Hugo Chavez Would Rather You Not Speak English, KGraciasBye

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has taken steps to eradicate English from businesses, asking his country’s phone company workers to use Spanish equivalents of Anglo-dominated business and technical phrases like “Crazy Language Nazi:”

Through a campaign launched Monday, newly nationalized CANTV hopes to wean employees and others from words like “staff” (”equipo” is preferred), “marketing” (”mercadeo”) and “password” (”contrasena”).

Stickers and banners printed up by the company exhort Venezuelans to “Say it in Spanish. Say it with pride.”

“Que plasta de mierda, por Dios.”

Other English words targeted include “mouse” (the company prefers “raton”), “meeting” (”reunion”) and “sponsor” (”patrocinador”) _ all of which have become common in Latin American countries.

The leftist president has sought to counter what he calls U.S. cultural imperialism on all fronts, financing Venezuelan cinema as an alternative to the “dictatorship of Hollywood” and forcing radio stations to play more Venezuelan music.

English is still taught in schools alongside other languages, however. And Chavez himself often breaks playfully into English during speeches, sometimes to salute his close friend, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, saying: “How are you, Fidel?”

That Hugo! Always such a tarjeta, that one.

Chavez launches fight against English words [One News Now]