Voices en Español

Bolliscout. Queer. Gaylandia. These words and a couple thousand more make up the entries in the new Diccionario Gay Lésbico written by Félix Rodríguez González, a linguist from the University of Alicante.

According to news reports, it’s the world’s first ever dictionary about Spanish words and phrases used in reference to or among homosexuals. The dictionary covers more than 1,500 words and is being published by Gredos, the same publisher of the distinguished Maria Moliner dictionary, considered the most comprehensive dictionary ever written of the Spanish language. Prof. Rodríguez told Spanish media that he researched his book by hanging out in gay bars and other places of “ambiente gay” and passed numerous hours in online gay forums to find the most commonly and widely used terms among gays and lesbians.

What will be interesting to see is how many of the terms in his dictionary will still be valid in a few years. Also, his focus appears to be on the language and slang used among gay and lesbians in Spain and not in other Spanish-speaking countries. Anyway, it makes for fun reading. Not surprisingly, many of the words are taken directly from English (like gay, queer, drag queen) or are bastardizations of English words.

Here are a few definitions:

Agencia EFE: to be an outrageous gossip. Agencia EFE is the name of the Spanish news service which is an equivalent to Reuters and the Associated Press.

Bolliscout: This appears to be a mutation of the English word “boy scout.” The gay dictionary defines a bolliscout as a lesbian that goes out in a group looking for other lesbians.

Gaylandia: An imaginary place where gay people live happily without a care in the world. The example given is the Cheuca neighborhood in Madrid.

Ser del Sevilla y el Betis: to be bi (as in bisexual).