Richard Boulter Dec 27, 2009:

Different usages of 'cansona' per country? Hmmm, so I wonder if the term is used differently (actually only minor variations in connotation) in different Spanish-speaking countries? In Spain, Vladimir & LisaMac think of 'obstinate, a bore, a general pain in the neck', while in Colombia Giovanni has 'nagger, complainer, repetetive critic' come to mind for the word. What other meanings might this word have in other places? It sounds like a great word for a not-too-subtle personality description and appears to apply equally to men & women (canson/cansona).

Giovanni Rengifo Dec 26, 2009:

@spanruss If you choose to translate "cansona" as "obstinate", then are you going to use "stubborn and obstinate"? In any case, you would be leaving the "cansona" bit out. Is that what you're saying? That's definitely not what the word "cansona" means.

Richard Boulter Dec 25, 2009:

Great! Okay, I'll give my Agree to Vladimir's Answer, then. I suggest that you word it as 'obstinate' rather than 'obstinated', for a U.S. readership, at least. This has been an interesting discussion. I, for one, thank you all for what I've learned from it. Merry Christmas!

spanruss (asker) Dec 24, 2009:

A difficult task indeed. However, the description mentions no other indications of personality traits other than her "stubbornness" with regard to how she handles her medication. Might as well stick with what we know for sure about here. I'll opt for "obstinate" unless anyone can make a case otherwise.

Richard Boulter Dec 24, 2009:

Augmentative or contrastive Since we have some good equivalents suggested, the issue for 'cansona' becomes whether to interpret the second in this list of terms as being augmentative to the first (terca = stubborn/obstinate/hard-headed') or contrastive (stubborn AND 'naggy/a pain in the neck/a bore/tiresome'.

teju Dec 23, 2009:

Agree with my colleagues that it's most likely a typo for cansona.

spanruss (asker) Dec 23, 2009:

This is from the United States. So there's no telling where this person is originally from, or what influences have affected his Spanish.

Leonardo Lamarche Dec 23, 2009:

Span, You would problaly receive help from someone if you give from which country that slang word comes from.