Upon seeing the boy entering her office, the doctor smiled at his mother and said, “How adorable!” The mother didn’t know how to respond; the young, blonde American doctor’s Spanish, while friendly, sounded unnatural and took her by surprise. The word “adorable” seemed strange when directed toward her son. She smiled shyly in response to the compliment while the child clung to her legs.
For many Latinos, the verb “adore” is associated with religion.…