Don't be hatin'

In speaking about hate speech with my Conversation Partner. It seems, as though one of the most targeted groups of hate speech in Mexico are those who choose alternative sexual lifestyles. The comedy in Mexico is very crude and often targets gay men. The law forbids gay marriage, but does not forbid companies to discriminate against homosexuals or those who choose a gothic lifestyle, which is another targeted group.

We also spoke about the ‘guerrilleros’, who are revolutionaries in Mexico working for the rights of the people. The organization is called Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). The spokesman of the EZLN is Sub-Comandante Marcos, who can be seen with a black mask and pipe. The EZLN is alienated by the government and forced to hide in the Mexican state Chiapas. Much of their following is indigenous, but many Mexicans living in urban areas support the EZLN. Obviously the government is not pleased with the work of Sub-Comandante Marcos and the EZLN and is working against their efforts.

Artists, such as Manu Chao, have written songs to show their support for the EZLN. Click Here to hear a song by Manu Chao where he adds a speech of Sub-Comandante Marcos

"Men are better than women" Pshh..yeah.

I touched on gender differences between Spanish and English in The First Conversation: Part II. My Conversation Partner spoke about how the women are still belittled in many settings in Mexico, as if they are less capable than doing anything that a man does. The women are expected to take care of the family and the home. In many cases women are laughed at for ‘attempting’ to do things that men do. The women are expected to do as they are told. My Conversation Partner expressed her appreciation of the liberties that women have in this country.

There is a term in Spanish: ‘machista’ which really means (in my own words): a man who believes that he has the control over the women and that they have more power. These ‘machista’ are still very common (and accepted) in the Mexican culture.

Argument

In discussing argument with my Conversation Partner we agreed that for the most part that the typical American argument culture was similar to the Mexican argument culture, although argument may or may not be used in the same fashion as it is in America as a ‘place to stand’.

My Conversation Partner felt that the only people who were really not heard in an argument are young children, mainly because the people believe that they do not know what they are talking about. It is very similar in the United States.

The Trick Is...

I was interested in some of the things that helped her to learn English. The main thing that she mentioned was being in an English school setting (as mentioned before). She said that she had an English teacher (who actually spoke Spanish) who forced her and her classmates to speak English all of the time. This teacher did not allow any of the Spanish speakers to speak Spanish. At the time they all thought that she was a really challenging teacher and many of the students did not like her, but once they left her class they all realized how much they had actually learned.

This teacher would explain the words that the students didn’t know in other English words, she would also have the students explain the words for themselves.

Comida Mexicana is better than Mexican Food

Time and time again I have heard, “Oh Mexican food here is Americanized. It is not real Mexican food.” So I asked my C.P. what is SO different about the Mexican food, if there was a difference at all. The first thing she said was, “The tortillas have different tastes.” And then she moved on to, “It is really just so different.” She also mentioned that American-Mexican food is less spicy. She also said that when her mom makes the food that she used to make in Mexico (with the same recipes) they taste different, good, but not the same. It sounds like she enjoys her vacations back to Mexico and the real Mexican food.

Yo hablo español yand I speak English

I then asked her several questions about becoming and being bilingual. When she arrived in the United States from Mexico she entered a local high school second semester sophomore year. Upon arrival she did not speak any English whatsoever. She was learning English while taking all of the general high school classes in English, during this time she depended solely on those who could translate for her. This became a problem when she had a teacher who was unwilling to bend his rules for those who did not understand him.

Also during high school she ran into girls who were mean to her because she only spoke Spanish. This led us to a conversation about the irony of that situation: these girls were making fun of her for learning her second language by immersion, while they probably were unable to speak a second language themselves.

I asked her if she could tell that she had a ‘Mexican accent’ and she said that sometimes she could tell and sometimes she couldn’t. When she sees English words that are also in Spanish (or are similar) she has a tendency to pronounce them as she would in Spanish...which makes sense...

We then discussed the ups and downs to being bilingual. She, unlike Gloria Anzaldúa, did not really see any downsides to being bilingual. She mentioned it being handy to be able to speak both Spanish and English at work because often people come in who are unable to speak English. She has also been able to help translate outside of work. She mentioned that her sister does not speak English and my C.P. has translated for her in many situations including things such as doctor visits.

When I asked her about the pervasive monolingualism in this country she said that she believes that it is very important for people to learn English for conversational purposes, work purposes and just simply because it is the language most readily spoken in the United States.

She feels that having been in an English school setting for several years now is what has really helped her English skills. Unfortunately, not everyone who comes to this country has the opportunity to attend school, so that is not an option for everyone.

I asked her if she felt offended when non-native Spanish speakers speak Spanish to her. She said that when she was first learning English and that would happen she just figured that whoever she was speaking to could not understand her English. She did not think it was demeaning.

Me gusta your blog mucho!

In Southern California Spanish and English are commonly intermixed. My Conversation Partner said that it is common for her to hear a mixture of the two languages. (A concept that many English speakers refer to as Spanglish.) She said that it does not bother her. Many Spanish/English speakers will mix Spanish and English in their daily lives.

She also said that when she returns to Mexico for a visit she hears the people (who do not speak English) using more and more English vocabulary, such as nice, bye, cool and party. They also have begun to write SEE instead of Sí, when saying yes.

Spanfanishfa

My conversation partner and I were discussing ‘Pig Latin’. This was something that she had never heard of before. Sadly I was never very good at ‘Pig Latin’ so I had a hard time trying to explain and speak it. I asked her about any children’s language games that she may have played (or known about) in Mexico. Right away she said. “Kids used to add ‘f’ to everything.” I asked if she could give me an example. She used the Spanish word for ‘purse’ which is ‘bolsa’ she said that with this ‘f’ ‘bolsa’ is ‘bolfolsafa’.
We took a sentence from a pervious conversation (Tu quieres aqua; You want water) and put it into this ‘F Language’, and I sat there for a while trying to wrap my poor brain around the Spanish with the added ‘f’s.
‘You want water’ came out something like:
tufu quifieferefes gufuafarafa.

What is being done is an addition of an ‘f’ and a repeat of a vowel after each syllable. This language game did not have a name, the kids used to simply say, “Lets speak with the ‘f’”

She also told me about a language that she preferred over the ‘F Language’. This also did not have a name, but it was a language game that she used to play with her cousin. She never heard anyone else use this “language”, she felt that maybe her cousin had just made it up.

The game is: replace all of the vowels with ‘i’, which has the same sound as the English ‘e’.

Using the same ‘bolsa’ and ‘Tu quieres aqua’ we find this language looking a lot like this:

‘Bolsa’ = ‘Bilsi’
‘Tu quieres aqua’ = ‘Ti qiiris igii’

She said that this was much easier for her to do than the ‘F Language’, but she did not know anyone beside her cousin who spoke it!

Purse Red!

I want [some] water in Spanish is:
(Yo) Quiero [algo de] agua.

The personal pronoun in Spanish is implied, so it is in parenthesis.
Most Spanish speakers start with the verb, which is conjugated in
accordance to the personal pronoun. The verb to want is querer, it
becomes quiero when conjugated for the 'yo' pronoun.

Do you want some water?
(Tú) Quieres [algo de] agua?

***Remember from a previous blog that 'Tú' is the informal 'you' and that there is also 'Usted', which is formal. Formally said this sentence would be: (Usted) Quiere [algo de] agua?***

Without the question intonation the statement would just read (in
English): You want some water.

I do not want [some] water.
(Yo) No quiero [algo de] agua.

When my conversation partner was learning English she had some
difficulties with the placement of the noun and the adjectives because
in English we place the adjective before the noun, but in most cases
in Spanish they place the adjective after the noun.
Example:

The red purse in Spanish is 'La bolsa roja.' (Bolsa being purse, roja
being red).

In the beginning she was also unsure if she needed to add the pronounce
because in Spanish (as previously mentioned) it is unnecessary.

Excuse The Vulgar Gestures, Por Favor!

I asked my Conversation Partner about the personal space bubbles in
Mexico and the differences between ones here in the States. She said
that she really didn't notice any drastic differences when she moved
here. It felt about the same. No one seemed uncomfortably close or too
far away.

I also asked her about different gestures; the ones that we share and
the ones that they have in Mexico that we don't have here. Most of
them were the same. She and I both figured that there were probably so
many similarities due to the fact that we live close to Mexico and
many gestures probably have carried over one-way or another.

We spoke about 'thumbs up', waving, using the middle finger, and the
wink. All of these gestures have the same meaning.

They also have the: the cut of the neck and the hanging for suicide.
The cut of the wrists gesture or the shoot the head if someone is
saying or doing something boring. There is also the L on the forehead,
which signifies 'loser'.

In Mexico they don't have the 'whatever' sign or 'talk to the hand.'

She mentioned a few more things that they have in Mexico that we do
not have here. Such as a gesture that is to be used when either:
"Huevos" or "chinga tu madre", now those are VERY vulgar in Mexico.
Huevos means eggs, but it has a very negative connotation when used
with that gesture.



In any other Spanish speaking countries, "chinga tu madre" would mean
something to the effect of "your mother has ripped her seam" and it
doesn't mean anything negative or mean. In Mexico, however, "chinga tu
madre" is something to the equivalent to: Mother Fucker here in the
states.

She also mentioned a gesture, which means gay. Here is a photo of
that gesture.



They also have their sort of equivalent to our pledge of allegence.
Every child in every school would sing a song to their flag every
Monday in an assembly. Instead of having the right hand flat on the
heart they place it horizontally over the heart. Later after a school official spoke the children would move their right arm straight out and say a pledge.

HEY YOU!

I also asked my C.P. about the formal and informal you (tú and Usted). In the three languages that I have studied this concept has come up. A concept that I have only roughly understood because we don’t have it in English! You never know if you should say you formally or you informally. Of course culture plays a large role into who you say what to. What you say in Mexico is going to be different then what you say Spain. For my C.P. she comes from a culture were they use the formal you (Usted) regulary, parents are formal, elders, people you don’t know, and people older than about 30. The Usted form of you is a form of respect. If I had met her and we were speaking Spanish I would have used informal (tú) right away. Still not completely convinced (and not wanting to offend anyone) I asked her if there was a general rule as to when you know that you need to call the person Usted (formal you) and she said....after the person is married is a fairly good sign that they should be given a formal you (unless of course you are close to this person).

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato

My C.P. and I were talking about the differences between consonants and vowels in our respective languages. When my conversation partner began learning English she had a hard time pronouncing certain words simply because in English we like to not say everything that is in the word, where in Spanish she pointed out that they do read everything the way that it is written.

I asked her to read the word ‘vote’ as if she were reading it in Spanish. She read: botē (long E). (The Spanish V is pronounced as a B sound, V is also called ‘beh chica’.) She mentioned how it was odd to her not to pronounce the E at the end of the word “vote”. My naturally trained English mind automatically thinks, “Oh well the E is being pronounced, but in a round about way by supporting the O and giving it a different sound.” But to someone coming into the language who is used to saying everything as it is seen would run into votē (once again long E).

The First Conversation: Part II

My C.P. and I looked at the different names for family members. For the most part they are even. ‘Grandma’ is ‘abuela’ (for both maternal and paternal grandmothers), ‘madre’ is biological ‘mother’, ‘padre’ is ‘father’, etc .The topic of ‘cousin’ in English struck up an interesting conversation. In Spanish ‘cousin’ is ‘prima’ OR ‘primo’ depending on the gender of the ‘cousin’ (prima being a female cousin, and primo being a male cousin). We talked about why we personally thought about the differences. I have male cousins and female cousins but have never thought about deciphering between them (until I began learning new languages). Where my C.P. said that the concept of not distinguishing between the two was a different thing that she had to grasp. I began to think about why this is and in talking with her further I found how more family oriented her culture is than mine. Typically the mother stays home with the children while the father works to support the family. It would seem to me that in her culture the cousins are more important. Within the conversation she mentioned two of her cousins as examples three or four times. In thinking about my own cousins I would rarely use them as examples (not because they are unworthy), simply because most of them aren’t a very large part of my life. As an example I have cousins that I havn’t seen in years (and they live locally). It is possible that as English speakers we don’t have the need to refer to our cousins and decipher their genders because they aren’t a key point.

Of course this can always be argued (as my C.P. partner did) that we also just have ‘friends’ where in Spanish they also distinguish between a male friend (amigo) or a female friend (amiga). I KNOW that my friends are close to me (when my cousins aren’t). Possibly this just has something to do with the relation between genders in the culture and the relationship you are “allowed” to have with a same gender friend (or cousin) or a opposite gender friend (or cousin). More to be discussed in this topic...

The First Conversation: Part I

I will be referring to my Conversation Partner as C.P. throughout this project. I have the opportunity to speak to someone from the country of Mexico. She arrived in California unable to speak much English. Three years later I am able to speak with her about her language and culture (in English...of course....).

The first assignment required us to look at color sheet and distinguish the different colors. Before she and I met I had also done the project. In looking at our color sheets they were quite similar. She and I had more or less the same wide range of colors. (Including pink, purple, blue, green, red, lights, darks, etc)