The Honk

Spend any amount of time in South America, and you`ll become acquainted with ¨the honk¨-- the ubiquitous greeting/warning/invitation that transcends local culture. You find it in every city and country, at every time of day, and can always expect more around the corner-- literally.

In the city, the honk more often than not means ¨I`m going to hit you if you don`t move¨, and is applied not only to pedestrians, but also to other cars which are usually just as adamant about claiming the right of way. It`s kind of a not-so-friendly warning system. Other times in the city the honk simply asks ¨why aren`t you moving faster?¨As if honking will somehow reduce traffic to zero, allowing everyone to move forward simultaneously (you see this in New York as well).

In the country, the honk takes on new meanings. It often means ¨I am the only available transportation to the next town, so get on now while you have the chance¨-- an exciting opportunity to share a minivan with 18 other people, while a chicken sleeps on your feet. Sometimes the honk is used to acknowledge other taxi drivers; some taxis have multiple and customized honks which sound like car alarms or whistles-- honking taking on some of the nuances of language.

In the mountains, the honk is used around every blind corner, as a way of saying ¨here I come, ready or not!¨ A system that has worked well so far, given the inordinate number of blind curves on every mountain road.

It´s a complex language, albeit one without words.