Mexican Spanish to Slovenian: a planned visit is not simply walking around
Te caigo can mean I will come over
In Mexican Spanish, caer can popularly mean arriving or showing up somewhere. The Diccionario del español de México illustrates this with Te caigo en la tarde. A Slovenian translation should preserve the intended visit rather than describe a physical fall. The source verb’s ordinary falling meaning is not enough to interpret this informal message.
Once the visit reading is established, the target still needs to represent the kind of movement intended. A particular upcoming visit, a habit of visiting, and moving around a place are different events. Choosing a Slovenian motion verb solely because its dictionary gloss says go or walk can lose a distinction that matters to the invitation or arrangement.
Slovenian motion verbs distinguish a journey from movement around
Greenberg’s reference grammar contrasts determinate and indeterminate motion verbs within the imperfective system. The example grem v Zagreb describes going to Zagreb in one direction. Hodi po Tivoliju describes walking around Tivoli Park. The contrast is not merely between present and past tense: it concerns how the movement itself is presented.
For the Mexican message about coming over in the afternoon, avoid replacing an intended visit with aimless movement around a location. Conversely, an account of someone wandering around a park should not automatically become one directed trip to a destination. The Spanish informal expression must be interpreted first, then the Slovenian motion construction chosen for that event.
A repeated visit differs from a single arrangement
The grammar also explains that an indeterminate motion verb can describe repeated round trips. This gives another reason not to equate a broad Spanish motion verb with one target form. A Mexican speaker announcing one afternoon visit has not necessarily described a habit, even if the person has visited before. The message’s immediate purpose may be to arrange a single occasion.
If the source explicitly describes visits made regularly, however, a one-journey interpretation can conceal that recurrence. Look for whether the surrounding Mexican Spanish sentence talks about a scheduled event, repeated practice, or movement currently in progress. Those distinctions should guide the Slovenian choice; the mere informality of te caigo does not determine them.
An invitation can be translated by its social action
Greenberg provides Pridi na obisk, kadar ti paše, inviting someone to visit when it suits them. This attested sentence is useful for recognizing a Slovenian visiting expression, but it is not a complete translation of Te caigo en la tarde. The former addresses someone being invited; the latter can announce the speaker’s own intended arrival. Copying the invitation would reverse who is supposed to come.
Keep the visitor, the person visited, and the movement’s timing distinct. A Mexican invitation using caer and a Mexican promise to drop by may share vocabulary while assigning those roles differently. A faithful Slovenian translation preserves that difference before deciding how to express motion. It also avoids treating every informal visit as either a fall, a repeated habit, or a general invitation with no specified afternoon.
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