Mexico is a country of ancient civilizations. For many millennia, numerous Indian tribes lived on its territory. The modern ethnic composition was formed from the indigenous population, European settlers and Africans imported to work on plantations since the sixteenth century. More than half of the population are mestizos and mulattoes, descendants of mixed marriages. In this regard, many are interested in what language is the official language in Mexico. To answer this question, let's look at history.
Historical reference
Until the sixteenth century, the territory of modern Mexico was inhabited by Indian tribes who spoke several dozen languages. Of these, the most widespread were the Navajo in the north, Nahuatl and Maya in the center. Many others were also used, all of which had a significant impact on the Spanish language, which was originally spoken only by a small stratum of administrators, officials, conquistadors, and Spanish settlers who made up about five percent of the population.
However, thanks to intensive interracial contacts, already in the seventeenth century, for the bulk of Mexicans, Spanish became the main means of communication.
Influence of Indian languages
Unlike the United States, Mexico has never resorted to a policy of genocide against the indigenous population. After the number of Indians sharply declined due to diseases introduced by Europeans, their numbers stabilized already in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. And in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the number of people speaking Amerindian languages increased quite significantly, although their overall share of the population continued to decline as the number of Spanish-speaking mestizos grew even more rapidly. Yet the official language of Mexico is still significantly influenced by Indian dialects, which are still spoken by seven to ten percent of the population.
Many Mexicanisms, words, grammatical and phonetic phrases that are characteristic of spoken Spanish in Mexico are directly explained by the influence of autochthonous languages.
Mexico City - capital of New Spain
Another important factor in the formation of Mexican Spanish is the status of Mexico City itself (formerly Tenochtitlan), a city that was the capital of New Spain for three centuries. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries many people arrived here from Madrid. Therefore, Mexican Spanish, like American English, is mainly based on the corresponding European counterpart.
In Spain itself, the language continued to develop further, but in Mexico it seemed to freeze after the country gained independence at the beginning of the nineteenth century and began to form independently.
Mexico. Spanish
Spanish in Mexico is a group of dialects, dialects and sociolects that make up a special variant of Spanish, based on the linguistic norms of the Mexican capital, Mexico City, which is the literary standard for this variant.
When talking about what language is spoken in Mexico, it should be noted that in most regions of the country, Spanish close to the metropolitan norm is used, with the exception of the special dialects of Chiapas (Central American Spanish) and Yucatan (Yucatan Spanish, which is based on the Caribbean variant).
Mexican Spanish is the native language of approximately 125 million people, over 100 million of whom live in Mexico and approximately 25 million in the United States, mainly in the border areas of California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. This variety of Spanish is the only official language at the federal level, and, along with many Native American dialects, one of the official languages at the state level.
Now you know what language is spoken in Mexico. It is worth noting that Mexican Spanish, among other things, is the basis for the Spanish language in the United States, widely used in education and the media. It is also the most widely spoken language variety of Spanish in the world, as it is the native language of the vast majority of Mexicans, who make up about 29 percent of Spanish speakers worldwide.
Phonological and other features
It is not enough to know what language is spoken in Mexico; you also need to have an idea of a number of changes taking place in the language system. Thus, linguistic territories are expanding in the country (similar to what happened in Spain, when Spanish replaced other languages that existed on the Iberian Peninsula), phonological changes are occurring (the letter j begins to be pronounced differently, the sound [θ] gradually disappears and changes to [s], words borrowed from Indian dialects are phonetically adapted).
Those who first encountered the modern Mexican version of Spanish note its “conservativeness.” In the artistic works of Spanish writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there are words that are today considered archaisms in Spain and are almost unrecognizable by native speakers or are used very rarely. However, in the Mexican version they are not perceived as archaic and continue to be used.
In the article we talked about what language is spoken in Mexico. We hope you find this information useful. All the best!
Mexico is very popular among tourists from all over the world. This state is known not only for a huge number of various attractions, but also for its developed tourist infrastructure. In addition, Mexico, although not often, is chosen as a country for immigration. Of course, in order to feel comfortable in this country, you need to know what language is spoken in Mexico.
Mexican Spanish
The United Mexican States is a multicultural state that recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to maintain and develop their own dialects. The main language in the country is Spanish – it is spoken by about 90% of the population. To understand why Spanish is spoken in Mexico, you need to look at history. In 1521, Spanish colonialists arrived in Mexico City (formerly Tenochtitlan), who introduced and spread their language throughout the state. As a result of intensive interracial contacts and the birth of children (mixed race), the Creole (Mexican) Spanish language began to form.
Mexican Spanish is the most widely spoken variety of Spanish. It is understood not only in its historical homeland, but throughout Latin America, as well as in the USA. However, Spanish and Mexican are not the same languages. Thus, the formation of Mexican Spanish was significantly influenced by its proximity to the United States.
Mexican Spanish is the native language of Mexico. It is spoken by approximately 125 million people. Of these, more than 100 million live in the state itself and about 25 million in the United States (mainly in the border areas of Texas, California, Arizona, etc.).
National language of Mexico
The United Mexican States pursues a policy of bilingualism - this is stated in the country's Constitution. Therefore, speaking about which language is the official language in Mexico, it should be noted that the government of the country recognizes, in addition to Spanish, 68 more local dialects. At the same time, many consider Spanish to be the official language. However, this is an erroneous opinion, since there is no such definition in the country’s legislation.
When answering the question of which language is the official one in Mexico, one should again turn to the country’s Constitution, which states that due to the multinationality of the state, Spanish and local dialects have equal rights as official languages.
And this despite the fact that dialects are spoken by only 6% of the population.
In 2003, the Mexican Congress adopted a decision to support the law on the linguistic rights of indigenous peoples, which established the right of the local population to use their native speech when communicating with authorities and preparing official documents. And yet the de facto national language in this state is Spanish. 
Dialects of local languages in Mexico
Before the arrival of the Spaniards in the United Mexican States, local residents spoke Indian languages. However, this had virtually no effect on the grammatical and phonological level of Spanish, although linguists still recognize their influence on the lexical composition of speech.
The most common Indian languages in Mexico are:
- Nahuatl (Aztec group);
- Yucatecan (from the group of languages of the Mayan Indians);
- Mixtec;
- Zapotec;
- Tzeltalian;
- Tzotzil
And finally, the most interesting thing is the restriction of travel abroad for debtors. It is the status of the debtor that is easiest to “forget” when getting ready for your next vacation abroad. The reason may be overdue loans, unpaid housing and communal services receipts, alimony or fines from the traffic police. Any of these debts may threaten to restrict travel abroad in 2018; we recommend finding out information about the presence of debt using the proven service nevylet.rf
There are 364 different dialects in the state, with significant differences. For example, Nahuatl is the language of the Aztec empire. It is spoken by about one and a half million people. However, it is highly fragmented geographically. But the largest adjacent dialect is Yucatecan, which is spoken by about 800 thousand people. It is used on the Yucatan Peninsula. Therefore, it is quite difficult to answer unequivocally what language is spoken in Mexico.
Other popular languages
The United Mexican States is one of the most developed countries in Latin America, which annually attracts a huge number of tourists from all over the world. Therefore, for those who have never been to this country, it is important to know what other language, besides Spanish, is understood in this state.
For example, English in Mexico is not widely spoken in all states, and you need to be prepared for this. However, recently, thanks to the active development of the tourism sector and an increase in the level of service to travelers, employers have begun to attach great importance to the proficiency of applicants for work in restaurants and hotels in English, Italian, German, French and Portuguese. Moreover, in some luxury hotel complexes the staff even speak Russian. 
When going on a trip, tourists are interested in what is the main language in Mexico City. As throughout the state, the vast majority of residents speak Spanish. However, in this city you can also meet many people who speak English. The same goes for other cities such as Palenque, Villahermosa, Campeche and Cancun. But if you go to the south, then knowledge of Spanish is already necessary.
It should be noted that most excursions and entertainment events specially prepared for tourists are conducted in English.
Spanish language courses
Mexico is a leader in providing Spanish learning opportunities in Latin America, with students from all over the world taking Spanish courses here. Language schools and courses provide an opportunity not only to learn Spanish quickly and effectively, but also to become better acquainted with the culture of this distant state.
Language schools in the United Mexican States are located in Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen. They offer various programs, but the standard and intensive courses are in greatest demand.
Mexico: Video
Nineteen countries of Latin America, seventeen regions of Spain - in each zone the language has characteristics that depend on linguistic and extra-linguistic circumstances. In this article we will get acquainted with the Mexican version of the Spanish language and outline the features that distinguish it from other varieties and dialects.
Reasons for the emergence of Mexican Spanish
Mexico is home to many ancient civilizations, some of which still retain their languages and dialects. In addition, Mexico is the northernmost country in Central America, bordering the United States. These two circumstances have a strong influence on the Mexican version of the Spanish language. When the conquistadors, led by Fernando Cortez, conquered southeastern Mexico in the 16th century, they encountered hundreds of tribes, each speaking a local dialect with individual phonetic and grammatical features. The current sociopolitical situation in the country is directly related to the English language, which also influences the speech of Spanish-speaking Mexicans.
Since ancient languages were the basis for the “introduction” of Spanish at all levels, and Spanish in Mexico is in contact with English only phonetically and lexically, it is logical to consider the features of the Mexican variant separately at each linguistic level in order to understand the Mexican features and where they come from happen.
Phonetic level of the Mexican variant
Let's start with phonetic features common to Latin American countries. Due to the fact that Spanish did not develop naturally on the American continent, but was brought and introduced artificially, it underwent simplifications that spread throughout all Latin American countries. The most important of them:
fusion of sounds: interdental sound /θ/ (letters c, z) and sound /s/, pronounced as /s/;
fusion of sounds: into a single /ʝ/ (pronounced like the Russian / й/), the semivowel /y/ and the sound indicated by the fusion of consonants /ll/ merge.
In the scientific field, these phenomena are called seseo And yeahismo. The result of such changes is the merger of words casa(house) and caza(hunting), llanta(tire) and yanta(afternoon snack). However, this does not cause any difficulties in understanding the speech of Latin Americans by Spaniards.
The phonetic feature of the Mexican version, as we noted above, is the sounds borrowed from English, contact with which has been maintained in Mexico for several centuries. In big cities, as well as in the north of the country, Mexicans use the Americanized non-vibrating sound /r/ instead of the Spanish sounds /r/ and /rr/:
merging sounds into one borrowed one: /pe§o/ instead of /pero/ and instead of /perro/;
Thus, when you arrive in Mexico and speak Spanish with the local population, you will immediately feel (or rather, hear) the closeness of the United States.
Another phonetic feature of Mexican Spanish is variety of intonations in the regions. They are studied by the special science of dialectology, since we are talking about various regional dialects of the Spanish language in Mexico, associated with the dialects of the ancient Indians. When America was conquered by the Spaniards, the indigenous peoples adopted the new language, but assimilated it into the languages of their ancestors, which is why Spanish sounds different in the southern Mexico, where the Mayan Indians lived, or in the north. It happens that northern Mexicans come to the south and have difficulty understanding their compatriots, although lexical features, which we will discuss below, most likely play a larger role here.
Morphology and grammar of the Mexican variant
Neither English nor Amerindian languages are thought to have had a strong influence on the morphology of Mexican Spanish. Despite this, we can talk about changes-simplifications in the Mexican version, associated with the fact of the artificial development of the Spanish language in Latin American countries. Thus, in ancient Indian languages there were many consonant sounds (by the way, close to the Russian sounds /ch/, /sh/, /sch/), due to which the difference in overstressed vowels in the Mexican version was no longer clear. If a Spaniard says , pronouncing each vowel, a Mexican will say , “eating” the endings, like Americans “eating” the endings of English words:
vowel reduction: instead of ;
Another trend is related to creating analogies in verb conjugations. During the development of the Spanish language in Mexico, the final consonant /s/ in the form of the 2nd person singular verb of the present tense (tu hablas) strengthened in the same position in the simple past, from where the forms estuvistes, hablastes, etc. appeared.
creating an analogy: instead of, instead of;
In connection with grammar, features common to Latin America are also important:
using the Ustedes form instead of vosotros: “- ¿Adónde van? ¡Esperenme! " instead of " - ¿Adónde vais? ¡Esperadme!”;
widespread use of the simple past tense(Pretérito Perfecto Simple) and its widespread use instead of the compound past (Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto): “Hoy estuvimos en casa” instead of “Hoy hemos estado en casa”;
These features do not distinguish Mexico's Spanish from other Latin American varieties, but are important because of the strong bias in Spain's Spanish language norms.
Lexical features of the Mexican variant
The most striking features of Mexican Spanish are associated with the most mobile and changeable layer of the language - vocabulary. Here again the influence of neighboring English and ancient Indian languages is important. The Mexican Spanish vocabulary is full of borrowings from English:
shorts (English shorts)– shorts (instead of the Castilian pantalón corto);
rentar) - rent/rent (instead of Castilian alquilar);
checar (English check)– check, find out (instead of Castilian investigar);
lunch (English lunch)– afternoon snack, lunch (instead of Castilian almuerzo), etc.
Through the Mexican variant, a considerable number of Spanish have spread to different countries. indigenisms(indígena from Spanish - native, aborigine):
Avocado, chocolate, chile etc.
Indian words associated with Mexican realities are preserved only in the Mexican version:
Pozole(corn dish) jícara(painted bowl), turush(Mayan utensils), etc.
At the same time, the spoken language of Mexicans is rich in spontaneous innovations that are not associated with the influence of other languages. The most popular expressions in Mexico:
buey- an analogue of the Spanish colloquial address tio: “Buey ¡espera!”;
¡a poco!– “come on!”, as a natural reaction to new information: “-La biblioteca está cerrada. “A poco buey, por qué estará cerrada a esta hora”;
No mames!- “come on!”, similar to the previous expression: “¡No mames buey, como puede ser posible!”
¡a huevo!- an analogue of the American colloquial exclamation “yes!”, “uhu!” (Russian colloquial “yuhu!”), used by Mexicans in joyful situations: “¡No hay clases mañana! “¡A huevo!”;
chin– the use of which coincides with the Russian use of the word “devil”: “Chin, vamos a llegar tarde por el tráfico...”
Such colloquial addresses, phrases, interjections and curses develop uniquely in each country and for the youth of Latin American countries they seem to be the most interesting and significant in the context of linguistic self-determination or the definition of residents of other regions. Latin Americans, like Spaniards, are proud of the colloquial features of their variant. So, when you are planning to go to Mexico, do not forget to learn a couple of such phrases in order to immediately make friends. ¡A huevo!
Text: Anastasia Lukyanova
Etc.). In Mexico, this variety of Spanish is the only official one at the federal level and one of the official ones (along with many Indian languages) at the state level. Mexican Spanish is also the basis for Spanish in the United States (see Spanish in the United States), widely used in the media (Univision, Telemundo, etc.), education, etc. In addition, Mexican Spanish is the most common language variant of Spanish language, since it is native to the majority of Mexicans, who make up about 29% of all Spanish speakers in the world. The main features of the Spanish language in Mexico are the clarity of pronunciation of consonants (especially d and s), closeness to the classical standard Spanish language of the 16th and 17th centuries, with a strong influence of autochthonous languages in the field of vocabulary.
Story
Until the 16th century, the territory of modern Mexico was inhabited by quite numerous Indian tribes who spoke several dozen languages, the most common of which were: Navajo in the north, Maya, Nahuatl in the center and many others, which had a significant substrate influence on the Spanish language, which at first only a small but elite stratum of conquistadors, administrators and officials and immigrants from Spain, who made up about 5% of the population, spoke. However, thanks to its prestige and intensive interracial contacts (mixed race), Spanish became the main means of communication for the bulk of Mexicans already in the 17th century. Yet, unlike the United States, Mexico has never pursued a policy of genocide against the indigenous population. After a sharp reduction in the number of Indians due to diseases introduced by Europeans, their number stabilized already in the 17th-18th centuries. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the number of speakers of Indian languages in Mexico increased quite significantly, although their share of the population as a whole continued to decline due to an even more rapid increase in the number of Spanish-speaking mestizos. However, the influence of Amerindian languages, which are still spoken by 7-10% of Mexicans, remains significant. Many Mexicanisms, that is, words, phrases, phonetic and grammatical phenomena characteristic of the spoken Spanish language of Mexico, are explained precisely by the influence of autochthonous languages. Another important factor in the formation and spread of Mexican Spanish was the status of the city of Mexico City itself (formerly Tenochtitlan), which for three centuries was the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (see New Spain and Colonies of Spain), as well as the largest in the Western Hemisphere, where in the 16th During the 17th centuries, significant numbers of people arrived from Madrid and Spain. Therefore, just like American English, Mexican Spanish is based mainly on the corresponding European analogue of the language of the 16th-17th centuries. The language, in fact, of Spain continued to develop further, but in Mexico it largely froze as if in a preserved form after gaining independence at the beginning of the 19th century and developed in isolation from Spain.
Phonological features
- Seseo: Latin America as a whole, the Canary Islands and Andalusia still do not differentiate s and interdental z, c(developed in Castile), which are all pronounced /s/. The sound [s] in Mexico is laminodental or apicodental and identical to the Russian sound “s”, but [s] in the center and north of Spain took on an apical-alveolar character in the 19th-20th centuries, so for Russians and Mexicans equally it sounds like “ sh" (the non-distinction between s and sh is also characteristic of the Greek language).
- Eizmo: There is no longer any difference in pronunciation y And ll; pronounced like /ʝ/ or Russian [Y].
- Unlike other varieties of Spanish, which tend to vocalize words according to the Italian model, final and intervocalic consonants in Mexico have a fairly clear quality, and vowels, on the contrary, are reduced: the pronunciation ["tRasts] for "trastes". This often happens on consonant contact [s] with [e], which is dropped. Philologist Bertil Malmberg gives the following example Rafael Lapesa, where many people do not pronounce vowels in common speech ( Cómo ’stás, “cómo estás’, nec’sito, ‘necesito’, palabr’s ‘palabras’, much’s gras’s, ‘muchas gracias’).
- Unlike Caribbean Spanish, final [s] (indicator of plural and second person verbs) is always preserved.
- Intervocalic d tends to weaken, but is never completely reduced. Thus, "amado", "partido", "nada" do not become "amao", "partío" and "naa" as in Cuba or Venezuela.
- In much of Mexico, the distinctive [R] and [r] phonemes of Standard Spanish (especially the final -r) are often muted and the contrast between them is somewhat blurred: ["ka§ta]"carta" or "amor", while in the northern states the difference between /rr/ and /-r/ remains. In some areas of the Yucatan Peninsula, r even takes on a uvular quality (as in French).
- The sound (x) in Mexico is a fricative voiceless velar [x], as in ["kaxa] "caja" (box). This sound is in many ways similar to the Russian "kh" and is quite close to the similar sound of northern and central Spain, but, in contrast, it does not have hard uvular overtones.In Caribbean Spanish (which has a strong influence on the speech of the Atlantic coast of Mexico), due to the general weakening of consonants, the letter j realized as a voiceless exhalation [h], found in Germanic languages.
- Within Mexican Spanish, which has a standardized version, there are a significant number of dialects (especially in the vernacular). Thus, Mexicans themselves, as a rule, can distinguish by ear the speech of people from the states of Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, Yucatan, Mexico City itself, Jalisco, Chiapas or Veracruz.
In 1521, Spanish colonizers arrived in Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City), thus introducing the Spanish language into what is now Mexico. However, it took several generations for the zones to acquire their own personal linguistic character. This happened only 100 years later. The Creole Spanish language of Mexico begins to emerge when the first children are born in Mexico, but their parents still spoke European Spanish, so their children could not yet be said to speak pure Mexican Spanish.
In Mexico, as subsequently in all other countries of Latin America, a number of changes are taking place in the Spanish language system: linguistic territories are expanding (as happened in Spain, when the Spanish language replaced other languages that existed on the Iberian Peninsula), phonological changes are taking place (by -the other begins to pronounce j, the sound θ gradually disappears and is replaced by s, phonetic adaptation of words borrowed from Indian languages occurs), etc.
One of the first impressions that modern Mexican Spanish can make on an observer is that it is “conservative.” In the literary texts of Spanish writers of the 16th and 17th centuries, one can find words that today in Spain are archaisms and are practically unrecognizable to native speakers, or are used extremely rarely. In Mexico these words continue to be used and are not perceived as archaic. Here are some examples of such lexical units:
| Mexican word (is archaic in the Castilian version) |
Equivalent in Castilian version Spanish |
Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Aburricion | Aburrimiento | Boredom, annoyance |
| Alzarse | Sublevarse | Revolt, rebel |
| Amarrar | Atar | tie, connect |
| Anafre | Hornillo | Portable oven |
| Apeñuscarse | Apiñarse | crowd, crowd |
| Balde (para agua) | Cubo | Bucket, tub |
| Botar | Tirar | Throw away, throw away |
| Chabacano | Albaricoque | Apricot |
| Chapa | Cerradura | Lock |
| Chicharo | Guisante | Peas |
| Cobija | Manta | Blanket |
| Despacio (hablar despacio) | En voz baja | Quiet (speak quietly) |
| Dilatar | Tardar | To be delayed, to be late |
| Droga | Deuda | Duty |
| Durazno | Melocoton | Peach |
| Ensartar (la aguja) | Enhebrar | Thread a needle) |
| Esculcar | Registrar | Search, rummage (in pocket) |
| Expandir | Extender | Expand, spread |
| Frijol | Judía, habichuela | Beans |
| Hambreado | Hambriento | Hungry |
| Postergar | Aplazar, diferir | Save |
| Prieto | Moreno | Dark |
| Recibirse | Graduarse | Get a degree |
| Renco | Cojo | lame |
| Resfrio | Resfriado | Cold, runny nose |
| Retobado | Rezongón | Grouchy |
| Rezago | Atraso | Delay, tardiness |
| Zonzo | Tonto | Stupid, bad |
These are just a small number of words currently used in Mexican Spanish that have fallen out of use in the Iberian Peninsula.
The presence of such a lexical layer has given rise to the erroneous view among many linguists of the Mexican version of the Spanish language as an archaic variant (Wagner, 1949; Zamora Vicente, 1974; etc.). However, Moreno de Alba writes about this: “The vocabulary of the Spanish language is the complete sum of all the vocabulary of all its dialects (geographical, historical and social). Therefore, the problem of so-called archaisms must be reconsidered. Of course, there are archaisms in the strict sense of the word and these would be linguistic phenomena that are used sporadically and have disappeared from the entire Spanish language, such as the verb catar meaning “to see” or yantar meaning “to eat”. But there is also an infinite number of archaisms in a relative sense, which, although used in some dialects, have ceased to be the norm in others. Thus, the word estafeta can be perceived as an archaism by Latin Americans, ... and the vocabula prieto will be so for the Spaniards" (Moreno de Alba, 2001: 264 - 265). Thus, these words are archaisms in the Castilian version of the Spanish language, while in the Mexican version they are commonly used and cannot be regarded as archaic.
It is known that the Indian languages that dominated the territory of what is now Mexico before the arrival of the Spaniards had almost no impact on the phonological and grammatical level of the Spanish language in Mexico. On the other hand, all linguists recognize their influence on the lexical composition of the language. Thus, in the Spanish language of Mexico we can find a huge number of Indianisms, in particular those originating from the Nahuatl language. These are mainly words related to flora and fauna. Here are some of them:
| Indianisms | Translation |
|---|---|
| Aguacate | Avocado |
| Ahuehuete | |
| Cacahuate | Peanut |
| Cacao | Cocoa |
| Chayote | Chayote (tree and fruit) |
| Chile | Indian pepper |
| Copal | Copal, copal gum, leguminous plant |
| Coyote | Coyote |
| Mezcal | Type of alcoholic drink |
| Ocelote | Ocelot |
| Quetzal | Quetzal (bird) |
| Tomate | |
| Zapote | Sapotle tree, akhras, sapota (fruit of the tree, a genus of oblong apple) |
The large number of Indianisms recorded in general dictionaries and in dictionaries of regionalisms may suggest that the Indian component is the most important in Latin American national varieties of the Spanish language. It must be taken into account that when compiling dictionaries, authors start from written sources (chronicles, letters, protocols, memoirs, documents, etc.), collecting all found autochthonous words, including toponyms, anthroponyms and ethnonyms. However, all this much-needed data for conducting diachronic research distorts linguistic reality when conducting research in a synchronous manner, forcing many researchers to believe that all Indianisms registered in dictionaries are actively used in speech in a particular country. Thus, Dario Rubio believed that such a large number of Nahuatlism in Mexico would “cause a truly terrible chaos” that would make communication between Mexicans difficult (Rubio, 1990: XXII). In fact, many words recorded in dictionaries may not even be known to Mexicans, or they may know them passively, that is, know them but never use them in speech. Mexican linguist Lope Blanche, in his work “Indian Vocabulary in the Spanish Language of Mexico” (1969), divides the Nahuatlisms existing in the Mexican version into six groups. Below are some examples:
| Vocable | Translation |
|---|---|
| Group 1. Vocabularies known to absolutely everyone (99-100% of Mexicans) | |
| Aguacate | Avocado |
| Cacahuate | Peanut |
| Cacao | Cocoa |
| Coyote | Coyote |
| Cuate | Friend, buddy |
| Chamaco | Boy, child |
| Chicle | Gum |
| Chihuahua | Dog breed in Mexico |
| Chile | A variety of hot pepper |
| Chocolate | Chocolate |
| Escuincle | Small child |
| Guajolote | Turkey |
| Jitomate | Tomato (red) |
| Papalote | Kite |
| Petatearse | Die |
| Popote | Drinking straw |
| Pozole | Posole (national Mexican dish) |
| Tamal | National Mexican dish |
| Tequila | Tequila |
| Tomate | Green tomato (a type of cooking tomato) |
| Group 2. Vocabularies that are known to almost all Mexicans (85-98%) | |
| Ahuehuete | A type of tree of great height |
| Ajolote | Mexican amphibian |
| Ayate | Ayate (rare fibrous fabric made from agave) |
| Chamagoso | Sloppy, dirty |
| Mapache | American badger |
| Mezquite | American acacia genus |
| Olote | Corn cob without grains |
| Piocha | Goatee, goatee |
| Group 3. Vocabularies known to half of the speakers (50-85%) | |
| Chachalaca | Mexican bird of the gallinaceae family |
| Jicote | A species of wasp |
| Quetzal | Quetzal (bird) |
| Tiza | Chalk |
| Tlaco | Ancient coin |
| Group 4. Little-known vocables (25-50%) | |
| Acocil | Lobster size 3-6 cm |
| Colote | Corn storage |
| Achahuisclarse | Being affected by aphids |
| Jilotear | Ripen, fill (about corn) |
| Nauyaca | Naujaca (poisonous snake) |
| Group 5. Very little-known vocables (2-25%) | |
| Ayacahuite | Pine (species) |
| Cuescomate | Corn Barn |
| Juil | Carp (species) |
| Tepeguaje | Stubborn, persistent |
| Aguate | Small sharp spine (on the trunk of a cactus) |
| Group 6. Almost unknown vocables (0-1%) | |
| Cuitla | Bird droppings |
| Pizote | One of the mammals |
| Pascle | Thick ash-green moss (used as a holiday decoration in the house) |
| Yagual | Roller (for carrying weights on the head) |
| Zontle | Sonte (unit of counting corn, fruits, etc.) |
It should be noted that Nahuatlism, being an important factor in the Mexican version of the Spanish language, is currently showing a tendency towards its disappearance due to constant changes in life, economy and education (Yakovleva, 2005:25). In addition to Nahuatlisms, the Mexican version of Spanish also contains borrowings from other Indian languages, for example, Mayan. Examples include words such as balac, chich, holoch, pibinal, tuch, xic. However, borrowings from the Mayan language are mainly present in the southeast of the country and are dialectal phenomena that are not part of the norm of the entire Mexican version of the Spanish language, which is based on the cultural speech of Mexico City. Therefore, we will not dwell in detail on these lexical units.
Coexisting with words of a conservative nature, in the Spanish language of Mexico there are currently a large number of neologisms, that is, vocables that follow an American path that is different from the European one.
In particular, in the Mexican version we can hear anglicisms that are not registered in dictionaries, but dominate in speech over common Spanish words. Such anglicisms are absent in other national varieties of the Spanish language. Examples include words such as:
Many philologists, writers and cultural figures are concerned about the unjustified and excessive inclusion of English vocabulary in everyday life and oppose its negative consequences, considering this phenomenon a reflection of the political, economic, scientific and technical expansion of the United States and its partners, a consequence of the Americanization of Mexican popular culture. Quite often you can hear the opinion that the abundance of anglicisms is one of the distinctive features of the Spanish language of Mexico (Lopez Rodriguez, 1982). However, Lope Blanche, in the article “Anglicisms in the Cultural Norm of Mexico,” states the following: “Mexico is a country overly susceptible to contamination by the English language. Being a neighbor to the United States, it has a border with them that is more than 2,500 km long. It maintains close economic relations with its powerful neighbor. It receives a significant number of American tourists every year, and hundreds of thousands of Mexicans go temporarily to work in the United States. English is the most studied foreign language in Mexico. ... However, it is quite possible that the Spanish language of Mexico does not differ in this respect from other Spanish-speaking countries much more distant geographically, historically and politically from the United States" (Lope Blanch, 1982: 32 - 33).
In a study of the cultural speech of Mexico City within the framework of the “Project for Joint Research on the Cultural Linguistic Standards of the Main Cities of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula,” the total number of registered Anglicisms was 170 vocables, which is 4% of the 4452 questions of the questionnaire used at that time. However, not all of these Anglicisms are used with the same frequency in Mexico.
Lope Blanche divides Anglicisms into 5 groups.
- Commonly used anglicisms: basquetbol, bateo, beisbol, bikini, boxeo, closet, champú, coctel, cheque, elevador, emergencia, esmoquin, futbol, gol, líder, refrigerador, supermercado, etc.
- Frequently used anglicisms: bar, bermudas, bistec, chequera, jochey, kinder, poncharse, ponchada, shorts, etc.
- Anglicisms of medium frequency: barman, manager, porter, túnel, videotape, zípper, etc.
- Little-used anglicisms: bilet, blazer, lonch, mofle, ofside, standar, stewardess, stop, tándem, etc.
- Spontaneous anglicisms: bartender, comics, game, gorra de golf, locker, magazine, pull-over, rosbif, etc.
One third of Anglicisms denote concepts related to sports. In second place are words related to technology, followed by vocabulary related to clothing and food. However, despite the geographical proximity of Mexico and the United States, the Spanish language of Mexico lacks a number of anglicisms that are actively used in other Spanish-speaking countries, including Spain. We are talking about words such as clown (payaso), bacon (tocino), espíquer (locutor), shut (tiro, disparo), water (excusado), autostop (aventón), aparcar / parquear (estacionar), etc.
Thus, Mexican Spanish has anglicisms. However, their number in cultural speech does not differ much from other national varieties of the language.
Mexico is a huge country in North America, with a total area of 1.95 million km. Mexico borders the United States on the northern and eastern parts. From the eastern part, the country is washed by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Caribbean Sea. Mexico also includes numerous Pacific islands. The capital of this state is Mexico City - one of the oldest cities. But does this country have its own language?
What language do Mexicans use?
In fact, in everyday communication they use Spanish - more precisely, its Mexican dialect. This happened historically, as a result of the conquest of local lands by European conquistadors. Therefore, there is no Mexican language as such. However, in addition to Spanish, about 68 local languages are also used. But the vast majority of the population - about 90% - still communicates in Spanish.
Is Spanish official?
It remains the most widespread in Mexico - it is spoken almost everywhere. Although Spanish is widely spoken, it is not an official language. This is a very common misconception. The fact is that the Mexican constitution states: Mexico is a multinational country. That's why she always advocates bilingualism, or Spanish plus vernacular.
English in Mexico
Some tourists heading to Mexico rush to find a Russian-Mexican phrasebook. Others, knowing that now the vast majority of Mexicans communicate in Spanish, grab their heads: before the trip they need to learn a new language as quickly as possible. However, there are also travelers who are sure that you can survive in any country if you know English. This is a big misconception about Mexico. English not only won’t help here, but can also seriously hinder you. The fact is that Mexicans do not like their neighboring Americans. Therefore, if a tourist begins to communicate with a local resident in English, most likely he will take on an indifferent look. Or he will communicate in an unfriendly manner.
Local dialects
Indigenous dialects are spoken by no more than 6% of the country's total population. And this is about 6 million people. It is interesting that the number of those who stubbornly consider themselves descendants of the great Indians is twice this number. The most widely spoken local Mexican language is called Nahuatl, which includes various dialects. Nahuatl is used in everyday life by about 1.3 million people.
One of the main languages of the Aztec group is Classical Nahuatl. Beginning in the 16th century, it was systematically displaced by invading Europeans. Gradually, the Aztec language began to break up into dialects. At the moment, classical Nahuatl is classified as However, it has preserved a large number of literary monuments recorded using the Latin alphabet. Many people call the Nahuatl language Mexican. Translation into different languages and even courses in learning Nahuatl have now ceased to be exotic.
Mayan languages
The next most common language is occupied by the language of the ancient Mayans - Maaya Taan, or Yucatecan language. Its carriers are about 759 thousand people. It is distributed mainly in the Yucatan Peninsula. The oldest written language of the Mayan Indians is the language of the classical era of this civilization. It is believed that the common ancestor of the Yucatecan dialects is the Proto-Mayan language.
Q'eqchi - Mayan dialect
About 450 thousand people speak the Qekchi language. This language is spoken mainly in Guatemala. Here, about 90% of the total number of residents communicate in it. However, Qekchi can also be heard in El Salvador and Belize. For a very long time, the Kekchi ethnic family was isolated from other regions. Therefore, different dialects of this language differ from each other very insignificantly. The main dialect is the Western dialect. Q'eqchi is distinguished by the fact that among its representatives there is the largest number of monolingual speakers.
Mixtec dialects
Another 423 thousand people. They use the languages of the Mixtec group in everyday life. The area where the Mixtec Mexican language is spoken is the area called La Mixteca. The word "Mixtec" means "resident, inhabitant." Typically, speakers of this group of languages use the poetic phrase “Word of Rain” to denote their native dialect. In total, the Mixtec language has 52 local dialects.
Zapotec Mexican languages
410 thousand people in Mexico are native speakers of Zapotec languages. The Zapotec civilization began around 700 BC. e. In the 16th century it was finally conquered by European conquerors. The Zapotec Empire was located in the modern Mexican state of Oaxaca. The largest Zapotec settlement was a city called Monte Alban, which was the first of the empire's capitals. The Mixtecs neighboring to the north were the constant enemies of the state.
