Berry Debate Rages

Some words have no translation. Like 'crush'.  As in to have a crush on someone.  A simultaneous interpreter assures me that there is just not a proper translation for the word 'crush' and the subtle, innocent nuances associated with it.

Other words suffer from controversy about their translation.  Let's take blueberry.  Years ago I learnt that the word for blueberry in Spanish is 'arándano'.  A couple of years later, an Ecuadorean woman insisted on correcting me:  'arándano' is not blueberry, but rather cranberry.  As an American who had been heavily exposed to British English, I was open to the vagaries imposed upon a language by its multitudinous speakers.  I let the Ecuadorean correct me, but held onto my belief that 'arándano' for blueberry was correct - at least in Spain.  I has specifically remembered learning the word when I got very excited to discover a blueberry muffin at Pans & Company in 1995.

Ever since, I sometimes play the 'what is blueberry' game with native Spanish speakers.  Inevitably, in Spain, they say 'arándano'. Then I ask them what 'cranberry' is and all hell breaks loose.  It's a very exciting game.