Recently I stumbled on a discussion where the word "chico" in Spanish is translated to "boy". To my knowledge, using "chico" to refer to someone younger is considered normal. But in English, calling an adult "boy", even if younger, would be considered rude. I believe "garçon" in French is also rude.
Can someone confirm my understanding of the connotations of these words in French and Spanish?
- Did "boy" in English always have a negative meaning? (when used to
refer to adults) - Is there a record of these words gaining/losing
their negative connotations? - Why is it different between Spanish and French, despite both being Romance languages?
The closest I've come to any answer here is the definition that Merriam-Webster has:
boy
2 – often offensive : a male servant
and my understanding that "garçon" is an outdated way of referring to waiters.
Best Answer
I noticed Spanish was not discussed that much in all the comments above. You need to understand that boy is a noun, and the word chico may be used as a noun but comes from an adjective, meaning small in size. If you study Spanish you realize that diminutives -ito, -ita, and anything that is generally talking about smaller size always has positive connotations when used. French is not that different with its use of petit, petite. In fact "Chico" and "Chica" would be like saying "Petit" or "Petite" which French speakers also use. Adjectives and descriptives in Spanish are commonly used in a positive way and not disparaging. Take the words "Gordo" & "Gorda", which mean fat. They are often used as a very sweet endearment or used a nickmane for people. So an adjective such a "Chico" can end up being the nickname of a young person, either because the person is small or because the person is young. However, chico & chica somehow crossed the threshold of being just an endearment or a nickname to becoming a common word to mean people who are not old (teens & young adults). But in essessence, because it comes from an adjective, it holds that positive endearing quality.
The actual noun for boy is Spanish is niño, but it is not used for adult males ever, even in passing, unless you are insulting an adult male for not being mature. Because it is just a noun, it doesn't carry that feeling of endearment at all that chico or chica has. And again, going to French, if you call someone petit or petite it would also be very endearing, and that is something that they both have in common.
So I conclude, using boy or garçon or niño for adult males will not go over very well. However, chico and chica are different because it comes from an adjective and it does not mean boy at all.