I'm having difficulty translating colloquial Spanish use of 'vah'

Question

I am translating a letter from Spanish to English, and the first sentence is España vah, bien', which I am having difficulty working out. I assume this is a colloquial use of 'vah', but I am unsure how to translate it.

Answer 1

Vah is not an existing word in Spanish.

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In written Spanish, sometimes we use the mute letter "h" to mimic an aspirated sound to denote a long or stretched syllable. The proof is in the comma which indicates a short pause as if the interlocutor were thinking about the right next word.

The real phrase is "España va bien" (Spain goes well), originally pronounced by ex-president José María Aznar in reference to the country's economic advances during his government.

From there arose various meanings, most of them in a satirical way.

The phrase "España vah, bien" could well be translated as "Spain goes..., well" where the three dots indicate the hesitant pause.

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Another feasible option is a misspelling:

"España bah! Bien"

• Spain bah! Good.

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