Oro Por Dinero: Cash4Gold.com Airs New Spanish and English Commercials

Shouldn’t it be dinero por oro? Wouldn’t oro por dinero be gold for cash, the opposite of what they’re trying to accomplish?

I was just in Cancun, Mexico last week believe it or not and I SEEN this commercial. It was hilarious, but for some reason I actually prefer the English one more!!

There is not a better commercial on the air than this one. The accents, the transgender woman, the black widow selling her wedding band!!! They are all priceless.

I just realized that at the end of website it says “Dental”. Are there people so hard up for cash they are turning in gold fillings and teeth? What the?

#1…Adam–you make a really good point. Although I speak Spanish as well as English, I thought you may have been right before I gave it a little thought. ‘Dinero por Oro’ would actually work just fine in Spanish. But they happen to be okay with their ‘Oro por Dinero.’
Here’s why:

It is true that English ‘for’ can be rendered by the Spanish word ‘por.’ However, because Spanish ‘por’ can, by itself and in concert with other words, render a multitude of different English words and phrases when translated, this is a perfect case of when it may not be wise to directly translate ‘por’ into our ‘for.’

In fact, ‘por’ in Spanish can mean, and in this context, means a more exact ‘in exchange for.’ You guessed it–‘por’ is the word for paying or giving something for (or more precisely, in exchange for) something else. This works in two ways. For instance:

un libro por seis pesos = a book for six pesos
-also-
seis pesos por un libro = six pesos for a book

Our American “Cash for Gold” (“Cash4Gold”) is composed to make sense in English from only one perspective: that of the consumer. This is for clarity’s sake; the consumer looks and reads: “I have gold that I can get cash for.”

But imagine if they dragged it out for no good reason and dubbed it “Cash in exchange for Gold.” This needlessly-lengthened name, however, is a little better idea of what is communicated to native Spanish-speakers through their “Oro por Dinero.” In that way, it can describe the services of the business regardless of perspective.

Here’s what I mean: our “Cash for Gold” (Cash4Gold) makes sense ONLY from the consumer’s perspective, and it’s supposed to be that way–Cash4Gold employees, after all, aren’t getting cash for their gold! Well, perhaps eventually…but you see the point.

BUT–the Spanish “Oro por Dinero” (read: Cash in exchange for Gold) has two interpretations: either it’s from the perspective of the company–they get gold in exchange for giving out cash, or it simply describes from an objective viewpoint what service is provided by the business—>one gets cash in exchange for gold, gold is given in exchange for cash…it’s all the same. Just a business description.

In other words, it’s a matter of the perspective English gives us through our words (for) and phrases, and the way that actual interpretation of Spanish words (por) and phrases explains an idea in a foreign language. Our understanding of ‘for’ as a word that works from just the consumer’s viewpoint in the phrase “Cash for Gold,” causes confusion when the phrase is switched around in another language, and we are unaware of the actual, more exact interpretation of ‘por.’
ALSO: Oro por Dinero happens to be easier to say in Spanish–it comes out of the mouth more easily. The “por Oro” of Dinero por Oro can kind of “get lost in the mouth” of a quickly speaking Spanish-speaker.

I hope that makes sense. Your original inquisitiveness happens to be a sure sign of being able to understand the difficulties of language translation, while also being a requirement of successfully studying the complexities of foreign language.

Nils Barton B.A., Spanish

Note: From the Cash4Gold commercials in Spanish, it appears that they’ve just translated almost everything in the English ones into the Spanish. I must say I’m SHOCKED that they made the “ol’ switcharoo” in the title that Adam happened to notice. It appears the company has an employee(or at least hired someone) that is interested in the lingual sensibilities of Spanish-speakers. Thrilling stuff, right?

this shit is stupid

TENGO UNA PREGUNTA.CUANTO DINERO DAN POR UNA CADENA NUEVA DE 10 KILATES O POR UNA DE 14 KILATES.

google and read the stuff that comes up!
“Typical!” Both cash & gold are four-letter words…. This outfit deserves all the FOOLS gold it gets! Anyone who mails off their gold to a TV ad address deserves what they (don’t) get! LMAO -Ted

Pregunta: El locutor que hace el comercial en espanol es : Julio Gassette?. Gracias

Wow… Niis you really must be either very bored or with a lot of time in your hands… please send your gold in so that you can go buy yourself a life.

Si, ese locutor es el venezolano Julio Gassette que hace el papel de Nino Frescobaldi en Bienvenidos, un programa comico de television.