I ran across this street sign walking around one day. I find it entertaining for its ornate writing and that someone put so much care into creating the sign, then decided to post it on the street. For anyone having problems reading the sign it says “Deposita La Basura al Safacón”
It also happens to provide a fun lesson in the main message here at Speaking Latino: Basic Spanish is not the same in every country. Although numerous countries speak Spanish, the language is so varied that one native speaker may not understand another’s vocabulary from a different country.
As with all Quick Quiz posts, there is indeed an error here in the photo. The error also happens to be an example of a Speaking Latino word.
Even with only five words and one error this is tough. To catch this error you need to first identify the location of the sign (there’s a hint somewhere in the blog post). Then you need to identify the error.
And the answer? Found it? Here goes. The error is the spelling of the word zafacón. Zafacón is written with a Z and not an S.
And the Speaking Latino part? In Puerto Rico zafacón means a trash can. Several possible origins of zafacón are discussed the article The Origin of 5 Words from Puerto Rico: Cangrimán, Fostró, Chavos, Zafacón and Limber.
Other countries use the word basurero or tacho (for more words in Spanish for trash can read 6 Spanish Language Words for TRASH CAN). But in Puerto Rico basurero has a different meaning. Anyone know what basurero means in Puerto Rico? Leave a comment if you know.
Check out these other articles to help you Learn Spanish.
