relationship between the parents of the two couples.

Right, right.

Because a lot of times those sets of parents become bonded. They find out that the same things that brought their children together make them appealing to each other as friends, right?

Yeah, and Kathy, I hear in your voice a lot of affection when you say that word.

Yes, yes.

And so I miss being able to refer to them that way. I have to say, I have to go through this whole routine of if I want to refer to my son’s mother-in-law, I have to say all of that instead of just saying my consuegro, my co-parent.

So I don’t know how many other languages. So should we invent a word and start incorporating it into our language?

English has never been really good with the familiar terms. I don’t know what that says about Anglo-Saxon culture, but they’re just not abundant. And if they’re there, they’re not really clear or very precise.

We could, but English also, though, does borrow from other languages. There’s no reason we couldn’t just take the Spanish term and run away with it.

Well, that’s true, especially here in San Diego area.

Well, certainly all around the country, the kind of white noise level of understanding of Spanish, that is to say the Spanish that people know but don’t really quite know they know across the United States, is actually pretty good. It’s about 50 to 100 words depending on your age, your education background, and where you live. So that’s pretty good. It’s enough that people recognize the Spanish word when they hear it or see it, even if they don’t know what it means.

So I think you could get away with that.

I could get away with starting to use it. I think this is a terrific idea. I’ve been having word envy just listening to you talk about this, just hearing the warmth in your voice when you talk about it. I think it’s great. I think we should start using consuegro.

Okay.

We’ve decided.

All right.

We started an incorporation.

Four to three.

Thank you.

All right.

All right.

Ciao.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Well, let us know what you think about Consuegros. Give us a call, 1-877-929-9673, or send us an email to words@waywordradio.org.