The Notorious Mexican Spanish

Blog #1:  Do you speak mexican?

Sociolinguistics: 

   

 Upon finishing up week one it appears through the “scientific study of language” we look at the usage of words and through the subcategories it provides a system of communication. 

    The thing that became a curiosity to me was how this transferred through other languages and how culture impacts the way language evolves and wanted to know more over “sociolinguistics”. Understanding varied cultures seems to be a critical aspect about linguistics and its ability to develop open-mindedness in students. Deciding to dive into this topic I looked towards ‘Langfocus’ who spoke about the variety of Spanish spoken in Mexico in comparison to European Spanish.

    I was born here in the valley and grew up bilingual therefore before viewing this video I could tell you from experience that there are certain semantics that interchange throughout the Spanish speaking world the most debated aspect is the word “straw” and how you call it changes depending which region you are from. For example; My family is from mexico where it is primarily known as 'Popote' but my friend is from Puerto Rico where they say 'Sorbeto'

Watching 'Langfocus':

    If you live in the valley, you might have had the experience of taking a spanish class and confidently answered a question just to get it wrong? It might because you are being taught European Spanish and gave a Mexican Spanish answer! These two language are vastly similar but share many differences in the phonology and syntax used.

    `Langfocus' spoke about the history of Mexico specifically the 'Nahuatl' language that had major influence on Mexican Spanish as it developed explaining how spanish came to be the prestige language through the colonial presence. Words that were borrowed from the Nahuatl language were mainly nouns that represented everyday things; most of the Nahuatl words have the absolutive suffix ~tl which developed into ~te in Mexican Spanish.

Some examples of vast differences between an European Spanish speaker from a Mexican Spanish speaker:

•  Seseo where you pronounce z as /s/ and c before e or i as /s/ but to put in simple terms- the lisp.
• Yeismo where you pronounce Ll as /j/
• The usage of 2nd plural pronouns such as Vosotros or Vos is not used in Mexican Spanish but formal and informal of singular "you" is used "Tu" (Informal) and "Usted" (Formal).

Mexican Slang is what makes Mexican Spanish Notorious as it is well-known throughout the spanish-speaking world and used vastly online. Examples of these slangs are; Guey/Wey, Pedo which can be used very fluidly by Mexican Spanish speakers, there is another slang used in commercials you might have heard here "ORALE~". 

Why is this information important? 

    It is important to understand how language is used by different groups to study the language. This also teaches you how vast and diverse one single language can be and I felt like it bring purpose to linguistics which is the scientific study of language. If you lived in the valley your whole life you know we use various form of English and Spanish; there is our mix of european spanish and mexican spanish we use words, "chicano spanish, tex-mex spanish, and spanglish." This overview of Mexican Spanish allows you to see the structure of the language that varies from region within mexico, economic groups and even age. 

    Even as an avid spanish speaker, I found myself surprised at the vast differences between the two forms of spanish and it has allowed me to gain more understanding of my own mother language and how I actually speak a mixture of both- this lead me back to the question that I will now ask you "Do you speak Mexican?"

thank you for reading...

Langfocus. "Mexican Spanish and What Makes it NOTORIOUS." Youtube, uploaded by Langfocus, 31st of January 2021 of Publication, https://youtu.be/IMTYzQd9FUY. Accessed 24th of January 2023 video was viewed.