Then came the native and Gringo words

Kamikaze0617, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Spanish language contributes and embraces words from all over the world. Many words part of our everyday Spanish originated with Native Americans. One must not confuse the phrase Native Americans solely with those from the United States. It is not uncommon to make that assumption, although Natives populated the entire Western Hemisphere or what is known as the Americas (North, Central, and South).

Most of the native words that Spaniards confiscated (or borrowed if confiscated sounds too harsh) from the Native Americans came from those tribes that inhabited the Valley of Mexico. Perhaps the most prolific contributions came from the Nahuatl people.

Here are some of the most commonly used Spanish words from the Native American language.

aguacate	atole	barbacoa	cacique	cacahuate
camote	chicle	chile	chocolate	cigarro
coyote	cuate	elote	guacamole	guajolote
hule	huracán	jacal	macana	maguey
maiz	mecate	mesquite	mole	nopal
papa	papaya	tabaco	taco	tama
tequila	tiburón	tomate	tuna	zacate

These are but a few, there are many, many more.¹ Many of these words have also migrated to the English language spoken in Texas. Of course, many other Spanish terms, not of Native American origin, have also been taken by English speakers throughout the United States. But that is fodder for a future blog; today, we are looking at words that made their way into the Spanish language. 

When Americans began to have extensive contact with Mexicans in Texas and the greater western region, including California, the locals adopted many English words. This “borrowing” has continued through the years and is still going on. These words are called Spanglish.² 

Some words have been around for a long time. Others made their way into the language during the industrial revolution with the introduction of the automobile. Some are still making their way into the present-day high-tech era. Here are some examples:

English	Spanglish	Actual Spanish
Actually	Actualmente	En realidad
To check	Chequear	Verificar
To freeze	Frizar	Congelar
To watch	Wachar	Mirar
To rent	Rentar	Alquilar
To park	Parquear	Estacionarse

From:  “English Words Used in Spanish,” SpanishPod101.Com Blog (blog), May 13, 2021, https://www.spanishpod101.com/blog/2021/05/13/english-loanwords-in-spanish/.

Of course, there are much more such as carro (car), troca (truck), hiwey (highway), conputadora (computer), copiar (to copy), telefono, (telephone), tren (train), traques (railroad tracks), traictor (tractor), la pisca (pick cotton) and on and on. Some of these words have made it into the Spanish dictionary others remain as Tex-Mex jargon. 

All, the Arabic, Yiddish, Nahuatl, Gringo, have become part of the Tejano identity whether we know where the words came from or not. 

¹“Spanish Words of Native American Origin,” accessed January 30, 2022, https://www.translationdirectory.com/glossaries/glossary227.php. 

²“English Words Used in Spanish,” SpanishPod101.Com Blog (blog), May 13, 2021, https://www.spanishpod101.com/blog/2021/05/13/english-loanwords-in-spanish/.