Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

sofoco

English translation:

hot flash

Added to glossary by Ana Brassara
Mar 30, 2007 01:38
17 yrs ago
4 viewers *
Spanish term

sofoco

Spanish to English Art/Literary Slang A health interview to a countryperson
May not fall well into the selected field but... here it is:

A doctor is trying to understand the symptoms by adapting his speech to the level of the interviewee. This is virtually a sub-language in Spanish. Some social strata in "México profundo" have their own vocabulary when it comes to illnesses and their symptoms.

I am looking for ideas to find the most similar language register. I am open to different regions (How would a rocky mountain hill-billy or a blue grass country boy or English farm folk would refer to a similar feeling or symptom???)

Part of the interview:
Q.- Cómo definirías un sofoco, xyz?
A.- Como un rubor que me sube a la cara. Como cuando te da un rubor, sí y luego un sudor.
Q.- Un sudor, la sensación física es de sudor?
A.-Sudor pero un calor también así como, como cuando te da un rubor, siento calor en la cara, y se me pone roja porque me lo han dicho, lo notan, sí. Yo digo, mire Diana sí si ya te veo que estás roja si sí ve que sí me pongo..., me
cambia el color

Thanks in advance!!
Proposed translations (English)
4 +6 hot flash
5 blush
4 go all hot and flustered

Discussion

Noni Gilbert Riley Mar 30, 2007:
Our pleasure Miguel. It´s swings and roundabouts on the points, so no problem!

Proposed translations

+6
3 mins
Selected

hot flash



A hot flash (sometimes referred to as a hot flush or night sweat) is a symptom of changing hormone levels considered characteristic of menopause.

Hot flashes are typically experienced as a feeling of intense heat with sweating and rapid heartbeat, and may typically last from two to thirty minutes on each occasion for older women. The event may be repeated a few times each week or up to a dozen times a day, with the frequency reducing over time. Excessive flushing can lead to rosacea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_flush

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Note added at 11 hrs (2007-03-30 13:07:30 GMT)
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En Argentina, también se llama sofoco, o sentirse sofocado, y no es tan informal, el término lo usan todas la mujeres, lo he oído en personas de clase baja, media y alta. Yo creo que en inglés, "hot flash" no es para nada técnico.
Note from asker:
Ana, thanks for your accurate answer but it is formal English, and I'm looking for a similar register (kentucky blue grass type, or maybe southern folk speech...) Any ideas on this nuance?
Gracias lo voy a ver porque en la entrevista completa es claro que se trata de una persona poco instruida. Gracias por tu ayuda e interés.
Peer comment(s):

agree JoseAlejandro : interesting....what's rosacea?
30 mins
agree Patricia Rosas : Suffered from rosacea for years, but you don't feel it; it is simply redness in the cheeks; Given what the patient tells the MD, I vote 100% con Ana for "Hot Flash" :-)
39 mins
agree Heidi C : sounds like a hot flash, though in Mexico it is called a "bochorno". :)
2 hrs
agree Adriana de Groote
2 hrs
agree kironne : Absolutely. Trivia - bochorno in Chile, too
3 hrs
agree David Cahill
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Gracias!!!"
2 hrs

blush

In Britain and its former colonies
Note from asker:
Muchas gracias!
Something went wrong...
9 hrs

go all hot and flustered

Please see the previous week´s discussions on hot flash etc under an enquiry about "bochorno".

I think that hot flash is probably not too technical, but if you want something a bit more colloquial, especially since the ensuing questions and answers clarify what is being talked about, how about this one: anyone using this expression in British English might be tempted to say it with an imitation regional accent.
Note from asker:
Muchas gracias ! Ojalá que se pudieran repartir puntos, porque se reflejaría mejor la participación y el reconocimiento.
Something went wrong...
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