Mispronounced Localities in NM (Ruidoso, Raton: fit in, new home, to live in)

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

One city in NM I always have a problem with is Abiquiu. How do you pronounce that? Is it "abby-que-ee-you"?

I've heard most New Mexicans pronounce it "Ahh-bee-cue." Based on some other posts here, it's obvious that many "gringos" still don't "get" that the English short "a" doesn't really exist in Spanish. "A" in Spanish is pronounced somewhere between "Ahhh" (as in the English "word" for contentment "AHHHH") and "aw".

Someone also mentioned the town of Questa. If it were pronounced correctly in Spanish, it would be pronounced "Kay-stah." Not even native New Mexicans pronounce it that way. Why? Because it's misspelled. It's an English bastardization spelling of "cuesta" (pronounced "kway-stah"), which is Spanish for hill. Native New Mexicans pronounce it based on how it should be spelled, not how it is.

I think a lot of Texans ("Tejanos" in my book) purposely mispronounce Spanish names because of some still smoldering deep-seated prejudices against Mexico--something to do with the Alamo, maybe? It's not like they haven't been around the Spanish language, like, forever. As for the Easterners and Midwesterners, well, they haven't been around Spanish much at all, usually, so ignorance is probably their excuse.

Oh, by the way, I think Madrid is correctly pronounced "MAHH-dreed." And for Raton, "rahh-TONE." "Raton," of course, means "rat." If wonder if all of those rich dorks in Boca Raton, Florida know that their city name translates to "Rat Mouth." Just like the French tourists I'm sure get a kick of visiting the "Grand Teton" mountains in Wyoming . . .

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

I've heard most New Mexicans pronounce it "Ahh-bee-cue." Based on some other posts here, it's obvious that many "gringos" still don't "get" that the English short "a" doesn't really exist in Spanish. "A" in Spanish is pronounced somewhere between "Ahhh" (as in the English "word" for contentment "AHHHH") and "aw".

Thanks for the clarification!

Originally Posted by jazzlover

As for the Easterners and Midwesterners, well, they haven't been around Spanish much at all, usually, so ignorance is probably their excuse.

Maybe the small towns, but larger cities have incredibly large numbers of Hispanics, much larger than even those found in the SW. There is plenty exposure to Spanish in Chicagoland alone.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Maybe the small towns, but larger cities have incredibly large numbers of Hispanics, much larger than even those found in the SW. There is plenty exposure to Spanish in Chicagoland alone.

That is indeed true, but it seems that most Midwestern big city Anglos don't really have much to do with the Hispanic communities. There is little assimilation and not many Anglo Midwesterners know (or want to learn) even a scintilla of Spanish. In the Southwest--including Colorado and New Mexico in the Rockies--many place names are Spanish, there is a lot of Hispanic food--thus, most gringos wind up learning at least some Spanish words, meanings, and pronunciations. There also seems (especially in New Mexico) to be more interaction between the Anglo and Hispanic cultures, so more Anglos have at least some Spanish skills. Most native New Mexico Hispanics I know are fully bi-lingual (which I admire). I wish my Spanish-speaking skills were better--I'm working on it.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

That is indeed true, but it seems that most Midwestern big city Anglos don't really have much to do with the Hispanic communities

Not to get too off-topic, but I disagree 100%. I lived in a town that was over 50% Hispanic and I was speaking Spanish words by the time I was in 3rd grade because we were so integrated. Hispanics in that town were already in their 4th and 5th generations at that time. And this was in a small suburb (West Chicago) about 35 miles west of Chicago.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Not to get too off-topic, but I disagree 100%. I lived in a town that was over 50% Hispanic and I was speaking Spanish words by the time I was in 3rd grade because we were so integrated. Hispanics in that town were already in their 4th and 5th generations at that time. And this was in a small suburb (West Chicago) about 35 miles west of Chicago.

I hardly consider metro Chicago, one of America's largest and most diverse cities, a "typical" Midwestern city.

[hopeful transplant]

OK Jazzlover because I don' t know, I have to ask....what is a 'Tejano'?
Still waiting to hear on our job, so I'm trying to learn as much as I can about 'Rat-own' and the area....
Thanks

[malamute]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

I think a lot of Texans ("Tejanos" in my book) purposely mispronounce Spanish names because of some still smoldering deep-seated prejudices against Mexico--something to do with the Alamo, maybe? It's not like they haven't been around the Spanish language, like, forever. As for the Easterners and Midwesterners, well, they haven't been around Spanish much at all, usually, so ignorance is probably their excuse.

So is the same true when Mexicans mispronounce English words and American city names? Does that mean they have a smoldering hatred of the USA? Maybe something to do with the Alamo?

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by hopeful transplant

OK Jazzlover because I don' t know, I have to ask....what is a 'Tejano'?
Still waiting to hear on our job, so I'm trying to learn as much as I can about 'Rat-own' and the area....
Thanks

"Tejano" is Spanish for Texan.

[jsc23]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

I think a lot of Texans ("Tejanos" in my book) purposely mispronounce Spanish names because of some still smoldering deep-seated prejudices against Mexico--something to do with the Alamo, maybe? It's not like they haven't been around the Spanish language, like, forever. As for the Easterners and Midwesterners, well, they haven't been around Spanish much at all, usually, so ignorance is probably their excuse.

I gotta agree with you on this... with a note to malamute that "prejudice" isn't the same as "hatred"...
A major street in Austin is named Guadalupe- most Anglo Austinites pronounce it "gwah-duh-loop" and most local Hispanics find this pronunciation insulting. The Anglos aren't motivated by hate, they just don't give a "culo raton"...

Aside: Boca Raton- Rat's Mouth- is notorious as a hub for telemarketing/internet scam and spam artists... geography is destiny?

[hopeful transplant]

Thanks Jazzlover, it's not a word we use often in Central CA, but now I know..