By Loretta Carr
Let’s see. Now that English has been declared the official language of the United States, how am I going to order food at my favorite restaurant?
“May I have two of those round corn things?”
“You mean tortillas?”
“Yes, yes – stuffed with lettuce and that spicy tomato garnish with mashed avocado.”
“You mean salsa and guacamole?”
“Yes. What are those called again?”
“Tacos.”
And that’s only the beginning. So many words from the Spanish language have been assimilated into English that we don’t even think about it anymore. When we say adobe, patio, plaza, fiesta, or other food words, we don’t contemplate their origins, and I’m pretty sure most people in California understand their meaning.
Hispanic communities and varieties of the Spanish language have existed in the United States for more than four centuries. (Reference the PBS series narrated by Robin Macneil, “Do You Speak American?”) Before that, over 300 Indigenous languages, including Lakota, Navajo, Mohawk, Shoshone, Apache, Kickapoo, Pima, Seneca, Muskogee and Inuit were used in this country, according to “Britannica, Indigenous Languages of North America.”
Even the names of states and regions originated in the Spanish language. Nevada derives from ‘nieve’ meaning snow; Sierra Nevada means snowy mountains; Colorado means colored red; Florida means flowery; Montana means mountains; and the obvious New Mexico, Nueva Mexico. The word California first appeared in a 1510 Spanish novel “Las Sergas de Esplandian” by Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo. It referred to a mythical island ruled by a black warrior queen Califia. Other sources point to the Spanish translation of “hot furnace” – cali – forno.
Some frequently used English words may have arrived with the Mexican and Spanish cowboys, ‘vaqueros,’ who came to live and work in the Southwest. They probably introduced the now commonly used words rodeo, lasso, corral, burro and macho. Vaca = cow = vaqueros = cow rustlers. Vacaville. Muy macho!
So to eliminate Spanish words from American English would be extremely difficult. I mean I would hate to deprive anyone of expressing their wish for tequila, margaritas, piña coladas or even marijuana. How boring life would be.
Spanish isn’t the only language that has permeated the English language in America. How else would you say that you were going to a café with your fiancé to enjoy cuisine including hors d’oeuvres prior to being driven by the chauffeur to depart on your honeymoon? Bon Voyage! How chic.
How would we schmooze with our friends while eating a bagel?
How could we be all gung ho to enjoy sushi after we pet our shih tzu?
Let’s face it. This country is too large with too many different cultures, geography, and languages to be contained within one “official” language.
The benefits of being multilingual were on worldwide display during the recent announcement of the new Catholic Pope. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, addressed the crowd of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square, first in Italian and then in Spanish. This man was born in Chicago, Illinois, the first American Pope. He spent many years as a missionary in Peru and speaks five languages: English, Italian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. This is in sharp contrast to the United States political leader who recently posted a photo of himself garnished in the Pope’s attire but who can barely communicate in English.
I recently purchased a T-shirt which I intend to wear proudly this summer. It shows a drawing of a large turtle with the words “Golfo de Mexico.” I plan to wear it when I dine at La Hacienda and La Casa and Juanita Juanita, and at Molcajetes and El Molino and Maya and El Coyote and El Dorado, and Picazo. Whew. ‘Estoy llena.’ I’m full.
Hey Amiga, well said. Enjoyed your article mucho! I am proud to say I am still bilingual/bicultural.
A wonderful and humorous piece. Much needed serious levity.
To this day I am sad that I had to be and speak “American”. My father who spent his childhood and early teen years in the Minnesota State School for Neglected and Dependent Children, wanted more than anything to be a real American. On leave during world war II he married my mother, a Sicilian American, from a bilingual family. She also went to Hunter College and spoke 4 other languages. She was forbidden to teach us Italian by my father. I wish she had been stronger and I wish I could speak and understand other languages.