User:Carmen A. H./sandbox

Lexicon

Mexican Spanish retains a number of words that are considered archaic in Spain.

Also, there are a number of words widely used in Mexico which have Nahuatl, Mayan or other native origins, in particular names for flora, fauna and toponym. Some of these words are used in most, or all, Spanish-speaking countries, like chocolate and aguacate ("avocado"), and some are only used in Mexico. The latter includes guajolote "turkey" < Nahuatl huaxōlōtl [waˈʃoːloːt͡ɬ] (although pavo is also used, as in other Spanish-speaking countries); papalote "kite" < Nahuatl pāpālōtl [paːˈpaːloːt͡ɬ] mariposa"butterfly"; and jitomate "tomato" < Nahuatl xītomatl [ʃiːˈtomat͡ɬ]. For a more complete list see List of Spanish words of Nahuatl origin.

Other expressions that are unique to colloquial Mexican Spanish include:

• ahorita: "soon; in a moment". Literally "right now". E.g. Ahorita que acabe, "As soon as I finish (this)". Considered informal.
• bronca: "fight" or "problem". Literally "aggressive woman or girl, or wild female animal". Commonly used among young people.
• bronco: "wild, untame". E.g. leche bronca: "unpasteurized milk".
• camión:"bus"
• chavo (chava); chamaco (chamaca); chilpayate: "a child, teen, or youngster". Also huerco (huerca), morro (morra), and plebe are used in northern Mexico. All these terms except chilpayate are also found in their diminutives: chavito, chamaquito, huerquito, morrito. Considered informal.
• chequear/checar: "to check (verify)"
• chichi(s): "breast(s)". From Nahuatl chīchīhualli [tʃiːtʃiːwɑlːi].Considered informal.
• chido: "cool, attractive, fun, etc."
• chingadera: "trash; crap". Considered vulgar.
• cholo: In northern Mexico, equivalent to the English term gangsta; in the rest of Mexico, equivalent to the Spanish term pandillero ("hooligan", "gang member"), which refers to young slum-dwellers living in conditions of extreme poverty, drug dependency, and malnutrition.
• durazno: "peach"
• En un momento: "Just a minute", "Hold on a second", etc. Literally "in a moment".
• escuincle: "a bratty child" or "squirt". From Nahuatl itzcuīntli [it͡skʷiːnt͡ɬi], "dog".
• Este...: a filler word, similar to American English "um". Literally, "this". Also used in other countries.
• güero: "light-haired and/or light-skinned person".
• güey, wey or buey: "dude", "guy" (literally, "ox"). As an adjective, "dumb", "asinine", "moronic", etc. Not to be confused with "Huey" from the Aztec title "Huey Tlatoani", in which "Huey" is a term of reverence.
• hablar con: "to talk with (on the telephone)". Used in place of the standard llamar.
• macho: "manly". Applied to a woman (macha): "manly" or "skillful".
• naco: "a low-class, boorish, foolish, ignorant and/or uneducated person". Pejorative.
• Órale:(1) similar to English "Wow!" (2) "Okay". (3) Exclamation of surprised protest. Abbreviated ¡Ora! by low-class people in their uneducated variety. May be considered rude.
• padre: used as an adjective to denote something "cool", attractive, good, fun, etc. E.g. Esta música está muy padre, "This music is very cool." Literally, "father".
• pedo: "problem" or "fight". Literally "fart". Also, in a greeting, ¿Qué pedo, güey? ("What's up, dude?"). As an adjective, "drunk", e.g. estar pedo, "to be drunk". Also the noun peda: "a drunken gathering". All forms are considered vulgar for their connection to pedo, "fart".
• pelo chino: "curly hair".[17] The word chino derives from the Spanish word cochino, "pig".[17] The phrase originally referenced the casta (racial type) known as chino, meaning a person of mixed indigenous and African ancestry whose hair was curly.[17] Sometimes erroneously thought to be derived from Spanish chino, "Chinese".[17]
• pinche: "damned", "lousy", more akin to "freaking". E.g. Quita tu pinche musica de aquí. ("Take your lousy music from here"). As a noun, literally, "kitchen assistant". Considered vulgar.
• popote: "drinking straw". From Nahuatl popōtl [popoːt͡ɬ], the name of a plant from which brooms and drinking straws are made, or the straws themselves.
• rentar: "to rent"
• ¿Cómo la ves?: "How do you see it?" "What do you think about it?"
• ¡Híjole!: An exclamation used variously to express surprise, frustration, etc. From hijo de... ("son of a..."). Also ¡Híjoles!.
• ¿Mande?: "Beg your pardon?". From mandar, "to order", formal command form. ¿Cómo? (literally "How?"), as in other countries, is also in use. The use of ¿Qué? ("What?") on its own is sometimes considered impolite, unless accompanied by a verb: ¿Qué dijiste? ("What did you say?").
• ¿Qué onda?: "What's up?".

Most of the words above are considered informal (e.g. chavo(a), padre, güero, etc.), rude (güey, naco, ¿cómo (la) ves?, etc.) or vulgar (pedo, pinche) and are limited to slang use among friends or in informal settings; foreigners need to exercise caution in their use. In 2009, at an audience for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Mexico and the Netherlands, the then Crown Prince of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, made a statement to the audience with a word which, in Mexican Spanish, is considered very vulgar. Evidently oblivious to the word's different connotations in different countries, the prince's Argentine interpreter used the word chingada as the ending to the familiar Mexican proverb "Cámaron que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente" (A sleeping shrimp is carried away by the tide), so the prince actually said the shrimp got screwed without realizing the vulgarity associated with the word in Mexico. The prince, also unaware of the differences, proceeded to say the word, to the bemusement and offense of some of the attendees.[18]

Influence of Nahuatl

The Spanish of Mexico has had various indigenous languages as a linguistic substrate. Particularly significant has been the influence of Nahuatl, especially in the lexicon. However, while in the vocabulary its influence is undeniable, it is hardly felt in the grammar field. In the lexicon, in addition to the words that originated from Mexico with which the Spanish language has been enriched, such as tomate "tomato," hule "rubber," tiza "chalk," chocolate "chocolate," coyote "coyote," petaca "flask," etcetera; the Spanish of Mexico has many Nahuatlismos that confer a lexical personality of its own. It can happen that the Nahuatl word coexists with the Spanish word, as in the cases of cuate "buddy" and amigo "friend," guajolote "turkey" and pavo "turkey," chamaco "kid" and niño "boy," mecate "rope" and reata "rope," etc. On other occasions, the indigenous word differs slightly from the Spanish, as in the case of huarache, which is another type of sandal; tlapalería, hardware store, molcajete, a stone mortar, etc. Other times, the Nahuatl word has almost completely displaced the Spanish, tecolote "owl," atole "cornflour drink," popote "straw," milpa "cornfield," ejote "green bean," jacal "shack," papalote "kite," etc. There are many indigenismos "words of indigenous origin" who designate Mexican realities for which there is no Spanish word; mezquite "mesquite," zapote "sapota," jícama "jicama," ixtle "ixtle," cenzontle "mockingbird," tuza "husk," pozole, tamales, huacal "crate," comal "hotplate," huipil "embroidered blouse," metate "stone for grinding," etc. It should be noted that the strength of the Nahuatl substrate its influence is felt less each day, since there are no new contributions.

• Frequently used Nahuatlismos: aguacate "avocado," cacahuate "peanut," cacao "cocoa," coyote "coyote," cuate "buddy," chapulín "chapulin, chicle "gum," cocholate "chocolate," ejote "bean," elote "corn," huachinango "huachinango," guajolote "turkey," hule "rubber," jitomate "tomato," mayate "Mayan," mecate "rope," milpa "milpa," olote "olote," papalote "kite," petaca "flask" (per suitcase), piocha "piocha," zopilote "buzzard."
• Moderately frequent Nahuatlismos: ajolote "axolotl," chichi "boob" (for female breast), jacal "shack," xocoyote "youngest child," tecolote "owl," tianguis "street market," tlapalería "hardware store," zacate "grass."
• Purépechismos or Tarasquismos: huarache "sandal," jorongo "poncho," cotorina "jerkin," saricua "saricua," tacuche "bundle of rags," achoque "achoque," corunda "corunda," pirecua "pirecua."
• Other non-Mexican indigenismos: arepa "flatbread corn," butaca "armchair," cacique "chief, headman," caimán "alligator," canoa "canoe," coatí "coati," colibrí "hummingbird," chirimoya "custard apple," naguas "rags," guayaba "guava," huracán "hurricane," iguana "iguana," jaguar "jaguar," jaiba "crab," jefén "jefen," loro "parrot," maguey "agave," maíz "corn," mamey "mammee," maní "peanut," ñame "yam," ñandú "rhea," papaya "papaya," piragua "canoe," puma "puma," tabaco "tabacco," tapioca "tapioca," yuca "cassava."

The influence of Nahuatl on phonology seems restricted to the monosyllabic pronunciation of diagraphs -tz- and -tl- (Mexico: [a.'t͡ɬan.ti.ko] / Spain : [ad.'lan.ti.ko]), and to the various pronunciations of the letter -x-, coming to represent the sounds [ks], [gz], [s], [x] and [ʃ]. In the grammar, one can cite as influence of Nahuatl the extesive use of diminutives: The most common Spanish diminutive suffix is -ito/-ita. English examples are –y in doggy or -let in booklet. It can also be cited as influence of Nahuatl the use of the suffix -Le to give an emphatic character to the imperative. For example: brinca "jump" -> bríncale "jump," come "eat" -> cómele "eat," pasa "go/proceed" -> pásale "go/proceed," etc. This suffix is considered to be a crossover of the Spanish indirect object pronoun -le with the Nahua excitable interjections, such as cuele "strain." However, this suffix is not a real pronoun of indirect object, since it is still used in non-verbal constructions, such as hijo "son" -> híjole "damn," ahora "now" -> órale "wow,""¿que hubo?" "what's up?" -> quihúbole "how's it going?," etc.

Although the suffix -le hypothesis as influence of Nahuatl has been widely questioned; Navarro Ibarraa (2009) finds another explanation about -le intensifying character. The author warns that it is a defective dative clitic; instead of working as an indirect object pronoun, it modifies the verb. An effect of the modification is the intransitive of the transitive verbs that appear with this -le defective (ex. moverle "to move" it is not mover algo para alguien "to move something for someone" but hacer la acción de mover "to make the action of moving"). This intensifier use is a particular grammatical feature of the Mexican Spanish variant. In any case, it should not be confused the use of -le as verbal modifier, with the different uses of the pronouns of indirect object (dative) in the classical Spanish, as these are thoroughly used to indicate in particular the case genitive and the ethical dative. In what is considered one of the founding documents of the Spanish language, the poem of Mio Cid written around the year 1200, you can already find various examples of dative possessive or ethical.

Influence of English

Mexico has a border of more than 2,500 kilometers with the United States. It receives every year a major influx of American and Canadian tourists. Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans go to work temporarily or permanently in the neighboring country. A population of almost 57 million Latinos in the U.S., more than 63% is of Mexican origin, ie more than 36 million people. English is the most studied foreign language in Mexico and the third most spoken after Spanish and the native languages taken together. Indeed, the current of anglicisms, that is, English words incorporated into Spanish, is continuously increasing. There are a lot of English words that are used in both America and Spain: filmar "film," béisbol "baseball," club "club," cóctel "cocktail," líder "leader," cheque "check," sándwich "sandwich," etc. But in the Mexican Spanish other anglicisms are used that are not used in all Spanish-speaking countries. In this case,​ they are: bye, ok, nice, cool, checar "check," hobby, fólder "folder," overol "overalls," suéter "sweater," réferi "refrigerator​," lonchería "lunch bag," clóset "closet," maple "maple syrup," baby shower, etc.

In the northern​ region of Mexico and the southern United States, especially in the border states, Spanish incorporates common English words: troca (truck), lonche (lunch), yonque (junkyard).

The center of Hispanic Linguistics of UNAM carried out a number of surveys​ in the project of ​coordinated study of the cultured linguistic norm of main cities of Ibero-America and of the Iberian Peninsula. The total number of anglicisms was about 4% in those made to Mexican speakers of urban norms. However, this figure includes anglicisms who permeated the general Spanish long ago and not particularize national speech, such as nailon "nylon", dólar "dollar," ron "rum," vagón "wagon" and others.

The results of this research are summarized in:

• Lexical loans are mostly recorded in the morphological class of the noun.
• Anglicisms in general use: O.K. (/oquéi/), bye (/bai/), rating or reiting, clic "click," basquetbol "basketball," bat, béisbol "baseball," box(eo) "boxing," cácher "catcher," claxon "horn," clip, clóset "closet," clutch, coctel "cocktail," champú o shampoo (shampú), cheque "check," smoking or esmoquin, exprés "express," fútbol "football," gol "goal," hit (o/xit/), jonrón (home), jeep, jet, nocaut o knockout, líder "leader," mitin "rally," nailon o nylon, overol "overalls," panqué "pancakes," pay (for English foot), pudín "pudding," baby shower, reversa "reverse," rin (?), raund or round, set, strike (stráik o estráik), suéter "sweater," pants, tenis (tennis shoes), supermercado "fresh market," fólder "folder," vallet parking, tenis o tennis, and güisqui o whisk(e)y.
• Frequent Anglicisms: bar, bermudas (for bermuda shorts), bistec "steak," chequera "checkbook," jockey, DJ (diyei, disk jockey), short, show, sport (type of clothing), swtich.
• Moderately used Anglicisms: barman "waiter," King/Queen size, grill, manager, penthouse, pullman, strapless, ziper or zipper.

Some examples of syntactic anglicisms, which coexist with the common variants, are:

• Using the verb apply/applying. ("Apliqué" a esa universidad", Applied to that university, instead of "Postulé" a esta universidad", Apply to this university)
• Using the verb to consume with suppose. ("Asumo que sí va a ir a la fiesta", I assume he is going to the party, instead of "Supongo que sí va a ir a la fiesta", I guess he will go to the party)
• Using the verb access with access to. ("Accesa a nuestra página de internet", Access to our website, instead of "Accede a nuestra página de internet", Access our website).